Five in a row, and counting

With the US Amateur behind us, Dean Robertson has named his ten-man team, plus two reserves, to travel to Lahinch next month – for what is surely GB&I’s best chance of reclaiming the Walker Cup in years.

Friend of the Jar Darragh Garrahy wrote last month about how the selection process has changed over the decades, reflected in the lack of President’s Putter winners teeing it up in Clare.

Our last win came at Royal Lytham eleven years ago. The Americans have taken the five matches since, their longest run since 1973–1987, when they won eight on the bounce. And if you’re in the market for a bad omen, the fifth win of that eight-match streak came at Cypress Point Club. So did last year’s.

• 2015 (Royal Lytham & St Annes) – Great Britain & Ireland won 16.5 to 9.5
• 2017 (Los Angeles Country Club) – United States won 19 to 7
• 2019 (Royal Liverpool) – United States won 15.5 to 10.5
• 2021 (Seminole) – United States won 14 to 12
• 2023 (St Andrews) – United States won 14.5 to 11.5
• 2025 (Cypress Point) – United States won 16.5 to 9.5

But something feels different about Lahinch. It is about as blind, quirky and linksy as ‘championship’ golf gets, and with half of the GB&I side having played the South of Ireland there this summer, it is comfortably the best-suited venue we’ve had in recent memory. With Bandon Dunes hosting in 2028, where you’d like to think home advantage is minimal, this may be the year the tide turns.

A course that fits is not a trophy though, and that is where Robertson comes in – a man trying to become the first winning GB&I captain since Nigel Edwards.

Off the back of this morning’s announcement, here is everything you need to know about the class of 2026.

The returning players

Tyler Weaver — England, Bury St Edmunds, 21

The highest-ranked player on the GB&I side at 2nd in WAGR, Tyler plays his college golf for Florida State, where his record to date has been littered with awards and achievements.

The Newmarket man and Sacred Nine local went 1-0-3 at Cypress last summer – one win, no halves, three defeats, and that’s the order I’ll use throughout, as quite frankly the W-L-D format confuses me – partnering Connor Graham in both foursomes sessions, having narrowly missed out at St Andrews as first reserve.

The complication, and it’s a significant one, is that Tyler is currently injured and hasn’t played an event since April.

Luke Poulter — England, Woburn, 22

Sixth in WAGR and our second highest-ranked player, Luke also plays his college golf in the sunshine state, though for the Florida Gators. He went 2-0-2 at Cypress, winning both his foursomes matches but losing both his singles.

Dad Ian walked the fairways at Cypress last year in support, and we fully expect to see him at Lahinch next month too, leathered in cashmere and hair gel.

Eliot Baker — England, Tiverton, 23

What’s most impressive about Eliot is that he has climbed into the world’s top 20 without playing any college golf at all. Jamie Van Wyk made the point on the pod recently: with fields outside the college game so much weaker, that is a very hard thing to do.

The Devon lad went 1-0-3 at Cypress, and this year won the European Nations Cup at Sotogrande and finished second at the Brabazon Trophy. After the Walker Cup we expect him to turn professional and take up membership of the DP World Tour via The R&A’s Global Amateur Pathway, as Cameron Adams did last year.

Nial Shiels Donegan — Scotland, Meadow Club, 21

Fifty-three weeks ago, Nial Shiels Donegan was on nobody’s list for a Cypress Point debut. Then came a semi-final run at last year’s US Amateur, roared on by enormous local support, followed by a strong year at the University of North Carolina that included a win at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate and third place the week prior in Augusta. Two Walker Cup appearances, seemingly out of nowhere.

At Cypress he went 2-0-1, and was one of only three GB&I players to bank a singles point.

Stuart Grehan — Ireland, County Louth, 33

Grehan sealed his spot when he won The Amateur Championship at Hoylake in June. In truth, he’d have walked into the team without it. The lone mid-amateur on the GB&I side also won the East of Ireland at his home course, came third in the Irish Men’s Open Amateur and sixth at the Lytham Trophy.

At Cypress he went 1-1-2, ironically (as this year’s Amateur champion) drawing last year’s Amateur champion, Ethan Fang, in both singles matches.

As for recent Lahinch form, Stuart finished fifth in the South of Ireland strokeplay rounds (70, 66) and made the round of 32 in the matchplay.

Stuart joined the podcast after his win at Hoylake, and it’s well worth an hour of your time. He talks about his reinstated status, the backlash that came with it, and why he has fallen back in love with the game.

Connor Graham — Scotland, Blairgowrie, 19

Remarkably, at 19, this will be Connor’s third Walker Cup. He became the youngest Walker Cupper in history at St Andrews, aged 16 years, 10 months and 9 days, and now joins the likes of Padraig Harrington and Ernest Holderness on three appearances – within touching distance of Micklem, Crawley and Nigel Edwards on four.

He is both the youngest player on our side and the most experienced, and arguably the youngest veteran the match has ever seen. His record stands at 3-1-3, which given how these matches have gone is battling comfortably above the GB&I average.

At Lahinch this summer, Connor was co-medalist in the South of Ireland strokeplay rounds (71, 62) and reached the last 16 in the matchplay.

The rookies

Sam Easterbrook — England, Olton, 21

A local lad to us at the Jar, Sam has well and truly earned his place, and sits 80th in WAGR.

Alongside superb results for the ‘Purdue Boilermakers’, his summer has included a quarter-final at The Amateur, a solid run in the South of Ireland, and two near misses at qualifying for The Open – losing a playoff to Matty Jordan at West Lancs, then falling just short at the Last Chance Qualifier at Royal Birkdale.

