One of amateur golf’s greatest events meets one of the world’s great links.
The 51st Walker Cup arrives at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland, September 5–6, bringing together 10 of the best amateur players from the United States against 10 from Great Britain & Ireland.
Set along Ireland’s spectacular Atlantic coastline, Lahinch provides a fitting stage for one of golf’s most historic competitions. The legendary links was influenced by Old Tom Morris and later redesigned by Alister MacKenzie, years before his work at Augusta National.
The Walker Cup has long provided an early look at golf’s future stars, with past competitors including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa.
Before the matches begin, take a look at the course Flyover that will decide the 51st Walker Cup.
51st Walker Cup Match – Fact Sheet Sept. 5-6, 2026, Lahinch Golf Club, County Clare, Republic of Ireland
THE WALKER CUP MATCH
The Walker Cup Match is contested by male amateur golfers, one team from the United States of America and one team composed of players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The teams consist of no more than 10 players and a captain. The Match is conducted every two years, alternately in the USA and in Great Britain or Ireland. This is the 51st Walker Cup Match. Beginning this year, the Match will move to even years, with the 52nd Walker Cup set to be held in 2028 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.
TEAM SELECTION
The USA Team is selected by the United States Golf Association’s International Team Selection working group. The R&A selects the team from Great Britain and Ireland.
SCHEDULE OF PLAY
On Saturday, Sept. 5, there will be four foursomes (alternate-shot) matches in the morning and eight singles matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, Sept. 6, there will be four foursomes matches in the morning and 10 singles matches in the afternoon. All matches will be 18 holes.
All Times BST:
Friday, Sept. 4 (Note: All times are subject to change)
5 p.m. – Opening Ceremony
Saturday, Sept. 5
8:30 a.m. – Foursomes (four matches)
2 p.m. – Singles (eight matches)
Sunday, Sept. 6
8 a.m. – Foursomes (four matches)
1:30 p.m. – Singles (10 matches)
6 p.m. – Closing Ceremony
FOURSOMES
Foursomes is a match in which two players compete against two other players in an alternate-shot format, with each side playing one ball.
SCORING
One full point is awarded for each victory, while a half-point is earned for matches that are all square after 18 holes. The USA needs 13 points to retain the Cup, while GB&I requires 13.5 points to reclaim it.
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
The 2026 Walker Cup Match will receive at least 18 hours of live network coverage.
Date Network Broadcast Hours (EDT)
Sept. 5 Golf Channel 3:30 a.m. – 8 a.m. (Foursomes)
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (Singles)
Sept. 6 Golf Channel 3 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. (Foursomes)
8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. (Singles)
WALKER CUP MATCH HISTORY
This is the 51st Walker Cup Match. The competition began in the wake of World War I, following a series of meetings between the United States Golf Association and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the key purpose of which was a discussion of modifying the Rules of Golf. As part of the meetings, an international team competition was discussed, with the aim of strengthening understanding and friendship between The R&A and the USGA.
Among those attending the meetings was George Herbert Walker, USGA president in 1920. Walker soon presented a plan for the competition and offered to donate a trophy. When the press dubbed the trophy the Walker Cup, the name stuck.
The first Walker Cup Match was contested in 1922 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y. Led by playing captain William C. Fownes Jr.; the USA won the inaugural Match, 8-4. The USA leads the series, 40-9-1. Since 2017, the USA has won five consecutive Matches. The last time GB&I reigned victorious was in 2015 when they claimed the cup at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in Lancashire, England.
RECENT WALKER CUP HISTORY
2025 Walker Cup: Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, Calif. (USA 17, GB&I 9)
2023 Walker Cup: St. Andrews (Old Course), St. Andrews, Scotland (USA 14½, GB&I 11½)
2021 Walker Cup: Seminole Golf Club, Juno Beach, Fla. (USA 14, GB&I 12)
2019 Walker Cup: Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, England (USA 15½, GB&I 10½)
2017 Walker Cup: The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club, North Course (USA 19, GB&I 7)
2015 Walker Cup: Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Lancashire, England (GB&I 16½, USA 9½)
2013 Walker Cup: National Golf Links of America, Southampton, N.Y. (USA 17, GB&I 9)
2011 Walker Cup: Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, Aberdeen, Scotland (GB&I 14, USA 12)
2009 Walker Cup: Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa. (USA 16½, GB&I 9½)
2007 Walker Cup: Royal County Down, Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland (USA 12½, GB&I 11½)
2005 Walker Cup: Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, Ill. (USA 12½, GB&I 11½)
2003 Walker Cup: Ganton Golf Club, Ganton, England (GB&I 12½, USA 11½)
2001 Walker Cup: Ocean Forest Golf Club, Sea Island, Ga. (GB&I 15, USA 9)
FUTURE SITES (exact dates TBD)
2028: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, in Bandon, Ore.
