The United States of America Walker Cup team flew into Edinburgh, Scotland on Sept. 2 with a week to prepare for the 43rd Walker Cup Match against Great Britain & Ireland at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club Sept. 10-11.
We are really excited to be here, said USA Team Captain Jim Holtgrieve. This is where golf began and I know from my experiences in the game just what the sport means to the people of Scotland.
The guys are all excited, we know it’s going to be a closely fought match but we are looking forward to playing a great golf course in front of a knowledgeable crowd.
Team USA includes the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, Kelly Kraft, World No. 1, Patrick Cantlay and the 2010 U.S. Amateur champion, Peter Uihlein.
The biennial contest will see GB&I attempt to win back the trophy from the USA, who won it on home soil in 2009 with a 16½-9½ victory at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.
On each of the two days of competition, there will be four morning foursomes (alternate-shot) matches, followed by afternoon singles ties. On Sept. 10 (Saturday), there will be eight singles matches, while on Sunday, all 10 players from each team will go head-to-head.
The match, dominated in its early years by the USA, is becoming more finely balanced. Over the last 10 contests both teams have enjoyed three victories in succession with the USA counting six wins to GB&I’s four in the same period. The USA leads the series overall, 34-7-1.
The teams line up with nine players each in the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) with the top three players in the world representing the USA.
The USA Team is led by non-playing captain Jim Holtgrieve and includes Blayne Barber (WAGR No. 55), Patrick Cantlay (WAGR No.1), Harris English (WAGR No. 6), Russell Henley (WAGR No. 24), Kelly Kraft (WAGR No. 13), Patrick Rodgers (WAGR No. 3) Nathan Smith (WAGR No. 114), Jordan Spieth (WAGR No. 2), Peter Uihlein (WAGR No. 4) and Chris Williams (WAGR No.11).
The Royal Aberdeen Course offers spectators free parking and tented village catering facilities with tickets available here or by calling 01334 460000.
The GB&I team arrived in Scotland on Sept. 3.
Further details and full player profiles for both teams can be found here.
Gregor Smith is a digital media assistant for The R&A. E-mail him at GregorSmith@randa.org.