ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia golfer Trent Phillips has been chosen to participate in a Walker Cup practice session later this month, according to an announcement by the USGA’s International Team Selection Committee.
Phillips, a freshman from Inman, S.C., will be one of 16 Americans attending the session Dec. 14-18 in Florida at Seminole Golf Club, The Bear’s Club, Medalist Golf Club and McArthur Golf Club.
Invitation to the practice session does not guarantee a spot on the United States roster for the 2019 Walker Cup match, which will be held Sept. 7-8 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England.
The Walker Cup is a biennial amateur team competition between the United States and a squad composed of players from Great Britain and Ireland. The Walker Cup is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes (alternate-shot) matches. The United States leads the series 36-9-1, including a 19-7 victory in Los Angeles in 2017.
“This practice session presents an excellent opportunity for the players, the captain and the USGA to become familiar with each other as we begin the process of team selection,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA Senior Managing Director of Championships. “Individual personalities show through and we see the beginning of a sense of team spirit. While these 16 talented individuals represent the first pool of potential team members, we expect many others will be considered as the selection process moves toward its conclusion next August.”
Phillips led the SEC during the fall competition with a scoring average of 68.00. All 11 of his rounds were under par, while the first 10 were in the 60s. He came in second in the rain-shortened Jim Rivers Intercollegiate and third in two other events.
Georgia has been well represented at the Walker Cup dating back to the 1950s by Arnold Blum, Nick Cassini, Erik Compton, Harris English, Jimmy Gabrielsen, Vinny Giles, George Hamer, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Franklin Langham, Lee McCoy, Allen Miller, Adam Mitchell, Griff Moody and Danny Yates.