U.S. Announces Walker Cup Squad

Tyler Strafaci plays a tee shot during the 2020 U.S. Amateur, which he won to earn an automatic spot on the 2021 U.S. Walker Cup team. Steven Gibbons, USGA

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.

Davis Thompson, shown during the 2021 Walker Cup squad practice in December, is the No. 1 amateur in the world. Photo: Ben Adelberg, USGA

Thompson, out of the University of Georgia, recently established himself as ...