2011 Walker Cup
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| Dates | 10–11 September 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Royal Aberdeen Golf Club | ||||
| Location | Aberdeen, Scotland | ||||
| Captains |
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| Great Britain & Ireland wins the Walker Cup | |||||
The 43rd Walker Cup Match was played on 10 and 11 September 2011 at the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. Team Great Britain and Ireland won 14 to 12.[1][2][3]
Format
[edit]On Saturday, there are four matches of foursomes in the morning and eight singles matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, there are again four matches of foursomes in the morning, followed by ten singles matches (involving every player) in the afternoon. In all, 26 matches are played.
Each of the 26 matches is worth one point in the larger team competition. If a match is all square after the 18th hole extra holes are not played. Rather, each side earns ½ a point toward their team total. The team that accumulates at least 13½ points wins the competition. In the event of a tie, the previous winner retains the Cup.
Course
[edit]The matches were played on the Balgownie Links of the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Aberdeen, Scotland, which is a par 71 course. The club was founded in 1780, and is the sixth-oldest golf club in the world. The club moved to the Balgownie Links in 1888, and has hosted a number of Scottish tournaments (including the Boys Amateur Championship) and the 2005 Senior British Open Championship.[4] The club has one other course, named the Silverburn.
Teams
[edit]Ten players for the US and Great Britain & Ireland participated in the event plus one non-playing captain for each team.
 Team USA | |||||
| Name | Rank | Age | Hometown | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Holtgrieve | 63 | St. Louis, Missouri | non-playing captain | ||
| Blayne Barber | 51 | 21 | Lake City, Florida | Won 2009 Florida State Amateur; member 2011 Palmer Cup team | |
| Patrick Cantlay | 1 | 19 | Los Alamitos, California | Low amateur at 2011 U.S. Open | |
| Harris English | 6 | 22 | Thomasville, Georgia | Won 2011 Children's Hospital Invitational | |
| Russell Henley | 20 | 22 | Macon, Georgia | Won 2011 Stadion Classic; tied low amateur at 2010 U.S. Open | |
| Kelly Kraft | 12 | 22 | Dallas, Texas | Won 2011 U.S. Amateur | |
| Patrick Rodgers | 3 | 18 | Avon, Indiana | Won 2011 Porter Cup | |
| Nathan Smith | 108 | 33 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur winner; played 2009 Walker Cup | |
| Jordan Spieth | 2 | 18 | Dallas, Texas | Won 2009 and 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur | |
| Peter Uihlein | 4 | 21 | Orlando, Florida | Won 2010 U.S. Amateur; played 2009 Walker Cup | |
| Chris Williams | 10 | 20 | Moscow, Idaho | Qualified for 2011 U.S. Open, won 2011 Pacific Coast Amateur | |
 &  Team Great Britain & Ireland | ||||
| Name | Rank | Age | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nigel Edwards | 43 | Caerphilly, Wales | non-playing captain | |
 Steven Brown | 23 | 24 | Wentworth, England | Won 2011 English Amateur |
 James Byrne | 66 | 22 | Banchory, Scotland | Runner-up in 2010 Amateur Championship |
 Paul Cutler | 24 | 22 | Portstewart, Northern Ireland | Won 2010 Lytham Trophy, 2011 Irish Amateur Close and West of Ireland |
| Alan Dunbar | 216 | 21 | Rathmore, County Antrim, Northern Ireland | Won 2010 Irish Amateur Open and Northern Ireland Amateur |
| Stiggy Hodgson | 33 | 21 | Sunningdale, England | Runner-up at 2011 Spanish Amateur; played 2009 Walker Cup |
| Tom Lewis | 7 | 20 | Welwyn Garden City, England | Low amateur at 2011 Open Championship, led after first round |
| Rhys Pugh | 75 | 17 | Vale of Glamorgan, Wales | Won 2011 Irish Amateur Open |
| Jack Senior | 11 | 23 | Heysham, England | Won 2011 Lytham Trophy |
| Michael Stewart | 14 | 21 | Troon, Scotland | Runner-up in 2011 Amateur Championship |
| Andy Sullivan | 5 | 24 | Nuneaton, England | Won 2011 Scottish Stroke Play; runner-up in 2011 Brabazon Trophy |
Note: World Amateur Golf Ranking as of 4 September 2011.
Saturday's matches
[edit]Morning foursomes
[edit] &  | Results |  |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis/Stewart |   2 and 1 | Uihlein/English |
| Senior/Sullivan | 2 and 1 | Henley/Kraft |
| Cutler/Dunbar | 5 and 4 | Smith/Barber |
| Brown/Hodgson |  5 and 3 | Cantlay/Williams |
| 3 | Foursomes | 1 |
| 3 | Overall | 1 |
Afternoon singles
[edit]| & | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Lewis | 2 and 1 | Peter Uihlein |
| Jack Senior | 3 and 2 | Jordan Spieth |
| Andy Sullivan | 2 and 1 | Harris English |
| Rhys Pugh | 2 and 1 | Patrick Rodgers |
| Steven Brown | 1 up | Russell Henley |
| James Byrne | 2 and 1 | Nathan Smith |
| Paul Cutler | 2 and 1 | Kelly Kraft |
| Michael Stewart | 2 and 1 | Patrick Cantlay |
| 4 | Singles | 4 |
| 7 | Overall | 5 |
Sunday's matches
[edit]Morning foursomes
[edit]| & | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis/Stewart | halved | Spieth/Rodgers |
| Senior/Sullivan | 3 and 2 | Uihlein/English |
| Cutler/Dunbar | 2 and 1 | Kraft/Barber |
| Byrne/Pugh | 5 and 3 | Cantlay/Williams |
| 3½ | Foursomes | ½ |
| 10½ | Overall | 5½ |
Afternoon singles
[edit]| & | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Lewis | 4 and 2 | Russell Henley |
| Andy Sullivan | 3 and 2 | Jordan Spieth |
| Jack Senior | halved | Nathan Smith |
| Michael Stewart | 3 and 2 | Patrick Rodgers |
| Stiggy Hodgson | 2 and 1 | Peter Uihlein |
| Steven Brown | halved | Blayne Barber |
| Rhys Pugh | 2 and 1 | Kelly Kraft |
| Alan Dunbar | 1 up | Chris Williams |
| James Byrne | 2 and 1 | Harris English |
| Paul Cutler | halved | Patrick Cantlay |
| 3½ | Singles | 6½ |
| 14 | Overall | 12 |
References
[edit]- ^ Britain & Ireland wins Walker Cup
- ^ "GB&I beat USA at Royal Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- ^ "Great Britain and Ireland defeat US thanks to Jack Senior service". Daily Telegraph. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- ^ "Royal Aberdeen Golf Club History". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.