HISTORY OF THE MATCH THAT WAS CONCEIVED AT HOYLAKE IN 1921 AND RETURNS FOR THE SECOND TME IN 2019
Walker Cup
The
LIAM CONNOLLY CONTINUES HIS
IN PARTS ONE AND TWO I covered the 23 matches spanning 1922 to 1971. In that time Great Britain and Ireland recorded just two victories: at St Andrews in 1938 and again in 1971. These were lean pickings indeed, and a halved Match in 1965 at Baltimore Country Club was the closest GB&I came to victory on American soil in that period. The phrase “it’s not the winning, it’s
the taking part that counts” could have been written for The Walker Cup - and especially for the GB&I teams. After the
inaugural Match at the National
Golf Links of America, Jess Sweetser observed, “The spirit of the Walker Cup is amateurism at its peak.” That
said, the Americans enjoyed
the benefits that came with the college golf system, financial backing, and large numbers of players from which to select, many of whom were more or less full time golfers. By contrast, GB&I hopefuls had no collegiate golf, and were only part-time career amateurs belonging to a small pool of players who often did not have the necessary financial resources. Despite
this imbalance the Walker
Cup continued, and the indomitable spirit of the GB&I players, captains and selectors began to pay dividends, while the Matches themselves continued to epitomise all that is great about the game of golf. Jack Nicklaus summed up his own experiences like this: “I
28 ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB MAGAZINE 2018–2019
stopped looking back on it, not only because the Match changed me from a good junior into a good golfer, but also because that whole week at Muirfield - the preparation for the Match as well as the Match itself - personified sport at its best, people at their best, the world at its best.” Against this background let’s begin my
exploration of Matches 24 to 35, from 1973 to 1995.
Match 24: 1973, COUNTRY CLUB, BROOKLINE, USA. The Match marked the final Walker Cup appearance of Michael Bonallack. Scot Charlie Green was also on the team. The US team included Vinny Giles III (winner of the 1975 Amateur championship
Left: Peachtree Golf Club
singles to finish the day just one point adrift at 5½ to 6½. The foursomes on day 2 went 3½ to ½ to the US, the singles were shared, giving the US 7½ to 4½ points on day 2. The overall Match result was US 14, GB&I 10. The Match was notable in that it was the first time a Club in the USA hosted the Walker Cup on more than one occasion. Brookline lost $9000 on the Match but Elmer Cappers states in the Club’s history, “There was such an aura of ‘good feeling’ about the whole performance that not even the most parsimonious member was heard to grumble.”
at Hoylake) and Dick have never
Siderowf (winner of the 1973 and 1976 Amateur championships at Porthcawl and St Andrews). The course was set up with narrow fairways and small greens. In the morning foursomes on day 1 the US won 3½ to ½. GB&I rallied in the
Match 25: 1975, ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND. The US team included such talented players as Curtis Strange, Craig Stadler, Jerry Pate and Bill Campbell who had played in his first match 24 years earlier. The GB&I team included Mark James, Charlie Green, George Macgregor and Irishman Pat Mulcaire from the Ballybunion
club. The US won the
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