The Walker Cup is a bi-annual team event contested by the 10 leading amateurs from the United States against their counterparts from Great Britain and Ireland. The 43rd Match is scheduled for September 10-11, 2011 on the Balgownie Links of Royal Aberdeen Golf Club on the northeast coast of Scotland.

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 34-7 with one halved match, the two teams are even at 4-4 over the last 8 matches. Three of the last four matches have been decided by one point.

Jim Holtgrieve, 60, (right) whose stellar amateur career includes a winning record as a player on three victorious US Walker Cup teams and an individual triumph at the inaugural 1981 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, has been chosen by the USGA to be the captain of the 2011 U.S. Walker Cup squad.

Nigel Edwards of Wales, a four-time Walker Cup competitor, captains the Great Britain and Ireland team.

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 2011 U.S. Amateur in late August.