Far Hills, N.J. (Aug. 18, 2013) – The United
States Golf Association, after a
recommendation by its International Team
Selection Committee, today announced the
completion of the 2013 USA Walker Cup Team
with the selection of five amateur golfers, who
join five players previously named to the team
roster. The newly named players are: Jordan
Niebrugge, 20, of Mequon, Wis.; Nathan
Smith, 35, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Michael Weaver,
22, of Fresno, Calif.; Todd White, 45, of
Spartanburg, S.C.; and Bobby Wyatt, 21, of
Mobile, Ala.
Brandon Hagy, 22, of Westlake Village, Calif.;
and Sean Dale, 23, of Jacksonville, Fla., were
named first and second alternates,
respectively.
Previously, Max Homa, 22, of Valencia, Calif.;
Michael Kim, 20, of Del Mar, Calif.; Patrick
Rodgers, 21, of Avon, Ind.; Justin Thomas, 20,
of Goshen, Ky.; and Cory Whitsett, 21, of
Houston, Texas; were selected by the USGA to
the 2013 USA Walker Cup Team.
The 10-player team representing the United
States will compete in the 44th Walker Cup
Match against Great Britain and Ireland,
scheduled for Sept. 7-8 at the National Golf
Links of America in Southampton, N.Y., which
is hosting the Match for the first time since it
hosted the inaugural Walker Cup in 1922.
“These players are great additions to the USA
Walker Cup Team and have a special
opportunity to compete in international team
competition when this prestigious event
returns to its historic birthplace,” said Thomas
J. O’Toole Jr., USGA vice president and
chairman of the USGA’s Championship
Committee. “We have assembled another
outstanding team with the talent, experience
and leadership to face the challenge presented
by the team from Great Britain and Ireland.
We know each will perform with excellence
and bring honor to a competition and a place
that have a unique connection to the game’s
history.”
The newly selected team members are a
talented group of collegiate players and USGA
champions, including two seasoned mid-
amateurs who bring the characteristics of
leadership and generosity of spirit that are
central to Walker Cup Team competition.
Jordan Niebrugge,
20, of Mequon, Wis. – Niebrugge, the
2013 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion,
defeated fellow Walker Cup teammate Michael
Kim, 1 up, at Laurel Hill Golf Club in Lorton,
Va. The Oklahoma State University sophomore
earned honorable mention All-America honors
as a freshman after finishing runner-up in the
Morris Williams Intercollegiate and in The
Prestige at PGA West. In addition to the Public
Links, he has won the 2013 Western Amateur,
the 2013 Wisconsin State Amateur and the
2013 Wisconsin State Match Play
championships. In 2011, Niebrugge became
the youngest-ever winner of the Wisconsin
State Open at age 18 years, 13 days. He
competed in the 2013 U.S. Amateur,
advancing to the first round of match play,
where he was defeated by Seth Reeves, 22, of
Duluth, Ga., 1 up. Niebrugge also competed in
the 2009 and 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur
Championships, advancing to the first and
second round of match play, respectively.
Niebrugge was named an honorable mention
AJGA All-American in 2011 and tied for second
at the 2011 Rolex Tournament of Champions.
Nathan Smith, 35, of
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Smith is a four-time
U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and holds the
record for the most victories in the
championship. He first won in 2003, becoming
the youngest-ever champion at age 25. He
won two consecutive Mid-Ams in 2009 and
2010, and then made history with his fourth
win in 2012, breaking a tie with Jay Sigel, a
fellow Pennsylvanian who won two U.S.
Amateurs and competed on a USA-record nine
Walker Cup Teams. Smith was a member of
the 2009 and 2011 USA Walker Cup Teams,
and was a member of the victorious USA
squad at the 2010 Copa da las Americas in
Argentina. He has competed in four
consecutive U.S. Amateur Championships,
from 2010-13, but has never qualified for
match play. He earned four consecutive
victories in the Western Pennsylvania
Amateur, from 2007-2010. Smith won the
Pennsylvania State Amateur in 2002 and 2009
and was runner-up in 2001, 2007 and 2008.
Additionally, he finished runner-up at the 2002
North & South Amateur and the 2008
Northeast Amateur.
Michael Weaver, 22,
of Fresno, Calif. – Weaver was the
runner-up in the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry
Hills (Colo.) Country Club, losing to Steven
Fox in 37 holes. The finish earned him an
exemption into the 2013 Masters, where he
missed the cut, and the 2013 U.S. Open,
where he finished 64th. He competed in the
2013 U.S. Amateur and advanced to the first
round of match play, where he was defeated
by Greg Eason, 21, of England, 3 and 2.
