The Walker Cup is a bi-annual team event contested by the leading amateurs from the USA against their counterparts from Great Britain and Ireland. The 42nd Match is scheduled for September 12-13, 2009 at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA.

The event is co-organized by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (R&A) and the United States Golf Association (USGA). It is named in honor of George Herbert Walker (great-grandfather of former U.S. President George W. Bush), who was president of the USGA in 1920 when the series was initiated. It is played alternately on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Match employs a combination of foursomes (alternate shot) and singles competition. A victory in each match scores 1 point. If a match goes 18 holes without a decision, ½ point is awarded to each side.

Although the U.S. leads the series 33-7 with one halved match, the two teams are even at 5-5 over the last 10 matches, and each of the last three matches has been decided by one point.

Buddy Marucci (right), a member of Merion Golf Club, will captain the U.S. Team, as he did for the 2007 U.S. victory at Royal County Down in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. Marucci is a career amateur golfer whose long and distinguished resume is highlighted by a 1995 U.S. Amateur runner-up finish to Tiger Woods. He played for the USA in the 1995 and 1997 Walker Cup Matches and won the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2008.

Colin Dalgeish from Helensburgh, Scotland captains the Great Britain and Ireland squad.

It is likely that the majority of the U.S. Team will be announced in early August, shortly after the Porter Cup’s conclusion. The remaining spots will be filled following the 2009 U.S. Amateur in late August.