The Walker Cup The Solheim Cup

September 7-8 September 13-15

Royal Liverpool is the venue for the 47th match between the amateurs of GB&I and the USA. The historic club at Hoylake celebrates its 150th anniversary this year and it’s seen its fair share of top-level amateur events in that time. It hosted the inaugural Amateur Championship in 1885 – an event it has held 18 times in total – and saw the first ever international match between Scotland and England in 1902. It was also the venue for the first Great Britain v USA match in 1921 – the forerunner to the Walker Cup.

The cup is contested between teams of ten over two days and many of the game’s greats have competed before turning pro, including Jack Nickaus, Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy. The GB&I team triumphed the last time it was held over here in 2015 at Lytham, but the Americans are the current holders after a 19-7 win at the Los Angeles Country Club two years ago. Gleneagles welcomes the 16th Solheim Cup in September, with Europe looking to wrestle back the title for the first time since 2013. The Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary staged the 2014 Ryder Cup and will become the first European course to host both events. Europe will be captained by Catriona Matthew, while Juli Inkster takes the reins of a formidablelooking US team for the third time.

The biennial tournament is still the biggest draw in women’s golf despite the dominance of Asian players in recent years, and the Ladies European Tour needs to make the most of its time in the spotlight. Recent funding struggles have been well documented, with tournaments being lost and players airing their grievances.

However, Georgia Hall’s fantastic victory in last year’s British Open gave the European game a huge boost. The LET will be hoping for a similar headline-grabbing performance in Scotland to give the tour a much-needed shot in the arm.