England trio Barclay Brown, John Gough and Jack Bigham have been selected to play for Great Britain & Ireland against the USA in the Walker Cup on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 September.
Barclay Brown (left), John Gough (centre), Jack Bigham (right)
The three youngsters are part of the 10-man squad for the 49th Walker Cup match at St Andrews, with the biennial encounter taking place over the Old Course, marking 100 years since it was first played at the home of golf.
GB&I is bidding to win the famous trophy for the first time since 2015 when it secured a 16½-9½ victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Barclay Brown has enjoyed another impressive year, following his appearance at The Open at St Andrews in 2022. He qualified for this year’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club and also came 4th at the end of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season. His NCAA success solidified his position as an ‘All-American’ – an annual honour bestowed upon an amateur athlete from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport.
The 22-year-old, who featured in the last Walker Cup, said: “It’s great. I loved the last one, it was an awesome experience. I played at St Andrews last summer in The Open so I know it’s going to be great when there’s an event on and it’s going to be particularly special.
“Regardless of how strong the USA team is, we have a good team too and anything can happen in match play. We probably gave them a better run over there than we thought and we fell just short. We’ve got a very good chance of winning. We’ll have the crowd this time and maybe the golf course advantage too, so it’s going to be fun.”
John Gough has thoroughly impressed in 2023, including wins at the Australian Master of the Amateur in January and the Irish Men’s Amateur Open in May. The 24-year-old said: “It’s great to be selected – it’s the pinnacle of amateur golf for GB&I players as well as USA players, so I’m thrilled to have my name in that team.
“When I found out, we were getting ready to go back to the airport from the US Amateur Championship and Stuart Wilson (captain) gave me a call. It was a pretty nice phone call to get! Obviously I was delighted, I had my brother and my dad there with me. My brother, having played in it before, was pumped for me!
“The course is going to be a big challenge but we’re all up for it and looking forward to giving ourselves a go at bringing that trophy back.”
Jack Bigham, 19, said: “I was hoping I’d be in, but to actually be told I was in the squad, I couldn’t really believe it, especially with it being at St Andrews. You never know if the opportunity might come about again so I was over the moon. It’s always been a goal of mine.
“In my first year of college, I didn’t start off great and then this spring, I played well. My team, Florida State, made it to the NCAA Finals so playing well out there gave me a lot of confidence for when I came back to the UK. I started off with a tied-12th at the St Andrews Links Trophy but my best result was at the European Amateur Championship where I was tied-4th (and just three shots back of the winner). That gave me a lot of confidence and boosted my chances of Walker Cup selection.
“The whole year has been really consistent for me which has been nice. I’d obviously like to say thanks to my parents who have always taken time out to take me to events growing up. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am.”
Asked about taking on the USA, Jack added: “It’s going to be a challenge but with the group of guys we have, we’re going to fight right till the end, so it’ll be good, and I think we can get it done.”
18-year-old Tyler Weaver, who has won the Carris Trophy, finished runner-up at the English Amateur Championship, and won the Home Internationals with England in recent months, is named as a reserve.
Stuart Wilson, GB&I captain, said, “We have selected 10 players who we believe will give us the best chance of regaining the Walker Cup. This is their opportunity to perform on the biggest stage in amateur golf and have their name written alongside some of the greatest names in the history of the sport by winning the Walker Cup. There is arguably no more iconic venue in the world to achieve that feat than on the Old Course in St Andrews. We look forward to the challenge and I know these players will give it their all to win back the trophy in front of a home crowd.”
