2023 Walker Cup
{{Short description|49th edition; golf tournament in Scotland}}
{{use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox team golf tournament
| name = Walker Cup
| year = 2023
| logo = 2023 Walker Cup Logo.jpg
| logowidth= 150px
| dates = 2–3 September 2023
| venue = Old Course at St Andrews
| location = St Andrews, Scotland
| home = GB&I
| away = USA
| homecaptain = Stuart Wilson
| awaycaptain = Mike McCoy
| homescore = 11{{1/2}}
| awayscore = 14{{1/2}}
| result = United States wins
| map = UK#Scotland#Scotland Fife
| map_relief = yes
| map_label = St Andrews
| map_caption = Location in the United Kingdom##Location in Scotland##Location in Fife
| coordinates = {{coord|56.343|-2.803|type:event|display=inline,title}}
}}
The 49th Walker Cup Match was played on 2 and 3 September 2023 at Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. It was the 9th Walker Cup Match to be played at St Andrews and the first since 1975. The United States won by 14{{1/2}} points to 11{{1/2}}.{{cite news |title=Walker Cup 2023: USA beat Great Britain & Ireland to win at St Andrews |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/66703405 |work=BBC Sport |date=3 September 2023 |access-date=3 September 2023}}
Format
On Saturday, there were four matches of foursomes in the morning and eight singles matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, there were again four matches of foursomes in the morning, followed by ten singles matches (involving every player) in the afternoon. In all, 26 matches were played.
Each of the 26 matches is worth one point in the larger team competition. If a match is all square after the 18th hole extra holes are not played. Rather, each side earns {{1/2}} a point toward their team total. The team that accumulates at least 13{{1/2}} points wins the competition. In the event of a tie, the previous winner retains the Cup.{{cite web |title=Match Format |url=https://walkercup.co.uk/match-format/ |publisher=Walker Cup |access-date=31 August 2023}}
Teams
=Great Britain and Ireland team=
The Great Britain and Ireland team was announced on 21 August 2023. John Gough and Barclay Brown were automatically selected to the team based on their World Amateur Golf Ranking on 16 August 2023. Gough was ranked 11th and Barclay Brown 25th in this critical release. The reserves were Tyler Weaver and Caolan Rafferty.{{cite web |publisher=Walker Cup |title=GB&I Team |date=31 August 2023 |access-date=31 August 2023 |url=https://walkercup.co.uk/gbi-team/}}
| border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse: collapse;" |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
|colspan=4| {{flagicon|GBR|size=70px}} & {{flagicon|IRL|size=70px}} Great Britain & Ireland |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
!Name !Rank !Age !Notes |
| {{flagicon|SCO}} Stuart Wilson
| |align=center|46 |non-playing captain |
| {{flagicon|WAL}} James Ashfield
|align=center|69 |align=center|22 | |
| {{flagicon|ENG}} Jack Bigham
|align=center|87 |align=center|19 | |
| {{flagicon|ENG}} Barclay Brown
|align=center|26 |align=center|22 |Played in 2021 |
| {{flagicon|ENG}} John Gough
|align=center|14 |align=center|24 | |
| {{flagicon|SCO}} Connor Graham
|align=center|214 |align=center|16 | |
| {{flagicon|IRL}} Alex Maguire
|align=center|143 |align=center|22 | |
| {{flagicon|NIR}} Matthew McClean
|align=center|54 |align=center|30 | |
| {{flagicon|IRL}} Liam Nolan
|align=center|150 |align=center|22 | |
| {{flagicon|IRL}} Mark Power
|align=center|98 |align=center|23 |Played in 2021 |
| {{flagicon|SCO}} Calum Scott
|align=center|31 |align=center|20 | |
=U.S. team=
Gordon Sargent, Michael Thorbjornsen and David Ford were the first players to make the team, as the top three Americans in the World Amateur Golf Ranking as on 21 June 2023. Nick Dunlap and Caleb Surratt were added to the USA line-up on 31 July 2023. On 9 August 2023, Thorbjornsen announced that he would be withdrawing from the USA team due to a stress fracture in his back. The remaining members of the team were announced on 20 August 2023. Two alternates for the team were also announced: Maxwell Moldovan and Neal Shipley.{{cite web |publisher=Walker Cup |title=USA Team |date=31 August 2023 |access-date=31 August 2023 |url=https://walkercup.co.uk/usa-team/}}
| border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse: collapse;" |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
|colspan="4"|{{flagicon|USA|size=70px}} USA |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
!Name !Rank !Age !Notes |
| Mike McCoy
| |align=center|60 |non-playing captain |
| Nick Dunlap
|align=center|5 |align=center|19 | |
| David Ford
|align=center|4 |align=center|20 | |
| Nick Gabrelcik
|align=center|9 |align=center|21 | |
| Austin Greaser
|align=center|10 |align=center|22 | |
| Stewart Hagestad
|align=center|19 |align=center|32 |
| Ben James
|align=center|7 |align=center|20 | |
| Dylan Menante
|align=center|6 |align=center|22 | |
| Gordon Sargent
|align=center|1 |align=center|20 | |
| Preston Summerhays
|align=center|13 |align=center|21 | |
| Caleb Surratt
|align=center|8 |align=center|19 | |
Note: "Rank" is the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of the start of the Cup.
