The Walker Cup Team Is All Set Now

by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 31, 2009 11:11 AM EDT Comment 7 comments

After Byeoung-Han An's 7 & 5 crushing defeat of Ben Martin to become the youngest US Amateur winner ever at age 17, the USGA had some relatively easy decisions on their hands for the final two spots for the Walker Cup team. They chose Cameron Tringale and Peter Uihlein to round out the team.

Ben Martin would have made the team had he won the title. Instead, he's now the second alternate. 50 year old medalist Tim Jackson is the first alternate.

Buddy Marucci's squad is basically a bunch of college boys, plus a fifty year old man on guard in case one of them pulls a hammy or something.

The amateur ranks have essentially turned into a third mini-tour. As mentioned by Tom Dunne in another post on the US Am, college kids are dominating the amateur world as a proving ground for turning pro either during college or immediately thereafter. Though Danny Lee and An were both high school aged winners of the amateur, the trend of young men winning this championship has carried on well before them. Think about Nick Flanagan, Ryan Moore - all the way back to Tiger Woods. The thing is, though, that the Amateur is so much more apparently dominated by youth. It's the money available in going pro that makes these competitions so youth-driven now. The caliber of the field shows that a lot of these guys will be on the Nationwide, European, and PGA Tours awfully soon.

Buddy Marucci and Tim Jackson will probably be the last bastion of amateur golfer that is happy to remain with an (a) next to his name on a leaderboard. Allen Doyle long gave up on that.

0 recs | Comment 7 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

This is why the USGA created the Mid-Amateur in 1981, because the US Amateur became one of the last stops on the way to professional golf.

“The USGA specifically intended the Mid-Am as a championship for post-college golfers who were not pursuing golf as a career, as virtually all golfers who pursue a professional career decide to do so no later than their early twenties. This was most likely a response to the fact that less than half of all U.S. Amateur qualifiers are 25 or older, and most older golfers found themselves disadvantaged in competing against college golfers who typically play much more often.” – from Wiki

by MattSpence on Aug 31, 2009 11:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I mean, I get that, but that’s kinda lame. So the Mid-Amateur is more or less for amateurs that aren’t good enough to beat the guys who are turning pro?

Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.

by Ryan Ballengee on Aug 31, 2009 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

RB – amateur vs pro…you have to leave that out of the equation. Not every top amateur has the mindset to be a professional – not every top amateur WANTS to be a professional golfer. Not every successful pro was a successful amateur.

Then you have the time factor. Once you’re out of college, you don’t have the time to practice and play the way you do when you’re in. The mid-Am is there for players who don’t have the same time as the kids in college.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Aug 31, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs