If you love the Ryder Cup then you need to tune into the Golf Channel this weekend to watch the Walker Cup. This year the Walk Cup is being played in Ireland at Lahinch Golf Club (The Old Course) so be ready to get up early if you want to watch the early matches live. Golf Channel times:

Saturday, September 5: 3:30 am to 8 am (Morning Foursomes); 9 am to 2 pm (Afternoon Singles). There are four foursome matches and and eight singles matches

Sunday, September 6: Saturday, September 5: 3:30 am to 8 am (Morning Foursomes); 9 am to 2 pm (Afternoon Singles). There are four foursome morning matches and 10 singles matches.

I assume the Golf Channel will rebroadcast in the evening but I can’t find any times listed.

The Teams: On paper the USA should win over GB&I (Great Britain and Ireland) because the world amateur golf rankings for the USA team members are all in the top 25 and GB&I team members world amateur golf rankings are not as strong. GB&I does have two top ten players (Tyler Weaver and Luke Poulter) but the rest of the team are not as high in the rankings.

The USA team really is impressive and if you want to learn more about each member you can read Team USA bios on the USGA website. The website also has the team GB&I bios.

Now I think there are a number of reasons the GB&I team can give the USA a run for their money:

(1) It’s a home game for GB&I which always seems to make a difference.

(2) A few of the top players on the USA side have not shown very good form in recent big amateur events. Specifically, the #1 player in the WAGR (World Amateur Golf Rankings) Preston Stout and #4 Ethan Fang did not make the cut to match play at the U.S. Amateur.

(3) If GB&I can get off to a fast start and win the majority of the alternate shot matches that would help; we all remember how that was the advantage for Team Europe at the most recent Ryder Cup.

Cheering for the USA

Team USA (defending champions) needs 13 points to win and GB&I need 13.5 points to win. I am definitely cheering for Team USA. I want to see good golf on both sides so that it is exciting to watch. I never really enjoy blowouts (unless the points don’t really indicate the closeness of matches). I want to see it come down to the single matches on the last day to decide the winning team.

Next UP – THE SOLHEIM CUP is the following week from September 7 to 13, 2026. It is being hosted by Team Europe in Netherlands at Bernardus Golf. And yes, I will post a blog post next week with all the details.