146. The R&A Announce A 19 Player Squad For The 2023 Walker Cup

16th December 2022

The R&A have announced an initial squad of 19 players for the Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) team to play the USA in the 49th Walker Cup match.

Here is a list of the players with their ages, golf clubs, nationalities and current world rankings (in alphabetical order): –

James ASHFIELD (21) – Delamere Forest, Wales
– SPWAR #204 / WAGR #195 *

Josh BERRY (17) – Doncaster, England
– SPWAR #199 / WAGR #960

Barclay BROWN (21) – Hallamshire / Stanford University – England
– SPWAR #80 / WAGR #34

Archie DAVIES (21) – Carlisle / East Tennessee State University – Wales
– SPWAR #64 / WAGR #65

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (23) – Chelmsford – England
– SPWAR #37 / WAGR #135

Hugh FOLEY (25) – Royal Dublin – Ireland
– SPWAR #62 / WAGR #142

John GOUGH (24) – Beaconsfield – England
– SPWAR #25 / WAGR #20

Connor GRAHAM (16) – Blairgowrie – Scotland
– SPWAR #146 / WAGR #249

Josh HILL (18) – Trump International Dubai – England
– SPWAR #322 / WAGR #55

Frank KENNEDY (17) – Trump National Jupiter – England
– SPWAR #274 / WAGR #127

Matthew MCCLEAN (29) – Malone – Ireland
– SPWAR #53 / WAGR #75

Robert MORAN (23) – Castle – Ireland
– SPWAR #70 / WAGR #101

Liam NOLAN (22) – Galway – Ireland
– SPWAR #135 / WAGR #335

Peter O’KEEFFE (41) – Douglas – Ireland
– SPWAR #155 / WAGR #298

Mark POWER (22) – Kilkenny / Wake Forest University – Ireland
– SPWAR #233 / WAGR #125

Calum SCOTT (19) – Nairn / Texas Tech. University – Scotland
– SPWAR #49 / WAGR #59

Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (17) – Huddersfield – England
– SPWAR #318 / WAGR #360

Harley SMITH (17) – The Rayleigh Club – England
– SPWAR #154 / WAGR #255

Tyler WEAVER (17) – Bury St Edmunds – England
– SPWAR #309 / WAGR #477

* Amateur rankings as at 16th December 2022.

Nine players from England, six from Ireland and two each from Scotland and Wales have been selected.

Barclay Brown and Mark Power are both aiming to play in their second Walker Cup having previously been selected at Seminole in 2021.

The final ten-man GB&I team will be announced in August just a few weeks before the match starts.

Whilst there are no major surprises in this squad announcement players who may consider themselves unlucky not to be included, assuming they haven’t unbeknown to me expressed an intention to turn pro shortly, include (in alphabetical order):-

Jack BIGHAM (ENG) – SPWAR #339 / WAGR #308

Jack BROOKS (ENG) – SPWAR #124 / WAGR #423

Paul CONROY (IRL) – SPWAR #162 / WAGR #724

Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) – SPWAR #161 / WAGR #421

Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) – SPWAR #259 / WAGR #907

Will HOPKINS (ENG) – SPWAR #217 / WAGR #625

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) – SPWAR #137 / WAGR #486

Gregor TAIT (SCO) – SPWAR #179 / WAGR #763

GB&I captain Stuart Wilson said, “We have selected a talented group of players who are key to our preparations for the Walker Cup and share our determination to win back the trophy from the United States of America.”

We will be getting together in St Andrews so that the players can really get to grips with the Old Course, understand its subtleties and learn from those individuals who have vast experience of the links.”

Our aim is to select a team which will give us the best chance of winning the match next year. In that regard, we will continue to monitor the players’ performances in amateur events over the coming months and provide them with support and advice. There is also still time for golfers not included in the squad to play their way into our plans and we will be keeping a close eye on their results too.”

The 2023 match is scheduled to be played on the Old Course in St. Andrews on the weekend of  2nd – 3rd September.

The second Walker Cup match, and first in Great Britain, was played on the Old Course on 18th and 19th May 1923 so the forthcoming fixture will mark the anniversary of this occasion.

ME.

Copyright © Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

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