Most Points Won in the Walker Cup

Which golfers in the history of the Walker Cup won the most points for their team? Below is the list of all Walker Cup golfers with at least nine career points earned in the competition.

The Walker Cup is played every other year, staged by the USGA and R&A. Two teams of amateur men golfers square off in match play. One is Team USA, the other is Team Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I).

The Walker Cup has been played since 1922. Today, the competition includes foursomes (alternate shot) and singles matches. A golfer can play in a maximum of four matches in a single Walker Cup today (that number was lower in the past). Winning a match earns one point, halving (tying) a match earns a half-point.

The List: Most Walker Cup Points, Career

All golfers who won at least nine points in Walker Cup matches are listed (years they played the Walker Cup included in parentheses):

• 20.5 points — Jay Sigel, USA (1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993)
• 16.5 — William C. Campbell, USA (1951, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1975)
• 11.5 — Francis Ouimet, USA (1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1934)
• 11.0 — Billy Joe Patton, USA (1955, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1965)
• 10.5 — Vinny Giles, USA (1969, 1971, 1973, 1975)
• 10.0 — Gary Wolstenholme, GB&I (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005)
• 10.0 — John Harris, USA (1993, 1995, 1997)
• 10.0 — Bob Lewis Jr., USA (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987)
• 9.5 — Michael Bonallack, GB&I (1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973)
• 9.0 — Bobby Jones, USA (1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930)

Jay Sigel is the only golfer to reach 20 points in Walker Cup matches. And he will probably remain the only to do so: Today, amateur golfers who are good enough to earn repeated call-ups to their respective Walker Cup team are probably going to turn pro. Walker Cup teams today are typically comprised of young golfers, many playing college golf, who soon go pro.

Sigel, however, played in nine Walker Cups — every one of them from 1977 (when he was 33 years old) through 1993 (49 years old). Sigel's nine playing appearances are the Team USA record, and his 18 match victories are the Curtis Cup record.

Sigel eventually did turn pro after reaching age 50. He joined the Champions Tour, earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1994, and won eight tournaments from 1994-2003.

Related articles:

• Who is the Walker Cup named for?
• Walker Cuppers who never lost in singles
• Youngest and oldest Walker Cup golfers

Sources:
PGATour.com. Players, Jay Sigel, https://www.pgatour.com/player/11199.
USGA. Walker Cup Media Guide, Walker Cup Records, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/walker-cup-records.html.