The Walker Cup: Who will make the cut?

GB&I team captain Nigel Edwards and the R&A’s team of selectors are preparing to choose the 10 young amateurs tasked with regaining the Walker Cup from September 12-13.

The team to play at Royal Lytham & St Annes will not be selected until after the English, Scottish and Welsh Amateur Championships, the Home Internationals and the US Amateur – which finishes on August 23.

We’ve chosen five who are certain to go, and five who lead the race to claim the other available spots.

Regular NCG contributor Colin Callandar will also have his say on why these players are the ones to regain the Walker Cup.
‘He’s a gritty match player’ The Certainty

Grant Forrest (Craigielaw, Scotland)

Age: 22

WAGR position: 52

The 2012 Scottish Amateur champion. Runner-up in the Amateur Championship at Carnoustie.

Colin says: Forrest must have impressed the selectors while reaching the final of the recent Amateur Championship and he was a key player in the Scottish team that won the subsequent European Team Championship in Sweden where he won two out of three of his foursomes in partnership with Ewen Ferguson and all three of his singles. Won several times while at college in the States and also at last year’s St Andrews Links Trophy.

The Possible






Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock, Scotland)

Age: 22

WAGR position: 77

2012 Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year. Has impressed in team play, helping Scotland to final of European Men’s Team Championships in 2013.

Colin says: McDonald was arguably a fringe contender until he battled his way through to the semi-finals of The Amateur Championship and then won all three of his foursomes and two out of three of his singles at the European Men’s Team Championship in Sweden. He’s a gritty match player and it should also be noted he was undefeated as his Ayrshire team won the Scottish Areas Championship earlier this season at Blairgowrie. It may – or may not – also be significant that he was a team-mate of Sharvin’s at Stirling University.

Click here to discover our final pair of Walker Cup hopefuls.