As a Walker Cup year dawns, one of America’s most decorated amateurs is gearing up for his turn at the helm of the U.S. team at one of the country’s most iconic venues.
Nathan Smith will lead the American squad in the 50th biennial match against Great Britain and Ireland at Cypress Point Club in September. Over the past two decades, the 46-year-old Pittsburgh resident has won more than a dozen amateur titles, including four U.S. Mid-Amateur championships, the most of all time. He’s played in four Masters and one U.S. Open, and in three Walker Cup appearances has helped the United States to a 2-1 record.
As Walker Cup captain, Smith knows his priority has shifted from his own competitive fortunes to tracking those of his prospective players. In the months leading up to the match, he plans to spectate at several leading amateur tournaments to make sure he gets to know his team.
“You need to show them you care,” Smith said. “You’re watching them. You’re around their families and their coaches. You’re learning their games. Then you just kind of want to shut up, listen and put them in positions to succeed.”
Success is something Smith knows about. After his parents, Larry and Vicki, introduced him to the game as a kid in his hometown of Brookville, Pennsylvania, he played tournaments during the day and baseball at night. He eventually chose to focus on golf and played collegiately for Division III Allegheny College, graduating in 2001.
In 2003, Smith won his first U.S. Mid-Amateur, becoming the youngest player (25) to do so. The victory proved to be a major catalyst for his career.
“I was just a kid from Brookville,” Smith said. “It was hard to get into national events, so that win opened the door to a lot of my success.”
One door opened was an invitation to the 2004 Masters. As Smith made his first of four starts, Arnold Palmer made his last of 50. During the Tuesday practice round, Smith played with Palmer. As fate would have it, he’d be paired with the King again for the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.
Smith remembers playing in front of a crowd he believes was often 40 spectators deep everywhere he looked. Playing in front of all those people at Augusta National caused nerves for Smith and his father, who was on the bag for all of Smith’s Masters appearances and U.S. Mid-Amateur victories.
“He pulled out the pin sheet and he had it upside down because he was so nervous,” Smith said. “I just gave him a hug in the fairway and told him to breathe for a few holes.”
Despite missing the cut, Smith benefited from the experience. “For me to play in front of thousands of people made everything else I played in feel almost like a club championship,” he said.
Later that year, Smith tried and failed to earn a PGA Tour card through Q-School. While Smith says he was disappointed at the time, he’s happy he remained an amateur.
“You see the flag go up, the USA, the colors, there’s such a buildup to it that there’s really nothing it can compare to besides the Ryder Cup.”
Nathan Smith
“It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said.
While pursuing a career in insurance, he competed in national amateur tournaments such as the Sunnehanna Amateur, U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Mid-Am. But he wanted to play for the United States in the Walker Cup.
“Growing up, the Walker Cup, that was way out there,” Smith said. “I could never imagine doing any of that. That was kind of like outer space to me.”
To be selected, Smith had to perform well in nearly every tournament. With the match slated for Merion Golf Club in his home state in September 2009, he notched victories in the West Penn Amateur and Pennsylvania Amateur and made the U.S. team.
When he got the call, he immediately ran out of his in-laws’ house and drove to tell his parents.
“It was special,” Smith said. “I never thought I could do it.”
In his first Walker Cup, Smith was part of a team that included future PGA Tour standouts Rickie Fowler and Brian Harman. Smith posted a 2-1 record in a 16½-9½ American victory. The following month, he capped a banner year by winning his second U.S. Mid-Am at the Kiawah Island Club.
Even though he’s competed in the Masters, Smith says there is nothing quite like the Walker Cup.
“You see the flag go up, the USA, the colors, there’s such a buildup to it that there’s really nothing it can compare to besides the Ryder Cup,” Smith said.
Smith competed in two more Walker Cups in 2011 and 2013, both under captain Jim Holtgrieve, who had played on three winning U.S. teams (1979, ’81, ’83) himself. Smith describes Holtgrieve as emotional and intense, and doesn’t believe anybody loves the Walker Cup more than Holtgrieve. Holtgrieve speaks similarly of Smith.
“He has a heart of gold,” Holtgrieve said. “He cares very much for the game of golf and the history of the Walker Cup.”
The U.S. fell to Great Britain and Ireland at Royal Aberdeen in 2011 before winning at the National Golf Links of America in 2013. Smith feels forever linked to Holtgrieve and his Walker Cup teammates, keeping in touch through various text chains.
“You're forever bonded through those Walker Cups,” Smith said.
The teammate Smith keeps in touch with the most is Todd White, with whom he played in 2013. Two years later, Smith and White paired to capture the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at the Olympic Club. En route to the title, the pair defeated future U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and his partner, Austin Smotherman, after DeChambeau, then an SMU collegian, had presented Smith and White with adult diapers to poke fun at their advanced ages.
White was one of the first people to congratulate Smith when it was announced Smith would captain the 2025 U.S. Walker Cup team. He believes his friend will give it his all.
“Although he wants to make it enjoyable and he’s going to be personable, at the end of the day, I know from his competitive side that he wants to put a team out there that’s going to win,” said White, who won the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur and 2024 R&A Senior Amateur.
Ultimately, Smith looks forward to the experience, describing the opportunity as a lottery ticket.
“When I got the call, it was a real honor,” Smith said. “I’m really excited to do it because I can share the experience with my family.”
E-MAIL EVERETT
Top: Nathan Smith, the captain of this year's U.S. Walker Cup team, competed in three Walker Cups.
James Gilbert, USGA