The GB&I team:
James Ashfield, Wales, Delamere Forest, 22
Jack Bigham, England, Harpenden, 19
Barclay Brown, England, Hallamshire, 22
John Gough, England, The Berkshire, 24
Connor Graham, Scotland, Blairgowrie, 16
Alex Maguire, Ireland, Laytown & Bettystown, 22
Matthew McClean, Ireland, Malone, 30
Liam Nolan, Ireland, Galway, 23
Mark Power, Ireland, Kilkenny, 23
Calum Scott, Scotland, Nairn, 20
Reserves
Tyler Weaver, England, Bury St Edmunds, 18
Caolan Rafferty, Ireland, Dundalk, 30
GB&I is bidding to win the famous trophy for the first time since 2015 when it secured a 16½-9½ victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Barclay Brown has enjoyed another impressive year, following his appearance at The Open at St Andrews in 2022. He qualified for this year’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club and also came 4th at the end of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season. His NCAA success solidified his position as an ‘All-American’ – an annual honour bestowed upon an amateur athlete from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport.
The 22-year-old, who featured in the last Walker Cup, said: “It’s great. I loved the last one, it was an awesome experience. I played at St Andrews last summer in The Open so I know it’s going to be great when there’s an event on and it’s going to be particularly special.
“Regardless of how strong the USA team is, we have a good team too and anything can happen in match play. We probably gave them a better run over there than we thought and we fell just short. We’ve got a very good chance of winning. We’ll have the crowd this time and maybe the golf course advantage too, so it’s going to be fun.”
John Gough has thoroughly impressed in 2023, including wins at the Australian Master of the Amateur in January and the Irish Men’s Amateur Open in May. The 24-year-old said: “It’s great to be selected – it’s the pinnacle of amateur golf for GB&I players as well as USA players, so I’m thrilled to have my name in that team.
“When I found out, we were getting ready to go back to the airport from the US Amateur Championship and Stuart Wilson (captain) gave me a call. It was a pretty nice phone call to get! Obviously I was delighted, I had my brother and my dad there with me. My brother, having played in it before, was pumped for me!
“The course is going to be a big challenge but we’re all up for it and looking forward to giving ourselves a go at bringing that trophy back.”
Jack Bigham, 19, said: “I was hoping I’d be in, but to actually be told I was in the squad, I couldn’t really believe it, especially with it being at St Andrews. You never know if the opportunity might come about again so I was over the moon. It’s always been a goal of mine.
“In my first year of college, I didn’t start off great and then this spring, I played well. My team, Florida State, made it to the NCAA Finals so playing well out there gave me a lot of confidence for when I came back to the UK. I started off with a tied-12th at the St Andrews Links Trophy but my best result was at the European Amateur Championship where I was tied-4th (and just three shots back of the winner). That gave me a lot of confidence and boosted my chances of Walker Cup selection.
“The whole year has been really consistent for me which has been nice. I’d obviously like to say thanks to my parents who have always taken time out to take me to events growing up. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am.”
Asked about taking on the USA, Jack added: “It’s going to be a challenge but with the group of guys we have, we’re going to fight right till the end, so it’ll be good, and I think we can get it done.”
18-year-old Tyler Weaver, who has won the Carris Trophy, finished runner-up at the English Amateur Championship, and won the Home Internationals with England in recent months, is named as a reserve.
Stuart Wilson, GB&I captain, said, “We have selected 10 players who we believe will give us the best chance of regaining the Walker Cup. This is their opportunity to perform on the biggest stage in amateur golf and have their name written alongside some of the greatest names in the history of the sport by winning the Walker Cup. There is arguably no more iconic venue in the world to achieve that feat than on the Old Course in St Andrews. We look forward to the challenge and I know these players will give it their all to win back the trophy in front of a home crowd.”
The GB&I team:
James Ashfield, Wales, Delamere Forest, 22
Jack Bigham, England, Harpenden, 19
Barclay Brown, England, Hallamshire, 22
John Gough, England, The Berkshire, 24
Connor Graham, Scotland, Blairgowrie, 16
Alex Maguire, Ireland, Laytown & Bettystown, 22
Matthew McClean, Ireland, Malone, 30
Liam Nolan, Ireland, Galway, 23
Mark Power, Ireland, Kilkenny, 23
Calum Scott, Scotland, Nairn, 20
Reserves
Tyler Weaver, England, Bury St Edmunds, 18
Caolan Rafferty, Ireland, Dundalk, 30
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: pr@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: pr@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org