news-engine

Stuart Grehan, the Amateur champion, will be the lone Irishman on the Great Britain and Ireland team which will seek to end a dominant spell of victories by the United States when the Walker Cup match is played at Lahinch Golf Club in Co Clare on September 5th and 6th. In the team announced by captain Dean Robertson, the former European Tour player, Grehan is one of six players who were part of the losing team at Cypress Point a year ago to earn selection, while Jack Whaley’s brilliant win in the US Amateur championship at Merion last weekend has earned him selection and would appear to have resulted in Roscommon’s Thomas Higgins falling down to first reserve. The 10-man team is dominated by English players – including world number two ranked Tyler Weaver, who hasn’t played competitive golf since April due to injury, along with Luke Poulter, Eliot Baker, Ben Bolton, Sam Easterbrook, Josh Hill and Whaley – along with two Scots, Niall Shiels Donegan and Connor Graham, and Grehan. Higgins is unlucky to lose out, though. He was instrumental in Ireland’s win in the European Team Championship in Estonia last month, as well as Ireland’s success in the R&A Home Internationals in the combined men’s and women’s team championship, and only last week captured the AIG Irish Close championship title. A graduate of Clemson University, he is now set to move on to pursue a professional career. READ MORE Fota Island’s David Howard, who emerged through regional and final qualifying to play in the Open at Royal Birkdale, was named as second reserve. Robertson had to make one of those difficult phone calls in his role as captain to let Higgins know that he had missed out. “I spoke to Thomas at length on the phone, and he was brilliant. He had a brilliant year. He stood up and he won the Europeans for Ireland in Estonia. He makes more birdies than any of the other player in the team, but he offsets that with a lot of bogeys as well, and that’s why the likes of Josh Hill just gets in ahead of him. “But I do think he’s going to have a fabulous career. He is already able to do all the great things [and] once he starts to improve in areas like maybe a little bit more rhythm on the golf course. He can take a little bit of excessive time and maybe indecision in short selection or commitment. These are things we spoke about or I gave my feedback, and he agreed with all of it, and we had a lovely conversation, and he was absolutely class,” said Robertson of the difficult conversation. Grehan is a former professional who regained amateur status with spectacular results, with his win in the Amateur championship at Royal Liverpool in June earning him invitations to next year’s Masters and US Open. At 33, he will be the oldest and most experienced player on the team. “We’ve got a three-time Walker Cupper in 19-year-old Connor Graham, so he can move alongside the likes of Pádraig Harrington that’s played three Walker Cups. Stuart Grehan and also Tyler, Eliot, Niall and Luke are going to become two-time Walker Cuppers. We have collectively a whole lot of experience, but Stuart being 33 and the old one and winning the Amateur this year and being in Ireland, he’s going to be a real leader for the GB&I team, and I couldn’t be more proud to have him as that, and I’m sure he’ll rise to the occasion,” said Robertson. “We are pumped to have the [two] Amateur champions in the GB&I roster [Grehan and Whaley], and also, irrespective of the fact that the Irish are not represented more than Stuart, that won’t hold them back. They are the best support, and they are an 11th man.” As for Weaver’s lack of competitive play through the summer, opting to miss last week’s US Amateur to prioritise the Walker Cup, Robertson said he had no concerns about his fitness. Without a win in the match since 2015 at Royal Lytham and St Annes, Robertson has left no stone unturned in his bid to claim victory on this occasion, even seeking out the advice of former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley. The squad have already had a camp at Lahinch and Robertson plans on getting his team together for a two-day session in Ballybunion ahead of moving on to Lahinch, a links which he believes will provide a suitable setting for the Walker Cup. “Lahinch is a masterpiece. It is an incredible match play golf course ... anyone who’s got a two- or three-shot lead going into the last six holes are not safe. In terms of being an equaliser, one thing you can’t buy is experience. Within our team we’ve got a lot of experience behind us, and we’ll do our utmost to help these young players bring their best games to Lahinch,” said Robertson. A limited number of tickets for the two-day match – which features morning foursomes and afternoon singles on each day – are available at www.randa.org. GB&I team Eliot Baker, England, Tiverton, 23 Ben Bolton, England, Enville, 19 Sam Easterbrook, England, Olton, 21 Connor Graham, Scotland, Blairgowrie, 19 Stuart Grehan, Ireland, County Louth, 33 Josh Hill, England, Fox Den, 22 Luke Poulter, England, Woburn, 22 Niall Sheils Donegan, Scotland, Meadow Club, 21 Tyler Weaver, England, Bury St Edmunds, 21 Jack Whaley, England, Rotherham, 22 Reserves Thomas Higgins, Ireland, Roscommon, 23 David Howard, Ireland, Fota Island, 27 Captain: Dean Robertson, Scotland