Davies, Shaw named to 2007 GB&I Walker Cup Squad

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Davies

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 12, 2006) - According to Golfweek.com, ETSU golfers Rhys Davies (Bridgend, Wales) and Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) have been named to the 2007 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup squad from which the final Walker Cup team will be selected in August. The Walker Cup team will take on the United States at Royal County Down Golf Club in Northern Ireland Sept. 8-9.

For Davies, a two-time first-team All-American, it will be his second time competing for a spot on the final Walker Cup team, joining four other players who were part of the 2005 team that lost to the U.S. at the Chicago Golf Club. Davies, who has ranked in the Top 5 among the nation's best collegiate players over the last three years, has a wealth of experience on the international stage, competing in the Palmer Cup as well as World Team Amateur Championship in just the last year.

Meanwhile, Shaw - who also played in the World Team Amateur Championship this past fall - will be making his first appearance on the Walker Cup squad. Shaw is currently second to Davies on the ETSU squad in stroke average.

Davies and Nigel Edwards are the two Welshmen from the 2005 team named to the current squad, along with Scottish players Lloyd Saltman and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Richie Ramsay. England's Gary Wolstenholme, a member of the last six GB&I teams, also made it.

Scotland and England dominate the 22-man squad with seven players apiece, while Ireland and Wales each have four players. GB&I Captain Colin Dalgleish will name the eight players to take part in the biennial match at Royal County Down, Northern Ireland, September 8-9, following the English, Welsh and Scottish Amateur Championships that end on August 4th.

A good crop of up-and-coming youngsters complement the experienced players, along with a few names only familiar to GB&I officials.

English Elite squad member Stephen Lewton, a two-time winner in his final year at NC State last season, joins Wolstenholme on the squad. The other English players, also elite squad members, are Gary Boyd, recent winner of the inaugural Asia Pacific Open Amateur Championship, 2005 Lytham Trophy winner Jamie Moul, Ben Parker, Paul Waring and David Horsey.

Along with Shaw, fellow Irish internationals Simon Ward, South Alabama's Jonathan Caldwell and highly rated 17-year-old Rory McIlroy, winner of the last two Irish Amateur Championships. Besides Edwards and Davies, 2006 Welsh Amateur champion Llewellyn Matthews and 18-year-old Zach Gould complete the four man Welsh contingent.

Pushing Ramsay and Saltman hard for places in the Scottish contingent are Glenn Campbell, Kevin McAlpine, Keir McNicoll, Paul O'Hara and two-time Scottish Boys champion Scott Henry. Dalgleish will get his first serious look at the squad when he leads them to Royal County Down for a training session from April 17-19.

The U.S. holds a 31-7 lead, with one match tied, in the biennial match stretching back to the inaugural fixture in 1922. However, GB&I had won three consecutive matches before the narrow loss at Chicago Golf Club last year. They have won four of the last six contests.