It is hard for me to think about the Walker Cup without remembering Michael Bonallack, our captain in 1971, who played in 9 Walker Cups (including captaincies) and his great friendship and rivalry with my father (who played in 12 including once as captain) over their 25 years dominance of the amateur game in Europe in the 50s and 60s.
In those days before the proliferation of professional golf on television, the Amateur game dominated the headlines and Michael and my father were as famous, if not more famous than the great professional golfers of that era.
I was privileged to attend the last Walker Cup at St. Andrews in 2023, 52 years after playing in the event on the ‘Old Course’. It was a particularly poignant time for me as it was a final kiss goodbye to Michael who sadly passed away a couple of months later. The world of amateur golf, players, officials from the R&A and UGGA knew they were seeing this humble great man for the last time as he sat in his wheelchair under the beautiful sunshine, just yards away from the Secretary of the R&A’s office which he occupied for many years. It was a fitting and iconic setting for him to bid his final farewell with the flags, the Trophy and the Scottish piper leading the teams in.
It brought back memories of my father and my match against Jim Simmonds on the final day in 1971, when we were on the verge of making history and beating the Americans for the first time in 38 years.
I had asked my mother to tell ‘Pop’ to stay out of sight while watching as it would distract me. So he hid behind the gorse bushes all week and all I saw were puffs of smoke from the Players mild cigarettes he was devouring back then. On the 8th hole, Alex Kyle, the Welsh R&A referee for our match, issued Jim and I a warning for slow play. Jim was notoriously slow and worse than Patrick Cantlay of today! I panicked and lost two holes in a row, as I had never been a slow player. On the 10th green I caught sight of my father, called him over and spurted out my panic and frustration. He simply said ‘don’t worry, leave it with me, I’ll take care of it, shoot 34 on this nine and you’ll win’. Walking up the next hole a gentle hand went around my shoulder, it was Mr. Kyle telling me ‘not to worry, the warning was not for me but for my partner and to relax and play my own game’. That settled me down and I ended up beating Jim holing an 11-yard putt on the 18th green in front of 10,000 screaming supporters that included my father and Michael rushing onto the green to congratulate me. I was later to hear how my father had grabbed Alex by his R&A tie, dragged him behind a gorse bush and told him in no uncertain terms that it would be HIS fault if we lost the Walker Cup for what he had done to me!!
Those were different days. In today’s golfing world the Walker Cup still remains the pinnacle of Amateur team golf. Unlike the Ryder Cup, the Walker Cup has remained exclusively GB & Ireland, and does not include European players. Bobby Jones was among the first players to support the event back in 1922 and the Match has carried on honouring the traditions of the integrity of amateur sport where representing your country is what matters, not the money.
The event next week at the iconic Cypress Point will carry the influence of Ryder Cup and the fever that is building around Bethpage next month. The teams, which are much younger today, will battle it out ‘mano a mano’ over the three days. You can be sure that the great players of today, Tiger, Rory & Scottie and great players from the past such as Mickelson & Nicklaus all of whom have played in the Walker Cup will be keeping a close eye on the Matches. There were great lasting friendships formed between players on both teams. I remember my father telling me the story how in 1959 he asked the Captain to play him down the bottom of the team for the singles so he ‘could teach some of these youngsters a lesson’. It didn’t work out that well. He was paired against a young puggy Jack Nicklaus who hammered him. They became lifelong friends from that match, so much so that Jack asked to make the induction speech when my father was the first Irishman to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007 after my father passed.
The two Irish players on the team, Stuart Grehan and Gavin Tiernan from County Louth GC will carry on the great tradition of the 54 Irish Players before them that included the great Jimmy Bruen, Cecil Ewing, Joe Carr, Garth McGimpsey, Ronan Rafferty, Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.
Let’s bring home the Walker Cup boys!
Roddy Carr
August 2025
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