Captain Nathaniel Crosby, left, Brandon Wu and Cole Hammer (USGA/Chris Keane)
The last time the Walker Cup was played, the U.S. dominated the Great Britain & Ireland squad with a 19-7 victory at Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club. It was the second-largest margin of victory in the history of the biennial competition.
This year, the Americans are playing overseas. They’ll meet the GB&I team at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England for two days of stiff matches to determine who gets to keep the Cup for the next two years. The Walker Cup was last played at Royal Liverpool in 1983, when the U.S. defeated the GB&I team, 13.5-10.5.
Each of the two competition days features foursomes (alternate-shot) matches in the morning followed by singles matches in the afternoon. On Saturday, there are eight singles matches, while all 10 players from each side compete in singles on Sunday. One full point is awarded for each victory, while a half-point is earned for matches that are all square after 18 holes. The USA needs 13 points to retain the Cup, while GB&I requires 13.5 points to reclaim it.
AmateurGolf.com will be on the ground all week at Royal Liverpool, interviewing players, providing daily reports and giving viewers an inside look at the Walker Cup matches and all that goes into them.
Read more: Walker Cup blog
Schedule of play
Sept. 6 (Friday): Opening Ceremony
Sept. 7 (Saturday): Four morning foursomes matches followed by eight singles matches
Sept. 8 (Sunday): Four morning foursomes matches followed by 10 singles matches, followed by Closing Ceremony
Television coverage
Saturday, Sept. 7: 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. EST: Walker Cup Day One highlights –
Golf Channel
Sunday, Sept. 8: 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. EST: Walker Cup Day Two highlights –
Golf Channel
Friday, Sept. 6: 4-4:30 p.m. EST: Walker Cup preview –
Sky Sports
**Replay Saturday, Sept. 7: 4-4:30 a.m. EST, 6:30-7 a.m. EST, noon-12:30 p.m. EST
Saturday, Sept. 7: 6:30-7:30 p.m. EST: Walker Cup Day One highlights –
Sky Sports
**Replay Saturday, Sept. 7: 9-10 p.m. EST, Sunday Sept. 8: 5:30-6:30 a.m. EST
Sunday Sept. 8: 6:30-7:30 p.m. EST: Walker Cup Day Two highlights –
Sky Sports
**Replay Sunday, Sept. 8: 9-10 p.m. EST, Monday Sept. 9: 4-5 p.m. EST
ABOUT THE
The Walker Cup
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
and selected by The R&A. It is played over two
days
with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes
(alternate-shot) matches.
The first United States Walker Cup Team, which
in
1922 defeated the GB&I side, 8-4, at the
National Golf
Links of America, is considered among the best
teams
ever and included Francis Ouimet, Bob Jones,
Charles
“Chick” Evans and Jess Sweetser. Many of the
game’s
greatest players have taken part in Walker Cup
competition, including U.S. Open champions
Jack
Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth for
the
USA
and Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Justin
Rose
for Great Britain and Ireland.
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