The Waker Cup is less than three months away, and on Friday, the U.S. Golf Association announced the first three selections for the United States squad.
Jackson Koivun, Ben James and Michael La Sasso will each don the red, white and blue Sept. 6-7 and Cypress Point, site of the 50th Walker Cup. The biennial match between the top amateurs from the United States and those from Great Britain and Ireland takes place Sept. 6-7 at famed Cypress Point in California, which ranks No. 1 in Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses. The three earned automatic spots on the Walker Cup team thanks to being the highest-ranked Americans in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
All three players competed in last week’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. James, a rising senior at Virginia, is making his second Walker Cup appearance, having competed on the 2023 team that won at St. Andrews, going 1-2-0. He helped the Cavaliers advance to the championship match at NCAAs and is the likely No 1 when the PGA Tour University Class of 2026 rankings are announced this summer. He’s ranked second in WAGR.
Koivun, the top-ranked amateur in the world, earned his PGA Tour card with a T-4 finish at NCAAs, but his stellar season came as a freshman when he swept the major postseason awards: the Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson. He’s returning to Auburn for his junior season and will turn pro after NCAAs next May.
La Sasso had a standout junior season for Ole Miss, culminating in him winning the NCAA individual title at Omni La Costa. He was a finalist for the Haskins Award, the Heisman Trophy of college golf, and is ranked third in WAGR.
The Walker Cup is a two-day event with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes matches. The U.S. leads the overall series, 39-9-1, though its advantage is only 11-7 since 1989.
