2023 Walker Cup showcases 16-Year age gap among players

The Walker Cup brings together the best amateur golfers from the United States and Great Britain and Ireland. The Home Of Golf, in St. Andrews, Scotland, will be the idyllic setting for this confrontation, which is already leaving historical marks.

The 2023 edition of the Walker Cup will see in action two players with ages separated by 16 years - American Stewart Hagestad, 32, and Scotsman Connor Graham, 16. It is a very unusual gap, although it is in no way against the rules.

Stewart Hagestad was born in April 1991 in California. He began his amateur career playing collegiate golf at the University of Southern California, but even before that he had already left traces of his quality.

As a 15-year-old, he won the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and qualified for The Masters Tournament in 2017. He made headlines by becoming the first Mid-Amateur Champion to make the cut at the Augusta major.

Subsequently, Hagestad has not changed his amateur status and has participated in several tournaments. He has played in four editions of the U.S. Open and won a team gold medal at the Pan American Games in Lima, 2019 (teaming up with Emilia Migliaccio and currently professionals Brandon Wu and Rose Zhang).

His career highlight has been his three appearances in the Walker Cup (2017, 2019, 2021), as he has won all of them as part of the American team.

Connor Graham, meanwhile, was born in 2006 in Blairgowrie, Scotland, into a family very involved with golf. He started participating in tournaments at a very young age, with such outstanding results that he has already been called to the Walker Cup.

Graham won the 2023 Scottish Men's Open Champion (the youngest winner ever) and the 2022 R&A Junior Open, in addition to other important results.

Graham will join a roster of young players who were a part of Walker Cup history. Among others, Oliver Fisher and Conor Gough (played as a 16 year old), Ronan Rafferty, Justin Rose and Akshay Bhatia (played as a 17 year old).

Walker Cup preview

The Walker Cup is a biannual competition between a team from the United States and one from Great Britain and Ireland. The only basic rule of team integration is the amateur status of the players, regardless of their age.

The tournament has been officially played since 1922, although a similar event was held in 1921, which is considered the predecessor of the current event. The United States has dominated overwhelmingly, with 39 wins to nine for its European rivals.

However, Great Britain and Ireland has had its moments of glory, with three consecutive victories between 1999 and 2003. Their last triumph dates back to 2015, so the American team goes to Scotland seeking its fourth consecutive and 40th win in history.

The 2023 edition of the tournament will be played at the Old Course at St. Andrews, considered the oldest golf course in the world.