The 10 players who will represent the American side in the 2021 Walker Cup two months from now have been named – and there was little surprise or controversy with the selections of who will play at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida.
Four players already had qualified before Monday’s announcement by the USGA’s International Team Selection working group. Tyler Strafaci, a 22-year-old former Georgia Tech standout who plans to turn pro after the Walker Cup, earned a spot by virtue of winning last year’s U.S. Amateur. And the trio of Davis Thompson, Ricky Castillo and John Pak joined Strafaci as automatic qualifiers based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Thompson, out of the University of Georgia, recently established himself as the top amateur in the world and finished one stroke shy of forcing a playoff at the Jones Cup. Castillo, a sophomore at the University of Florida, is a former top-ranked player himself and won twice in the college ranks last year. Pak of Florida State University is No. 1 in the PGA Tour University standings that offer a gateway to the Korn Ferry Tour for college seniors. Pak was a member of the winning American side in the 2019 Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool.
The USGA has dealt with difficult decisions in past Walker Cups beyond the automatic qualifiers – Brandt Snedeker, John Peterson and Sam Burns have been curious omissions from previous teams – but this year provided less drama than usual. Pierceson Coody, the No. 9 amateur in the world who captured last year’s Western Amateur, easily made the team, and the same can be said for mid-amateur stalwart Stewart Hagestad. At least one mid-amateur is selected to play in each Walker Cup and Hagestad is by far the highest-ranked player at age 25 or older. It will be his third consecutive appearance in the biennial team competition against Great Britain & Ireland.
Austin Eckroat, a 22-year-old out of Oklahoma State University, secured his spot when he finished just outside the top 10 in the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic last fall. Quade Cummins, a 24-year-old from the University of Oklahoma, registered eight top-10s in 2020 and appeared on leaderboards in the biggest events of the year. Cummins is the first Sooner to make the U.S. Walker Cup team since Anthony Kim in 2005.
Cole Hammer, the ballyhooed Texas Longhorn, struggled in 2020 but started this year with a win at the South Beach International Amateur and a runner-up at the Jones Cup. Given his Walker Cup experience from 2019, Hammer became impossible to leave off the roster.
“The USA team shares George Herbert Walker’s vision for an international event that embodies the spirit of camaraderie and promotes interest in the game.” – John Bodenhamer
The only doubt for the 10-man team was for the last player to be selected. Ultimately, Pepperdine University’s William Mouw got the nod ahead of Southern Methodist University’s McClure Meissner. It appeared to be a close race between two, as they are ranked right next to each other in the WAGR and have posted similar results in the past year. Mouw and Castillo are both 20 years old, the two youngest players competing for the U.S. side.
The first alternate position went to Meissner, while Oklahoma’s Garrett Reband earned the second alternate. Reband is ranked No. 16 in the world and had been considered likely to make the team in the early stages of 2020, but he played little golf throughout the year and could not join his Sooner teammate Cummins on the team.
“This United States team is a talented group of players who will work together, under Nathaniel Crosby’s leadership, to be competitive against Great Britain & Ireland in this friendly match among some of the world’s leading amateur golfers,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director for championships. “The USA team shares George Herbert Walker’s vision for an international event that embodies the spirit of camaraderie and promotes interest in the game.”
While the Americans hold a 37-9-1 overall record since the event began in 1922, the past three decades have been much more competitive. The U.S. holds a 9-7 advantage since 1989, including wins in the previous two Walker Cups. Great Britain & Ireland has not won on U.S. soil since 2001 at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Georgia. That team was led by Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell.
This year’s U.S. squad will be a particularly heavy favorite compared to previous editions. The Americans enjoy an average WAGR ranking of 12 and have endured fewer issues during the pandemic relating to playing opportunities and travel. The first variable has proven irrelevant much of the time in recent Walker Cups, but it’s unknown what role the second variable will play.
“It is once again a great privilege to serve as the USA captain and to work with a group who represent the best of amateur golf,” said captain Nathaniel Crosby, who in addition to guiding the 2019 victory also played on the winning U.S. team in 1983. “The 10 team members have a notable list of accomplishments on the collegiate, national and international levels. They will represent the United States in the spirit and tradition of the Walker Cup Match.”
The sides will compete May 8-9 in front of a limited gallery for what is typically a boisterous affair. The Walker Cup is contested across two days, with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes matches (also known as alternate shot).