MEADVILLE, Pa. – Nathan Smith, a 2001 graduate of Allegheny College, is one of the 10 amateur golfers who will comprise the 2009 USA Walker Cup Team. The 42nd Walker Cup Match, which features the finest amateur golfers from the USA against those from Great Britain and Ireland, will be played Sept. 12-13 at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.
Smith, the only Division III athlete chosen for the team, was a four-time All-American and All-Region Player for the Gators from 1998-2001. He was a three-time NCAC Tournament Medalist and a two-time Regional Player of the Year. Smith helped Allegheny advance to the NCAA Championships all four years and was an individual national runner-up as a senior.
Upon graduation, he won the 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur at age 25 to become the youngest winner in the championship's history. As a result of his U.S. Mid-Amateur championship, Smith was invited to play in the 2004 Masters alongside Arnold Palmer in his final Masters Tournament. So far this season, Smith has won the Western Pennsylvania Amateur and the Pennsylvania Amateur Match Play. He has also recorded top 10 finishes at the Sunnehanna Amateur (T-4), the Northeast Amateur (T-7) and the Southern Amateur (T-7). A two-time participant in the USGA Men's State Team Championship and eight-time U.S. Amateur participant, Smith recorded runner-up finishes at the Northeast Amateur and the Pennsylvania State Amateur in 2008.
Eight out of the 10 players chosen for the USA team were selected by the International Team Selection Committee of the United States Golf Association. Two more players will be named to the team following the conclusion of the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship, scheduled to be played Aug. 24-30 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
First contested in 1922, today the biennial Walker Cup Match consists of 16 singles matches and eight foursomes (alternate shot) matches. The USA Team has won the last two matches, posting one-point victories at Chicago (Ill.) Golf Club in 2005 and Royal County Down in 2007. The USA leads the series overall, 33-7-1.
The venue for a record 17 USGA national championships, the East Course at Merion Golf Club is where Bob Jones captured his record fifth U.S. Amateur crown in 1930, completing his Grand Slam of four majors. Additionally, Merion hosted the U.S. Open in 1971, when Lee Trevino defeated Jack Nicklaus in an 18-hole playoff, and in 1950, when Ben Hogan capped his comeback from a near-fatal car accident by winning the second of his four U.S. Open titles. In 2013, the East Course at Merion will host the 113th U.S. Open.
