Kilkenny golfer makes Walker Cup team

Mark Power is among four Irish golfers that have been selected for the Great Britain and Ireland team to compete against the United States of America in the 49thWalker Cup match at St Andrews.  

Alex Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown), Matt McClean (Malone) and Liam Nolan (Galway) were also selected, while Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) is a reserve, to take part in the biennial encounter over the Old Course. 

It will mark 100 years since it was first played at the home of golf, when the Walker Cup takes place between 2 and 3 September as GB&I bid for their first win in the famous match since 2015. 

“We have selected ten players who we believe will give us the best chance of regaining the Walker Cup against the United States of America,” said Stuart Wilson, GB&I captain. 

“This is their opportunity to perform on the biggest stage in amateur golf and have their name written alongside some of the greatest names in the history of the sport by winning the Walker Cup. There is arguably no more iconic venue in the world to achieve that feat than on the Old Course in St Andrews. 

“We look forward to the challenge of winning the match next week and I know these players will give it their all to win back the trophy in front of a home crowd.” 

It has been another wonderful year for the Irish after their men secured a bronze medal at Europeans and then the Home Internationals side just missed out on a famous win in Machynys. 

McClean played in The Masters and the US Open and Maguire played at The Open. There were also big Irish wins in the St Andrews Links Trophy, Brabazon Trophy and South American Amateur. 

And Golf Ireland High Performance Director, Neil Manchip, was happy to see so many Irish having a chance to take part in the Walker Cup. 

“It’s a great thrill for all players who are selected to contest the Walker Cup in such an historic venue and something which we will all be very much looking forward to,” said Manchip. 

“We were very fortunate to have had so many players in contention for a spot this year.” 

The Walker Cup team will soon start to ramp up their preparations for this year’s match and Golf Ireland CEO, Mark Kennelly, said he is delighted to such a strong crop of Irish talent at this level in 2023. 

“It has been a phenomenal couple of years for Irish amateur golf and today’s selection is a testament to that,” said Kennelly. 

“We saw it again just last week with how strong our teams competed at Home Internationals that we are continuing to produce the very best amateur golfers and I am excited to see how they can contribute to the Walker Cup this year.” 

Meanwhile, three Irish players have been selected in the Great Britain and Ireland team to play the Continent of Europe in the Jacques Léglise Trophy in France. Donnacha Cleary (Tipperary), Sean Keeling (Roganstown) and Jack Murphy (Douglas) all got the call up. 

The GB&I team: 

Alex Maguire, Ireland, Laytown & Bettystown, 22 
Matthew McClean, Ireland, Malone, 30 
Liam Nolan, Ireland, Galway, 23 
Mark Power, Ireland, Kilkenny, 23 
James Ashfield, Wales, Delamere Forest, 22 
Jack Bigham, England, Harpenden, 19 
Barclay Brown, England, Hallamshire, 22 
John Gough, England, The Berkshire, 24 
Connor Graham, Scotland, Blairgowrie, 17 
Calum Scott, Scotland, Nairn, 20.