Blairgowrie teenager Connor Graham has been named in the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup squad to play the US at St Andrews in September.
The R&A’s selectors, led by captain Stuart Wilson, have announced a squad of 19 including the 16-year-old. Connor, who won the R&A Junior Open at Monifieth in July, is in his first senior GB&I squad having been capped twice at Boys’ level.
If selected for the matches to play on the Old Course on September 2 and 3, Connor will be the youngest-ever player in the 101-year history of the Walker Cup.
GB&I is aiming to win back the trophy after narrowly losing 14-12 to the United States of America at Seminole last year.
‘The players can get to grips with the Old Course’
Today we have announced a squad of 19 players who are in contention for selection in the Great Britain and Ireland team to play the United States of America in the 49th Walker Cup at St Andrews 🇬🇧🇮🇪🇺🇸
Find out who they are here 👉 https://t.co/5l49EzkYZY pic.twitter.com/pjL3nl6oYP
— The R&A (@RandA) December 16, 2022
Wilson won the Amateur championship on the Old Course in 2004 and played in a winning Walker Cup side himself. He is now managing secretary at Blairgowie.
“We have selected a talented group of players who are key to our preparations for the Walker Cup,” he said. “They share our determination to win back the trophy from the United States of America.
“We will be getting together in St Andrews so that the players can really get to grips with the Old Course,” he added. “The players can understand its subtleties and learn from those individuals who have vast experience of the links.
“Our aim is to select a team which will give us the best chance of winning the match next year. In that regard, we will continue to monitor the players’ performances in amateur events over the coming months and provide them with support and advice.
“There is also still time for golfers not included in the squad to play their way into our plans. We will be keeping a close eye on their results too.”
A meteoric rise through the ranks
How the Graham boys from Blairgowrie took Scottish golf by storm
Connor – whose elder brother Gregor (19) is also a Scotland international – first came to prominence in 2021 when he reached the semi-finals of the Men’s Scottish Amateur Championship at just 14.
This season he had a top ten finish at the St Andrews Links Trophy, was runner-up in the Lytham Trophy and beat a field of the best under-16s in the world at Monifieth.
He later played for GB&I Boys for the second time in the Jacques Leglise Trophy at his home club.
Nairn’s Calum Scott, whose elder brother Sandy played in the Walker Cup twice, is the only other Scot named in initial 19-strong squad.
The final team of ten will be named in August.
The squad: James Ashfield (21, Delamere Forest), Josh Berry (17, Doncaster), Barclay Brown (21, Hallamshire), Archie Davies (21, Carlisle), Aaron Edwards-hill (Chlemsford), High Foley (Royal Dublin), Connor Graham (Blairgowrie), John Gough (Beaconsfield), Josh Hill (Trump International Dubai), Frank Kennedy (Trump National Jupiter), Matthew McClean (Malone), Robert Moran (Castle), Liam Nolan (Galway), Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas), Mark Power (Kilkenny), Dylan Shaw-Radford (Huddersfield), Calum Scott (Nairn), Harley Smith (The Rayleigh Club), Tyler Weaver (Bury St Edmunds).