With eighteen points on offer across the two days at Lahinch Golf Club it’s no surprise that Great Britain and Ireland captain Dean Robertson has put such an emphasis on preparing for singles matches ahead of this weekend’s Walker Cup.
GB&I are bidding to stop a rampant USA from winning a sixth consecutive contest and are taking a data led approach to how they are going to tackle the singles, a format they have struggled badly in. Twelve months ago GB&I went down 17-9 to USA in Cypress Point but the scoreboard did not tell the full story with the visitors winning the foursomes sessions 5-3.
It can be argued that GB&I have their strongest side since their last victory in 2015 where there were five Irishmen on the team at Royal Lytham & St Annes. They boast the Amateur champion in Stuart Grehan and the US Amateur champion in Jack Whaley for the first time since 2013 with seven players ranked inside the top-70 and all ten in the top-100 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Robertson is tapping into the Ryder Cup approach of Luke Donald and Paul McGinley in a bid to create momentum in the singles matches and arrest the US tide.
“Our big focus last year was in creating momentum in foursomes play and getting a platform from which to then kick on from in singles. We did that well, I felt, but given the strength of the U.S. Team, we were outplayed in the singles. So a big focus and emphasis has been on the singles play for this year,” said the Scot who played on the 1993 Walker Cup side with Pádraig Harrington.
“But most certainly taking a leaf out of the Ryder Cup, Luke Donald’s book and McGinley’s book and the things that have been successful for them and getting momentum and fast starts.”
To enable his side to get off to fast starts, Robertson has organised a lot of three hole, four hole and six hole matches to train his players to be aggressive as they look to live with the Americans who still boast the superstars this week including world number one Preston Stout.
“We’ve been applying a lot of that. We’ve had a few training sessions over the course of the year, and that’s something that I’ve integrated into that in terms of small matches, whether it be three-hole matches or six-hole matches, but really an emphasis on the head-to-head match play.”
Last week it was announced that tickets for the contest were sold out with 8,000 people expected to pour through the gates each day and Robertson believes the home support will be worth a couple of extra points.
“Irrespective of the fact that the Irish are not represented more than Stuart, that won’t hold them back. They are the best support, and they are an 11th man, and we are really looking forward to engaging with them and for their support.”
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