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Great Britain and Ireland captain Stuart Wilson only has good experiences from the Walker Cup. He intends to draw on those as he leads the 10 best amateurs from GB&I at Seminole Golf Club this weekend.
Wilson played in the victorious 2003 GB&I side that won at Ganton Golf Club in Yorkshire, when a team captained by Northern Ireland’s Garth McGimpsey defeated a United States side led by the late Bob Lewis 12½-11 ½. The 43-year-old Scotsman, who won the prestigious Lytham Trophy in 2003 to book his Walker Cup spot, earned two points from four to help GB&I win George Herbert Walker’s trophy for the third straight time. He’s hoping to impart that experience to his charges to help GB&I stop the United States from a third consecutive victory.
“Obviously it was great to be involved in 2003 at Ganton,” Wilson said. “To be part of a team that won it, and it was the third GB&I team in succession to actually win, that just kind of gives them a bit of realisation of what can be done and what is achievable. Nothing is impossible. We know it's always a very difficult match and the history books tell us so, but it's not impossible.
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“We've drawn on experiences from back then, and hopefully we can impart a few stories. We've got (four-time player and three-time captain) Nigel Edwards in the team room as well, as one of the selectors who was part of the 2003 team and three other events. So we've got a good resource there of previous experiences to draw upon, and we'll be trying to impart as much of that as we can. Hopefully the guys will take some of it on board and use it to their advantage.”
Wilson, winner of The Amateur Championship at St Andrews in 2004, is under no illusions as to the task his team faces this week. Only two GB&I teams have won on American soil. The breakthrough win came in 1989 at Peach Tree Golf Club, Georgia with the visitors running out 12½–11½ winners. Twenty years ago, a team featuring future European Tour winners Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Nick Dougherty, Graeme McDowell, Marc Warren and Michael Hoey won at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Georgia.
Wilson is hoping to add his ten players to the relatively few GB&I Walker Cuppers who have tasted success in America.
“We know there's only been two teams that have been successful over here. Again, which shows it's not impossible. We've had a look at the numbers, and there's been 310 Walker Cup players, 84 of those have played on winning sides but only 20 have played on a winning side in America. We're trying to make that 30 basically.
“The guys are up for it, without a doubt.”
Alistair Tait is an English-based writer who has been covering the game across Europe for more than 30 years. Email him at alistair.tait@btinterent.com