SEPTEMBER 10th-11th 2011
Above photographs attributed to Mr. Par Martin Hedberg
THE WALKER CUP - ROYAL ABERDEEN GOLF CLUB - 10 & 11 SEPTEMBER 2011
GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND v THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GB&I TEAM - WINNERS OF THE 2011 WALKER CUP
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE 2011 WALKER CUP PLEASE EMAIL -
The Walker Cup - The Cornerstone of the Amateur Game
By David J. Whyte
The Walker Cup has become the hallmark of the amateur game of golf. The biennial event sees the best amateurs from the USA and Great Britain and Ireland play against each other on some of the most worthy golf courses either side of the Atlantic.
The 2011 Walker Cup will be played on the Balgownie Links of Royal Aberdeen Golf Club on the north-east coast of Scotland. Founded in 1780, the club is the world’s sixth oldest and it is honoured to be hosting the Walker Cup on the occasion of the event’s 90th year.
What’s so special about the Walker Cup? The first thing that one gleans from those directly involved is the character-building attributes the event imbues. I’ve met one or two Walker Cup players through my writing career and on learning they were a ‘Walker Cup Player’ for some indiscernible reason they rise significantly in my estimation. The sense of fair play and honour that goes hand in hand with the event is surely one of the finest elements of any sport.
The lack of commercialism might also have something to do with it. Professional events seem swamped with obsequious ‘for profit’ opportunists pitching their tent around the main event and making the most of the shimmering spotlight that shines so seemingly selflessly on the professional game. And that says nothing about the professional players. We won’t even go there.
Meanwhile the Walker Cup remains a breath of free, fresh air.
History of the Walker Cup
The Walker Cup started as a suggestion by the USGA for an International Challenge Trophy to be played for by all golf playing nations. But the R&A were quick to point out to their USGA counterparts that only two countries had sufficient numbers of amateur golfers proficient enough to compete in such an event. On the eve of the Amateur Championship at Hoylake in May 1921, the first unofficial match was played with the young Bobby Jones helping the Americans win a 9-3 victory.
The next year the officially instituted contest was held at National Golf Links of America, a links-style course on Long Island adjacent to another great US course, Shinnecock Hills. The Americans again dominated the scene and set a winning streak that could not be broken until 1938 when Great Britain & Ireland finally succeeded at St Andrews.
The name of the Walker Cup was given in honour of the USGA President George Herbert Walker who was president of the USGA at the time the series was initiated. He was also the grandfather of the former President of the United States, George H. W. Bush and great-grandfather to President George W. Bush.
The event was played annually for only three years at which point it was decided a biennial was preferable. After World War II it switched to odd numbered years and played alternately on either side of the Atlantic.
America dominated the event for most of its early years until 1989 when the GB&I team, with a 12½ - 11½ victory at Peachtree in Georgia restored a sense of balance. Since then there have been GB&I wins at Porthcawl in 1995 and Nairn in 1999, a victory that was effectively defended two years later at Sea Island in Georgia by a convincing 15-9 margin. There was a further win for GB&I at Ganton in 2003. Jonathan Moore lifted his USA team to a one-point win at the 2007 Walker Cup by holing his 4-foot eagle putt on the final hole of his match, a truly dramatic finale held at Royal County Down Golf Club in Northern Ireland.
