ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND | It’s something of a golf dream.
With less than 48 hours before the Walker Cup makes its return to the Old Course at St. Andrews – its first time hosting in 48 years – the town has been washed over in a sudden spell of uncharacteristically idyllic weather. On Wednesday and Thursday, with U.S. and GB&I team practices having finished in the morning, thousands of shirt-and-shorts-wearing locals and visitors sprawled around the home hole, taking pictures on the Swilcan Bridge, dangling their feet off the Road Hole bunker, holding impromptu contests at the Himalayas putting course and grabbing a quick (or long) pint on the roof of the Rusacks Hotel.
Food trucks line the first fairway, and a row of grandstands lines the 17th green. In each pub, the Walker Cup logo is omnipresent. Everyone wants to know your opinion of the match, and it seems as if all man, woman, child and dog will be present on the first tee Saturday morning when the teams take aim with an iron at the endless fairway before them – unless American Gordon Sargent does as he did in the practice round Wednesday, which is to recklessly launch a driver into the burn fronting the green. The course, as one R&A member explained, is “the greenest it has been in decades for this time of the year.”
The weather is forecast to be cheerful throughout the weekend, the wind being present but reasonable. It’s been 100 years since St. Andrews hosted the second-ever Walker Cup, in 1923, and the energy of all involved have participants and onlookers feeling as if this could be a special week fitting of such a profound anniversary.
“Imagine the scene if the match is close on Sunday afternoon,” one local said.
Whether it will be close is the loud-and-clear storyline on everyone’s mind. The Americans are heavy, heavy favorites, enjoying one of the largest talent advantages we have seen at any recent Walker Cup. The U.S. has an average World Amateur Golf Ranking of eighth, while Great Britain and Ireland’s average is 87th. American captain Mike McCoy and the USGA selection committee left two players off their team who are ranked ahead of GB&I’s best player. Many believe this American side has at least four or five players who could be competitive on the PGA Tour straight away. There may not be anyone in that category on the GB&I team.
For that reason, locals and GB&I supporters are fearful of a lopsided match. McCoy doesn’t expect one, however.
“We all know that we’re expecting a very competitive match,” McCoy said on Thursday afternoon. “We certainly know [the GB&I team] is familiar with the golf course. I played on a losing team over here, so that’s sort of scorched into my mind. We had a good team and got beat pretty handily.
“I don’t think anybody is taking it for granted.”
That losing team was in 2015 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes when McCoy, then 52, qualified as a mid-am. GB&I won easily, 16½-9½, which was the last time it won the Walker Cup.
Recounting the memory of being on the other side, McCoy clearly expressed disgust.
“Well, it hurt a lot,” McCoy said. “We put a lot of effort into making the team, and for me, I was close to making some previous teams. We had a good team. I think what I learned was really our preparation over there, the weather was – the wind was blowing one particular direction, and the day of the match it was blowing twice as hard the other direction. We just found ourselves in bunkers that we didn’t even know were there. It was a mess right from the beginning.
“Our pairings were screwed up, and it was really just – I was pleased we had some different winds this week so the guys got a chance to see the golf course from a couple different directions.”
“I have a ball – I’m not sure exactly how I got it – from the very first Walker Cup here. It’s sat on my nightstand ever since it was announced it was going to be played here.” – Nick Dunlap
McCoy said he has tried to impart that wisdom onto his players, almost all of whom had never stepped foot onto a links course before this past week when they played Dumbarnie, Kingsbarns and now the Old Course. Basically, be prepared for the unexpected.
Other than one of his players, Nick Gabrelcik, who had an ingrown toenail that needed soothing, the preparation has gone smoothly. Several of the American players remarked at how surprised they were about the Old Course’s forgiveness off the tee and ability to do what you want around the greens.
Sargent summed it up succinctly: “The golf course is pretty generous, gives you a side to miss, and if you can keep it out of the bunkers and kind of go from there, you’ll be in a good spot.”
Sleep, on the other hand, is a bit of a struggle. When asked what has surprised him this week, it was the first thing out of his mouth.
“Why we’re tired at 2 p.m., yet at 9:30 it’s hard to fall asleep,” Sargent said. “And probably a little surprised that the weather has been this good. Everyone tells us how bad the weather is, and obviously you prepare for the worst, but fortunate to have some good weather.”
Captain Stuart Wilson and the GB&I contingent don’t have sleep issues or a lack of course familiarity to overcome. But their talent deficit may need to be mitigated by what promises to be an enthusiastic backing.
“The history of the Walker Cup tells us that the United States of America will always be favorites, but certainly since the mid-1990s, home advantage has really come into play,” Wilson said on Thursday afternoon. “It’s just not golf; it’s any sport. Home advantage is a big thing. It’s definitely something we will play on and look to put to our advantage. The guys certainly feel comfortable out there.
“I know there will be a strong contingent visiting from the United States, given the historical connection of the match and that it’s been 100 years since it was first played in St. Andrews, but I’m hoping that there is a strong local crowd as well. I’m sure St. Andrews, Fife and Scotland will come and turn out for it.”
Irishman Liam Nolan, who traveled to Scotland with a throng of supporters from his hometown club in Galway, barely could contain his excitement when talking about playing in front of such large crowds. And he believes the home-course advantage and familiarity with links golf can tip the scales.
“We either grew up on links golf or play it all year long, really,” Nolan said. “We just have to go out and do the exact same things we usually do. With the experience we have in the team and on the golf course, I think that could be enough to get us over the line.”
All of the thousands of hours of practice and competition have led to this moment for players on both sides. It’s the pinnacle of amateur golf, at the home of golf.
There is something noticeable brewing in anticipation of this weekend’s match. And that is the weight of the moment sinking in with everyone who is a part of the Walker Cup. Players talk with wide eyes, almost surprised at the energy surrounding them. You can sense that they are coming to terms with how this will be, to date, the most impactful golf any of them has played.
That sentiment is underscored by a golf ball that U.S. Amateur winner Nick Dunlap has kept back home in Huntsville, Alabama.
“I have a ball – I’m not sure exactly how I got it – from the very first Walker Cup here,” Dunlap said, alluding to a valuable souvenir from the 1923 match. “It’s sat on my nightstand ever since it was announced it was going to be played here.”
All of the thousands of hours of practice and competition have led to this moment for players on both sides. It’s the pinnacle of amateur golf, at the home of golf.
“It’s going to feel a little bit different teeing it up Saturday morning, in a good way,” Dunlap said. “And whenever that flag gets raised, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”