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 points to 11.
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 a point toward their team total. The team that accumulates at least 13 points wins the competition. In the event of a tie, the previous winner retains the Cup.
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.
& Great Britain & IrelandNameRankAgeNotes Stuart Wilson46non-playing captain James Ashfield6922 Jack Bigham8719 Barclay Brown2622Played in 2021 John Gough1424 Connor Graham21416 Alex Maguire14322 Matthew McClean5430 Liam Nolan15022 Mark Power9823Played in 2021 Calum Scott3120
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.
USANameRankAgeNotesMike McCoy60non-playing captainNick Dunlap519David Ford420Nick Gabrelcik921Austin Greaser1022Stewart Hagestad1932Played in 2017, 2019 and 2021Ben James720Dylan Menante622Gordon Sargent120Preston Summerhays1321Caleb Surratt819 Note: "Rank" is the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of the start of the Cup.
Saturday's matches
Morning foursomes
Results & Sargent/Menante 3 & 2Brown/PowerSurratt/James 3 & 2Scott/GrahamSummerhays/Ford 1 upMcClean/GoughDunlap/Hagestad 1 upMaguire/Ashfield 1 Foursomes 3 1 Overall 3
Afternoon singles Results & Caleb Surratt 4 & 3Barclay BrownNick Gabrelcik 2 & 1Calum ScottGordon Sargent 1 upJack BinghamAustin Greaser 1 upLiam NolanDavid Ford 1 upMark PowerPreston Summerhays halvedMatthew McCleanStewart Hagestad 4 & 3Alex MaguireNick Dunlap 6 & 5 John Gough 3 Singles 4 4 Overall 7
Sunday's matches Morning foursomes Results & Surratt/James 2 & 1Gough/McCleanDunlap/Sargent 1 upGraham/ScottSummerhays/Gabrelcik 2 & 1Ashfield/MaguireMenante/Greaser 4 & 3Nolan/Power 3 Foursomes 1 7 Overall 8
Afternoon singles Results & Caleb Surratt 3 & 2Calum ScottNick Dunlap halvedBarclay BrownStewart Hagestad 3 & 2Connor GrahamGordon Sargent 1 upJohn GoughPreston Summerhays 4 & 3James AshfieldDylan Menante halvedMatthew McCleanNick Gabrelcik 3 & 2Jack BinghamBen James 1 upMark PowerAustin Greaser 3 & 1Liam NolanDavid Ford 3 & 2Alex Maguire 7 Singles 3 14 Overall 11
References
External links USGA site R&A site Golf Bible Walker Cup coverage