At Lahinch he finished 32nd in the strokeplay (75, 66) and reached the last 16, beating Matt McLean along the way.

Jack Whaley — England, Rotherham, 22

The third Englishman to lift the Havemeyer Trophy, and a man who needs no introduction after last week’s heroics. Beyond the US Amateur, Jack finished 21st at the Western Amateur a few weeks ago, narrowly missing the sweet 16 in arguably the strongest field in amateur golf, and last year won the NAIA Men’s National Championship. He is a teammate of Tyler Weaver at Florida State.

He won’t be 90th in WAGR for long. That ranking jumps considerably when the list updates tomorrow lunchtime, as it does every Wednesday.

Ben Bolton — England, Enville, 19

The youngest member of the team, Bolton’s strong season has bolted him up to 92nd in WAGR. He finished T3 at the Lytham Trophy and T3 at the European Nations Cup at Sotogrande, with further top tens at the Portuguese and Spanish International Amateurs, and reached the matchplay stage of The Amateur after rounds of 70 and 66 in qualifying.

At Lahinch he finished third in the South of Ireland strokeplay rounds (68, 67) and made the last 16 in matchplay.

Josh Hill — England, Fox Den, 22

An impressive final college season at the University of Tennessee has earned the Dubai-raised Englishman a Walker Cup debut. Hill first drew international attention in 2019 when, aged 15, he won on the MENA Tour to become the youngest player to win a professional tournament carrying Official World Golf Ranking points.

Ranked 96th in WAGR, he is proof that Robertson has put real stock in Lahinch form. At the South of Ireland, Josh finished 15th in the strokeplay (70, 68) and won his first three matchplay matches on the 14th – including one over now-teammate Sam Easterbrook – before losing in the quarter-finals to David Howard, who is now second reserve.

Curiously, the South of Ireland leaderboard had him playing under the American flag.

The reserves

Grehan may be the only Irishman in the starting ten, but Robertson has made sure of a strong Irish presence around it: both reserves hail from the Emerald Isle. And reserves playing matches are not unusual – GB&I and the US called on Jake Bolton and Mac Meisner respectively at Seminole in 2021 when illness hit both camps – and with Weaver still recovering, there is every chance we see a reserve in action.

1 — Thomas Higgins, Ireland, Roscommon, 23

Few made a better late charge towards selection than Higgins, and Robertson will have been no doubt been tempted by an additional Irishman in the lineup.

He sits 191st in WAGR, though not after tomorrow’s update: last week he won the Irish Amateur Close Championship to make his statement. He has Lahinch form too, finishing 14th in the South of Ireland strokeplay (71, 67) and reaching the quarter-finals, beating Connor Graham on the way.

2 — David Howard, Ireland, Fota Island, 27

At 27 years old and 817th in WAGR, a Walker Cup berth probably wasn’t on Howard’s radar a few months ago. Then came a runner-up finish at the Irish Men’s Amateur Open, qualification for The Open at Royal Birkdale, and a semi-final run at the South of Ireland, thanks to which he now finds himself second reserve.

At Lahinch he shot 68, 73 to make the cut, and that semi-final run included a quarter-final win over Josh Hill.

Notables to miss out

Selection is nothing like as black and white as the Ryder Cup, and the nuances of the amateur game always leave a handful of players with a strong case for a seat on the flight to Lahinch. Among the many, the three who stand out to me are:

Freddie Turnell (England) — The 76th-ranked amateur in the world will probably feel hardest done by, with four of Robertson’s ten, plus both reserves, ranked below him. His year has included a college win in April, sixth at the St Andrews Links Trophy, and a quarter-final at the South of Ireland after a T4 finish in the strokeplay (69, 67).

Tomi Bowen (Wales) — Ranked 213th, Bowen was runner-up at the South of Ireland. Given Robertson’s evident interest in that event, and The R&A’s usual preference for each nation to be represented, he must have been close to a call.

Matthew McLean (Ireland) — 326th in WAGR doesn’t leap off the page, but McLean has Walker Cup experience, taking 2 points from 4 at St Andrews. He was also T1 after the South of Ireland strokeplay at -11 (66, 67) alongside Connor Graham, and links know-how like that will have been on Robertson’s radar.

Who they’re up against

It’s no secret that recent US teams have been absurdly strong, and this one is no different. If history is any guide, roughly half of these players will be PGA Tour members within ten years, with a major or two among them.

• Preston Stout, 22 — WAGR #1, NCAA champion
• Tyler Watts, 18 — WAGR #3
• Miles Russell, 17 — WAGR #4, the world’s top-ranked junior
• William Jennings, 20 — WAGR #5
• Josiah Gilbert, 21 — WAGR #7
• Ryder Cowan, 21 — WAGR #8, tied low amateur at the 2026 US Open
• Ethan Fang, 21 — WAGR #9
• Kihei Akina, 20 — WAGR #11
• Jay Leng Jr., 20 — WAGR #23, US Amateur runner-up
• Stewart Hagestad, 35 — WAGR #27

Sobering reading. But it’s worth putting those numbers against previous years, because the gap is not what it was.

The US average is frankly frightening, and somehow wouldn’t be their best in their last five wins. But the real story here is not the gap, or the US, but the strength of the GB&I side this year.

One caveat, because we like numbers treated properly. If Weaver can’t play and Thomas Higgins steps in, the GB&I average slides to 63.8. That’s a touch unfair on Higgins, mind, whose ranking climbs sharply tomorrow once his Irish Close points are cashed in.