Great Britain and Ireland look to end the United States’ Walker Cup dominance and claim a famous victory on home soil this week, live on Sky Sports. A sell-out crowd is expected at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland this weekend, where the hosts look to reclaim the prestigious trophy for the first time since 2015. The two-day in event sees many of the world's best amateur stars compete, with Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy all past participants before going onto Grand Slam-winning careers.
Which other big names have featured in the Walker Cup? Who is playing in this year's contest? Will Great Britain and Ireland manage a famous win?
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the 2026 edition… The Walker Cup is a match play event held biennially, where the leading amateur golfers from the United States play against Great Britain and Ireland. This year's edition from September 5-6 is the 51st in the event's history since launching in 1922, with two 10-man teams competing across 26 matches over the two days. Jack Whaley makes his Walker Cup debut after becoming just the third Englishman in history to win the US Amateur last month, while Luke Poulter - son of Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter - returns for a second time.
Captain Dean Robertson has six members of the team that featured last year, including Amateur Champion Stuart Grehan, with Connor Graham, Poulter, Eliot Baker, Niall Sheils Donegan and world No 2 amateur Tyler Weaver the others to return. Ben Bolton, Sam Easterbrook, Josh Hill and Whaley are the four rookies included. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The McCormack Medal winner Preston Stout headlines a stacked United States team, featuring seven of the world's top nine in the amateur game.
Miles Russell - who qualified for the US Open earlier this year with Tiger Woods' son Charlie as caddie - was among the automatic qualifiers, with last year's Amateur Championship winner Ethan Fang also included. William Jennings, Josiah Gilbert, Ryder Cowan, Kihei Akina, Jay Leng, Stewart Hagestad and Tyler Watts are the others to feature in Nathan Smith's 10-man roster. The 2026 edition takes place on a renowned links venue on the west coast of Ireland, with Lahinch Golf Club hosting the match for the first time.
The iconic venue has been dubbed the "St Andrews of Ireland" and previously hosted the 2019 Irish Open, won by Jon Rahm, as well as the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup. Seminole Golf Club (2021), the Old Course at St Andrews (2023) and Cypress Point (2025) have all been recent Walker Cup venues, while Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon (2028) and Prince's Golf Club in Kent (2030) will host the next two editions. There are two sessions of foursomes, each offering four points, before an eight-match session of singles on the Saturday and all 20 players featuring in singles on the final day.
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