Walker Cup between Great Britain and Ireland and the USA takes place in May at Seminole Golf Club; Curtis Cup to be held in Wales in September after being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Thursday 3 December 2020 15:36, UK
The R&A has named their provisional Great Britain and Ireland squads for next year's Walker Cup, Curtis Cup and the Junior Vagliano Trophy.
Stuart Wilson will captain the GB&I side at the 48th Walker Cup, held at Seminole Golf Club in Florida from May 8-9, where the visitors will be looking to avoid a third straight defeat in the biennial contest and win on American soil for the first time since 2001.
Scotland's Sandy Scott - the eighth highest-ranked amateur in the world - and Amateur Championship winner Joe Long are in the squad, as is Alex Fitzpatrick - the brother of five-time European Tour winner Matt Fitzpatrick.
Jake Bolton, Barclay Brown, Callum Farr, Angus Flanagan, Benjamin Jones, Matty Lamb, Tom McKibbin, John Murphy, Joseph Pagdin, Mark Power, Caolan Rafferty and Benjamin Schmidt complete the list, with the squad then later cut from 15 to 10 ahead of the event.
"We have selected a talented group of players to work with in preparation for the match against the United States of America next year," Wilson said.
"We will be closely monitoring their form and results in a number of important events over the coming months while other players still have time to play their way into contention before we finalise the team which will travel to Florida."
The 41st Curtis Cup will be played at Conwy, Wales from August 26-28, having been postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, while the Vagliano Trophy match against the Continent of Europe takes place at Golf Club de Lausanne, Switzerland from June 25-26.
Only four of the 2018 Curtis Cup line-up feature in the provisional 17-player squad for next year's contest, with Annabell Fuller, Lily May Humphreys, Shannon McWilliam and Olivia Mehaffey all returning.
Hannah Darling, Chloe Goadby, Paula Grant, Charlotte Heath, Hazel MacGarvie, Julie McCarthy, Caley McGinty, Emily Price, Euphemie Rhodes, Emily Toy, Lauren Walsh, Isobel Wardle and Annabel Wilson complete the squad.
Elaine Ratcliffe, GB&I captain, said: "We have been able to bring in a number of new players into the squad alongside those who were selected last year and are now looking forward to working with the group as we prepare for the Vagliano Trophy and Curtis Cup.
"We have a good blend of youth and experience in the squad but there is still time for other players to make their case for inclusion in the final teams selected. I know the girls will relish the opportunity to compete and try to win the two matches."
