Beginning with the 2026 Match, the biennial Walker Cup between the USA and Great Britain and Ireland will be contested in even years. The shift was decided jointly by the USGA and The R&A to avoid conflicts with the World Amateur Team Championships, which will be played in odd years beginning in 2023.
“The re-emergence of golf in the Olympic Games has had a ripple effect on the overall golf calendar,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer, USGA. “This is just the next step in that as we make sure team competitions have a balanced schedule and, in this case, encourage participation by the world’s best amateurs without unnecessary conflict.”
Phil Anderton, chief development officer at The R&A, said, “We have looked at this carefully with the USGA and believe that this change creates the best schedule for the players and for the Walker Cup Match itself. The Walker Cup is at the forefront of men’s amateur golf and we want to ensure that its status is reflected in its position in the golf calendar.”
The International Golf Federation announced in 2020 that the World Amateur Team Championships would move to odd years to avoid a same-year conflict with the Summer Olympic Games. Golf made its return to the Olympic program in 2016.
The 49th Walker Cup match will be contested Sept. 2-3, 2023, at St Andrews. The birthplace of golf has hosted eight previous Walker Cups, more than any other venue, most recently in 1975, when the USA defeated GB&I, 15½-8½, led by future U.S. Open champions Jerry Pate and Curtis Strange.
With the calendar change, the Walker Cup Match scheduled for Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club in 2033 has been moved to 2032. The USGA also announced that the 2034 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club will move to 2033.