GLENCOE, ILLINOIS | The 2025 Walker Cup Match was top of mind for many players and observers at last week’s Western Amateur at Skokie Country Club. Several American players helped their cause, while one player might have hurt his chances to make the final 10-man U.S. team.
Five players have been named to the Walker Cup squad already, and three of them – Ethan Fang, Ben James and Preston Stout – were at Skokie last week. Fang, a rising junior at Oklahoma State who won the Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s in June, advanced to the final before losing, 6 and 5, to Jase Summy. James lost to Fang in the quarterfinals, while Stout missed advancing to the Sweet Sixteen match-play portion of amateur golf’s greatest grind by three strokes.
Meanwhile, Jackson Koivun played in the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, where he tied for fifth, his third straight top-15 finish on tour. NCAA individual champion Michael La Sasso took a break ahead of the U.S. Amateur after playing in four PGA Tour events since the U.S. Open.
Summy, a rising senior at Oklahoma ranked ninth in the WAGR, likely clinched a Walker Cup berth by winning and equaling the tournament record for largest margin of victory. Jacob Modleski, a rising Notre Dame junior ranked 18th in the world, aided his prospects by advancing to the semifinals before falling to Fang.
Tommy Morrison, ranked No. 6 in the world, took a step forward by advancing to the Sweet Sixteen before losing his first match to Summy. Morrison, who mysteriously withdrew from the Southern Amateur last month, probably clinched a Walker Cup berth; now maybe his support group can calm down about him not being selected as part of the first group of team members.
Max Herendeen, ranked No. 20 in the world, is coming from behind. He advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in his best summer outing, which will help his WAGR ranking considerably. He is in the mix for a Walker Cup spot but will need a strong performance at the U.S. Amateur to close the deal.
The USGA remains committed to having one mid-amateur on the team, and four-time Walker Cupper Stewart Hagestad helped his cause while his primary competitor for that mid-amateur berth, Evan Beck, hampered his. Hagestad, 34 years old and ranked 43rd in the world, finished T6 in the 72-hole stroke-play contest against the college set before falling in the round of 16. Beck, ranked 15th, failed to make the 36-hole cut in the only amateur tournament he has played this summer. Beck has not played competitively since the U.S. Open in June, a fact not lost on the USGA International Team Selection committee.
Going into the week, I had my eyes on two junior players who might crash the party: Miles Russell and Tyler Watts. Russell, ranked No. 16 in the world, has had a very good season. He needed a big week at Skokie, but it didn’t happen; he missed the 36-hole cut.
Watts, 17 and the hottest amateur of the summer, opened with a tournament-record 8-under-par 62, and it looked like he was on his way. Unfortunately, he gave seven of those strokes back in the following three stroke-play rounds and was the lone player who failed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen from a 7-for-6 playoff late Thursday. His WAGR ranking will rise, but not enough for him to gain serious Walker Cup consideration unless he advances very deep at the U.S. Amateur.
As it always does, the U.S. Amateur will tell the tale of the final selections for U.S. captain Nathan Smith’s Walker Cup team. Five spots remain, with one being reserved for the U.S. Amateur champion, should he be American and not already selected. Another is reserved for a mid-amateur, meaning that there are three spots up for grabs.
Some players will get the call they have been hoping for, while others will get the call that breaks their heart.
It happens every two years.
E-MAIL JIM
Top: Gearing up for the Walker Cup, Jackson Koivun finished T5 at the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship.
Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty Images