ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The R&A today announced the Great Britain and Ireland Team for the Walker Cup Match against the USA that will be contested Sept. 7-8 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y.
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Nigel Edwards, captain of the GB&I team, said, We believe we have selected a strong team which includes some of the best amateur players in the world. The players have all competed at the highest levels of the amateur game and will relish the challenge of facing the Americans on their home soil.
There will be some who are disappointed not to make the team but it is the job of the selectors to carefully consider the players available and select the strongest team they can. We are very much looking forward to what promises to be a great match next month.
The GB&I team:
Matthew Fitzpatrick, 18, of Hallamshire, Yorkshire, England
Nathan Kimsey, 20, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England
Gavin Moynihan, 18, The Island, Dublin, Ireland
Max Orrin, 19, North Foreland, Kent, England
Kevin Phelan, 22, Waterford Castle, County Waterford, Ireland
Garrick Porteous, 23, Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, England
Rhys Pugh, 19, Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Neil Raymond, 27, Corhampton, Hampshire, England
Callum Shinkwin, 20, Moor Park, Hertfordshire, England
Jordan Smith, 20, Bowood, Wiltshire, England.
Reserves:
Greg Eason, 21, Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, England.
Ryan Evans, 26, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England.
Captain:
Nigel Edwards, 45, Whitchurch, Cardiff, Wales.
Player information:
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick won the Silver Medal as the leading amateur at The Open Championship at Muirfield and became the first Englishman since 1911 to win the U.S. Amateur Championship with a 4-and-3 victory over Australian Oliver Goss in the 36-hole final. The 2012 Boys Amateur Champion reached the final of the English Amateur Championship where he lost to Callum Shinkwin. Fitzpatrick will play collegiate golf at Northwestern University beginning this fall.
Nathan Kimsey
Kimsey represented England in the 2012 Men’s Home Internationals and became the first English player in 15 years to win all six matches. This year, he finished tied third at the Brabazon Trophy, tied second at the St Andrews Links Trophy and also enjoyed top ten finishes in the Scottish Stroke Play Championship and the Lytham Trophy. He was a member of the winning English team at the European Men’s Team Championships in Denmark.
Gavin Moynihan
Moynihan became the youngest player to play in the Irish Open in June. The 2012 Irish Amateur Open Champion finished joint runner-up in this year’s event at Royal Dublin. The former Junior Ryder Cup player represented Ireland in the European Men’s Team Championships in Denmark. He represented Ireland in the recent Men’s Home Internationals at Ganton.
Max Orrin
Orrin was a member of the winning England team at the European Men’s Team Championships in Denmark in July. He reached the semifinal of the Amateur Championship at Royal Cinque Ports, where he is a member, and finished tied second in the St Andrews Links Trophy. Orrin reached the second round of the recent U.S. Amateur Championship. He won the Titleist Footjoy Boys Order of Merit in 2012 as the leading English player.
Kevin Phelan
Phelan played in his second U.S. Open at Merion in June and made the cut finishing tied 62nd. Phelan is currently studying at the University of North Florida. He won his first collegiate tournament earlier this year and played on the European Palmer Cup Team, which lost to the USA at Wilmington (Del.) Country Club, Delaware. He represented Ireland in the recent Men’s Home Internationals at Ganton.
Garrick Porteous
Porteous won the Amateur Championship at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal this past June and secured a place in The Open Championship at Muirfield, a place in next year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club and a traditional invitation to the Masters. This year, he won the Scottish Stroke Play Championship at Southerness and was runner-up at the Welsh Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship. He was sixth in the European Nations Cup.
Rhys Pugh
Pugh was a member of the victorious GB&I Walker Cup team in 2011, where he won all three of his matches. The Welshman played in this year’s Open Championship at Muirfield after securing a place by winning the 2012 European Amateur Championship in Dublin. Pugh also played in the Irish Open on the European Tour and won the Welsh Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship at Royal Porthcawl. He played in the recent U.S. Amateur Championship where he reached the first round of match play. In 2009, at the age of 15, he became the youngest player to represent Wales at the Men’s Home Internationals.
Neil Raymond
Raymond won the St Andrews Links Trophy this year over the Old and Jubilee courses at St Andrews. He lost in the quarter final of the Amateur Championship at Royal Cinque Ports to eventual champion Garrick Porteous. He performed well at the Brabazon and Lytham trophies with top 20 finishes in both events and was runner-up in the Spanish Amateur Championship in February. Raymond reached the quarterfinals of the recent U.S. Amateur Championship at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. He shared medalist honors with Brady Watt, of Australia.
Callum Shinkwin
Shinkwin won the English Amateur Championship at Frilford Heath in August with a victory over Matthew Fitzpatrick in the 36-hole final. He made his England debut against France last year and was a member of the winning English team in the European Men’s Team Championships and the Men’s Home Internationals at Ganton. Shinkwin won the South American Amateur Championship in Colombia in January and finished tied second at the Scottish Stroke Play Championship.
Jordan Smith
Smith won the Brabazon Trophy in June by four shots from Ireland’s Brian Casey. A good season has seen him finish eighth in the St Andrews Links Trophy, tied ninth in the French Amateur Championship, tied fifth in the Spanish Amateur Championship and tied seventh in the Portuguese International Amateur Championships. Smith is currently ranked 17th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.