2017 Walker Cup
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Sep 8th, 2017
Walker Cup 2017 Meet the GB & Ireland team
The lads are in La la Land
Words: Tim Southwell Photography: Getty Images Styling: GolfPunk
The GB & Ireland Walker Cup team take on USA at the Los Angeles Country Club. But who are they, where have they come from, and what are their intentions? Find out here...
David Boote, 23, Wales
*Born Sept. 22, 1993 in England
*No. 40 in World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Graduated with a degree in human biology from Stanford University, where he was a teammate of 2017 USA Walker Cup competitor Maverick McNealy
*Two-time All-American at Stanford with 13 top-10 finishes
*Advanced to Round of 64 in 2017 Amateur Championship at Royal St. George's and reached the Round of 32 in Australian Amateur
*Advanced to the quarterfinals of 2016 U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills C.C. in first USGA championship
*Lost out in seven-man playoff in 2017 U.S. Open Walton Heath sectional qualifier in Surrey, England
*Lost in playoff in Final Qualifying for 2017 Open Championship at Royal Cinque Ports
*Earned top-10 finishes in both 2017 St. Andrews Links Trophy and Lytham Trophy
*Helped Wales win 2017 European National Trophy in Spain
*Represented Wales in 2016 World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico, finishing ninth individually
*Member of victorious 2016 European Palmer Cup Team
*Member of victorious 2016 GB&I St. Andrews Trophy Team (vs. Continental Europe)
*2015 Welsh Amateur champion
Jack Davidson, 20, Wales
*Born Dec. 13, 1996 in Wales
*No. 48 in World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Won the 2017 Welsh Amateur, defeating Timothy Harry, 8 and 7, in championship match, and Evan Griffith in 20 holes in the semifinals
*Won 2017 Spanish Amateur after claiming the final spot for match play, then defeating Marco Penge, of England, 4 and 3, in the final
*Achieved third-place finishes in the 2017 South American Amateur in Buenos Aires, Argentina (behind 2016 Latin America Amateur champion Paul Chaplet and world No. 1 and McCormack Medal winner Joaquin Niemann), and Welsh Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship
*In 2016, Davidson had top-10 finishes in the Australia Master of the Amateurs, Lake Macquarie Amateur and New South Wales Amateur
Highlights from 2015 GB & Ireland record win
Harry Ellis, 21, England
*Born Sept. 10, 1995 in England
*No. 80 in World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Won The Amateur Championship in June at Royal St. George's, rallying from 4 down with 5 to play to defeat Dylan Perry, of Australia, in 38 holes
*Victory earned him exemption into 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale (missed cut)
*Also has exemption into 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and likely invitation to 2018 Masters
*Youngest winner of the English Amateur in 2012 at the age of 16
*Joined Michael Bonallack and Michael Lunt as players to have won the English Amateur and The Amateur Championship, conducted by The R&A
*Senior at Florida State University
*Honorable-mention All-American for 2016-17 season after posting three top-10 finishes, including a tie for fifth in the NCAA Washington Regional
*Named to 2016-17 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team and All-ACC Academic Team
*Member of 2017 European Palmer Cup Team
*Earned his B.S. this summer in sports management
*Third Florida State golfer to compete in Walker Cup, joining A. Downing Gray Jr. (USA) and Jeremy Robinson (GB&I)
Scott Gregory, 22, England
*Born Jan. 10, 1994 in England
*No. 7 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Claimed 2016 Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl in Wales with 2-and-1 win over 2017 Walker Cup teammate Robert MacIntyre
*Victory earned Gregory exemptions into 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon (one of two amateurs in the field) and 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills as well as an invitation to 2017 Masters
*Helped England finish second in 2016 World Amateur Team Championship
*Competed in 2016 and 2017 U.S. Amateur, advancing to Round of 32 last year at Oakland Hills C.C.
