Scotland have two representatives in a Great Britain and Ireland team that features a record five Irishman for the Walker Cup matches against the USA at Royal Lytham and St Annes next month.
Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) and Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) are in the ten man team to be captained by Wales’ Nigel Edwards. A third Scot, former British Boys champion Ewen Ferguson, narrowly missed out on selection and has been named as a reserve. The Scots had no representatives in the last Walker Cup team two yerars ago for the first time in 60 years.
Forrest was a short-odds favourite to make the squad after two strong seasons on both sides of the Atlantic, in domestic events and also while playing for San Diego University while a student there.
He won the St Andrews Links Trophy, the top strokeplay event in Europe in 2014 and was part of the victorious Europe Palmer Cup team that year. In 2015 he reached the final of the Amateur Championship at Carnoustie, losing out to France’s Romain Langasque, and was a leading light in Scotland’s European Team Championship victory in July, scoring five points from a possible six.
Forrest also qualified for the Open at Muirfield in 2013, close to his family home at Archerfield in East Lothian.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said the 22-year-old. “It was one of my goals I set out two years ago. I’ve played some pretty good golf since then and it’s going to a great finish to this amateur season.
“It’s going to be amazing. From playing in the Palmer Cup last year, it’s a similar event and will be good to go toe to toe with them.
“It’s our best against their best, so it’s going to be a hard fight for both teams. Lytham is a course most of us know really well, so that should stand in our favour.
“I think Lytham suits Jack really well, you have to be really accurate from the tees and have a good short game. He has got a pretty good record there.
“The team is probably close to what people expected, but it’s sad Ewen has just missed out. It can almost be harder to take, knowing you are the first reserve. He is a great player and he is still pretty young.”
McDonald, also 22, reached the Amateur semi-finals at Carnoustie having done so at Royal Troon three years ago. He also recorded five points out of six in Scotland’s European team Championship win and had a hugely consistent season, with top-15 finishes at the Lytham Trophy, the Irish Amateur Open Championship, the Scottish Stroke Play Championship and the St Andrews Links Trophy.
The grandson of former Scottish Amateur champion Gordon Cosh is a graduate of the University of Stirling’s golf programme having completed a degree in Pure Maths earlier this year.
As largely expected, Ireland dominate the GB&I team for Lytham with five representatives, including Paul Dunne, who led the Open Championship at St Andrews after 54 holes.
Gary Hurley, Cormac Sharvin, Jack Hume and Gavin Moynihan, who played in the GB&I team that lost heavily at the National Golf Links of America two years ago, make up the record Irish contingent.
England has three representatives in Ashley Chesters, who also played all four rounds at St Andrews, US-based Sam Horsfield and Jimmy Mullen.
The 21-year-old Mullen played all four rounds as an 18-year-old in the 2013 Open at Muirfield but seems to have just edged Ferguson and the second reserve, England’s Bradley Moore.
Welshman Edwards, a member of three successive winning GB&I teams as a player, will captain the side for the third time on the weekend of September 12 and 13.
Team: Ashley Chesters (Hawkstone Park), Paul Dunne (Greystones), Grant Forrest (Craigielaw), Sam Horsfield (Davenport), Jack Hume (Naas), Gary Hurley (West Waterford) Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie), Gavin Moynihan (The Island), Jimmy Mullen (Royal North Devon), Cormac Sharvin (Ardglass)
Reserves: Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden), Bradley Moore (Kedleston Park).