Previewing the 51st Walker Cup: 'Shaping up to be an all-timer'
Golf Channel's Brentley Romine previews the Walker Cup at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland.
Video Transcript
And the 51st edition of the Walker Cup is this weekend, September 5th and 6th, at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland.
We'll bring you reports from Ireland all week long from Brentley Romine, who's heading over to Ireland shortly.
You've been talking to the teams on both sides.
How are they preparing for the week ahead?
Well, that video gave me some goosebumps, Damon.
I'm excited to get over there starting on Wednesday morning.
But as of this weekend, both sides are safely in Ireland.
Dean Robertson took his GB&I squad to Ballybunion, while Nathan Smith and the Americans went down south to Doonbeg, which will host the Irish Open here in a couple of weeks.
And as we know, starting today, it is all Lahinch all the time as these players try to figure out what is an intricate Alister MacKenzie design.
Walker Cup is also a long week.
There's plenty of events.
Both teams are go- gonna go see the Cliffs of Moher, early week.
There's a gala on Thursday night, of course, the opening ceremony on Friday.
And then we're gonna get to the weekend, Damon, and it's gonna come at us fast.
Four sessions in two days.
As for the weather, it's kind so far to the Americans.
Highs in the mid-60s, 10 to 15 mile per hour winds, and just a little bit of r- rain on Saturday.
But the good news for GB&I, tickets are sold out.
Over 8,000 fans expected per day.
It could be a substantial home course advantage for the home team.
Brentley, you cover a lot of golf, professional, amateur as well.
How would you describe your excitement level as you prepare to fly?
You know, I, I'm just excited to figure out how GB&I is going to make this a match.
It's been so lopsided, in recent years when you think about how the Americans have won five straight, and I wonder what's going to be the key.
And for Dean Robertson, he said it's, it's simple.
You gotta play the singles better.
The US has won 9 of the last 11 Walker Cups, and during that span, they've dominated the singles 126 and a half points to 77 and a half points.
He said there's no secret sauce, but if they could be prepared, if they could be confident, I think there's as good a time as ever with six returners.
Now, the big storylines on both teams, on the GB&I, you have to start with Tyler Weaver.
We mentioned it a few weeks ago.
He has not played since April with an oblique injury.
He is full go.
He is playing full golf rounds.
But the, if they can't lean on him, we'll see a lot of Niall Scholes-Donegan, Elliott Baker, who was 15th on a DP World Tour a couple of weeks ago, and US Amateur champ, Jack Whaley.
And then the American side, all eyes are on Preston Stout, the world number one amateur, who is coming off a miscut at the US Amateur.
But Damon, luckily for Nathan Smith, nine of his 10 players are all ranked in the top 12 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
That includes Jay Leng, who's had one of the most remarkable summers in recent memory, winning the Western and being runner-up at the US Amateur.
Of course, the wonder kids, Tyler Watts and Miles Russell, and then the co-low amateur with Jackson Kovak, that is Oklahoma's Ryder Cowan at this summer's US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Brentley, you talk to Luke Donald, he will tell you that big time wins for European players, I'm talking Masters for Rory McIlroy, for example, or Matty Fitz winning, Tommy Fleetwood winning a FedEx Cup, that positively impacts a European Ryder Cup team.
So I ask you, does Jack Whaley's US Amateur title, for example, what kind of spark and lift can that give GB&I?
Look, you, you're always looking for guys who are in form, and it doesn't get e- any better than, you know, winning the US Amateur.
I will caution, though, when you think back to 2023 at the Old Course at St. Andrews, remember Nick Dunlap had such a fabulous summer.
He capped that by winning the Havemeyer Trophy at Cherry Hills, and he got to St. Andrews and he was out of gas.
Gordon Sargent had to carry him through their foursomes.
He was, he, he was not the same player that he was.
So I, I get you, Damon, wh- when you talk about resumes, but it's a lot of golf that these guys have played, and that's why it's gonna be imperative with so many events, so many potential practice rounds.
It's really gonna be, come down to not only who's the most talented team come Saturday and Sunday, but probably who has the freshest legs as well.
And the crowd has to do its part.
The Walker Cup in Ireland for the third time.
The last two times, our Paul McGinley was part of Team GB&I.
In 1991, you had Rory part of the team.
In 2007, the tickets, as you said, are sold out.
How would you describe, I guess, the anticipation for this event?
I expect and anticipate a lot of noise.
Well, you mentioned Paul McGinley.
I'll, I wanna touch on that real quick.
1991 in Portmarnock, in Dublin, he was on that side that also included Padraig Harrington.
However, the US side also had David Duval, Phil Mickelson, and of course, the late great Jay Sigel, who is just a Walker Cup, or was a Walker Cup stalwart.
And that week, Damon, Phil Mickelson made headlines for both good and bad reasons.
We'll start with the bad.
He made, what he called a bad joke that he had to apologize about Irish golf fans, but then he was magical on the golf course.
He went three and one.
The US, they swept that opening foursomes, never looked back.
And then you mentioned Rory as well.
That 2007 US team that beat Rory McIlroy at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, up until 2017, that had been considered the best team of all time, when you think about how eight players have gone on to play on the PGA Tour, major champions like Dustin Johnson and Webb Simpson.
But Billy Horschel, I think, was the star that week.
He went two and O against Rory, got under the skin of McIlroy.
That was one of the few moments where Rory was, you know, really, excitable.
And then Jonathan Moore with the dagger, that four iron to three feet on the 18th hole.
But you mentioned Lahinch and what's going to make it exciting.
You know, I, I think about the fact that not only do you have fingerprints of Old Tom Morris on this layout, but also Alister MacKenzie, who redesigned the golf course in 1927.
He said, quote, "Lahinch will make the finest and most popular course that I or I believe anyone else has ever constructed."
And you think about the portfolio of Alister MacKenzie, that's pretty special.
I mean, you think about massive dunes, blind tee shots, and really, like Marion a few weeks ago, just a very distinguishable design.
There's really nothing like it.
And I think there's a huge momen- momentum wave right now in amateur golf, Damon, when you see that 700,000 people tuned in to watch the US Amateur broadcast with fairways packed at Lahinch.
Hopefully some great coffee golf viewing for you guys back home.
I really feel like my excitement coming into this event is going to be warranted.
This Walker Cup is really shaping up to be an all-timer.
Brentley Romine ready for a big two-week stretch
