Alex Fitzpatrick, Barclay Brown and Ben Schmidt blaze a trail for Yorkshire golf in Walker Cup

Alex Fitzpatrick: Playing in his first Walker Cup two years ago at Royal Liverpool. (Picture: Getty Images)

The Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs hope the unprecedented number of White Rose players in the Great Britain and Ireland team for this weekend’s Walker Cup will help blaze a trail for the region’s young golfers.

Three young Yorkshiremen are part of the 10-strong GB&I team to take on the United States at Seminole Golf Club in Florida this weekend. Alex Fitzpatrick and Barclay Brown, 22 and 20 respectively from Hallamshire Golf Club, as well as 18-year-old Barclay Brown of Rotherham, have the honour of representing their country in the biggest amateur team event in golf.

Yorkshire has had two players in a team before as recently as Danny Willett and John Parry in 2007, but three is unheard of. It can also have a knock-on effect for the county’s youth.

“We are absolutely delighted for them,” said Jonathan Plaxton, secretary of the Yorkshire Golf Union and a former Walker Cup chairman. “Not just for themselves and their families, but also the long-term impact.

Barclay Brown of Hallamshire Gold Club will make his Walker Cup debut

“Over the years we’ve seen it happen a lot; you get one or two young players doing really well and it drags another five or six through from the same club.”

And Plaxton believes this trio’s vast experience of playing abroad can help them at Seminole.

“Both Alex and Barclay are out at college in America while Ben has had success in Australia,” continued Plaxton.

“The courses over in America are so alien to what we are used to here. The pace and slopes of the greens are nothing like we know. Courses are set up with an emphasis on accuracy and spin control but fortunately our three have got that experience. It’s all about course management.”

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