Cornwall is a very proud county this morning with the news that Harry Hall (West Cornwall Golf Club) has been selected as one of the ten players who will represent Great Britain and Ireland when they take on the United States of America in the 47th Walker Cup match at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September.

The R&A made the team announcement this morning and took to Twitter to do so. PGA Professionals Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Graham McDowell, Padraig Harrington and Robert McIntyre were filmed announcing the team members and wishing them good luck in the upcoming encounter. You can view the announcement here

GB&I is bidding to win back the famous trophy after the USA secured a 19-7 victory in the 2017 match at Los Angeles Country Club. Home advantage has favoured the winners in recent matches with GB&I winning the biennial encounter in 2011 at Royal Aberdeen and 2015 at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

Hall, who has recently completed a 4 year US College Course at the University of Nevada and Las Vegas, will not be the first player from West Cornwall to represent GB&I in the Walker Cup. In 1999 Phil Rowe was at the pinnacle of his amateur status and represented the team in the match against the USA winning  3 points from 3. Rowe himself is now based in the USA at UNLV and has been closely involved in Hall’s own burgeoning career. Harry finished runner-up in this season’s Brabazon Trophy and represented England in the European Amateur Team Championship. In 2018, he won the William H Tucker and the Little Rock First Tee Classic in US college golf and was selected to play in the Arnold Palmer Cup match against the United States of America.His selection is richly deserved.Well done 'H'!

Apart from Hall the GB&I team includes two other South West Region based players in the form of the Somerset duo of Tom Sloman and Thomas Plumb. Also included are the Amateur champion James Sugrue, the English Amateur champion Conor Gough and Conor Purcell who won the Australian Amateur Championship earlier this year. Alex Fitzpatrick, whose brother Matthew played in the Walker Cup in 2013, is also selected alongside Scotland’s Euan Walker who finished runner-up in both The Amateur Championship and European Amateur Championship.

Craig Watson, the GB&I captain, said, “It has been a very difficult decision to select ten players for Great Britain and Ireland from a strong squad but we have been very impressed with the results of those we have picked and we believe they will give us the best chance of regaining the Walker Cup against a strong American team.

“The Walker Cup is a fantastic opportunity for these amateur golfers to demonstrate their talents on the big stage and it will be an experience that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We are looking forward to the match at Hoylake and I’m sure the players will give it their very best to win.”

The full GB&I team is: Alex Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire, 20), Conor Gough (Stoke Park, 16), Harry Hall ( West Cornwall, 21), Thomas Plumb (Yeovil, 20), Conor Purcell (Portmarnock, 21), Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk, 26), Sandy Scott (Nairn, 20), Tom Sloman (Taunton & Pickeridge, 22), James Sugrue (Mallow, 22) and Euan Walker (Kilmarnock (Barassie), 24)

Two Reserves have been named and they are Benjamin Schmidt (Rotherham, 16) and Benjamin Jones (Northamptonshire County, 19)

Player Profiles - courtesy of the R&A

Alex Fitzpatrick

Representing Wake Forest University has recorded a series of top ten finishes in US college golf this year including the Jones Cup Invitational, the General Hackler Championship, the Valspar Collegiate and the ACC Championship. In 2018 he reached the quarter-finals of the US Amateur Championship. He also played for GB&I in the 2017 Jacques Leglise Trophy at Ballybunion.

Conor Gough

Won the 2019 English Amateur Championship at Hankley Common to add to the Major Champions Invitational title he captured in March of this season. In 2018, he won the R&A Boys Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush, the Fairhaven Trophy and English U16 McGregor Trophy. Played for the winning GB&I team in the 2018 Jacques Leglise Trophy.

Harry Hall

The University of Las Vegas student finished runner-up in this season’s Brabazon Trophy and represented England in the European Amateur Team Championship. In 2018, he won the William H Tucker and the Little Rock First Tee Classic in US college golf and was selected to play in the Arnold Palmer Cup match against the United States of America.

Thomas Plumb

Plumb defeated 2018 Junior Open champion Martin Vorster to win the SANLAM Cape Province Open in March of this year. He finished seventh in the St Andrews Links Trophy and played for England in the European Amateur Team Championship. He represented GB&I in the 2017 Jacques Leglise Trophy at Ballybunion.

Conor Purcell

In 2019 he won the Australian Amateur Championship in January and achieved runner-up berths in the West of Ireland Amateur Open and Irish Amateur Open Championship. In 2018, he reached the semi-finals of The Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen and represented GB&I in the St Andrews Trophy match played in Finland.

Caolan Rafferty

The R&A Foundation scholar who attends Maynooth University pipped fellow Irishman Connor Purcell to the West of Ireland Amateur Open title at County Sligo in April. Rafferty has also recorded top five finishes in the South African Amateur Championship, The R&A Foundation Scholars’ Tournament, the European Nations Cup and the St Andrews Links Trophy this season. He won the South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Lahinch in 2018.

Sandy Scott

As a student at Texas Tech University, won the 2019 El Macero Classic and picked up top five finishes in the Showdown in the Rockies, the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, the Lake Charles Toyota Invite and the Big 12 Championship. Reached the quarter-finals of The Amateur Championship where he was beaten by finalist and fellow Scot, Euan Walker. He played in the International team that defeated the United States of America in the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup. 

Tom Sloman

Won the 2019 European Nations Cup at RCG Sotogrande by one shot. He has achieved top ten finishes in the Australian Amateur Championship and The Avondale Amateur, the Coupe Murat and the Brabazon Trophy, while also reaching the latter stages of the English Amateur Championship.

James Sugrue

Became the first Irishman to win The Amateur Championship since 2005 when he defeated Euan Walker by two holes at Portmarnock. He narrowly missed the cut in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush. Sugrue represented Ireland in the European Amateur Team Championship this summer.

Euan Walker

Started this year in fine form by winning the African Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Leopard Creek before finishing runner-up in both The Amateur Championship and European Amateur Championship this summer. Also recorded top five finishes in the European Nations Cup and the Brabazon Trophy.

Reserves:

Benjamin Schmidt

Has risen to prominence this season after winning the Brabazon Trophy, the Carris Trophy and the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters. Finished third in the Fairhaven Trophy and recorded top ten finishes in the Bernard Darwin Salver and the Portuguese International Amateur Championship. Won the Lee Westwood Trophy in 2018.

Benjamin Jones

This season has seen the Englishman reach the semi-finals of The Amateur Championship at Portmarnock, finish third in the European Amateur Championship and record top five finishes in the NSW Amateur, the Spanish Amateur Copa S M El Rey, the Coupe Murat and the Brabazon Trophy. He represented England in the 2019 European Amateur Team Championship.