Elite amateurs battle for Walker Cup this weekend

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-09-11

OK, consider this a pop quiz.

What’s the name of the men’s amateur golf tournament in which names like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bob Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey and Luke Donald have competed in and wouldn’t have missed out on the opportunity?

I’m guessing the name “Walker Cup” won’t come immediately to mind, even though this biennial event has been contested since 1919.

But this amateur version of the Ryder Cup is an important one on the calendars of the elite amateurs from the United States and the Great Britain & Ireland teams.

How important? Well, in Walker Cup years, the best amateurs – usually the collegians – wait until they found if they’re on the team before making a decision on turning pro.

Rickie Fowler, considered by many as the best collegiate in the country this year, could have turned professional at any point during the summer, but said all along that wouldn’t happen until after the Ryder Cup. And the kid from Oklahoma State lost a Nationwide Tour event in a playoff a month ago. He was playing on a sponsor’s exemption.

But his wait is over, or at least it will be Sunday evening. The 10-man teams have gathered in Ardmore, Pa. this week at the historic Merion Golf Club and will compete in foursomes and singles matches Saturday and Sunday. Even though much of the attention at this time of year is on football, coverage of the matches can be seen from 4-6 p.m. (eastern) on the Golf Channel.

The teams will be captained by the same men who were at the helm in 2007: Buddy Marucci for the U.S. and Colin Dalgleish of Scotland for GB&I. Marucci played in the event several times, including 1995 when the matches were held at Royal Porthcawl in Ireland.

One of his teammates that year was Woods, who was still a couple years away from setting professional golf on its collective ear. At one point during the matches, Woods turned to Marucci and said, “I don’t mind if I lose for myself. But I can’t stand losing for anybody else."

Amateur players play team events more than the professionals, but it’s still a step away from the norm of stroke-play events at most tournaments. The uniqueness of team match play and the opportunity to represent your country makes a week like this very special.

The American team has certainly found the competition to be enjoyable. United States owns a 33-7-1 advantage in the event and that includes the GB&I team having won four of the last seven matches. The USA, however, has won the last two matches by identical scores, 12½ to 11½.

Unlike the Ryder Cup, which features well-known professionals from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, players in the Walker Cup are much closer to be relative unknowns than well-knowns. And, in the U.S., there’s not a great deal familiarity with the GB&I youngsters.

“We are under no illusions about how good the Great Britain and Ireland team is,” said Marucci, who gave up an opportunity to defend his Senior Amateur title because it’s played at the same time as the Walker Cup. No disrespect to them or their captain, but our focus is not on our opponent but playing the golf course. If we concentrate our energies on how we want to play the course, we should be fine.”

While playing in the United States makes this a home game for the Americans, it’s really a home game for Marucci, who is a member at prestigious Merion.

“Merion is unique,” Marucci said. “Every shot requires thought. It’s challenging. There are a lot of very difficult golf courses, but there’s always someplace where you can kind of go. But that doesn’t happen here. The minute you stand on the first tee, you have to think about everything you are doing. And that doesn’t mean you have to hit it extremely far. You have to hit a certain kind of shot and if you don’t hit that shot, you are going to be penalized. And if you do hit that shot, you will be rewarded. I think that’s probably the best attribute of a great golf course.”

Merion, with its’ signature wicker baskets on the pins instead of flags, is a precision golf course that has a stretch of seven holes that average 300 yards from the championship tees. But length won’t decide the Walker Cup.

The team that keeps the ball out of Merion’s gnarly rough and finds a way to solve the mysteries of the greens take possession of the Walker Cup on Sunday night.

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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf. He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com. Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August. The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.

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