Tag Archives: Match Play Golf

The Walker Cup is The Ryder Cup of Amateur Golf (Sept 5-6, 2026)

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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.

September 2021 is Match Play Month – Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup!

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Last week the Curtis Cup, the amateur competition between USA and GB&I (conducted by the USA and R&A), took place. If you missed it and want to watch, it was streamed live on YouTube and is still available. The USA started out poorly but came back with a furry and won seven of the eight singles matches the last day to retain the cup. This is the first time the USA Curtis Cup team has won on European soil since 2008. As a person that enjoys watching match play, this got me really excited for the professional match play events coming in September.

In September we will be treated with The Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. Normally theses events do not fall in the same year, but because of the COVID-19 Pandemic the Ryder Cup did not take place in 2020.

September 4 – 6: The Solheim Cup – How to Watch

There may be ways to stream the coverage online but I could not find it so I am sharing the broadcast information. The Solheim Cup can be viewed (in the USA) on Golf Channel (GC) and NBC. Here is the schedule from the Golf Channel website.

TV schedule: Saturday, Day 1 foursomes and fourballs: 7:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (GC), 12:30-2:30 p.m. (NBC), 2:30-6 p.m. (GC); Sunday, Day 2 foursomes and fourballs: 7:30 a.m. – noon (GC), noon-1:30 p.m. (NBC), 1:30-6 p.m. (GC); Sunday, Day 3 singles: noon-6 p.m. (GC)

Will the USA Win?

In 2017 it was an exciting cup in Scotland at Gleneagles, it appeared the USA was going to win until Suzanne Peterson made a memorable putt and won the cup for Europe (and then announced her retirement on the green as she celebrated.) Europe won 14 1/2 to 13 1/2.

The USA has a strong team! The number one player in the women’s game, Nelly Korda is playing well and her sister is back too. In 2017 Nelly and her sister Jessica won both their matches so I assume we will see that winning duo again. Overall, with great players and a home field advantage the USA are heavy favorites to win at Inverness in Ohio.

September 24 – 26: The Ryder Cup – How to Watch

According to the Ryder Cup Website, featured matches will be streamed live on the site. The broadcast schedule listed on the Ryder Cup site is as follows:

Friday, Sept. 24GOLF8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 25GOLF8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 25NBC9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 26NBCNoon to 6 p.m.

In 2018 the Ryder Cup was in France and Europe beat the USA 17 1/2 to 10 1/2. Who will win in 2021at Whistling Straits? On paper the USA has the edge but golf analyst’s are questioning if the USA can come together as a “team” given the personality issues (e.g., Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau). I think the men should be able to put aside their egos for one week for the good of the team. The big question, will team Europe do as they have in the past and rise to the occasion and win on US soil?

As they say in broadcasting “stay tuned!”