U.S. Walker Cup Team To Require Two Mid-Ams
This would have bordered on scandalous a few years ago, but with the change to Q-School the teams may see fewer top players stick around for the Walker Cup.
Plus, now the captains will have someone to talk with on the team bus about preferred dandruff shampoos, hemorrhoid creams and top hedge funds.
For Immediate Release...
2013 USA WALKER CUP TEAM TO INCLUDE MID-AMATEUR PLAYERS
Far Hills, N.J. (Jan. 14, 2013) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that a minimum of two mid-amateurs (players age 25 and above) will be part of the 10-member 2013 USA Walker Cup Team that will compete against a team from Great Britain and Ireland. This year’s Walker Cup Match will be contested Sept. 7-8 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y.
“In proposing the Walker Cup in 1921, George Herbert Walker’s original intent was to have a competition that fostered international goodwill between the USGA and The R&A,” USGA Vice President and Championship Committee Chairman Thomas J. O’Toole Jr. said. “Mid-amateurs, who are seasoned players, are likely to bring a unique perspective to a team and demonstrate, as well as appreciate, the characteristics of leadership and generosity of spirit that are central to the Walker Cup. It is the positive influence mid-amateurs will have on the Walker Cup experience and our strong commitment to amateur golf that causes us to reach this determination.”
Last month, the USGA International Team Selection Committee invited 16 golfers, including three reigning USGA champions and two mid-amateurs, to participate in an informal practice session in Naples, Fla., during which USA captain Jim Holtgrieve observed potential team members. Golfers who were not invited to the session are still candidates for the team.
“I applaud the decision made by the USGA to include mid-amateurs in the Walker Cup,” said Holtgrieve, who played in three Walker Cups and was captain of the 2011 USA Team. “I have seen firsthand, like other past captains, the impact the mid-amateur player can have on a team. Mid-amateurs can provide the leadership and maturity that helps build team chemistry.”
The 44th Walker Cup Match returns to National Golf Links of America for the first time since it hosted the first playing of the biennial competition in 1922.
Monday, January 14, 2013 at 08:41 AM
Reader Comments (14)
They made their decision and I think it's a good one.
I will make it a point to get out to NGLA to see them play a different game then I play over my favorite golf course.
Does Tom O'Toole know how snooty that sounds?
I think it would be a great thing for both teams to do.
Is it your opinion that the spirit and generosity that is central to the Walker Cup as envisioned by its founders way back when has anything to do with being a true amateur player?
How many of those youngsters spent any time actually working for a living and not playing golf full time while attending a few classes?
What percentage of them will still be amateur by the time they are 25?
@Steve-
I have heard from many that it is the best event in golf, looking forward to going to my first one this Sept. @ NGLA.
All the methods of basically paying amateurs to be amateurs, ie following all the rules :), has basically made the highest skilled amateurs professionals for all purposes.
The GB&I side has a national academy version of developing golfers and many GB&I already attend US schools on golf scholarships.
And writing all the golf regulations and rules for amateurs has amounted to something like writing your name backwards looking in the mirror.
Let the tours have their college and national academy minor leagues. Would probably be best for US and GB&I to cut to Hecuba and just announce all Walker Cuppers have to be above 25.
Yes, indeed. Just because you don't play for prize money outright doesn't make you an amateur. And the USGA its own self recognized this until some time in the 1950s(?) IIRC.