The day before the 1921 British Amateur Championship, the Royal Liverpool Club at Hoylake hosted an unofficial match between amateur golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I), and the USA. The Americans won 9-3 and the following year the first official match between the two countries took place at the National Golf Links, New York.
As the former president of the USGA, George Herbert Walker, had previously suggested such a tournament, and presented a trophy, the first official match became known as the Walker Cup, which remains its name today.
George Herbert Walker was the grandfather and great-grandfather respectively of the US Presidents, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.
Between 1922-61 all matches (foursomes and singles) were over 36 holes but were reduced to 18-hole matches from 1963. Up to and including 2025, the United States have won 40 matches, Great Britain & Ireland nine, and just one was tied, in 1965
All details correct up to and including the 2025 event.
| Biggest Winning Team Margins
|
| Margin |
Winning Team |
Score |
Year |
Winning Captain |
| 14 |
USA |
19-5 |
1993 |
Vinny Giles |
| 12 |
USA |
18-6 |
1997 |
Downing Gray |
| 12 |
USA |
19-7 |
2017 |
Spider Miller |
| 10 |
USA |
11-1 |
1928 |
Bobby Jones |
| 10 |
USA |
11-1 |
1961 |
Jack Westland |
| 9 |
USA |
10½-1½ |
1936 |
Francis Ouimet |
| 9 |
USA |
16½-7½ |
1987 |
Fred Ridley |
Great Britian & Ireland’s biggest win was at Royal Lytham in 2015 when they won 16½-9½ under the captaincy of Nigel Edwards (Wales).
Francis Ouimet captained the USA a record six times between 1932 and 1949. He also captained a record five winning teams in that period.
The most times captaining the Great Britain & Ireland team is three by Scotland’s Robert Harris and Nigel Edwards. The only men to captain two winning Great Britain & Ireland sides are Peter McEvoy (England) in 1999 and 2001, and Edwards in 2011 and 2015.
| Most Individual Appearances |
| No. |
Golfer (Country) |
Years |
| 10 |
Joe Carr (GB&I) |
1947-67 * |
| 9 |
Jay Sigel (USA) |
1977-83 |
| 8 |
Michael Bonallack (GB&I) |
1959-73 # |
| 8 |
William C. Campbell (USA) |
1951-75 † |
| 8 |
Francis Ouimet (USA) |
1922-34 |
* Carr was GB&I captain in 1965 but did not select himself to play
# Bonallack was also in the 1957 team but was not selected to play.
† Campbell was the playing captain in 1955 but did not actually select himself to play
| Most Points won in a Career |
| No. |
Golfer |
Years |
| 20½ |
Jay Sigel |
1977-93 |
| 16½ |
William C. Campbell |
1951-75 |
| 11½ |
Francis Ouimet |
1922-34 |
| 11 |
William J. Patton |
1955-65 |
11½ |
Marvin Giles III |
1969-75 |
| All golfers from the USA. |
The most points for Great Britain and Ireland is 10 by Gary Wolstenholme (1995-2005), followed closely by Michael Bonallack with 9½ (1957-73)
| Biggest Winning Margins in one Match (18-hole matches) |
| Score |
Year/Event |
Winner(s) |
Loser(s) |
| 9 & 7 |
1979 Singles |
Scott Hoch |
James Buckley |
| 8 & 7 |
1969 Singles |
Doug Clarke |
John Davies |
| 8 & 7 |
2017 Foursome |
Collin Morikawa & Norman Xiong |
Harry Ellis & Alfie Plant |
| 8 & 6 |
2009 Singles |
Cameron Tringale |
Luke Goddard |
| 7 & 6 |
1977 Singles |
Scott Simpson |
Gordon Murray |
| 7 & 6 |
1983 Foursomes |
Bob Lewis Jr. & Jim Holtgrieve |
Malcolm Lewis & Martin Thompson |
| 7 & 6 |
1989 Singles |
Robert Gamez |
Jim Milligan |
| 7 & 6 |
2001 Foursomes |
Bryce Molder & David Eger |
Steven O’Hara & Marc Warren |
| 7 & 6 |
2009 Singles |
Ricky Fowler |
Sam Hutsby |
| 7 & 6 |
2021 Singles |
Austin Eckroat |
Mark Power |
| All winners from the USA. |
The biggest win for GB&I was Joe Carr’s 7 & 5 win over Richard “R H” Sikes in the 1963 singles.
The biggest win in the 36-hole match era was 13 & 12 by Bobby Jones (USA) who beat T. Philip Perkins in 1928. Jones beat his own Walker Cup record of 12 & 11 set two years earlier when he beat Cyril Tolley at St Andrews, Scotland. |