2030: Prince’s Golf Club, in Kent, England
2032: Oakmont Country Club, in Oakmont, Pa.
2036: Chicago Golf Club, in Wheaton, Ill.
2040: National Golf Links of America, in Southampton, N.Y.
2044: Pine Valley Golf Club, in Pine Hill, N.J.
2048: Cypress Point Club, in Pebble Beach, Calif.
2052: Seminole Golf Club, in Juno Beach, Fla.
2025 WALKER CUP RECAP
As fog blanketed the Monterey Peninsula on Sunday, the United States turned a tight contest into a runaway victory, winning 10½ of 14 points to defeat Great Britain and Ireland, 17-9, in the 50th Walker Cup Match at Cypress Point. Team USA entered the day with a 6½-5½ advantage after going 5-2-1 in Saturday’s singles, then split Sunday morning’s foursomes, 2-2, before winning eight of the 10 afternoon singles matches to secure its largest final-session margin (8-1-1) since 2009, when the Match expanded to 10 Sunday singles bouts. Jackson Koivun posted a 3-1 mark, including two singles victories over GB&I standout Tyler Weaver, while Mason Howell joined Jordan Spieth as the youngest players to achieve a 2-0-1 record and produced the shot of the week with a walk-off eagle from 147 yards alongside Jacob Modleski in Sunday’s foursomes. University of Oklahoma standout Jase Summy also finished 3-1 after defeating Cameron Adam in his Sunday afternoon singles match, while Stewart Hagestad, the team’s lone mid-amateur, defeated Eliot Baker on Sunday, 4-and-3, to improve to 7-1 all-time in singles and help his fifth Walker Cup team secure a victory.
2026 WALKER CUP CAPTAINS
TEAM USA:
Nathan Smith, 48, of Pittsburgh, Pa., captained the victorious USA Team at Cypress Point Club in September 2025 after competing in three Walker Cups for the USA as a player in 2009, 2011 and 2013, compiling a 3-4-1 overall record. The 2009 and 2013 sides were victorious at Merion Golf Club and National Golf Links of America, respectively. Smith, 47, has won five USGA championships, including a record four U.S. Mid-Amateurs (2003, 2009, 2010 and 2012). He also teamed with his 2013 Walker Cup mate Todd White to capture the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title in 2015 at The Olympic Club. Smith also helped Pennsylvania win the 2009 USGA Men’s State Team Championship at the Country Club of St. Albans in Missouri. In 2014, he advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Smith was a Division III All-American at Allegheny College, in Meadville, Pa., and he has been inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame. In 2002, he won the Pennsylvania Amateur and nine years later he captured the Sunnehanna Amateur. In 2004, Smith competed in the first of his four Masters Tournaments, where he was paired with Arnold Palmer, who was playing in his final Masters.
TEAM GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND:
Dean Robertson, 56, of Scotland, captained the 2025 Walker Cup Team at Cypress Point Club and represented Great Britain & Ireland in the 1993 Walker Cup Match at Interlachen Country Club in Minnesota. Although GB&I lost, Robertson did record a singles victory over USA legend Jay Sigel. Born in Canada, Robertson attended Midland College in Texas. A year before his Walker Cup appearance, he represented GB&I in the World Amateur Team Championship and St. Andrews Trophy against Continental Europe, a GB&I win at Royal Cinque Ports, and in the 1993 European Team Championships. In 1993, he claimed the Scottish Amateur Championship. He turned professional in 1993. One of this two professional victories came in the 1999 Italian Open on the European Tour (now DP World Tour). That year he finished a career-best 25th on the circuit’s Order of Merit. He also claimed the 2006 Scottish PGA Championship. Robertson currently serves as the high-performance golf coach at the University of Stirling in Scotland. In 2024, he captained the GB&I side against Continental Europe in the St. Andrews Trophy. He also captained the 2009 European Palmer Cup Team.
