The R&A has announced the 10-man Great Britain and Ireland Team for the 2011 Walker Cup Match that will be played at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland Sept. 10-11. The GB&I team, which will be looking for its first win in the biennial series since 2003, will face the United States of America in the two-day competition.
Nigel Edwards, Captain of the GB&I Team said, I’m very pleased with the team that has been selected and I’m sure a number of players will be disappointed to miss out.
These players represent the strongest group of amateur golfers that GB&I has to offer and I believe that we will do very well at Royal Aberdeen.
The GB&I Team is headlined by England’s Tom Lewis, who was the low amateur at this year’s Open Championship at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England. Lewis pronounced himself to the world by shooting a first-round 65 to share the lead with Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn. He became the first amateur to lead the Open Championship since Sir Michael Bonallack in 1968.
The 20-year-old from Welwyn Garden City went on to finish joint 30th to take the silver medal as leading amateur. Prior to the Open Championship, Lewis won the St Andrews Links Trophy in June. He also finished 59th in the Dubai Desert Classic, his first European Tour event. He ended the 2010 season with two outstanding performances on the Australasian Tour, finishing 12th in the Australian Open and losing a playoff to Peter O’Malley in the New South Wales Open.
Lewis will be joined on the GB&I side by four other Englishmen, 24-year-old Steven Brown from Wentworth, 21-year-old Stiggy Hodgson of Sunningdale, 23-year-old Jack Senior from Heysham and 24-year-old Andrew Sullivan of Nuneaton. Hodgson played on the 2009 Walker Cup Match at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., winning two out of a possible four points.
Two players from Scotland were selected: 22-year-old James Byrne from Banchory and 21-year-old Michael Stewart of Troon Welbeck.
Ireland will be represented by 22-year-old Paul Cutler of Portstewart and 21-year-old Alan Dunbar of Rathmore. Captain Edwards will also have one Welshman on the squad in 17-year-old Rhys Pugh of Vale of Glamorgan. He is the first player from Wales to play in the Walker Cup since Rhys Davies and Edwards competed in 2007 at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland. Davies is also the youngest member of the team. He will be following in the footsteps of Davies by attending East Tennessee State in the United States.
To learn more about the GB&I side, click here.