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| From left to right: The GB&I's Wallace Booth, captain Colin Dalgleish and Gavin Dear take part in Friday's media conference at Merion Golf Club. (John Mummert/USGA) |
By Dave Shedloski
Ardmore, Pa. – Chemistry and compatibility.
When the 42nd Walker Cup begins at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Merion Golf Club, the foursomes pairings that captains George “Buddy” Marucci and Colin Dalgleish have put together reflect each man’s best instincts in finding teams that could work well together.
Obviously, it’s not rocket science that the leaders of teams USA and Great Britain & Ireland are attempting to perfect, but there is certainly a discipline involved.
“When you see the foursomes, you’ll see it’s really a matter of chemistry and style,” said Marucci, serving his second straight term as USA captain. “Chemistry on this team is great.”
Said Dalgleish, who also is serving his second term: “On the foursomes pairings, I suppose you’re trying to find compatible games, compatible personalities. You’re trying to find a player that is going to bring the best out in the other. … It’s a case of finding compatible people.”
Each side marches out strength in the opening match.
Wallace Booth, 24, of Scotland joins Sam Hutsby against Americans Brian Harman and Morgan Hoffmann. Booth was a member of Scotland’s winning side at this year’s European Amateur Team Championship and the 2008 World Amateur Team Championship. Hutsby won the ’09 Nations Cup. Harman, a former U.S. Junior Amateur champion, is one of two players, along with Rickie Fowler, with Walker Cup experience. His partner, Hoffmann, was the Big 12 Player of the Year for Oklahoma State University.
Harman and Hoffman are out first for USA for another reason: They are fast players.
“As far as our lineups go in putting them out, try to put the people that are the racehorses out earlier because, frankly, they get frustrated if they're sitting around, especially when they get a little nervous,” Marucci said. “I like to put them out as early as possible.”
In afternoon singles, Marucci decided to sit Nathan Smith and Adam Mitchell to get Drew Weaver and Brendan Gielow in the lineup. Dalgleish marches out Tommy Fleetwood and Chris Paisley to spell Luke Goddard and Dale Whitenell, who are playing together in the third foursomes match against perhaps America’s most formidable team of Fowler and Bud Cauley, who squared off against each other last month at the U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills. Cauley won the first-round match, 3 and 1.
Having to make choices on who sits for the afternoon is no longer a conundrum for the captains for Sunday’s matches. A change in the format puts all 10 players from each team on the course for the final session.
“I love having the 10 singles on Sunday afternoon,” Marucci said. “I think it's great as a player. It's wonderful as a captain. My feeling has always been that you want to try to give everybody an equal opportunity to be on the golf course. With 10 singles on Sunday afternoon, they're all out there. That's a very meaningful time. Hopefully the match will be in the balance. It's very relevant. Everybody is relevant so it's great.”
Dalgleish agreed.
“I think the question with regard to 10 singles on a Sunday, [I’m] entirely comfortable with that,” he said. “Makes a lot of sense. Makes my job easier as far as that's concerned.”
Not that the job is easy. The captains won’t know how successful they were with pairings and their singles lineups until after the fact. But Marucci was certain of one important thing.
“What will happen tomorrow, I don't know,” Marucci said. “But I know they're all going to enjoy each other and get along.”
Dave Shedloski is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on USGA championship sites.