Nine of the Top 10 in the Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking® are in the field as of Sept. 2:
· No. 1 – Preston Stout (USA)
· No. 3 – Tyler Weaver (GB&I)
· No. 2 – Tyler Watts (USA)
· No. 8 – Luke Poulter (GB&I)
· No. 4 – William Jennings (USA)
· No. 18 – Niall Sheils Donegan (GB&I)
· No. 5 – Miles Russell (USA)
· No. 18 – Eliot Baker (GB&I)
· No. 6 – Ryder Cowan (USA)
· No. 26 – Connor Graham (GB&I)
· No. 7 – Josiah Gilbert (USA)
· No. 28 – Stuart Grehan (GB&I)
· No. 9 – Ethan Fang (USA)
· No. 45 – Jack Whaley (GB&I)
· No. 11 – Kihei Akina (USA)
· No. 76 – Sam Easterbrook (GB&I)
· No. 12 – Jay Leng Jr. (USA)
· No. 86 – Ben Bolton (GB&I)
· No. 25 – Stewart Hagestad (USA)
· No. 93 – Josh Hill (GB&I)
2026 GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND TEAM:
Eliot Baker, 23, of England, is competing in his second Walker Cup for Team GB&I. At last year’s Match at Cypress Point, Baker went 1-3, earning a Saturday foursomes victory over Fang and Stout alongside teammate Stuart Grehan. The 23-year-old recently advanced to the Round of 64 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur before falling to Joshua Bai. He was runner-up at the 2026 England Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship and tied for ninth at this year’s European Amateur. In 2025, Baker enjoyed a dominant campaign, winning the Scottish Men’s Amateur at North Berwick by seven strokes, advancing to the Round of 16 at The Amateur Championship and going undefeated at the St. Andrews Trophy to help GB&I defeat the Continent of Europe. The Devon native also made his DP World Tour debut in Scotland at the Nexo Championship, finishing as the low amateur in 15th place at 3-under 285.
Ben Bolton, 19, of England, is making his first Walker Cup appearance for Team GB&I after a recent T-13 finish at the 2026 European Amateur Championship. In addition to his strong showing in Finland, Bolton tied for third at the 2026 Lytham Trophy and qualified for match play at The Amateur Championship in June at Royal Liverpool. The Englishman also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur at Trinity Forest before falling to Qiyou Wu of the People’s Republic of China, 1 up. Bolton has represented England on multiple occasions, most recently at the country’s 38th biennial match against France, where he helped England to a victory at Golf de Chantilly in France.
Sam Easterbrook, 21, of England, is making his first Walker Cup appearance for Team GB&I. A rising senior at Purdue University, Easterbrook recently competed in the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion, narrowly missing the cut at 3 over. With his Walker Cup selection, the Tamworth native became the first Boilermaker in 43 years to be named to the Match. During the 2025-26 season, he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after appearing in 13 events, recording seven top-10 finishes and a 70.72 stroke average, the second-lowest single-season mark in program history. Easterbrook reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool and narrowly missed qualifying for The Open Championship through Final Qualifying and the Last Chance Qualifier. He also recently represented England at the European Amateur Team Championship in Estonia.
Connor Graham, 19, of Scotland, is set to compete in his third Walker Cup for Team GB&I. In 2023, Graham became the youngest-ever member of the team at 16 years old. The Scotsman is a rising junior at Texas Tech University, where he posted a 70.2 scoring average across 12 tournaments during the 2025-26 season. Graham recorded three top 10 finishes, including a career-best runner-up finish at The Clerico in Oklahoma, and was named first-team All-Big 12 while earning honorable mention All-America honors from Golfweek and PING. Graham recently advanced to match play at the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion, doing so for the second consecutive year. Earlier this summer, he also advanced to match play at the 2026 European Amateur Championship and The Amateur Championship. In 2025, Graham made his major championship debut at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush and was a member of the winning International Team at the Arnold Palmer Cup for the second consecutive year.
Stuart Grehan, 33, of the Republic of Ireland, is making his second Walker Cup appearance for Team GB&I after going 1-2-1 at last year’s Match at Cypress Point. Grehan made his long-awaited Walker Cup debut eight years after a broken forearm ended his hopes of playing in the 2017 Match. The former professional regained his amateur status in 2025 and captured a premier victory at 2026’s The Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool. He also competed in this year’s U.S. Amateur at Merion and The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Following his amateur reinstatement, Grehan won multiple tournaments in his home country, including the 2025 Irish Amateur Open and Irish Men’s Amateur Closed Championship. More recently, he won the 2026 East of Ireland Men’s Open Amateur Championship. The lone Irishman in this year’s Walker Cup also owns a victory at the match’s host site, winning the South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch in 2015. He is the second-oldest player in this year’s competition behind Team USA’s Stewart Hagestad.
Josh Hill, 22, of England, is set to appear in his first Walker Cup for Team GB&I after a career senior season at the University of Tennessee. The Englishman, who grew up in Dubai, recorded eight top-25 finishes in his final season with the Volunteers, highlighted by third place at the NCAA Bryan Regional. His performances earned him PING All-Southeast Region honors. Hill first attracted international attention in 2019, when, at just 15 years old, he won the Al Ain Open on the MENA Tour to become the youngest player to win a professional tournament carrying Official World Golf Ranking points. He finished his four-year Tennessee career with seven top tens and 18 top-25 finishes. The Englishman has also previously represented GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy.
Luke Poulter, 22, of England, is making his second Walker Cup appearance for Team GB&I after an All-American season at Florida. Poulter, the son of seven-time Ryder Cupper Ian Poulter, went 2-2 at Cypress Point last year, earning both of his points in foursomes. He is the second-highest rated player on Team GB&I behind fellow Englishman Tyler Weaver. As a junior for the Florida Gators in 2025-26, Poulter appeared in 10 tournaments and shot par or better in eight. He won the second collegiate event of his career with an even-par 213 at the NCAA Columbus Regional and was named a 2026 Third-Team All-American by Golfweek and PING. Poulter recently competed in the 2026 U.S. Amateur but failed to advance to match play after the 16-for-11 playoff. He also represented the International Team at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup, helping it win for the second consecutive year.
Niall Sheils Donegan, 21, of Scotland, is set to make his second consecutive Walker Cup appearance for Team GB&I. Sheils Donegan won two of his three matches at last year’s Match, including a Saturday singles victory over Jacob Modleski. The Scotsman, who grew up in California, transferred to the University of North Carolina for the 2025-26 season after two years at Northwestern. With the Tar Heels, he led the team with a 69.91 scoring average, the fourth-best single-season mark in program history. He won the Tar Heel Intercollegiate at 12-under 198 and earned first-team All-ACC, PING All-East Region and second-team All-America honors. Sheils Donegan enjoyed a career-defining week at the 2025 U.S. Amateur, defeating Luke Poulter, Christian Maas and Preston Stout en route to the semifinals, where he fell to Jackson Herrington, 1 down. He recently competed in his third consecutive U.S. Amateur, advancing to the Round of 64 at Merion. Sheils Donegan has also represented Scotland on the international stage multiple times, most recently at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup, where he was a member of the victorious International Team.
Tyler Weaver, 21, of England, is set to make his second Walker Cup appearance for Team GB&I. The highest-ranked player on his team at No. 2 in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking®, Weaver enjoyed a stellar junior season at Florida State, which is well represented in this year’s Walker Cup with three players: Weaver, Miles Russell and Jack Whaley. Back issues have limited the Englishman’s play during the summer of 2026, but he owns a victory at the 2026 Valspar Collegiate. In 2025, Weaver was a member of the victorious International Team at the Arnold Palmer Cup and the GB&I team that won the St. Andrews Trophy. He also earned honorable mention All-America honors following a sophomore campaign with the Seminoles that included a victory at the Cabo Collegiate and a runner-up finish at the ACC Championship. Weaver made his major-championship debut at the 2025 U.S. Open and advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2025 U.S. Amateur. He went 1-3 at last year’s Walker Cup, falling to Jackson Koivun in both singles matches.
Jack Whaley, 22, of England, is set to make his first Walker Cup appearance for Team GB&I after a historic victory at the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion. The Florida State senior defeated Stanford’s Jay Leng Jr., 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final of the 126th U.S. Amateur to become just the third Englishman to win the Championship. With his victory, Whaley earned exemptions into the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and The 155th Open at St Andrews, as well as a likely invitation to the Masters Tournament. Whaley spent his first two collegiate seasons at NAIA Dalton State College in Georgia before transferring to Florida State last spring. While at Dalton State, he won five NAIA tournaments and earned every major national honor available in NAIA golf, including the Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Phil Mickelson Awards. In his debut season with the Seminoles, Whaley recorded four top-10 finishes. The Walker Cup will see Whaley share the stage with a few familiar faces, including Leng Jr., whom he defeated in the U.S. Amateur final, and Florida State teammate Tyler Weaver. Whaley and Weaver will also face their future Seminoles teammate, Miles Russell, who will suit up for the red, white and blue.
