Royal Liverpool to host 2019 Walker Cup during its 150th anniversary year

LIVERPOOL, England -- Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake) has been named as the venue for the 2019 Walker Cup match, the U.S. Golf Association has announced.

The 47th biennial match between the amateurs of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States will be played in September 2019 at Royal Liverpool as the club celebrates the 150th anniversary of its foundation.

Hoylake was the venue for a 1921 match between the USA and Great Britain. The first official Walker Cup was played at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y., in 1922.

The prestigious team event was held at Hoylake in 1983 when the USA side, led by Captain Jay Sigel, overcame Charlie Green's GB&I team with a 13½ - 10½ victory.

The British Open will return to Hoylake for the 12th time next year. In 2012, the club hosted the Ricoh Women's British Open and it is no stranger to top-class amateur events, having hosted the British Amateur Championship on 18 occasions and the Curtis Cup in 1992.

The club boasts a strong amateur golf heritage. Two of the game’s greatest amateur players, John Ball Jr. and Harold Hilton, were members of Royal Liverpool and boast three British Open, 12 British Amateurs and one U.S. Amateurs among them.

''The Walker Cup is one of the most historic and prestigious events in golf,'' said R&A Executive Director for Championship Johnnie Cole-Hamilton. ''We are delighted to be taking the match back to Royal Liverpool in its 150th year. Hoylake will provide an outstanding challenge for both teams. It is one of the finest tests of links golf to be found anywhere and has hosted many successful championships over the years.''

This year's Walker Cup again will be played at the National Golf Links of America, on Sept. 7-8. The 2015 match will be played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club and the 2017 venue will be the Los Angeles Country Club.

The Walker Cup match is contested between teams of 10 players from GB&I and the United Sates. It is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes matches. GB&I currently holds the Walker Cup after defeating the USA 14-12 at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in 2011. The USA leads the overall series 34-8-1. 

Many great players have taken part in the Walker Cup over the years including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson for the USA and Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell for GB&I.