PAR AND YARDAGE – Royal County Down will be set up at 7,181 yards with a par of 35-36-71

GOLF COURSE ARCHITECT – Old Tom Morris is credited with the original routing in 1889, which was possibly the first course to ignore the then traditional layout of nine holes "out" and nine holes "back." Royal County Down was opened for play in 1891. Many revisions were made, including some by club professional Seymour Dunn (1904) and by famed golfer Harry Vardon. Others who had a hand in evolving changes to the course were George Combe and Harry Colt, all in the first three decades of the 1900s. The last of the modifications was in 2005 when Donald Steel tinkered with the 16^th hole.

ROYALTY – In 1908, King Edward VII conferred "Royal" status to the Club.

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. 8, and Sunday, Sept. 9, there will be four foursomes matches (18 holes each) each morning and eight singles matches (18 holes each) each afternoon.

Starting Times – (local GMT)
Saturday: 8:30 a.m. for foursomes, 1 p.m. for singles
Sunday: 8:30 a.m. for foursomes, 1 p.m. for singles

TICKETS – Daily grounds tickets are 25 pounds apiece. While a limited number are available, they can be purchased online at www.randa.org. Junior (age 16 and under) are 10 pounds apiece.

MEDIA CONFERENCES – Captains and players from each team will meet with all credentialed media Friday afternoon. 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.

WWW.WALKERCUP.ORG – Log on to the USGA Internet site for the latest Walker Cup Match information during the championship.

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.

Royal County Down:

HOLE BY HOLE – 7,181 yards, par 35-36—71;

TEAM SELECTION – The USA team is selected by the United States Golf Association. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, selects the team from Great Britain and Ireland.

MEET THE 2007 U.S. TEAM – The U.S. team, captained by George "Buddy" Marucci, 55, of Villanova, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, consists of the following players:

Notes: Trip Kuehne was 0-2 in foursomes and was 0-1 in singles in 1995. His 2003 record was 1-1 in foursomes and 0-1-1 in singles. His combined record is 1-3 in foursomes and 0-2-1 in singles.

USA PRONUNCIATION KEY – Colt Knost (NOST); Trip Kuehne (KEY-nee).

MARUCCI AND THE WALKER CUP – George "Buddy" Marucci, 55, of Villanova, Pa., is a career amateur golfer whose long and distinguished resume is highlighted with a loss – the narrow loss (2 down) in the 1995 U.S. Amateur final to Tiger Woods. Marucci played for the USA in the 1995 and 1997 Walker Cup Matches, with a combined record of 3-0 in foursomes (alternate shot) and 1-1-1 in singles.

MARUCCI IN USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS – George "Buddy" Marucci was the runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1995 U.S. Amateur at Newport Country Club in Newport, R.I., but that is just a small part of his USGA portfolio. He reached the quarterfinals of the Amateur again in 1996, where he lost to eventual runner-up Steve Scott, 1 down. He has played in more than 40 USGA championships, including more than 20 Amateurs. He also played in the 1996 Masters, a direct result of his runner-up finish at the Amateur in 1995.

He is co-owner of Pennmark Auto Group, a company with four luxury car dealerships in the Philadelphia area. He is a 1974 graduate of the University of Maryland.

MEET THE GREAT BRITAIN/IRELAND TEAM – The GB&I team, captained by Colin Dalgleish, consists of the following players:

Notes: Nigel Edwards is playing on his fourth Walker Cup team, having also been selected for the GB&I squad in 2001, 2003 and 2005. He was 1-2-1 combined in 2005. He was 2-0-2 combined in 2003. He was 0-1 in 2001, losing his singles match on the first day. Overall, he is 2-0-2 in foursomes and 1-3-1 in singles.

Rhys Davies played in 2005 and was 1-0-1 in foursomes and 1-1 in singles. Lloyd Saltman’s 2005 record was 1-1 in foursomes and 2-0 in singles.

COLIN DALGLEISH AND THE WALKER CUP MATCH – Colin Dalgleish, 46, won the 1981 Scottish Amateur Championship and later that year found himself representing his country as part of the GB&I Walker Cup team playing at Cypress Point Golf Club in Pebble Beach, Calif. He was 1-0 in foursomes but 0-2 in singles play. Dalgleish is director of Perry Golf, a golf travel company specializing in turnkey European golf vacations.

2005 RECAP – Jeff Overton two-putted from 18 feet on the final green of the final match to secure a narrow victory, 1 up over Nigel Edwards, and win back the Walker Cup for the United States. The final team score over the Chicago (Ill.) Golf Club was 12½-11½. The Match was close from the start, with the USA holding a 1-point lead after the first day of play. The two squads then split both the morning points (4) and afternoon points (8) on the final day. Overton and Lee Williams went 3-1 overall for the USA.

2003 RECAP – The Great Britain and Ireland squad won five of the eight afternoon singles matches and halved another on the last day as it rallied from two points down to win its fourth consecutive win, 12½ to 11½. In the closing two matches, reigning British Amateur champion Stuart Manley beat USA’s Trip Kuehne, and Nigel Edwards halved USA’s Lee Williams. The USA had built a 7-5 lead after the first day and held a 9-7 advantage heading into the final singles matches. Brock Mackenzie of Yakima, Wash., went 3-0 for the USA. He was the only player to go undefeated on either squad.

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 led by just 8½ to 7½ after the morning foursomes. The USA team led 6½ to 5½ after play on Saturday.

ROYAL COUNTY DOWN GOLF CLUB – Royal County Down Golf Club has a rich history that includes it being one of only two Irish courses to host the Walker Cup Match. The other is Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin.

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.

WALKER AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CONNECTIONS – George Herbert Walker would be the great-grandfather of current U.S. President George Bush and the maternal grandfather of George Bush, the 41^st U.S. president.

FUTURE SITES – The 2009 Walker Cup Match will return to the United States where it will be played from Sept. 12-13, 2009, at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. Merion has been host to 17 USGA championships. The U.S. Amateur was recently held at Merion in 2005. The U.S. Open is scheduled to be played at Merion in 2013.

MEDIA CENTER STAFF – The USGA media relation contact on site is Craig Smith. The best way to make contact with Craig while on site in Ireland is via email at csmith@usga.org.