2026 USA TEAM:
Kihei Akina, 20, of Alpine, Utah, is set to appear in his first Walker Cup for Team USA. The Utahn earned the 2026 Phil Mickelson Award as the nation’s top collegiate freshman after being named 2025-26 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year in his first season at Brigham Young University. Akina tied for eighth in the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa and was runner-up in the Big 12 Conference Championship. He won a pair of collegiate tournaments in the 2025-26 season: R.E. Lamkin Invitational and Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational. The BYU Cougar made the 36-hole cut at the 2026 Wyndham Championship and tied for 16th in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open (2026). He also advanced to the Round of 64 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur and quarterfinals of the 2026 Amateur Championship held at Royal Liverpool. He was a member of the 2025 U.S. National Junior Team and was chosen earlier this year to be a member of the 2026 Elite Amateur Program as part of the U.S. National Development Program.
Ryder Cowan, 20, of Edmond, Okla., is making his debut Walker Cup appearance for Team USA. The Oklahoman will cap off a monumental summer where he earned low-amateur honors at the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, finishing T-23 at 5-over-par 285. The rising University of Oklahoma senior qualified for his first U.S. Open by posting 6-under 138 at BallenIsles C.C. and then surviving a 3-for-2 playoff for the final spots. During his junior season with the Sooners, Cowan posted one collegiate victory in Hawaii (Kaanapali Classic). He also finished fourth individually at the NCAA Corvallis (Ore.) Regional. Moreover, he was the runner-up in the Valspar Collegiate Invitational behind Team GB&I’s Tyler Weaver and finished third in the Maridoe Collegiate. Cowan has qualified for the last three U.S. Amateurs and most recently advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur. After qualifying for match play at Merion, Cowan defeated Miles Russell, 2 and 1, in the Round of 64. After a victory over Canada’s Justin Matthews in the Round of 32, Cowan fell to Auburn’s Logan Reilly in 20 holes during the Round of 16.
Ethan Fang, 21, of Plano, Texas, is set to make his second consecutive Walker Cup appearance. Fang returns to the Walker Cup after a strong junior season at Oklahoma State that included a victory at the Maridoe Collegiate and a top-10 finish at the Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship. The Texan also made his U.S. Open debut at Shinnecock Hills in June. In 2025, he captured The Amateur Championship at Royal St. George’s, becoming the first American in 18 years to win the Championship with a victory over Gavin Tiernan. That year, Fang also competed in the U.S. Amateur, helped Oklahoma State win the NCAA Division I Championship and advanced to the 18-hole final of the Western Amateur. Those performances helped him earn a spot on the victorious 2025 USA Walker Cup Team. At Cypress Point, Fang posted a 1-2-1 record, closing with a 5-and-4 singles victory over Stuart Grehan as the Americans went 8-1-1 in the Match’s final session. Fang also represented the United States at the World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore. In 2024, he advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National. More recently, Fang competed in the U.S. Amateur at Merion but failed to advance to match play. Before joining the Cowboys, Fang played one season at the University of California-Berkeley.
Josiah Gilbert, 20, of Millbrook, Ala., is a rising senior at Auburn set to make his first Walker Cup appearance for Team USA. Gilbert is coming off a standout junior season in which he helped lead the Tigers to the 2026 NCAA Division I Championship, his second national title after also helping Auburn win in 2024. During this year’s championship run, Gilbert was Auburn’s low player at both the NCAA Regionals and the NCAA Championship, shooting 11-under to finish third in stroke play. He went 2-1 in match play, highlighted by victories over two future Walker Cup teammates: a 4-and-3 win over Ethan Fang in the semifinals and a victory over Jay Leng Jr. in the quarterfinals. Gilbert’s 2025-26 season, which also included an individual victory at The Clerico Invitational at The Honors Course, earned him PING second-team All-America and first-team All-SEC honors. More recently, he advanced to match play in his third U.S. Amateur appearance at Merion and competed in the PGA Tour’s 2026 ISCO Championship.
Stewart Hagestad, 35, of Newport Beach, Calif., is competing in his sixth Walker Cup Match, owning a 7-1 mark in Walker Cup singles play. All five of his previous appearances were victories for the USA (2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025) and in 2017, he competed on his home course, The Los Angeles Country Club. Hagestad is a three-time champion of the U.S. Mid-Amateur (2016, 2021, 2023) and has qualified for five U.S. Opens (made cut in 2022 at The Country Club). To date, he is the only invited U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut at The Masters (2017). Hagestad made the stroke-play cut at the 2026 Western Amateur, tied for eighth in the 2026 Southern Amateur and advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur.
