The Concession Golf Club will once again host the matches (Concession photo)
BRADENTON, FL (February 12, 2018) - The Amateur Golf Alliance (AGA) and Concession Cup announced the rosters and captains for the 3rd Concession Cup Matches, to be played April 19-21 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida.
The Concession Cup Matches feature teams of 14 players, with each team comprised of 6 mid-amateurs (ages 25-54), 6 seniors (ages 55-64), and 2 super seniors (ages 65 and older). On the first day of the tournament, 7 foursome (alternate shot) matches will be played, followed by 7 four-ball matches on day two and 14 singles matches on the final day. Each match will be worth one point (with a halved match worth 1/2 point for each team), and the team with the most points at the end of the three days is the winner.
The U.S. has won the first two installments of the biennial matches, and should be heavy favorites again this year, as the roster of 14 players includes some of the most accomplished mid-amateurs and seniors in amateur golf.
Related: 2016: USA finishes off Dominant Concession Cup Performance
Related: 2014: U.S. wraps up inaugural Concession Cup win
Five of the six mid-amateurs on the U.S. Team are USGA champions, including the last two U.S. Mid-Amateur champions,
Matt Parziale (Broockton, MA) and
Stewart Hagestad (Newport Beach, CA). Five-time USGA champion
Nathan Smith (Pittsburgh, PA) and
Todd White (Spartanburg, SC), who won the first U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2015, are joined by 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Scott Harvey (Kernersville, NC) and 2017 Crump Cup champion
Michael McDermott (Bryn Mawr, PA).
The senior lineup is loaded as well, with three USGA champions including the 2017 U.S. Senior champion
Sean Knapp (Oakmont, PA), the 2013 champ
Doug Hanzel (Savannah, GA), and two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur winner
Tim Jackson (Germantown, TN).
Gene Elliott (W. Des Moines, IA) might be the best player not to have won a U.S. Mid-Am or Senior, winning four times in his first year as a senior last year.
Matt Sughrue has finished runner-up and in the quarterfinals of the last two U.S. Seniors, and
John McClure (Los Angeles, CA) won the 2017 Crump Cup Senior.
The two super seniors are both USGA champions, Walker Cup players and captains.
Vinny Giles (Richmond, VA), who captained the team in 2014 and 2016, won the 1972 U.S. Amateur, the 1975 British Amateur, and the 2009 U.S. Senior Amateur.
Buddy Marucci (Villanova, PA) won the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur and lost the 1995 U.S. Amateur final match to Tiger Woods.
The U.S. Team was chosen both by position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), as well as selections by the AGA based on a list of criteria that includes results from top amateur tournaments and career accomplishments.
The GB&I Team is comprised of 7 Englishmen, 4 Irishmen and 3 Scots. One of the names familiar to those on this side of the Atlantic is
Bobby Leopold, who is originally from England but has lived and competed in Rhode Island for many years and who has won the New England Amateur and the Crane Cup in the last two seasons.
Also on the team is
Bryan Hughes of England, who broke the U.S. stranglehold on the British Senior Amateur last summer when he became the first Englishman to win since 2003. Two-time Walker Cup captain
Garth McGimpsey of Ireland is also representing the GB&I as a senior competitor in this year's Concession Cup Matches.
The GB&I team was chosen in the customary way as adopted by Walker Cups and other amateur international matches. Teams are selected by a selection committee based on a list of criteria that includes performance in National and International events together with reference to the WAGR.
The GB&I Team Captain for the 3rd Concession Cup Matches will be one of Great Britain's most accomplished amateur golfers, Peter McEvoy. McEvoy won the British Amateur in 1977 and 1978, and played on five GB&I Walker Cup teams. He was also the winning Walker Cup team captain in 1999 and 2001. He was also the low amateur in the 1978 and 1979 British Opens, and in 1978 became the first British amateur player to make the cut in the Masters.
"It will be a great thrill to captain team GB&I," said McEvoy. "I'm excited about the strength of our team and we look forward to the challenge of bringing home a victory. Plus, knowing that the Concession Cup is focused on giving back to charity makes my participation all the more rewarding."
The U.S. Team captain will be Bob Lewis, a six-time Walker Cupper and a two-time Walker Cup captain, winning in 2005. He played in three U.S. Opens and was the low amateur at the 1987 Masters. Lewis was a three-time runner-up in USGA championships, including the 1980 U.S. Amateur, and the 1981 and 1984 U.S. Mid-Amateurs. His biggest amateur win was in the 1986 Northeast Amateur and he also won the Ohio Amateur and Ohio Open.
"I am honored to serve as the US captain for The Concession Cup," said Lewis. "The spirit of international amateur competition has been, and continues to be, near and dear to my heart. This event was inspired by that spirit which makes it a perfect fit for me. I hope that the experience I have gained throughout my career as both a competitor and captain will serve our team well."
The 2018 U.S. Concession Cup Team
Captain: Bob Lewis (Pepper Pike, OH)
Mid-Amateurs
Stewart Hagestad (Newport Beach, CA)
Scott Harvey (Kernersville, NC)
Michael McDermott (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Matt Parziale (Brockton, MA)
Nathan Smith (Pittsbugh, PA)
Todd White (Spartanburg, SC)
Seniors
Gene Elliott (W. Des Moines, IA)
Doug Hanzel (Savannah, GA)
Tim Jackson (Germantown, TN)
Sean Knapp (Oakmont, PA)
John McClure (Los Angeles, CA)
Matthew Sughrue (Arlington, VA)
Super Seniors
Vinny Giles (Richmond, VA)
Buddy Marucci (Villanova, PA)
The 2018 GB&I Concession Cup Team
Captain: Peter McEvoy (Troon, Scotland)
Mid-Amateurs
Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint, Ireland)
Matt Clark (Aberdeen, Scotland)
Jack Gaunt (Tamworth, England)
Bobby Leopold (Surrey, England)
Peter O'Keefe (Douglas, Ireland)
Simon Richardson (Boston, England)
Seniors
Graham Bell (Dundee, Scotland)
Ronnie Clark (Bishopton, Scotland)
Ian Crowther (Lancashire, England)
Stephen East (York, England)
Bryan Hughes (Southport, England)
Garth McGimpsey (Bangor, Ireland)
Super Seniors
Alan Mew (Southampton, England)
Adrian Morrow (Dublin, Ireland)