The R&A today unveiled its squad of 19 players who are in contention for a place in the Great Britain and Ireland team to play the United States in the 49th Walker Cup at St Andrews.
The biennial encounter will be played over the world-renowned Old Course in September (2-3), marking 100 years since the match was first played at the Home of Golf.
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.
FULL SQUAD
• James Ashfield (21, Delamere Forest, Wales)
• Matthew McClean (29, Malone, Ireland)
• Josh Berry (17, Doncaster, England)
• Robert Moran (23, Castle, Ireland)
• Barclay Brown (21, Hallamshire, England)
• Liam Nolan (22, Galway, Ireland)
• Archie Davies (21, Carlisle, Wales)
• Peter O’Keeffe (41, Douglas, Ireland)
• Arron Edwards-Hill (23, Chelmsford, England)
• Mark Power (22, Kilkenny, Ireland)
• Hugh Foley (25, Royal Dublin, Ireland)
• 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)
“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.”
Eight players in the squad made up the victorious GB&I team which defeated the Continent of Europe in the St Andrews Trophy earlier this year, including Hallamshire’s Barclay Brown and Ireland’s Mark Power, who are aiming to compete in their second Walker Cup having played at Seminole last year.
Ireland’s Matthew McClean, who became only the second player from outside of the United States of America to win the US Mid-Amateur Championship, will also be bidding to make the team.
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. The youngest player named is 16-year-old Connor Graham, The R&A Junior Open champion from Perthshire.
The selectors have also included the bulk of the England Boys squad who have made great strides last year.
Josh Berry (Doncaster), Dylan Shaw-Radford (Huddersfield), Frank Kennedy (Trump National Jupiter), Harley Smith (The Rayleigh Club), and Tyler Weaver (Bury St Edmunds) are still only 17 while Josh Hill (Trump International Dubai) is 18.
The final ten-man team will be announced in August.