By Alex Miceli and David Shefter

Wheaton, Ill. – Is a rematch a possibility?  Is it too early for either Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup captain Garth McGimpsey or United States of America captain Bob Lewis to say what their response would be if asked, but it was clear that both captains on an initial glance liked the idea.

Before the 40th Walker Cup Match commenced at Chicago Golf Club, both individuals were to give up the reins of their respective teams at the conclusion of Sunday’s play. Generally, Walker Cup captains serve for four years.

While both men are willing to step aside for new leadership, the two close matches the teams have played in 2003 and ’05 – both 12½-11½ outcomes (GB&I winning at Ganton in 2003 and the USA avenging the loss in ’05), both men were at least open to discussing another tour of duty.

“I’m not going to make any decisions at this stage, because I haven’t been asked, but it’s my home patch,” Irishman McGimpsey said of the next Match, scheduled for September of 2007 at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland.  “I’ll be there regardless, whether I’m team captain or not.  I’ll be there as a supporter or helper or whatever.”

Gary Wolstenholme became GB&I's all-time points leader with 10. (John Mummert/USGA)

Like McGimpsey, Lewis would need to be asked by the USGA as well. But unlike McGimpsey and his predecessor Peter McEvoy, Lewis still has some unfinished work left, trying to change the mindset of both players and organizers about future competitions.

“I thought some things needed to be done,” Lewis said.  “We needed to change the way we prepared. GB&I was preparing better than we were.  I also believe, and I will fight hard for that behind the scenes that all 10 players should play the final Sunday afternoon singles.  I feel very strongly for that.  It's time for the USGA and the R&A to get together and make some of these decisions.  The captain should not have to sit a player out on Sunday afternoon in my opinion.”

While Lewis will fight even if he’s not the captain, it is clear that he embraced the job. As a former player, he took the honor as a labor of love, traveling to many college and USGA events to scout prospective talent. It was his idea to hold a special practice session for prospective players six to eight months prior to the Match.

Now the questions is will he have the opportunity to do it again. If asked, Lewis said he would.  It is quite clear that after the emotional victory, even Lewis is unsure of what he would do at the end of the day.

“I said to myself, ‘Boy, I don't know if I would ever do that again,” Lewis said after the victory.  “I don't know if I really should.  There are a lot of great people that probably should have the opportunity to be captain.  I mean, you can't do it forever, although I just absolutely relish this type of atmosphere because I love to be around the kids.”

The Best Ever?

Lewis said after the matches he didn’t think he would ever seen anything like Ganton, but the final eight singles matches at Chicago Golf Club on Sunday clearly bettered Ganton.  Out of 131 holes played in the final eight matches 50 birdies/eagles were recorded and none were more important than the three that the GB&I team recorded at 18.

Maybe the best string belonged to Lloyd Saltman of the GB&I team. Losing the first three holes to Kyle Reifers, Saltman was fighting an uphill battle throughout the match. But he got things going late with an eagle-3 on the par-5 16th and then a birdie at the last from 20 feet to eke out a dramatic 1-up win.

“It was a big as it gets, I think,” said Saltman, the low amateur at the 2005 British Open.  “To keep my team in it, to win the point [was big].  I didn’t get off to a good start and I grinded hard.  I was looking at the board and as the day got on it was getting worse and then Garth said to me at the last I needed to win and I made the birdie.”

Birdies on demand doesn’t seem possible, but Saltman’s was one of three made by GB&I team with Dinwiddie chippin in from the edge of the green and 16-year-old Oliver Fisher converting an 18-footer on the last as well. Those two birdies earned GB&I half-points when it looked for sure that the Americans would get a full point from each.

“There is also a lot of luck in this game,” Lewis said of the tremendous theatre of the 18th green.  “ You know, you probably could sit there and say, my God, we were unlucky again, even though it's normally – we’re all men here, and we know, that’s a great thing about golf when you do lose you congratulate your player that you played against, and because we know how difficult the game is, it's also a lucky game.”

 Looking Ahead

While the captains contemplate their futures, several players from this Match could be back for the 2007 Match. Fisher would be only 18 and is a strong possibility unless he decides to turn pro. Saltman also indicated he might wait around for another chance.

“It’s a serious consideration,” said the 19-year-old Scot from Gorebridge. “You know, after getting a taste of this weekend, just falling short, it makes you want to come back and be on a winning side. I’m going to keep my options open.”

Added Fisher: “I love the idea. It’s really, really good fun. We had a great team. All the guys were really, really good to be with. I would love to come back in two years’ time and play.”

Gary Wolstenholme, who surpassed nine-time Walker Cupper Sir Michael Bonallack on the all-time points list with 10, also would love a chance to play in a seventh Match. He would be 46 in two years, but even though most guys hit it by him, he relishes any opportunity to play for his country. Nigel Edwards would be 39 and would be looking to make a fourth Walker Cup squad.