Weaver was selected to compete in the 2013
Palmer Cup, where he recorded 1.5 points to
contribute to Team USA’s victory. In 2013, the
fifth-year senior at the University of
California-Berkeley was named first-team All-
American, All-West Region and All-Pac-12
selection. He recorded his first collegiate win
at the 2013 NCAA Pullman Regional and placed
runner-up at the Pac-12 Championship. He
redshirted the 2011-12 season, and was the
only amateur to qualify for the TPC Stonebrae
Championship on the Web.com Tour, where he
missed the cut. He recorded a victory at the
Alameda Commuters and placed runner-up at
the Fresno City Championship. In his
sophomore season (2010-11), he finished T8th
at the 2011 NCAA Championships and was an
honorable mention to the Pac-10 All-Academic
team.
Todd White, 45, of
Spartanburg, S.C. – White has competed
in 11 USGA championships, including four U.S.
Amateurs, two U.S. Mid-Amateurs, four USGA
State Team Championships and one U.S.
Open. His best finish in a U.S. Amateur was in
2003, when he advanced to the Round of 16
before falling to Jerry Courville, 4 and 3. His
best finish in a U.S. Mid-Amateur was in 2012,
when he lost in the semifinals to Garrett Rank,
1 up. In June, White posted a 4-under-par 65
in the final round of the 2013 Northeast
Amateur to finish tied for fifth and earn low-
mid-amateur honors, and in 2010, won the
Palmetto Amateur. In 2004, he won the South
Carolina Mid-Amateur and was runner-up at
the Azalea Amateur. White played collegiate
golf at Furman University in his home state
and was inducted to the school’s Athletic Hall
of Fame in 2003. One year later, he was
named the Carolinas Golf Association and the
South Carolina Golf Association Player of the
Year. White was also honored as the South
Carolina Golf Association Player of the Year in
2010 and 2012. In 1990, he won the Northeast
Amateur and the South Carolina Amateur, and
he is a three-time South Carolina Match Play
champion.
Bobby Wyatt, 21, of
Mobile, Ala. – Wyatt competed in the
2013 U.S. Amateur, losing to Gavin Hall in the
Round of 32. He was a member of the 2013
NCAA Division I National Championship-
winning team at the University of Alabama,
winning his championship match against
Thomas Detry of Illinois, 6 and 5. He finished
tied for 26th in the individual portion of the
championship and was runner-up at the NCAA
Regionals and the SEC Championships for the
second consecutive year. He was named a
first-team All-American for the 2012-13
season, his third consecutive All-America
honor, having earned second-team honors for
the 2011-12 season and honorable mention in
2010-11, his freshman year. Wyatt was also
selected for the 2013 Palmer Cup, where he
played under his collegiate coach, Jay
Seawell. He had a 3-0-1 record, earning 3.5
points for the victorious USA team. He was
the stroke-play medalist at the 2012 U.S.
Amateur with a 36-hole score of 9-under 132,
which tied the record for lowest stroke-play
score. He advanced to the Round of 16 in
match play, losing to teammate Justin
Thomas, 1 up. Wyatt first gained acclaim by
shooting a 57 at the 2010 Alabama State
Junior Championship.
“I’m just thrilled to have the full team in
place, and excited by the team composition,”
said Jim Holtgrieve, captain for the USA
Team, whose stellar amateur career includes
a winning record as a member of three
victorious USA Walker Cup Teams and the
captaincy of the USA Team at the 2011 Match
at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland,
which lost, 14-12, to the GB&I side. “I believe
that the strength to any team, especially in
Walker Cup competition, stems from
experience, team chemistry and the
leadership you have behind the ropes and in
the locker room. And we have that in the
strong team that has been assembled for the
challenge that we will face next month at the
National.”
The Walker Cup Match is a biennial 10-man
amateur team competition between the USA
and a team composed of players from Great
Britain and Ireland. It is played over two days
with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes
(alternate-shot) matches. The USA leads the
overall series, 34-8-1, and has not lost on
American soil since the 2001 Match at Ocean
Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga.
Many of the game’s greatest players have
participated in Walker Cup competition,
including U.S. Open champions Francis
Ouimet, Bob Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger
Woods for the USA and Graeme McDowell,
Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose for Great Britain
and Ireland.
The first USA Walker Cup Team in 1922, which
defeated the Great Britain and Ireland team,
8-4, at the National Golf Links of America, is
considered to be among the best Walker Cup
teams ever comprised and included Ouimet,
Jones, Charles “Chick” Evans and Jess
Sweetser.