Sept. 2-3, 2023, Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland
PAR AND YARDAGE
The Old Course at St. Andrews will be set up at 7,313 yards and will play to a par of 36-36–72. The yardage for each session of the competition will vary due to course setup and conditions.
Old Course at St. Andrews
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Total |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 |
| Yards | 375 | 452 | 398 | 480 | 570 | 414 | 371 | 187 | 352 | 3,599 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Yards | 386 | 174 | 351 | 465 | 614 | 455 | 418 | 495 | 356 | 3,714 |
COURSE RATING AND SLOPE
Based on the course setup for the championship, the USGA Course Rating™ for the Old Course at St. Andrews is 73.4 and its Slope Rating® is 136.
THE WALKER CUP MATCH
The Walker Cup Match is contested by male amateur golfers, one team from the United States of America and one team composed of players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The teams consist of not more than 10 players and a captain. The Match is conducted every two years, alternately in the USA and in Great Britain or Ireland. This is the 49th Walker Cup Match.
TEAM SELECTION
The USA Team is selected by the United States Golf Association’s International Team Selection working group. The R&A selects the team from Great Britain and Ireland.
2023 WALKER CUP CAPTAINS
United States of America
Mike McCoy, of Des Moines, Iowa, will serve as the captain for the 2023 USA Walker Cup Team. He won the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, becoming the second-oldest champion in the event’s history at age 50. He has competed in 65 USGA championships, including 20 U.S. Amateurs, and was a member of the 2015 USA Walker Cup Team at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in England. McCoy, who had twice reached the semifinals of the U.S. Mid-Am before coming through for victory in 2013 in his first USGA final, registered the third-highest margin of victory since the Mid-Amateur went to a 36-hole final in 2001. His 8-and-6 victory over Bill Williamson on the Country Club of Birmingham’s West Course earned him a spot in the 2014 Masters Tournament, where McCoy became the second-oldest player to make his debut in event history. McCoy was low amateur in both the 2014 and 2015 U.S. Senior Opens, tying the record for lowest 72-hole score by an amateur (282) at Del Paso Country Club in 2015. Later that year, he won the prestigious Crane Cup and Coleman Invitational before becoming the third-oldest Walker Cup competitor in history at 52 years old.
Great Britain & Ireland
Stuart Wilson, one of Scotland’s most renowned amateur golfers, is captain of the GB&I Team for the second consecutive Walker Cup. Twenty years ago, in the Walker Cup in 2003, he was a member of the winning GB&I Team at Ganton. In 2004, he won The Amateur Championship over the Old Course at St Andrews with a 4&3 win over Lee Corfield in the Final. He went on to win the Silver Medal as low amateur in The 133rd Open at Royal Troon later that year and compete in the 2005 Masters Tournament. In addition to leading GB&I in the Walker Cup, he also captained last year’s GB&I Team when they beat the Continent of Europe in the St. Andrews Trophy and captained European teams in the Junior Ryder Cup in 2012 and 2014.
SCHEDULE OF PLAY
On Saturday, Sept. 2, there will be four foursomes (alternate-shot) matches in the morning and eight singles matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, Sept. 3, there will be four foursomes matches in the morning and 10 singles matches in the afternoon. All matches will be 18 holes.
All Times EDT:
Friday, Sept. 1 (Note: All times are subject to change)
12 p.m. – Opening Ceremony
Saturday, Sept. 2
3:30 a.m. – Foursomes (four matches)
8:45 a.m. – Singles (eight matches)
Sunday, Sept. 3
3 a.m. – Foursomes (four matches)
8:15 a.m. – Singles (10 matches)
2 p.m. – Closing Ceremony
FOURSOMES
Foursomes is a match in which two players compete against two other players in an alternate-shot format, with each side playing one ball.
SCORING
A victory in each match scores one point. In the event a match goes 18 holes without a winner, a half-point is awarded to each team.
The team that scores the most points wins the Match. In the event of a tie, the team that won the previous competition retains the Walker Cup.
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
The 2023 Walker Cup Match will receive at least 11 hours of live network coverage.
Date Network Broadcast Hours (EDT)
Sept. 2 Golf Channel 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sept. 3 Golf Channel 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
WALKER CUP MATCH HISTORY
This is the 49th Walker Cup Match. The competition began in the wake of World War I, following a series of meetings between the United States Golf Association and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the key purpose of which was a discussion of modifying the Rules of Golf. As part of the meetings, an international team competition was discussed, with the aim of strengthening understanding and friendship between The R&A and the USGA.
Among those attending the meetings at The R&A was George Herbert Walker, USGA president in 1920. Walker soon presented a plan for the competition and offered to donate a trophy. When the press dubbed the trophy the Walker Cup, the name stuck.
The first Walker Cup Match was contested in 1922 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y. Led by playing captain William C. Fownes Jr., the USA won the inaugural Match, 8-4. The USA leads the series, 38-9-1. Since 1989, however, when GB&I won for the first time in the USA, by one point at Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., the series is competitive with the USA holding a 10-7 advantage.
RECENT WALKER CUP HISTORY
2021 Walker Cup: Seminole Golf Club, Juno Beach, Fla. (USA 14, GB&I 12)
2019 Walker Cup: Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England (USA 15½, GB&I 10½)
2017 Walker Cup: The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club, North Course (USA 19, GB&I 7)
2015 Walker Cup: Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Lancashire, England (GB&I 16½, USA 9½)
2013 Walker Cup: National Golf Links of America, Southampton, N.Y. (USA 17, GB&I 9)
2011 Walker Cup: Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, Aberdeen, Scotland (GB&I 14, USA 12)
2009 Walker Cup: Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa. (USA 16½, GB&I 9½)
2007 Walker Cup: Royal County Down, Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland (USA 12½, GB&I 11½)
2005 Walker Cup: Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, Ill. (USA 12½, GB&I 11½)
2003 Walker Cup: Ganton Golf Club, Ganton, England (GB&I 12½, USA 11½)
2001 Walker Cup: Ocean Forest Golf Club, Sea Island, Ga. (GB&I 15, USA 9)
1999 Walker Cup: Nairn Golf Club, Nairn, Scotland (GB&I 15, USA 9)
1997 Walker Cup: Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Scarsdale, N.Y. (USA 18, GB&I 6)
1995 Walker Cup: Royal Porthcawl, Porthcawl, Wales (GB&I 14, USA 10)
1993 Walker Cup: Interlachen Country Club, Edina, Minn. (USA 19, GB&I 5)
1991 Walker Cup: Portmarnock Golf Club, Portmarnock, County Dublin, Ireland (USA 14, GB&I 10)
1989 Walker Cup: Peachtree Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga. (GB&I 12½, USA 11½)
FUTURE SITES
Sept. 6-7, 2025: Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach, Calif.
Sept. 5-6, 2026: Lahinch Golf Club, Lahinch, Ireland
