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The playing of the 48th Walker Cup match at Seminole Golf Club on May 8-9 of 2021, as opposed to its typical early fall dates, presents a host of challenges for the USGA and the college golf community.
In the college game, May is part of a very busy stretch. Following conference championships that typically begin in late April, the NCAA stages its regional and national championships in May, with the latter traditionally concluding in the early days of June. All-conference and All-American recognition is at stake, as well as multiple player-of-the-year awards.
And then there is that pesky item called final exams.
That is a lot for a college coach to manage. Throw in the fact that one or more of his charges might have a chance to play for his country in the ultimate international amateur competition, and there is a chance of causing a college player to have to make a very difficult, but entirely avoidable, decision.
It is important for the college coaching fraternity to remember that 2021 is a one-off. For a host of reasons, the Walker Cup will not revert to spring dates on an ongoing basis every four years when it is played in America. This is a special opportunity to play one of the great golf courses in the world, and to play it at the proper time of year, when conditions are optimal.
The USGA is doing everything it can to inform the college golf community of its plans and of the timetable. Through its Intercollegiate Relations Committee, the staff has worked assiduously to keep college coaches apprised of Walker Cup-related news and developments. The goal is a “clean week” – a week in which the Walker Cup does not conflict with any meaningful Division I college golf competitions. Although the conferences and the NCAA ultimately set the schedule, the coaches are in a position to influence it.
Seminole is doing its part and taking no chances. Going back to its initial discussions with the USGA in 2013, the club raised this potential for conflicts with the college schedule. In an open letter sent to American college coaches this month and obtained by GGP, Seminole president Jimmy Dunne, who engineered the club’s selection by the USGA and was in those early discussions, pleaded for understanding and cooperation.
The goal is a “clean week” – a week in which the Walker Cup does not conflict with any meaningful Division I college golf competitions.
Wrote Dunne to the coaches: “My goal in outlining these communications is to make sure no one is caught off-guard next year. I completely understand that your top priorities are your team and your school, as they should be. At the same time, we want to give every player the best opportunity possible to make the team and not have to worry about their schedules. What I don’t want to happen is to force anyone to choose between his team and his country.”
How important and meaningful is playing for country at the Walker Cup? The college golf community need look no further than one of its own, esteemed Oklahoma State men’s golf coach Alan Bratton. Now in his seventh year at the helm of one of the best men’s college programs in the nation, Bratton has been part of NCAA title teams as a Cowboy player (1995), assistant coach (2006) and head coach (2018).
Bratton was a member of the 1995 U.S. Walker Cup team that fell to Great Britain & Ireland at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. The defeat did nothing to sour Bratton’s Walker Cup experience, nor his respect for the importance of the competition.
“Playing the Walker Cup is one of the greatest honors of my career in golf,” he said. “You don’t get many opportunities in our sport to play for your country. When you get the opportunity, seize the chance. Being a USGA champion or a Walker Cupper puts you in elite company.
“Rickie Fowler put off turning pro for months in order to play the Walker Cup, and he had already played it once. That’s great evidence of what the honor means to him. No player will ever regret doing everything in his power to position himself to make this next team or any team in the future.”
Past U.S. Amateur champion and Seminole member Nathaniel Crosby will captain the 2021 American side, aiming to successfully defend the cup that his squad won in 2019 at Royal Liverpool. Because of the match’s spring dates, he’ll likely have fewer worries about top American collegians electing to turn pro before the competition and therefore will have a chance to lead a very deep and talented squad.
The USGA and Seminole hope the college golf community will cooperate.
E-Mail Jim