“Hopefully, I’ll get another chance,” Wolstenholme said. “Obviously I am very proud of [the record]. I would have given anything to have lost [my match] today if the team won. I know that’s a bit cliché. The tournament is such a special [event] that even though we have lost … I am so proud how [the guys] fought back. It actually feels as though we’ve won.”

Several USA players – John Holmes, Michael Putnam, Jeff Overton and Nick Thompson – all put off turning pro with hopes of being named to the 2005 team. They will likely be professionals in 2007, but 20-year-old Anthony Kim and 18-year-old Brian Harman could be around. Harman is just entering his freshman year at the University of Georgia and Kim has two years of eligibility left at Oklahoma.

“Whoever the next captain is will have more choices to have a great team,” said Lewis. “Hopefully a guy like Brian Harman will be smart enough to stay in school, stay at Georgia and get his education, and play on another Walker Cup team. And Anthony, who’s got a heck of a lot of talent will maybe be able to do the same thing. Who knows? At least there is a chance of it.”

Kim’s Groupies

In case you didn’t notice on television or while watching play, Anthony Kim had quite a following from a few of his fellow Sooners. Seven Oklahoma students made the 12-hour trip from Norman to watch Kim play in the Walker Cup and did up t-shirts that read “AK’s Posse.”

Some of the guys were members of the school’s club ice hockey team, but Paul Veroulis plans to play with him on the men’s golf team. He also attended the same high school back in La Quinta, Calif.

A New Ball Design?

Many players mark up their golf balls with different identifying marks. Some use a solid stripe such as the one featured on Anthony Kim’s balls. Others use dots. Gary Wolstenholme’s golf ball looked more like a miniature soccer ball with various pentagon-shaped markings dotting his ball.

It was the brainchild of a friend back home in England.

“It’s just an idea of a guy I know in London who wants to try and market,” said Wolstenholme. “I like it because it means you are not going to play the wrong ball. The other side of it is it does give you the indication if you are putting the right amount of spin on the ball. It’s really just a bit of fun.”

College Daze

East Tennessee State might seem like an odd place for a kid from Wales to end up playing collegiately in the United States. But when Buccaneers coach Fred Warren landed Welshman Kenneth Milles to his program, it gave him the chance to land another talented Wales player: Rhys Davies.

Davies knew Mills and once he came over on a recruiting trip and saw the facilities at East Tennessee State, he chose the Southern Conference institution over other more prominent programs such as Purdue and Oklahoma State.

“The coach at East Tennessee, Coach Warren, is a great guy,” said Davies, who will be a junior in the fall. He was a first-team Division I All-America this past season. “I felt comfortable in the whole surrounds, so that’s why I chose to go there.”

Hat Trick

Jeff Overton is the only member of either side who wears a bucket hat and the USA team accommodated his request to have a few made with the proper logos as part of his team attire.

A few years ago, Overton had wrist surgery and took some time off from competitive golf to heal. He was working in the pro shop of the Indiana University course and he put on a bucket hat. When he returned to tournament golf, he began playing some of the best golf of his career, so he figured the hat had something to do with his good play. He was the stroke-play medalist at the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links and he reached the quarterfinals of the 2004 U.S. Amateur.

“I just figured it wasn’t me, it was the bucket hat,” said Overton, who graduated from Indiana in the spring, where he won the Big Ten Conference title in 2005 and was a second-team NCAA Division I All-America. “So I try to keep it on.”

When asked if the hat was a superstition thing, Overton replied, “Not one bit.”

“You know we haven’t done anything to change it, either,” added USA captain Bob Lewis.

Lewis was asked if there were any other superstitious things among the USA players.

“I don’t really think so,” said Lewis. “Some guys don’t like to hit many [practice] balls before they play. We’ve got some crazy guys on this team, but I’ll tell you they’re all loose though. That’s the good thing about it.”

Odds And Ends

PGA Tour player Tom Lehman contacted Lewis on Saturday night to wish the team well. … Saltman was the leading point-getter for GB&I with a 3-1 mark. Overton and Lee Williams each went 3-1 for the Americans, while Harman was the lone undefeated player at 2-0-1…Brian McElhinney of Ireland sat out both sessions on Sunday, while Billy Hurley did the same for the Americans…While the 2007 Match is scheduled for Royal County Down, the next Walker Cup in the U.S. will be 2009 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. Merion is the site of this year’s U.S. Amateur…All 10 USA players are scheduled to play in the Amateur, but a couple of GB&I players won’t participate. Nigel Edwards is headed back due to his job, while Matthew Richardson is turning pro.

Alex Miceli is a freelance writer whose work previously has appeared on usga.org. David Shefter is a USGA staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.