2017 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team Announced

2017 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team includes the Amateur champion, the Open Silver Medallist and European Amateur champion, and the Lytham Trophy winner

2017 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team Announced

The 2017 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team has been announced for the 46th match at Los Angeles Country Club next month.

GB&I will be aiming to defend the trophy after securing a 16½-9½ victory in the 2015 match at Royal Lytham & St Annes; their biggest winning margin since the match was first played in 1922.

A 10 player team and two reserves have been named for the 2017 match, with five Englishmen featuring alongside two Scots, two Welshmen and one player from Ireland.

The GB&I team includes The Amateur champion Harry Ellis, the Silver Medal Winner at The Open and European Amateur champion Alfie Plant, the Lytham Trophy champion Jack Singh Brar and the winner of the St Andrews Links Trophy Matthew Jordan.

Related: 8 things you didn’t know about Alfie Plant

Last year’s Amateur champion Scott Gregory is joined in the team by the man he defeated in the final – Robert MacIntyre.

Craig Watson, who will be captaining the GB&I team for the first time in the match, said, “We have been very impressed with the performances of many of the GB&I players so far this season and it has been a difficult decision to select only ten players.

“The Walker Cup match is one of the highlights of the golfing calendar and a tremendous opportunity for the players to shine on such a big stage.

The Americans will be determined not to lose two matches in a row but we have selected a strong team and I’m sure the players will give it their all to try to retain the trophy.”

The 2017 GB&I Walker Cup Team:

David Boote, 23, Walton Heath, Wales

Jack Davidson, 20, Llanwern, Wales

Harry Ellis, 21, Meon Valley, England

Scott Gregory, 22, Corhampton, England

Matthew Jordan, 21, Royal Liverpool, England

Paul McBride, 21, The Island, Ireland

Robert MacIntyre, 21, Glencruitten, Scotland

Alfie Plant, 25, Sundridge Park, England

Jack Singh Brar, 20, Remedy Oak, England

Connor Syme, 22, Drumoig, Scotland

Reserves:

1st Conor O’Rourke, 26, Naas, Ireland

2nd Craig Howie, 22, Peebles, Scotland

Captain:

Craig Watson, 51, East Renfrewshire, Scotland

2017 GB&I Walker Cup Team – Player bios:

David Boote

Boote played in last year’s GB&I St Andrews Trophy team and achieved top ten finishes at both the St Andrews Links Trophy and the Brabazon Trophy this season. The Stanford graduate lost out in a seven-man play-off at the US Open sectional qualifying event at Walton Heath and then in a play-off in Final Qualifying for The Open at Royal Cinque Ports.

Jack Davidson

Davidson won the Welsh Amateur Championship and has notched up two wins on Spanish soil this season, capturing the Spanish Amateur Championship and the individual event at the European Nations Cup. He achieved third place finishes at the South American Amateur Championships in Buenos Aires and the Welsh Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship.

Harry Ellis

Ellis, who is studying at Florida State University, bounced back from four holes down with five to play to win The Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s. He was the youngest ever winner of the English Amateur Championship in 2012 at the age of 16 and has gone on to represent England at every level.

Scott Gregory

The 2016 Amateur champion is the highest-ranked GB&I player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking^TM at fifth and played in both the Masters Tournament and the US Open. He represented England in the European Team Championship, winning two of his matches and halving the other.

Matthew Jordan

Jordan won this year’s St Andrews Links Trophy, was runner-up at the Scottish Stroke Play Championship, secured top five finishes at the Irish Open Amateur Championship and the Brabazon Trophy and finished sixth in the European Amateur Championship.

Paul McBride

McBride, who is studying at Wake Forest University, was joint runner-up in the individual standings in the European Team Championship and reached the quarter finals of The Amateur Championship. He played all four rounds in last month’s Porsche European Open on the European Tour, finishing on two-under-par.

Robert MacIntyre

The left-handed MacIntyre was runner-up in the 2016 Amateur Championship and was part of the Scotland team which retained last year’s European Team Championship title. This season he finished tied fourth at the European Amateur Championship at Walton Heath and reached the round of 32 at the US Amateur Championship.

Alfie Plant

Plant won the European Amateur Championship to secure his place in The Open at Royal Birkdale where he went on to win the Silver Medal as the leading amateur. He also finished as joint runner-up in the individual standings at the European Team Championship.

Jack Singh Brar

Singh Brar won the Lytham Trophy and finished joint runner-up at the Brabazon Trophy. He also secured a top ten finish at the European Amateur Championship and represented England against Spain.

Connor Syme

The 2016 Australian Amateur Champion was part of the winning Scotland team in the European Team Championship. This season he qualified to play in The Open at Royal Birkdale and reached the quarter final of the US Amateur Championship.

Previous Walker Cup Results:

2015 Royal Lytham & St Annes, GB&I 16 ½ USA 9 ½

2013 The National Golf Links of America, USA 17 GB&I 9

2011 Royal Aberdeen, GB&I 14 USA 12

The 2017 Walker Cup takes place at Los Angeles Country Club from Saturday 9th – Sunday 10 September.

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