| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | 2025:Pebble Beach,United States |
| Established | 1922 |
| Course | 2025:Cypress Point Club |
| Organized by | The R&A andUnited States Golf Association |
| Format | Match play |
| Month played | September |
| Current champion | |
 United States | |
 2025 Walker Cup | |
TheWalker Cup is agolf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading maleamateur golfers in two teams:United States, andGreat Britain andIreland featuring players from theUnited Kingdom andIreland. The official name is theWalker Cup Match (not "Matches" as inRyder Cup Matches). It is organised byThe R&A and theUnited States Golf Association (USGA). In 1921 theRoyal Liverpool Golf Club hosted an unofficial contest which was followed by official annual contests from 1922 through 1924. From 1925 they became biennial, held on even-number years. After World War II they switched to odd-numbered years. From 2026 it will be held in even-numbered years following the switch of theEisenhower Trophy to odd-numbered years to avoid that event clashing with theOlympic Games.[1] They are held alternately in the U.S., and Ireland or Britain.
The cup is named afterGeorge Herbert Walker who was president of the USGA in 1920 when the match was initiated. Walker is the grandfather and namesake ofGeorge H. W. Bush and great-grandfather ofGeorge W. Bush, the 41st and 43rd Presidents of the United States.
Unlike theRyder Cup, which similarly began as a competition between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, the Walker Cup has never been expanded to include allEuropean amateur golfers.
As of 2025, the U.S. lead the Walker Cup series 40 to 9, with one match tied, but the two teams have been more evenly matched since 1989 when the Great Britain and Ireland team ended the U.S. team's eight-match winning run. The 1989 match and the three matches from 2003 to 2007 were all decided by a single point.
A team of American amateur golfers travelled in Britain in 1921, their objective being to winThe Amateur Championship atRoyal Liverpool (Hoylake). A match between American and British male amateur golfers was played on May 21, immediately before The Amateur Championship. This match was announced inThe Times on May 10.The Times reports that the match was arranged byGershom StewartM.P., Chairman ofRoyal Liverpool Golf Club.[2]
The British team was:Tommy Armour,Colin Aylmer,Ernest Holderness,James Jenkins,Reymond de Montmorency,Gordon Simpson,Cyril Tolley andRoger Wethered. The American team wasChick Evans,William C. Fownes Jr. (Captain),Jesse Guilford,Paul M. Hunter,Bobby Jones,Francis Ouimet,J. Wood Platt,Fred Wright. The Americans won the match 9–3.[3]
The Walker Cup employs a combination offoursomes (alternate-shot) and singles competition and was originally the format used for the professional equivalentRyder Cup. Up to 1961, 36 holes matches were played: four foursomes on the first day and eight singles matches on the second day. From 1963, 18 hole matches were played, with four foursomes and eight singles matches on each day. In 2009, the number of singles matches on the second day was increased to 10, so that all members of the team play on this final afternoon.[4]
Half points for halved matches were first awarded in 1971. Note that in the following table, half points for halved matches are included in the total scores prior to 1971 for consistency with later years. The following scores include halved matches: 1923: 1, 1926: 1, 1932: 3, 1934: 1, 1936: 3, 1938: 1, 1951: 3, 1957: 1, 1963: 4, 1965: 2, 1967: 4, 1969: 6
Of the 50 matches, USA has won 40 matches, Great Britain and Ireland have won 9 with 1 match tied.
From 2026, matches will be held in even-numbered years.[14]
