Amateur A Walker Cup Audition

By Stuart Hall

San Francisco – Jonathan Moore decided last month to turn professional, but was in no rush to do so. First, there was the little matter of making this fall’s USA Walker Cup team.

Moore, 22, of Vancouver, Wash., opted to stay amateur this summer in order to play his fourth U.S. Amateur and, hopefully, make the USA squad. On Aug. 6, the USGA announced that he was one of the first eight players selected to the 10-man squad.

At last month’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, Colt Knost, who had finished his eligibility at Southern Methodist just two months earlier, was asked when he would turn pro. He was of like mind as Moore.

"Everything I have heard about the Walker Cup is unbelievable," said Knost, 22, of Dallas, Texas. "I think I still have a lot of work to do and every guy I talk to out there says if you have a chance to make it, wait. The PGA Tour will always be there and that the Walker Cup is the greatest thing ever you can play in."

While winning the APL virtually sealed Knost’s selection, he could not comfortably exhale until two weeks ago, just like Moore and the other half-dozen selectees: Jamie Lovemark, 19, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; three-time Walker Cupper Trip Kuehne, 35, of Irving, Texas; Billy Horschel, 20, of Grant, Fla.; Dustin Johnson, 23, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Chris Kirk, 22, of Woodstock, Ga.; and Webb Simpson, 21, of Raleigh, N.C.

Remaining is the task of selecting the two final team members that will comprise the USA team that faces Great Britain and Ireland at Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, County Down, Ireland, Sept. 8-9. That should crystallize at this week’s U.S. Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club.

U.S. captain George "Buddy" Marucci remains mum on the selection process.

"We haven’t singled out players through the entire process, so I don’t think it would be fair at this point to start," he said. "I will say that I’m extremely happy with and excited about the eight guys we already have in place."

Simpson, a semifinalist at last year’s U.S. Amateur, can empathize with the players seeking to win this coveted title, while also catching the eye of the selection committee.

"Certainly if I didn’t make the first eight, I’d be looking at this week as a must-win or that I must make the championship," said Simpson, who has won three amateur titles this season, including twice in July. "It has relaxed me a little bit, but I’ve still got to come out and play to the best of my ability instead of forcing a win. But it’s certainly a relief to have made the team."

Entering the week, Brian Harman, watching a shot Tuesday at The Olympic Club, viewed the Amateur as a final chance to prove he belonged on the USA Walker Cup squad. (John Mummert/USGA)

Brian Harman, 20, of Savannah, Ga., is one of those players whose name keeps cropping up on observers’ short lists. Harman, the 2003 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, already has one Walker Cup cap, having gone 2-0-1 in the United States’ 2005 victory. Last month, Harman won the Porter Cup in Lewiston, N.Y., by nine strokes over a field that included six Walker Cup members and Marucci.

"I'm going to try and do the best I can. I'm trying to make the Walker Cup team, so this is a big-time week for me," said Harman, who was at the tipping point of making the 64-player match play field when stroke play was suspended on Tuesday evening.

Another name bandied about is Alex Prugh, 22, of Spokane, Wash., a quarterfinalist in last year’s U.S. Amateur. His summer has been filled with success and includes a runner-up finish at the prestigious Western Amateur in early July. On Tuesday, Prugh shot a 4-under 66 around the Ocean Course to sit at 2-under 138 - a figure that should make him a top seed in Wednesday’s match play first round.

"It’s going to be interesting," Simpson said. "The USGA has plenty of names they’re still considering and it’s anybody’s shot. It will be interesting to see how those keys guys perform this week."

The selection pool still features a dearth of names, and ultimately some players not selected will feel slighted. The process is subjective, after all.

Moore’s selection, for example, has come under scrutiny. Entering this week, of the eight players selected, Moore is the lowest in the Royal and Ancient Golf Club’s World Amateur Golf Rankings at 75^th. Six are among the top 14 and Kuehne is 67^th.

Moore, the 2006 NCAA champion, has been part of this year’s victorious U.S. teams at the Copa de Las Americas Championship and the Palmer Cup. At the Copa de Las Americas, a two-man team competition in which he was paired with Simpson, Moore finished second individually over the 72-hole event.

"It’s ‘What have you done for me lately?’" Moore said. "That’s the way golf is. It’s all about who gets hot and has a run. But I know I’m a better golfer now than I was last year."

Come early September the ultimate question will be: Is the USA better than GB&I?

Stuart Hall is a writer for the Golf Press Association whose work has appeared previously on www.usamateur.org.