With the Walker Cup just three weeks away, both sides have laid their cards on the table. The 10-man U.S. team was named within minutes of the conclusion of the U.S. Amateur. Both men in the final match at Pinehurst No. 2 were on it.
Great Britian and Ireland has some stars of its own as it tries to reclaim the Cup at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England on Sept. 7-8.
The GB&I team is highlighted by the R&A’s Amateur champion James Sugrue, English Amateur champion Conor Gough and by Conor Purcell ,who won the Australian Amateur Championship earlier this year. Alex Fitzpatrick, whose brother Matthew played in the Walker Cup in 2013, also was selected alongside Scotland’s Euan Walker, who finished runner-up in both the Amateur and European Amateur.
Said Craig Watson, GB&I captain, “It has been a very difficult decision to select ten players for Great Britain and Ireland from a strong squad but we have been very impressed with the results of those we have picked and we believe they will give us the best chance of regaining the Walker Cup against a strong American team.”
The GB&I team
Alex Fitzpatrick, Hallamshire, 20
Conor Gough, Stoke Park, 16
Harry Hall, West Cornwall, 21
Thomas Plumb, Yeovil, 20
Conor Purcell, Portmarnock, 21
Caolan Rafferty, Dundalk, 26
Sandy Scott, Nairn, 20
Tom Sloman, Taunton & Pickeridge, 22
James Sugrue, Mallow, 22
Euan Walker, Kilmarnock (Barassie), 24
