{"id":1193182,"date":"2026-09-08T12:16:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1193182\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T12:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:16:16","slug":"ireland-may-have-a-wait-before-hosting-another-gold-standard-walker-cup-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1193182\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland may have a wait before hosting another gold-standard Walker Cup \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Irish courses looking to play host to the Walker Cup<\/a> following the huge success at Lahinch Golf Club \u2013 where Stuart Grehan played a leader\u2019s role in Great Britain and Ireland\u2019s brilliant success over the United States \u2013 could have quite the wait.<\/p>\n

Only three Irish courses have staged the event \u2013 Portmarnock in 1991, Royal County Down in 2007, and now Lahinch. That points to a likely wait of up to two decades, as the coveted match moves around Britain and Ireland when Team GB&I have the biennial hosting duties.<\/p>\n

Prince\u2019s Golf Club in Kent, England will host in 2030, but the R&A has not yet planned beyond that. However, the gold-standard manner of Lahinch\u2019s hosting will surely make a strong case for an earlier return to an Irish venue.<\/p>\n

While Prince\u2019s is confirmed on this side of the Atlantic, the USGA has mapped out a bucket list of courses for the upcoming iterations, taking in Bandon Dunes (2028), Oakmont (2032), Chicago Golf Club (2036), National Links, New York (2040), Pine Valley (2044), Cypress Point (2048) and Seminole (2052).<\/p>\n

The R&A tends to reward clubs that have hosted their championships when awarding the Walker Cup, so The Island in Dublin \u2013 which recently had the Jacques L\u00e9glise Trophy match between GB&I and continental Europe, acting as a regional qualifying venue for The Open \u2013 and Ballyliffin in Co Donegal \u2013 which staged the Amateur Championship in 2024 \u2013 are among those likely to be in consideration to become the fourth Irish course to stage the event.<\/p>\n

Irish sporting stars to descend on Doonbeg<\/p>\n

Mayo\u2019s Ryan O\u2019Donoghue, who\u2019s in line for the Footballer of the Year award following his All-Ireland-winning exploits, will swap the big ball for the small ball when he plays in the pro-am ahead of the Amgen Irish Open in Doonbeg.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donoghue is a keen golfer at Carne Links, and will be joined in the pro-am by an array of Irish sporting stars, including Limerick hurler Gear\u00f3id Hegarty, former Galway hurler Joe Canning, former Clare hurler Podge Collins, former boxer Michael Conlan and former Ireland rugby international Conor Murray.<\/p>\n

The GAA theme will extend into the tournament itself, with the Sam Maguire, Liam McCarthy, Brendan Martin and O\u2019Duffy Cups all to set to be in attendance along with some of this year\u2019s All-Ireland winners across the codes who will take part in Q&A sessions.<\/p>\n

Word of Mouth<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no denying that the talent that\u2019s been on display the last two years that I\u2019ve witnessed is just absolutely spectacular; and having played the game on a good level, and played with some really good players in my career, these kids now are ready. They are tour ready\u201d \u2013 GB&I captain Dean Robertson<\/b> assessing the future potential of his team.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers: 3<\/p>\n

With no exemptions or invitations into the Irish Open, the trio of Gary Hurley, John Murphy and Conor Purcell will instead compete in the English Trophy on the Hotel Planner Tour this week.<\/p>\n

On this day: September 8th, 1996<\/p>\n

Most eyes were on Tiger Woods<\/a> in the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario, where the then boy wonder was competing in his second event on the PGA Tour as a professional.<\/p>\n

But it was Dudley Hart \u2013 with rounds of 68-64-70 for a total of 202, 14-under-par in the rain-shortened tournament \u2013 who finally discovered a way to claim a breakthrough win in his 160th start.<\/p>\n

Hart had been away from tour golf for almost two years due to a variety of injuries \u2013 back, rib and wrist \u2013 but finally managed to return to the circuit injury-free for the 1996 season, where his win in Canada gave him a one-stroke win over David Duval.<\/p>\n

Scott Dunlap started the final round three shots clear of Hart but struggled with five bogeys in his closing round of 76, while Woods finished tied-11th.<\/p>\n

Social Swing<\/p>\n

What a win for GB&I. Such an enjoyable experience watching the ebbs and flows of an amazing comeback. Congratulations to @DeanGolf99 and all his team @WalkerCup @RandA @USGA \u2013 P\u00e1draig Harrington<\/b>, who was a spectator in Lahinch for Sunday\u2019s singles matches.<\/p>\n

\n

What a scene at @WalkerCup<\/a>. Team events never disappoint. Bummed for Nathan and the US squad for the finish, congrats to GBI! I really enjoyed watching the last 2 days. Golf is in great hands for these kids (feels weird to say that) and their games<\/p>\n

\u2014 Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) September 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What a scene at @WallkerCup. Team events never disappoint. Bummed for Nathan and the US squad for the finish, congrats to GBI! I really enjoyed watching the last 2 days. Golf is in great hands for these kids (feels weird to say that) and their games \u2013 Justin Thomas<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\n

Best @WalkerCup<\/a> ever. Congrats to the GB+I team. So great!! Both teams played great. Josh Hill with incredible up and down on 18. Great stuff!!<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark Calcavecchia (@MarkCalc) September 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Best @WalkerCup ever. Congrats to the GB+I team. So great!! Both teams played great. Josh Hill with incredible up and down on 18. Great stuff!! \u2013 Mark Calcavecchia<\/b> tipping the cap.<\/p>\n

Know the Rules<\/p>\n

Q: In a match, a player\u2019s ball came to rest beside some steps attached to a boundary fence. The steps interfered with the player\u2019s swing, so they took free relief before playing their next stroke. What is the ruling?<\/p>\n

A: There is no penalty. Under the definition of Boundary Object, \u201cany gate, steps, bridge or similar construction used for getting over or through a boundary wall or fence are not part of the boundary object.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Bag: Thriston Lawrence \u2013 Omega European Masters<\/p>\n

Driver: Ping G440 K (10.5 degrees), Ping Prototype Mini Driver (13 degrees)<\/p>\n

Woods: Ping G440 Max (5-wood, 19 degrees) <\/p>\n

Hybrids: Ping G440 (4-hybrid, 23 degrees)<\/p>\n

Irons: Ping i240 (5-iron), Ping Blueprint S (6-iron to PW)<\/p>\n

Wedges: Ping S259 (50, 54 & 58 degrees) <\/p>\n

Putter: Ping PLD Oslo 4<\/p>\n

Ball: Titleist Pro V1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Irish courses looking to play host to the Walker Cup following the huge success at Lahinch Golf Club…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1193183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4106],"tags":[292169,2826,97849,79,16,15,109238],"class_list":["post-1193182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-doonbeg","tag-golf","tag-irish-open","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-walker-cup"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117235376779466427","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1193182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1193183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1193182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1193182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1193182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}