The U.S. Walker Cup team selection process is always full of intrigue and difficulty. This year’s quandary held the usual intrigue, and a bit more of a challenge.
Nick Gabrelcik, Austin Greaser, Stewart Hagestad, Ben James, Dylan Menante and Preston Summerhays were picked late Sunday by the USGA’s International Team Selection working group to complete the 10-man squad.
The Americans will compete against Great Britain and Ireland in the 49th Walker Cup Match on September 2-3 at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.
The six players join Nick Dunlap, David Ford, Gordon Sargent and Caleb Surratt, all of whom were previously selected. Michael Thorbjornsen, who earned a place on the team as one of the top three Americans in the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of June 21, withdrew earlier this month because of a back injury.
Assuming that a spot already had been reserved for Hagestad, a 32-year-old mid-amateur from California who will be competing in his fourth Walker Cup and had an outstanding Western Amateur performance, there were five berths at stake last week at the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills near Denver, with eight viable contenders for those spots.
Two of those berths were reserved for the winner of the McCormack Medal, which goes to the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the end of the season, and the U.S. Amateur champion, provided that they were Americans. The USGA didn’t have to worry about the McCormack Medal. Sargent, who will be announced as the medal winner this week, already had a spot on the team. Dunlap, already bound for St. Andrews, gave the selectors greater flexibility by winning the U.S. Amateur title.
Menante, No. 5 in the WAGR, secured his berth by advancing to match play at the U.S. Amateur. Sixth-ranked James nailed down a berth with a deep run at Cherry Hills, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Greaser, ranked No. 8, was a question mark all summer long due to a wrist injury that sidelined him from competing. He missed the 36-hole cut at the Western Amateur, his first amateur event of the summer, but then advanced to the round of 32 at Cherry Hills. That was enough to convince the ITS that he was healthy and ready to compete.
Similarly, Gabrelcik missed the first cut at the Western and made it to the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur. His No. 10 WAGR ranking was enough to grab a spot on the team.
The surprise, if there was one, was Summerhays, ranked No. 18 in WAGR. He qualified for match play at Cherry Hills but lost his first match. He was selected over two higher-ranked players: Cole Sherwood and Luke Clanton, ranked 12th and 14th, respectively. Sherwood failed to advance to match play at the U.S. Amateur; Clanton made match play but lost in the first round.
Summerhays owns the USGA pedigree that often matters in such situations. He played in his second U.S. Open this summer, and he won the 2019 U.S. Junior. He also played in five U.S. Amateurs.
Maxwell Moldovan and U.S. Amateur runner-up Neal Shipley are the first and second alternates, respectively. They will not travel to Scotland for the match.
Jim Nugent