FOUR Irish players, including national champion Peter Lawrie, are in a Royal and Ancient squad of 19 for four days of intensive training at Valderrama on March 18th to 23rd. They will be led by Peter Townsend, who gained Walker Cup, World Cup and Ryder Cup honours in a distinguished career.
This is not an official Walker Cup squad but the organisers are clearly looking towards the biennial clash with the US at Quaker Ridge, New York, in August. For instance, the players will be accompanied by Walker Cup skipper Clive Brown and by Will James, an adviser on diet and fitness.
The Irish candidates are: Jody Fanagan (Milltown), Noel Fox (Portmarnock), Lawrie (UCD and Newlands) and Keith Nolan (Bray). Fanagan was a member of the team which gained a convincing victory over the Americans at Royal Porthcawl in September 1995.
A notable absentee, however, is current British Amateur champion Warren Bladen, who will be travelling to Augusta National for the US Masters, two weeks later.
Valderrama was chosen for the squad meeting so as to give players the chance of playing a course of similar difficulty to Quaker Ridge. This applies especially to the pace of the greens and tightness of the fairways.
The majority of the Walker Cup team of 10, to be selected in early July, will come from this squad but the R and A don't rule out other players coming into contention in the meantime. Walker Cup selectors will be attending nine specific events, including the Irish Amateur Open Strokeplay Championship at Fota Island on June 12th and 13th.
