Galway’s Liam Nolan is among six Irish players in contention for the Great Britain & Ireland team to play the United States in next year’s Walker Cup.
The biennial encounter takes place at St. Andrews in September, and the final 10-man team will be announced in August 2023.
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The R&A have announced a squad of 19 players, including six Irish players, who are in contention for selection in the Great Britain and Ireland team to play the United States of America in the 49th Walker Cup at St Andrews.
The trio of Irish players selected for the 2022 World Amateur Team Championships, Mark Power (22, Kilkenny), Robert Moran (23, Castle) and US Mid-Amateur Open Champion Matthew McClean (29, Malone) are all included. 2022 Bridgestone Tour Winner Hugh Foley (25, Royal Dublin), Liam Nolan (22, Galway) and Peter O’Keeffe (41, Douglas) complete the Irish line up.
The biennial encounter will be played over the world-renowned Old Course on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 September 2023, marking 100 years since the match was first played at the Home of Golf.
GB&I is aiming to win back the trophy after narrowly losing 14-12 to the United States of America at Seminole last year.
Stuart Wilson, GB&I captain, said, “We have selected a talented group of players who are key to our preparations for the Walker Cup and share our determination to win back the trophy from the United States of America.
“We will be getting together in St Andrews so that the players can really get to grips with the Old Course, understand its subtleties and learn from those individuals who have vast experience of the links.
“Our aim is to select a team which will give us the best chance of winning the match next year. In that regard, we will continue to monitor the players’ performances in amateur events over the coming months and provide them with support and advice. There is also still time for golfers not included in the squad to play their way into our plans and we will be keeping a close eye on their results too.”
Mark Power will be hoping to make the Walker Cup team for the second time, alongside Barclay Brown after they were selected for the match at Seminole in 2021.
Eight players, including Power, were in the squad that made up the victorious GB&I team which defeated the Continent of Europe in the St Andrews Trophy earlier this year.
Scotland’s Calum Scott and England’s John Gough will hope to follow in the footsteps of brothers Sandy and Conor, who both played in the match at Royal Liverpool in 2019, by earning selection for the final GB&I team. Connor Graham, The R&A Junior Open champion from Perthshire, is also included in the squad.
The final ten-man team will be announced in August.
More information on the Walker Cup can be found here: Walker Cup (randa.org).
The players included in the GB&I squad are:
- Players Selected
- Hugh Foley (25, Royal Dublin, Ireland)
- Liam Nolan (22, Galway, Ireland)
- Mark Power (22, Kilkenny, Ireland)
- Matthew McClean (29, Malone, Ireland)
- Robert Moran (23, Castle, Ireland)
- Peter O’Keeffe (41, Douglas, Ireland)
- James Ashfield (21, Delamere Forest, Wales)
- Josh Berry (17, Doncaster, England)
- Robert Moran (23, Castle, Ireland)
- Barclay Brown (21, Hallamshire, England)
- Archie Davies (21, Carlisle, Wales)
- Arron Edwards-Hill (23, Chelmsford, England)
- Dylan Shaw-Radford (17, Huddersfield, England)
- Connor Graham (16, Blairgowrie, Scotland)
- Calum Scott (19, Nairn, Scotland)
- John Gough (24, Beaconsfield, England)
- Harley Smith (17, The Rayleigh Club, England)
- Josh Hill (18, Trump International Dubai, England)
- Tyler Weaver (17, Bury St Edmunds, England)
- Frank Kennedy (17, Trump National Jupiter, England)