William Jennings, 20, of Greenville, S.C., is a rising junior at the University of Alabama set to make his first Walker Cup appearance for Team USA. Jennings is coming off a runner-up finish in the stroke-play portion of the 2026 NCAA Championship. His 2025-26 season with the Crimson Tide also featured four additional top-five finishes, including a victory at the NCAA Marana Regional. Following the season, he was named a PING First-Team All-American, becoming the ninth Crimson Tide golfer to earn the honor and the first since Robby Shelton in 2016. During his freshman campaign, Jennings recorded two runner-up finishes and his first collegiate victory at the Folds of Honor Collegiate. He also advanced to match play at the 2025 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco and reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 North & South Amateur. More recently, Jennings advanced to
the Round of 16 at the 2026 U.S. Amateur before falling to Carter Loflin in 19 holes. He also competed in the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club in August but missed the cut.
Jay Leng Jr., 20, of San Diego, Calif., will suit up for his first Walker Cup after an impressive summer that includes a runner-up showing in the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion, a win at the Western Amateur, a runner-up finish at the Northeast Amateur and a tie for fifth at the Southern Amateur. The rising junior at Stanford helped the Cardinal qualify for match play at the 2026 NCAA Championship. The SoCal native advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, defeating Miles Russell in the quarters before losing to eventual runner-up Tyler Watts, both future Walker Cup teammates. He qualified for match play in the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club and led Torrey Pines High School to the 2024 CIF state title. He also was a member of the 2023 USA Junior Ryder Cup Team.
Miles Russell, 17, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., will make his first Walker Cup appearance for Team USA as the youngest member of the 2026 squad. Russell is coming off a match-play appearance at the U.S. Amateur at Merion following a runner-up finish at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley C.C., where he was the stroke-play medalist. In June, Russell made the cut and finished T-39 in his U.S. Open debut at Shinnecock Hills. The left-hander, a member of the inaugural U.S. National Junior Team, also recently finished fifth at the Northeast Amateur, tied for second at the Jones Cup and won the 2026 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. The 2027 Florida State commit currently holds the No. 4 position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In 2024, Russell became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make a cut, doing so at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida. He was also named the American Junior Golf Association’s Player of the Year in 2023 and 2025. Even more, Russell reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club and the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills. He also received sponsor invitations to the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic and Bermuda Championship, narrowly missing the cut in both PGA Tour events.
Preston Stout, 21, of Richardson, Texas, is set to make his second Walker Cup appearance for Team USA as the highest-ranked amateur player in the world. Fresh off earning the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top-ranked player in the 2026 World Amateur Golf Ranking®, Stout will descend on Lahinch as one of Team USA’s top players. The Texan, who plays alongside Ethan Fang at Oklahoma State, claimed the NCAA Division I individual title in May at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif., earning his first U.S. Open start at Shinnecock Hills. A member of the victorious 2025 USA Walker Cup Team, Stout finished the 2025-26 season at No. 1 in the WAGR after posting four collegiate victories. In addition to his NCAA title, the Oklahoma State All-American successfully defended his Big 12 Championship in 2026, becoming the first player to win the conference title three consecutive times. He also won the 2025 Northeast Amateur and reached the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club after earning medalist honors in stroke play. At last year’s Walker Cup, Stout posted a 2-2 record, winning both of his singles matches, including a 2-and-1 victory over GB&I’s Luke Poulter. He also represented the United States at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup and World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore. More recently, Stout competed in the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion but did not advance to match play.
Tyler Watts, 18, of Huntsville, Ala., is an incoming freshman at the University of Tennessee who will make his first Walker Cup appearance for Team USA before beginning his collegiate career with the Volunteers. Watts became the youngest winner in the history of the Northeast Amateur when he captured the prestigious event in June at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I., by five strokes. The Tennessee freshman also made history last year by winning the 84th Sunnehanna Amateur after shooting 18-under, the lowest 72-hole score in the event’s history. The left-hander reached the championship match of the 2025 North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2. In 2023, Watts won the 107th Alabama State Amateur Championship at age 15, becoming the youngest player to win the title. A year later in 2024, Watts represented the United States at the Junior Presidents Cup in Canada and competed in the U.S. Amateur. The 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up, Watts has been a member of the U.S. National Junior Team since the program’s inception in 2024. He recently advanced to the Round of 16 as the No. 2 seed at the 2026 U.S. Amateur before falling to Walker Cup teammate and eventual champion, Jay Leng Jr.
