THE FLATS – Georgia Tech senior golfer Ross Steelman is one of 16 amateur players who have been invited to in a practice session Dec. 15-18 for the 2023 Walker Cup Match in Jupiter, Fla. The International Team Selection Committee of the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced the invitations Tuesday.
Steelman, in his second year at Tech following a transfer from the University of Missouri, is currently the No. 22-ranked amateur in the world according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The Columbia, Mo., native has reached match play in each of the past two U.S. Amateur Championships, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2021 and falling in the round of 64 last August. He was the stroke-play medalist and advanced to the quarterfinals of match play at the Western Amateur, and he was the stroke-play runner-up and reached the round of 16 at the North & South Amateur.
This fall, Steelman played in two of Tech’s four tournaments, finishing fifth at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate and 21st at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, and finished the fall season ranked No. 24 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index.
Steelman won the medalist trophy last August at the Western Amateur in Glen View, Ill.
The following 16 players have accepted invitations to the practice session (with college affiliation):
- Evan Beck, 32, of Virginia Beach, Va. (Wake Forest, class of 2013)
- Michael Brennan, 20, of Leesburg, Va. (Wake Forest, junior)
- David Ford, 20, of Peachtree Corners, Ga. (North Carolina, sophomore)
- Nicholas Gabrelcik, 20, of Trinity, Fla. (North Florida, junior)
- Stewart Hagestad, 31, of Newport Beach, Calif. (Southern Cal, class of 2013)
- Derek Hitchner, 23, of Minneapolis, Minn. (Pepperdine, graduate student)
- Palmer Jackson, 21, of Murrysville, Pa. (Notre Dame, senior)
- Benjamin James, 17, of Milford, Conn. (Virginia, freshman)
- Bryce Lewis, 22, of Hendersonville, Tenn. (Tennessee, junior)
- Dylan Menante, 21, of Carlsbad, Calif. (North Carolina, senior)
- Maxwell Moldovan, 20, of Uniontown, Ohio (Ohio State, junior)
- Gordon Sargent, 19, of Birmingham, Ala. (Vanderbilt, sophomore)
- Cole Sherwood, 20, of Austin, Texas (Vanderbilt, senior)
- Ross Steelman, 21, of Atlanta, Ga. (Georgia Tech, senior)
- Caleb Surratt, 18, of Indian Trail, N.C. (Tennessee, freshman)
- Michael Thorbjornsen, 21, of Wellesley, Mass. (Stanford, junior)
Hagestad, a two-time USGA champion (2016 and 2021 U.S. Mid-Amateur), is the only player with previous Walker Cup experience (2017, 2019, 2021) to be invited to the practice session.
“This serves as another step in the process of team selection and is an opportunity for all involved to become more familiar with each other and begin to build team camaraderie,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer. “These decorated amateurs represent a talented group of potential team members, but we expect others will also be considered as the selection process moves toward its conclusion.”
Mike McCoy, of Des Moines, Iowa, will captain the USA Team for the 2023 Walker Cup Match. He won the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, becoming the second-oldest champion in the event’s history at age 50. He has competed in 65 USGA championships, including 20 U.S. Amateurs, and was a member of the 2015 USA Walker Cup Team at Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s Golf Club in England. Earlier this year, McCoy won the R&A Senior Amateur Championship at Royal Dornoch in Scotland.
An invitation to the Walker Cup practice session does not guarantee selection to the team. Players not invited will also be considered for inclusion on the team. Ten of the 16 players from the December 2020 Walker Cup practice session competed on the USA Team in May 2021, when the USA defeated Great Britain and Ireland, 14-12, at Seminole. Seven of the 16 players who attended the December 2018 practice session made the 2019 USA Team that defeated GB&I, 15½-10½, at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake), in Merseyside, England.
Georgia Tech was represented on both of those teams, with Andy Ogletree (2020) and Tyler Strafaci (2021) earning their spots on the team after winning the U.S. Amateur.
The 49th Match will be played on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, Sept. 2-3, 2023. 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, 38-9-1, but it has been tremendously competitive over the last three decades, with the USA holding just a 10-7 advantage in the Match since 1989. The R&A will select the 10 members of the GB&I Team, which represents England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Tyler Strafaci was a member of the victorious United States team at the last Walker Cup in 2021 at Seminole Golf club in Florida.
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 28th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 70 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.
