Time to leave the Walker Cup alone

In the wake of the USA’s crushing win at this weekend’s Walker Cup in Los Angeles, there’s a predictable call for change for the so-called “Walkover Cup”. In order to restore competitive balance in the matches between the amateurs of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland, the call is to do the same as was done to correct an apparently similar imbalance in the Ryder Cup. GB&I’s place should be taken in the biennial matches by Europe.

Looking at the shocking overall score in the matches played since 1922 of 36 wins to the US and just nine to GB&I, while also soaking up the record 19-7 margin of victory at LA Country Club this weekend, it’s easy to jerk the knee and make such a suggestion.

But it’s a wrong and actually ignorant suggestion, for many reasons. The first and most compelling is that while it used to be the Walkover Cup, it isn’t anymore.

The last 15 versions of the event stand at eight wins to the US, seven to GB&I. By any standards, that’s a pretty competitive series.

And if you regard this weekend’s record US victory as some sort of harbinger, then I’d respectfully direct you to the last matches at Royal Lytham two years ago, when GB&I enjoyed their biggest win in the event, 16½ to9½

If the Walker Cup has a problem at present, it’s that the matches are going too easily with home advantage.

Secondly, if it was to become US vs Europe, the strong likelihood would be that the teams competing would be compiled from leading players within the US college system.

And that, of course, would make it pretty much identical to the Palmer Cup, the student amateur team event, in which the USA’s opponent is picked from all of Europe.

And thirdly, the Walker Cup is not really intended as a driven, super-competitive event like the Ryder Cup. It’s not an advertisement for the amateur game or a money-making exercise for anyone.

It’s primarily a social event for the R&A and the USGA, who administer the teams. People like Peter McEvoy and Nigel Edwards have done a great job in of making the event more competitive and less cosy, but a large element of it is still dinners and speeches and functions aimed at cementing ties between the game of golf’s two governing bodies.

I’m never hidebound to tradition as regular readers will know. But there seems to me to be something worth retaining in the Walker Cup as it is, something which goes back through Francis Ouimet, Bobby Jones, CB MacDonald, Bernard Darwin and other legendary names of the game.

Some of my favourite weeks covering the sport have been at the Walker Cup, in victory and in defeat for GB&I. It feels a little like you’d imagine the Ryder Cup to have been 30-40 years ago, and given how corporate and intense that event has become, I think that’s a good thing.

Not everything in golf has to be super-competitive and hyper-intense. The Walker Cup is fine as it is, in competitive and overall terms.

A difficult choice

Now that the Walker Cup is over, competitors on both sides will be courted by management companies as they consider turning professional.

Some, under the slackened rules governing this sort of thing, probably have agreements in principle signed already.

Thankfully, neither of the two Scots in the GB&I team, Connor Syme and Robert MacIntyre, seem to be in any hurry.

Both will probably visit Tour School this autumn and mostly as a reconnaissance mission, but if it all works out there, then maybe not.

MacIntyre, the left-hander from Oban, has joined the transition programme worked out between Scottish Golf and Bounce Management, Stephen Gallacher’s agents.

He’ll play a few more Challenge Tour events while staying amateur next year.

Connor is presently undecided about turning pro, but his Dad Stuart – the Drumoig professional and recent captain of the PGA in Scotland – has carefully guided his development.

I’d imagine with Stuart’s widespread contacts in the game there’s a carefully planned path drawn up for Connor which will maximise his potential.

But who knows what is the best way? Bradley Neil, our last great prospect, opted to miss the Walker Cup and get an early start. Two years on, he’s on the verge of getting his European Tour Card at the end of this season, and I would regard that as being right on schedule, or even slightly ahead of it.

Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson stayed amateur to play in the Walker Cup, and stayed amateur a year beyond that as well. Grant has played decently on the Challenge Tour, Ewen will hope to get on that level next year.

Going further back, Richie Ramsay played in one Walker Cup but didn’t hang about for a second like Lloyd Saltman did.

While very few considered Richie to be the superior player when they were together in the amateur ranks, he is now an established European Tour winner and Lloyd is nowhere.

The truth is there’s no certainties in this difficult transition. It depends on the individual, on his circumstances, and even largely on luck.

Not everything in golf has to be supercompetitive and hyperintense

Picture: Getty. Connor Syme won one point out of four matches in GB&I’s record Walker Cup defeat.