The first Walker Cup was held between teams representing the United States and Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) at National Golf Links in 1922. Several countries were contacted to send teams to the proposed competition but only GB&I responded. The matches are held biennially and have been played on some of the best golf courses in the world.
Great Britain & Ireland, unlike the Ryder Cup that took its format from the Walker Cup, has never expanded their team to include all of Europe. This is perhaps one of the reasons the U.S. leads the series 34-8 with the 1965 Walker Cup ending in a tie.
The teams are composed of the 10 best amateur players and making a Walker Cup team is a big reward for top amateur golfers.
GB&I is coming off one of its biggest wins ever at the 2011 Walker Cup held at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club.
The 2011 U.S. Walker Cup team included several names that today comprise the best young talent on the PGA Tour. It was even compared to the Dream Team and hailed as the best American Walker Cup team of all time.
Patrick Cantlay, Harris English, Russel Henley, Patrick Rodgers and Peter Uihlein were all members of the 2011 team, but when the dust settled GB&I had squeaked out a 14-12 win.
Even though GB&I has a limited pool from which to draw players, since 1989 they have won six of the 12 Walker Cup matches.
The 2013 Walker Cup will be played at one of the finest golf courses in the United States. National Golf Links was designed by famed golf architect C.B. MacDonald and hosted the first Walker Cup in 1922. It is located on Long Island surrounded by Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and Sebonack.
MacDonald had been schooled in St. Andrews and set out to build one of the preeminent golf courses in the world. National Golf Links opened in 1911, is a very exclusive private club and has never hosted a major championship.
The 2013 Walker Cup matches will be contested on Saturday, Sep. 7, and Sunday, Sep. 8. Four foursome matches will open play on Saturday morning with eight singles matches in the afternoon.
Four foursome matches will again be played on Sunday morning and all players will compete in 10 singles matches in afternoon play.
Golf Channel will air coverage of the Walker Cup both days from 4-6 PM ET.
Remember the names of these young players. The U.S. team is once again loaded with young talent that will be finding their way to the top of professional leaderboards in the near future.