Where All 20 Walker Cup Players Rank In The WAGR

It's time for the most prestigious men's amateur golf match in the world as the 51st Walker Cup takes place at a sold-out Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland.

Team GB&I are seeking to regain the trophy after losing the last five matches to the USA. In fact, GB&I has not won since Royal Lytham and St Annes 11 years ago.

They're up against a strong American team once again, which is headlined by World No.1 Preston Stout and no.2 Tyler Watts, with seven of the ten players inside the world's top-10.

Junior star Miles Russell makes his debut after an impressive made cut at the US Open in June, while the joint-low amateur at Shinnecock Hills, Ryder Cowan, also plays.

Ethan Fang, who won the 2025 Amateur Championship and has played in three Majors, is another of the USA's star players, with veteran Stewart Hagestad, who has teed it up in eight Majors over the years, making his sixth Walker Cup appearance.

The 35-year-old is USA's lowest-ranked player at 35th in the world but his pedigree with five consecutive Walker Cup victories, three Masters appearances and five US Opens, makes him one of his team's most reliable players.

While it's a strong away team, the home side is also stacked with two players inside the world's top eight and the recent US Amateur champion.

World No.3 amateur Tyler Weaver is the top-ranked GB&I player ahead of no.8 Luke Poulter, both of whom played last time out at Cypress Point.

Elliot Baker, who finished 13th at the DP World Tour's Nexo Championship recently, adds more quality, as does last month's US Amateur Championship winner Jack Whaley.

Amateur champion Stuart Grehan returns to the team, along with 2025 US Amateur semi-finalist Niall Shiels Donegan.

So it is the USA who start as favorites, with an average world ranking of just 8.2, but it's set to be a tight match where the home team could easily pull off an upset, especially with high winds forecast at Lahinch and 8,000 fans to cheer them on each day.

The Walker Cup is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes matches. The USA leads the overall series 40-9-1.

Here's a look at the 2026 Walker Cup teams and where every player ranks in the World Amateur Golf Ranking:

Walker Cup teams 2026

Walker Cup Team USA

• Preston Stout (1st)
• Tyler Watts (2nd)
• William Jennings (4th)
• Ryder Cowan (5th)
• Miles Russell (6th)
• Josiah Gilbert (7th)
• Ethan Fang (9th)
• Kihei Akina (11th)
• Jay Leng Jr. (12th)
• Stewart Hagestad (25th)

Average rank: 8.2

Walker Cup Team GB&I

• Tyler Weaver (3rd)
• Luke Poulter (8th)
• Eliot Baker (13th)
• Niall Sheils Donegan (18th)
• Connor Graham (26th)
• Stuart Grehan (28th)
• Jack Whaley (45th)
• Sam Easterbrook (76th)
• Ben Bolton (86th)
• Josh Hill (93rd)

Average rank: 39.6