Saturday's matches
=Morning foursomes=
| border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center;" |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
! width=160| {{flagicon|USA|size=50px}} ! Results ! width=160| {{flagicon|GBR|size=50px}} & {{flagicon|IRL|size=50px}} |
| Sargent/Menante
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 3 & 2 |Brown/Power |
| Surratt/James
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL}} 3 & 2 |Scott/Graham |
| Summerhays/Ford
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL}} 1 up |McClean/Gough |
| Dunlap/Hagestad
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL}} 1 up |Maguire/Ashfield |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
| 1 | Foursomes | 3 |
| style="background:#aaffaa;"
! 1 ! Overall ! 3 |
=Afternoon singles=
| border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse: collapse; text-align:center;" |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
! width=160| {{flagicon|USA|size=50px}} ! Results ! width=160| {{flagicon|GBR|size=50px}} & {{flagicon|IRL|size=50px}} |
| Caleb Surratt
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 4 & 3 |Barclay Brown |
| Nick Gabrelcik
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL}} 2 & 1 |Calum Scott |
| Gordon Sargent
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 1 up |Jack Bingham |
| Austin Greaser
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL}} 1 up |Liam Nolan |
| David Ford
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL}} 1 up |Mark Power |
| Preston Summerhays
| halved |Matthew McClean |
| Stewart Hagestad
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 4 & 3 |Alex Maguire |
| Nick Dunlap
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL}} 6 & 5 |John Gough |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
| 3{{1/2}} | Singles | 4{{1/2}} |
| style="background:#aaffaa;"
! 4{{1/2}} ! Overall ! 7{{1/2}} |
Sunday's matches
=Morning foursomes=
| border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center;" |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
! width=160| {{flagicon|USA|size=50px}} ! Results ! width=160| {{flagicon|GBR|size=50px}} & {{flagicon|IRL|size=50px}} |
| Surratt/James
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 2 & 1 |Gough/McClean |
| Dunlap/Sargent
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 1 up |Graham/Scott |
| Summerhays/Gabrelcik
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 2 & 1 |Ashfield/Maguire |
| Menante/Greaser
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL}} 4 & 3 |Nolan/Power |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
| 3 | Foursomes | 1 |
| style="background:#aaffaa;"
! 7{{1/2}} ! Overall ! 8{{1/2}} |
=Afternoon singles=
| border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse: collapse; text-align:center;" |
| style="background:#ddffdd;"
! width=160| {{flagicon|USA|size=50px}} ! Results ! width=160| {{flagicon|GBR|size=50px}} & {{flagicon|IRL|size=50px}} |
| Caleb Surratt
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 3 & 2 |Calum Scott |
| Nick Dunlap
| halved |Barclay Brown |
| Stewart Hagestad
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 3 & 2 |Connor Graham |
| Gordon Sargent
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 1 up |John Gough |
| Preston Summerhays
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 4 & 3 |James Ashfield |
| Dylan Menante
| halved |Matthew McClean |
| Nick Gabrelcik
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL |
|Jack Bingham
|-
|Ben Janes
|align=left|{{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|IRL|}} 1 up
|Mark Power
|-
|Austin Greaser
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 3 & 1
|Liam Nolan
|-
|David Ford
|align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} 3 & 2
|Alex Maguire
|- style="background:#ddffdd;"
| 7
| Singles
| 3
|- style="background:#aaffaa;"
! 14{{1/2}}
! Overall
! 11{{1/2}}
|}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2023/walker-cup.html USGA site]
- [https://www.randa.org/en/championships/walker-cup R&A site]
- [http://walkercup.co.uk/ Golf Bible Walker Cup coverage]
{{Walker Cup}}