Reigning Amateur Champion Scott Gregory highlights the initial 19-man Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team to face the United States of America at The Los Angeles Country Club in September. The announcement was made by The R&A, which selects the 10-man GB&I side that will be looking to retain the Walker Cup it won in 2015 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. That final selection will take place in August.

The 46th Walker Cup Match is scheduled for Sept. 9-10.

Craig Watson, who will captain the GB&I team in the Walker Cup for the first time, said, “We have identified a strong group of players who are all in contention for a place on the team,” said Craig Watson, who will captain the GB&I side for the first time at Nigel Edwards served in that role for the past three competitions. “And we will be monitoring their performance and results over the coming season.

“We will also pay close attention to the progress and form of players who have not been included in this current squad as they also have the opportunity to play their way into contention for the team selected to play the USA in September.”

Gregory leads a strong English contingent, which includes current Lytham Trophy champion Alfie Plant and English Amateur champion Daniel Brown. Fellow Englishmen Bradley Moore, Marco Penge and James Walker have also been selected.

Robert MacIntyre, who was defeated by Gregory in the final of The Amateur at Royal Porthcawl, joins Craig Howie, Sandy Scott and Connor Syme, his teammates in Scotland’s successful defense of the 2016 European Amateur Team Championship in the squad alongside compatriots Barry Hume and Craig Ross. Hume is a reinstated amateur following a spell in the professional ranks.

Colm Campbell, the current Irish Amateur Open Champion, is joined by Paul McBride, Conor O’Rourke and R&A Foundation scholars Alex Gleeson and Stuart Grehan from Ireland. Gleeson is the Irish Amateur Close Champion, while O’Rourke triumphed in the St Andrews Links Trophy last season. Grehan and McBride were teammates for Ireland at last year’s World Amateur Team Championships in Mexico, where they won a bronze medal.

Two Welshmen have been selected for the squad: David Boote and Owen Edwards. Stanford University graduate Boote excelled for GB&I against the Continent of Europe in the St Andrews Trophy and made significant contributions to the winning European teams in the Sir Michael Bonallack Trophy and the Arnold Palmer Cup. He also was a quarterfinalist in last year’s U.S. Amateur.

The GB&I squad: