Tyler Strafaci Officially Named to U.S. Walker Cup Team

Official Walker Cup site  |  Strafaci Georgia Tech bio

THE FLATS –Georgia Tech has a representative on the United States team for the Walker Cup for the second straight time as senior 2020 U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci was officially named Monday along with the rest of the 2021 American team by the United States Golf Association.

The USA Team will meet Great Britain and Ireland in the 48th Match at Seminole Golf Club, in Juno Beach, Fla., Saturday and Sunday, May 8-9. It will be the first time the competition has been held in the spring on U.S. soil.

The 10-player team, which will be captained by Nathaniel Crosby, of Jupiter, Fla., also includes Three players earned places as the top three Americans in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR® as of Feb. 10. They are: Ricky Castillo, 20, of Yorba Linda, Calif. (fourth in the WAGR); John Pak, 22, of Scotch Plains, N.J. (seventh in the WAGR); and Davis Thompson, 21, of St. Simons Island, Ga. (second in the WAGR).

The remaining players chosen by the working group are: Pierceson Coody, 21, of Plano, Texas; Quade Cummins, 24, of Weatherford, Okla.; Austin Eckroat, 22, of Edmond, Okla.; Stewart Hagestad, 29, of Newport Beach, Calif.; Cole Hammer, 21, of Houston, Texas; and William Mouw, 20, of Chino, Calif. Hagestad, Hammer and Pak are returning players from the 2019 USA Team, which defeated GB&I, 15½-10½, at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, in Hoylake, England.

Tech All-American and 2020 graduate Andy Ogletree, the 2019 U.S. Amateur champion, was part of that victorious U.S. team in England.

The 10th Georgia Tech alumnus or student-athlete to compete in the Walker Cup, the 22-year-old Strafaci (Davie, Fla.) earned his spot on the U.S. team after winning the U.S. Amateur Championship last August at Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Ore., the fourth Yellow Jacket player to win the national title.

The 2020 U.S. Amateur championship was the climax of a stellar summer for the 2020 Tech graduate. Strafaci also won the North & South Amateur in Pinehurst, N.C., and the Palmetto Amateur in Aiken, S.C. That followed a standout collegiate career in which he twice earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors and posted 10 top-10 finishes, including one tournament victory, and helped the Yellow Jackets win 14 tournament titles, including two ACC crowns. He was twice named an All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

EVENT INFORMATION – The Walker Cup Match is a biennial amateur team competition between the USA and a team composed of players from Great Britain and Ireland, selected by The R&A. The Match is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes (alternate-shot) matches. The USA leads the overall series that began in 1922, 37-9-1, but it has been extremely competitive over the last three decades, with the USA holding just a 9-7 advantage in the Match since 1989.

TECH’S WALKER CUP HISTORY – Nine Georgia Tech alumni or student-athletes have competed in a total of 15 Walker Cup matches with great success, helping the United States post a 12-3 record.

The U.S. won all five of the Walker Cup matches in which the legendary Bobby Jones competed (1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930). His contemporary, Watts Gunn, played with Jones in the 1926 and 1928 matches. Later, another legendary amateur star, Charlie Yates, competed in consecutive Walker Cup matches in 1936, a U.S. win at Pine Valley Golf Club, and 1938, a loss at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

David Duval led the U.S. to victory in 1991 at Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin, Ireland following his sophomore year at Georgia Tech. Matt Kuchar and Bryce Molder both played on the 1999 team which lost in Nairn, Scotland. Molder made the team again in 2001, when the U.S. lost at Ocean Forest Golf Club Sea Island, Ga.

More recently, Nicholas Thompson was on the winning U.S. side in 2005 at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Ill., while Cameron Tringale helped lift the Americans to a 2009 victory at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. Ogletree was part of the 2019 U.S. team that defeated GB&I, 15½-10½, at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, in Hoylake, England.

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ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF

Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 26^th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 65 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.