The Walker Cup 2005 Preview, Sat 13th & Sun 14th August

USA???.Evens The Tie???.9/1GB & Ire?..EvensThis weekend sees the start of the 2005 Walker Cup. This two-day event is played between the leading amateur teams from The USA and Great Britain& Ireland. The host course this year is the historic Chicago Golf Club, which weighs in at 6782 yards and is a Par 70. Stan James cannot split the teams and they bet USA at Evens, GB & Ire at Evens and the Tie is 9/1 at Stan JamesThere are ten players in each team. This years captains are Bob Lewis, 60, from Ohio for the USA team, and Garth McGimpsey, 50, from Bangor N.I. for the GB & I team. Both are experienced former Walker Cup players. Bob Lewis captained the losing US team in 2003. The format for the matches is as follows:- Saturday Morning: 4 Foursomes Matches Saturday Afternoon: 8 Singles MatchesSunday Morning: 4 Foursomes MatchesSunday Afternoon: 8 Singles Matches(Foursomes is a match where two players compete against two other players in an alternate-shot format, with each side playing just one ball.)The first team to get twelve and a half points wins the Cup.The last four Walker Cups have been won by GB & Ire. Teams: USAThis is a young side aged between 18 and 24 years old, so on the face of it they lack a bit of experience. Bob Lewis their captain will have to use all his guile to keep his young charges focussed. However they do have three players who played in this year's US Open, Matthew Every 22, Micheal Putnam 22, and Lee Williams 23 so these three will at least have experience of playing under pressure on a top class course. All the US team are either Collegians or recent Collegians. The significant aspect of this is that the US Collegiate system is of a very high standard and far superior to our amateur competitions. Great Britain & IrelandThe key men for GB & Ire will be the two old heads in the team, Gary Wolstenholme 44, and Welshman Nigel Edwards 37. Their experience could be crucial. Gary Wolstenholme is playing on his sixth consecutive Walker Cup squad for GB&I. He has enjoyed team victories in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2003. Overall, Wolstenholme is 5-3 in foursomes and 4-5 in singles play. Nigel Edwards has played in the last two Walker Cups. They also have the youngest ever Walker Cup player, 16 year old Oliver Fisher, in the side. A product of the Nick Faldo Junior Series, he lost in the Semi Finals of our Amateur Championship this year. There is no doubt that this event will be a close fought affair. The GB & Ireland team have won the last four Walker Cups and psychologically this will be a big plus. The USA team have home advantage and they will hope the crowd gets behind them and plays its part. But the difference between the sides might be the experience of Nigel Walker and Gary Wolstenholme. Both are natural leaders and they could be the difference come Sunday evening. The two days are being covered live on SSP2 and Stan James will be betting In-Running throughout the live coverage.