The USGA and The R&A today announced that the Walker Cup Match will be contested in even years from 2026 onward.
The shift moves the biennial men’s team match between Great Britain and Ireland and the USA away from the World Amateur Team Championships, which will be played in odd years beginning in 2023.
“The re-emergence of golf in the Olympic Games has had a ripple effect on the overall golf calendar,” said John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer, USGA. “This is just the next step in that as we make sure team competitions have a balanced schedule and in this case, encourage participation by the world’s best amateurs without unnecessary conflict.”
Phil Anderton, chief development officer at The R&A, said, “We have looked at this carefully with the USGA and believe that this change creates the best schedule for the players and for the Walker Cup Match itself. The Walker Cup is at the forefront of men’s amateur golf and we want to ensure that its status is reflected in its position in the golf calendar.”
The International Golf Federation announced in 2020 that the World Amateur Team Championships would move to odd years to avoid a same-year conflict with the Summer Olympic Games.
The 49th Walker Cup Match will be contested Sept. 2-3, 2023, at St. Andrews. The birthplace of golf has hosted eight previous Walker Cups, more than any other venue, most recently in 1975, when the USA defeated GB&I, 15½-8½, led by future U.S. Open champions Jerry Pate and Curtis Strange.
With the calendar change, the Walker Cup Match scheduled for Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club in 2033 has been moved to 2032. The USGA today also announces that due to that adjustment, the 2034 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club will move to 2033.
Future Walker Cup Match Sites and Dates
Sept. 2-3, 2023 Old Course at St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland
Sept. 6-7, 2025 Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach, Calif.
TBA, 2026 TBA
TBA, 2028 Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.
TBA, 2030 TBA
TBA, 2032 Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa.
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