1971 Walker Cup

The 1971 Walker Cup, the 23rd Walker Cup Match, was played on 26 and 27 May 1971, on the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland. The event was won by Great Britain & Ireland 13 to 11, their first win in the event since 1938.

Although Great Britain and Ireland won all the first morning foursomes, the United States won six of the eight singles and held a one point lead after the first day. The United States lead increased to two points after the second day foursomes. However Great Britain and Ireland won six of the eight singles matches to win the Walker Cup for the first time since World War II.

Format
The format for play on Wednesday and Thursday was the same. There were four matches of foursomes in the morning and eight singles matches in the afternoon. In all, 24 matches were played.

Each of the 24 matches was worth one point in the larger team competition. If a match was all square after the 18th hole extra holes were not played. Rather, each side earned ½ a point toward their team total. The team that accumulated at least 12½ points won the competition. If the two teams were tied, the previous winner would retain the trophy.

Teams
Ten players for the United States and Great Britain & Ireland participated in the event. Great Britain & Ireland had a playing captain, while the United States had a non-playing captain.

Great Britain & Ireland
🇬🇧 & 🇮🇪

Playing captain: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Michael Bonallack
 * 🇮🇪 Roddy Carr
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Rodney Foster
 * Charlie Green
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Warren Humphreys
 * Scott Macdonald
 * George Macgregor
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Geoff Marks
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 David Marsh
 * Hugh Stuart

United States
🇺🇸

Captain: John M. Winters
 * William C. Campbell
 * John Farquhar
 * Jim Gabrielsen
 * Vinny Giles
 * Bill Hyndman
 * Tom Kite
 * Steve Melnyk
 * Allen Miller
 * Jim Simons
 * Lanny Wadkins