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| Jack McDonald (Photo courtesy of the Scottish Golf Union) |
Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie), alongside fellow Scot Grant Forrest (Craigielaw), was named today as one of the 10 man Great Britain & Ireland team who will contest the walker Cup against the United States Of America at Royal Lythan & St Annes on 12th and 13th of September.
McDonald becomes the first Ayrshire player to be selected for the Walker Cup since Michael Stewart was in the successful G B & I team who won 14 - 12 at Royal Aberdeen in 2011, and is 10th player from the county to play in the event
The other Ayrshire players who have contested the Walker Cup are:-
John Wilson (Prestwick St Nicholas) - 1923
J. Morty Dykes (Prestwick) - 1936
W. Dick Smith (Prestwick) - 1959
Jimmy Walker (Irvine) - 1961
Colin Montgomerie (Royal Troon) - 1985 & 1987
Paul Girvan (Prestwick St Nicholas) - 1987
Jim Milligan (Kilmarnock Barassie) - 1989 & 1991
Gordon Sherry (Kilmarnock Barassie) 1995
Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) 2011
(Report from the Scottsih Golf Union website)
Scots duo Grant Forrest and Jack McDonald have today been named in the Great Britain and Ireland team to face the USA in the 2015 Walker Cup match, which will be played at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club next month.
A 10-player team and two reserves have been named for the 45th Walker Cup contest with a record five Irish players included in the line-up for the meeting on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September.
Forrest, 22, from Craigielaw (pictured), and Kilmarnock Barassie’s McDonald, 22, have earned their inclusion after fine seasons, with Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden), 19, named as the first reserve.
The Irish contingent contains Paul Dunne, who shared the lead going into the final round of The Open Championship at St Andrews last month.
Forrest was the runner-up in this year’s Amateur Championship and played a key role in Scotland’s victory at last month’s European Amateur Team Championship, winning five points out of six. In 2014, the former Scottish Boys and Scottish Amateur champion won the St Andrews Links Trophy and was part of the victorious European Palmer Cup team.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Forrest. “It was one of my goals I set out two years ago. I’ve played some pretty good golf since then and it’s going to a great finish to this amateur season.
“It’s going to be amazing. From playing in the Palmer Cup last year, it’s a similar event and will be good to go toe to toe with the US. It’s our best against their best, so it’s going to be a hard fight for both teams. Lytham is a course most of us know really well, so that should stand in our favour.
“I think Lytham suits Jack really well, you have to be really accurate from the tees and have a good short game. He has got a pretty good record there. The team is probably close to what people expected, but Ewen has just missed out. It can almost be harder to take, knowing you are the first reserve. He is a great player and he is still pretty young.”
McDonald reached the semi-finals of The Amateur Championship and was also part of the winning Scottish team in Europe, like Forrest, winning five points out of six, and finishing tied fourth in the individual standings. The R&A Foundation Scholar also achieved top-15 finishes at the Lytham Trophy, the Irish Amateur Open Championship, the Scottish Stroke Play Championship and the St Andrews Links Trophy.
GB&I will be aiming to win back the trophy after the USA enjoyed a 17-9 victory in the 2013 match at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, New York.
“The Walker Cup offers these players a tremendous opportunity to display their abilities and gain invaluable experience of playing in international team competition.
Welshman Nigel Edwards, 47, who will be captaining the GB&I team for the third time, said: “We have selected a talented group of players who compete at the highest levels of amateur golf and, in some cases, have played in Major Championships and Tour events.
Welshman Nigel Edwards, 47, who will be captaining the GB&I team for the third time, said: “We have selected a talented group of players who compete at the highest levels of amateur golf and, in some cases, have played in Major Championships and Tour events.
The GB&I team:
- Ashley Chesters, 26, Hawkstone Park, England
- Paul Dunne, 22, Greystones, Ireland
- Grant Forrest, 22, Craigielaw, Scotland
- Sam Horsfield, 18, Davenport, Florida, USA
- Jack Hume, 21, Naas, Ireland
- Gary Hurley, 22, West Waterford, Ireland
- Jack McDonald, 22, Kilmarnock (Barassie), Scotland
- Gavin Moynihan, 20, The Island, Ireland
- Jimmy Mullen, 21, Royal North Devon, England
- Cormac Sharvin, 22, Ardglass, Ireland
Reserves:
- Ewen Ferguson, 19, Bearsden, Scotland
- Bradley Moore, 17, Kedleston Park, England
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