reddoor99
Posts 13
|
The U.S. Golf Association announced Sunday eight players who will represent the United States at the Walker Cup.
The selections are:
• Bud Cauley, 19, Jacksonville, Fla.
• Rickie Fowler, 20, Murrieta, Calif.
• Brendan Gielow, 21, Muskegon, Mich.
• Brian Harman, 22, Savannah, Ga.
• Morgan Hoffmann, 19, Saddle Brook, N.J.
• Adam Mitchell, 22, Chattanooga, Tenn.
• Nathan Smith, 30, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Drew Weaver, 22, High Point, N.C.
Citing sources, Golfweek first reported the makeup of the team early Sunday, several hours before the USGA announcement.
“The selection process is difficult, and we have put countless hours into making sure the process is equitable,” U.S. captain Buddy Marruci said. “... I think we’re comfortable that we have a tremendous group of players.”
The final two selections will be announced after the U.S. Amateur, which ends Aug. 30 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
The Walker Cup will be held Sept. 12-13 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.
The eight players selected Sunday will gather at Merion next week to play practice rounds, be fitted for uniforms and build camaraderie, Marucci said. The team will gather at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mill, Md., after the U.S. Amateur for additional practice before heading to Merion.
Harman and Fowler are the only team members with previous Walker Cup experience. Harman went 2-0-1 in 2005 to help the U.S. win at Chicago Golf Club. Fowler went 3-1 as a member of the victorious 2007 team at Royal County Down. Weaver was the second alternate for the 2007 team after winning that year’s British Amateur.
“I definitely feel like I’m going to be a leader, and definitely like that role. Harman’s going to be a leader, too, because he’s played one,” Fowler said. “ ... I’ll let (the team) know that this is going to be the most nervous you’ve ever felt.”
There is plenty of match-play experience on the team, though. He is one of three team members to win a national match-play championship. Harman is the ‘03 U.S. Junior champ, while Smith won the ‘03 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Smith, a Pittsburgh resident, will be playing in his home state for his first Walker Cup appearance.
There is plenty of match-play experience on the team. Cauley made the semifinals of this week’s Western Amateur, knocking out Smith in the quarterfinals. Mitchell was a semifinalist at last year’s U.S. Amateur, while Hoffmann made the quarterfinals last year at the North & South Amateur, Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur. He lost to eventual champion Danny Lee in the latter two.
Hoffmann made match play in the 2005 U.S. Amateur at Merion as a 15-year-old and was the youngest player in the 64-man bracket; he is one of three players on this year’s team that made match play in that Amateur. Smith lost in the second round, while Harman advanced to the Round of 16.
“It’s one of my favorite courses,” Hoffmann said of Merion. His hometown of Saddle Brook, N.J., is about two hours from the historic layout, but he hasn’t played the course since the ‘05 U.S. Amateur. “It’s great to go back to a place where I have great memories.”
——————————————————
Callaway x-22 Irons
edited by reddoor99 on 8/10/2009
|