*Won three of his matches representing England in 2017 European Team Championship, where team finished second (lost to Spain in final)
*Advanced to the Round of 16 in 2017 Australian Amateur and won the New South Wales Amateur
*Runner-up in 2016 Spanish Amateur
*Runner-up in 2014 English Amateur
Rory McIlroy on the 2007 Walker Cup
Mathew Jordan, 21, England
*Born Jan. 18, 1996 in England
*No. 30 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Won 2017 St. Andrews Links Trophy with 72-hole score of 11-under 277
*Runner-up in 2017 Scottish Stroke Play Championship
*Tied for fourth in Irish Amateur Open and was fifth in the Brabazon Trophy
*Helped England finish second in European Team Championship (lost to Spain in final)
*Finished sixth in European Amateur Championship (72-hole total of 13-under 275)
*Tied for seventh in Lytham Trophy
*Qualified for match play in 2017 Amateur Championship at Royal St. George's
Robert MacIntyre, 21, Scotland
*Born March 8, 1996 in Scotland
*No. 14 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Left-hander was runner-up in 2016 Amateur Championship to GB&I Walker Cup teammate Scott Gregory at Royal Porthcawl
*Member of 2016 Scotland side that retained European Team Championship title
*Finished fourth at European Amateur Championship at Walton Heath (14-under 274)
*Advanced to the Round of 32 in 2017 U.S. Amateur at The Riviera Country Club
*Advanced to semifinals of this year's Australian Amateur
*Won 2015 Scottish Amateur
*Represented Scotland in 2016 World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico
Paul McBride, 21, Republic Of Ireland
*Born Oct. 15, 1995 in Republic of Ireland
*No. 53 in World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Senior at Wake Forest University, where he is a teammate of 2017 USA Walker Cup competitor Will Zalatoris
*Joint runner-up in individual standings of 2017 European Team Championship (3-under 141)
*Tied for 13th in European Amateur Championship at Walton Heath
*Advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 Amateur Championship at Royal St. George's
*Played all four rounds of Porsche European Open on the European Tour in July, finishing at 2 under par (T-47)
*Named All-Atlantic Coast Conference for 2016-17 season
*Runner-up in 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship (one of four golfers in a playoff)
*Advanced to the Round of 32 (with partner and fellow Wake golfer Cameron Young) in 2016 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Winged Foot
*Semifinalist in 2016 Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl
*By shooting first-round 66, he helped Ireland tie for third in 2016 World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico, the country's first WATC medal.
Alfie Plant, 25, England
*Born June 7, 1992 in England
*No. 43 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Won 2017 European Amateur at Walton Heath on the fifth playoff hole to earn an exemption into The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale
*Claimed Silver Medal as the leading amateur in The Open Championship (T-62)
*Advanced to match play in 2017 Amateur Championship at Royal St. George's
*Finished joint runner-up in the individual standings of the 2017 European Team Championship
*Helped England finish second in the 2017 European Team Championship (lost to Spain in final)
*Won 2016 Lytham Trophy
*Advanced to the Round of 32 in this year's Spanish Amateur and Australian Amateur
*Helped England finish second in the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico, rolling in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to edge Ireland and Austria by one stroke
*Runner-up in 2015 English Amateur
*Also played competitive table tennis and soccer before turning to golf full-time
*Has run the London Marathon in just over 4 hours
*He has also parachuted from a plane, bungee jumped and gone cage-diving among great white sharks
Jack Singh Brar, 20, England
*Born Nov. 18, 1996 in England
*No. 64 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Won the 2017 Lytham Trophy by two strokes over Charlie Strickland
*Runner-up in 2016 Brabazon Trophy with a 72-hole total of 9-under 283
*Posted a top-10 finish in the individual standings at the European Team Championship
*Tied for seventh in European Amateur Championship at 12-under 276
*Eliminated in the Round of 64 at 2017 U.S. Amateur at The Riviera Country Club
*Advanced to the Round of 16 at Australian Amateur
*Advanced to the Round of 64 in The Amateur Championship at Royal St. George's, and Spanish Amateur
*Began calendar year with runner-up finish in the Avondale Medal and was quarterfinalist in New South Wales Amateur
Connor Syme, 22, Scotland
*Born Nov. 7, 1995 in Scotland
*No. 9 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
*Advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 U.S. Amateur Championship at The Riviera Country Club, losing to eventual runner-up Doug Ghim. Beat world No. 2 Maverick McNealy in the Round of 64
*Won 2016 Australian Amateur Championship
*Member of victorious Scotland side in 2017 European Team Championship
*Qualified to play in The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale
*Medalist in 2016 Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl/Kyle & Penfig
*Represented Scotland in 2016 World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico
*Recorded top-10 finishes in the African Amateur Stroke Play (second), Scottish Stroke Play (fifth), Irish Amateur Open (T-7) and Brabazon Trophy (T-8)
*Finished 17th in 2017 European Amateur Championship at Walton Heath
