2003 Walker Cup Match Fact Sheet
Sept. 6-7, 2003
Ganton Golf Club
North Yorkshire, England

Par And Yardage – Ganton Golf Club is set up at 6,894 yards and par is 36-35—71.

Golf Course Architect – Tom Chisholm is credited with the original design, in 1891, with help from Robert Bird. There have been at least nine renovations since, including some by Harry Vardon in 1905, by Harry Colt in 1907, 1911 and 1931, by Alister McKenzie (greens) in 1920 and most recently by Frank Pennick in 1963.

What Is The Walker Cup Match? – The Walker Cup Match is contested by male amateur players, one team from the United States and one team from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The teams consist of not more than 10 players and a captain. The Match is conducted every two years, alternately in the U.S. and Great Britain/Ireland.

Schedule Of Play – On Saturday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 7, there will be four foursomes matches (18 holes each) each morning and eight singles matches (18 holes each) each afternoon.

Starting Times – (UK times, five hours ahead of EDT)

Saturday: 7:30 a.m. for foursomes, 12:30 p.m. for singles

Sunday: 8 a.m. for foursomes, 1 p.m. for singles

Media Confrences– Captains and players from each team will meet with all credentialed media on Thursday and Friday afternoons. Media conferences are also scheduled at the end of each day’s play.

The Foursomes– Foursomes is a match where two players compete against two other players in alternate shot format, with each side playing just one ball.

Scoring – A victory in each match scores one point. In the event a match goes 18 holes without a decision, one-half point is awarded to each side.

Team Selection – The U.S. teams is selected by the United States Golf Association, while the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, selects the team from Great Britain and Ireland.

Meet The 2003 U.S. Team – The U.S. team, captained by Bob Lewis, 59, of Pepper Pike, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, consists of the following players:

Note: Trip Kuehne was a member of the 1995 USA Walker Cup team, a team that also included Tiger Woods but lost to the GB&I squad nonetheless, 14-10. Kuehne was 0-2 in foursomes and 0-1 in singles.

Youngest And Oldest – Casey Wittenberg, 18, of Memphis, Tenn., is the youngest USA Walker Cup player since Brian Montgomery was named in 1987, at age 19. George Zahringer, 50, of New York, N.Y., is the oldest USA player since Bill Campbell was selected at age 53 in 1975.

Lewis And The Walker Cup – Bob Lewis, 59, of Pepper Pike, Ohio, played on four victorious Walker Cup teams for the USA – in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987. He compiled a career 5-2 record in both singles and foursomes play. Only eight golfers have been named to more USA Walker Cup teams than Lewis. Lewis is president and chief operating officer of Welded Tubes, Inc., a manufacturer of welded steel tubing, a company founded by his father in 1958.

Lewis In USGA Championships – Bob Lewis was runner-up at three USGA championships, including the 1980 U.S. Amateur, where, at age 35, he lost to Hal Sutton at the Country Club of North Carolina, 9 and 8. He also was runner-up at the 1981 and 1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships. He has qualified for the last three USGA Senior Amateur championships (age 55 and older).

Meet The Great Britian/Ireland Team – The GB&I team, captained by Garth McGimpsey, 48, of Bangor, Northern Ireland, consists of the following players:

Note: Gary Wolstenholme is playing on his fifth consecutive Walker Cup squad for GB&I. He has enjoyed team victories in 1995, 1999 and 2001. Overall, Wolstenholme is 4-2 in foursomes and 3-4 in singles play. Nigel Edwards was a member of the 2001 team, going 0-0 in foursomes and 0-1 in singles.

Wolstenholme’s Shining Moment – Gary Wolstenholme has enjoyed plenty of success in his amateur career, including the 1991 and 2003 British Amateur titles, but maybe none as notable as his singles win over Tiger Woods in the 1995 Walker Cup Match at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Porthcawl, Wales. Wolstenholme, who was consistently out-driven by 75 yards, won the last hole to beat Woods, 1 up, in a singles match on the first afternoon. Woods came back to beat Wolstenholme the next afternoon, 4 and 3.

McGimpsey And The Walker Cup – Garth McGimpsey of Bangor, Ireland, won the British Amateur in 1985 and was named to three GB&I Walker Cup teams (1985, 1989 and 1991). He runs a sporting goods distribution business in Bangor.

2001 Recap– Luke Donald, Nick Dougherty and then reigning British Amateur champion Michael Hoey each won twice on the last day (Sunday) to rally the Great Britain and Ireland team to a 15-9 win over the USA team at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. GB&I won six matches and halved another out of the eight singles matches on Sunday afternoon to pull away. GB&I had lead by just 8½ to 7½ after the morning foursomes. The USA team led 6½ to 5½ after play on Saturday.

Ganton Golf Club– Ganton has a rich history that includes hosting many championships and having one of the finest golfers, Harry Vardon, as club professional for a time. The British Amateur has been held at Ganton three times (1964,1977 and 1991). The Ryder Cup was help at Ganton in 1949 and the Curtis Cup match was held there in 2000. Harry Vardon, winner of six British Open titles during the years of 1896 to 1914, was the head professional at Ganton from 1896 to 1903. He won three of his British Open titles at a U.S. Open crown (1900) while working at Ganton. Current GB&I Walker Cup player Gary Wolstenholme won the first of his two British Amateur titles at Ganton in 1991.

Course Set-Up–
Ganton Golf Club:
Hole By Hole – 6,894 yards, par 36-35—71;

 History Of The Walker Cup – The Walker Cup Match began in the wake of World War I and it came together following a series of meetings with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, whose purpose was largely to look at modifying the Rules of the game. As part of the meeting, an international team competition was discussed, much like what was already taking place between the United States and Canada, in 1919 and 1920.

Among those attending the meeting at the R&A was George Herbert Walker, USGA President in 1920. The idea of an amateur team competition appealed to Walker and he soon presented a plan and offered to donate a trophy. When the press dubbed the trophy the Walker Cup, the name stuck.

The first Walker Cup Match was held in 1922 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y. Led by captain (coach) William C. Fownes Jr., the United States won the inaugural Match, 8-4.

Future Sites – The 2005 Walker Cup Match will return to the United States where it will be played from Aug. 13-14, 2005, at the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Ill.

Media Center Staff – The USGA media relations contact on site is Craig Smith. For more information, please send an email to csmith@usga.org.