“The Irish crowd will definitely be our 11th man at Lahinch” - Walker Cup skipper banking on massive home support
Tickets are now on sale for The Walker Cup to be played at Lahinch on 5 and 6 September 2026. Picture: Lahinch Golf Club
Skipper Dean Robertson reckons passionate Irish support could be the game-changer for Great Britain and Ireland as they bid to end a five-match losing streak in September’s Walker Cup at Lahinch.
Tickets for the 51st Walker Cup went on sale today, with an early-bird offer of €70 for a weekend pass, available to the first 500 applicants via the R&A tickets website.
The clash with the USA is scheduled for September 5-6 and Robertson believes home support will be key as the famous Co Clare links stages the matches for the first time.
"I think Lahinch is unique," Robertson said. "The town itself, you could only really compare St Andrews, but Lahinch just has its own unique atmosphere. It just comes alive.
“Hopefully we will be able to galvanise support from the Irish crowd, who are going to play a huge part, and really try to give them something to get behind."
The Irish fans, Robertson added, would be "most definitely our 11th man”.
"It's not about the crack off the club faces," the Scot said. "It's about the craic in the 19th.
“The Irish fans are off the charts. Having experienced them in many an Irish Open, I'm now really going to look forward to captaining the GB&I Walker Cup team at Lahinch."
Robertson was in charge at last year’s Walker Cup at Cypress Point where GB&I dominated the two foursomes sessions but lost heavily in the singles, going down by a deceptive 17-9 overall to hand the USA its fifth win in a row.
The match has been moved to even-numbered years to avoid a clash with the Olympics, and with just three of last year’s 10-man GB&I team turning professional, the core of the side is likely to play again in Lahinch.
Co Louth’s Stuart Grehan and Gavin Tiernan are highly fancied to return to the team, but with the South of Ireland Championship set to play a massive role in preparing for the Walker Cup, Robertson is hoping for a strong Irish contingent.
GB&I hasn’t won since five Irishmen played on the side at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2015 and Grehan and Tiernan are keen to play again.
“Gavin was the only person to win his singles on the Sunday at Cypress,” Robertson said of Tiernan, who made the final of the Amateur Championship last year to force his way into the side. “He beat Michael La Sasso, who's now moved on to his millions in the LIV tour.”
He described former South of Ireland champion Grehan as "a real leader within the team room last time”.
While the top five GB&I players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after the South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch in late July will win automatic spots in the 10-man side, Robertson believes the “South” will be crucial in shaping his final line-up.
"I'm looking for form players, looking for winners in the team," Robertson said. "Who's to say the winner of the South of Ireland isn't a Walker Cup player this year?
“There are other fine exponents of the South of Ireland who are past champions, who are recently winners of scratch cups.
“And I'm well aware of who they are, and the eyes are on them, and I'm in contact with them, and I'm urging them to put their put their put themselves forward,” he said, singling out Dundalk’s Caolan Rafferty, a former Walker Cup player, in particular.
While playing the “South” is not obligatory, he said “the South of Ireland is one that you will see a different dynamic in the entry list, for sure” as he has strongly encouraged prospective selections to play a busy links schedule this summer.
He’ll be keeping a weather eye on results from the season-opening West of Ireland Championship, which starts at Co Sligo next week.
The winner of the “West”, as well as the North of Ireland champion, will be invited to a panel session at Lahinch as part of preparations.
The Walker Cup takes place the week before the Amgen Irish Open at Doonbeg and while Robertson plans to leave Donald Trump’s links to the Americans as he looks to give his squad pre-event practice at Ballybunion, he hinted he may bring in “a couple of externals” to help them work on their ground game.
“That might be a secret weapon, but that will remain a secret,” he said.
Getting off to a fast start and improving GB&I’s singles play is going to be key to winning.
"We know that in team play, we have a formula that we'll continue to do," he said. "But in terms of the singles play, that's where we need to improve.
“We need to get way faster starts. The statistics tell you that if you're getting up early, the chances of winning are massively increased."
Course set-up is key, and Robertson has asked Lahinch to keep the green speeds below 10 on the stimpmeter after the players struggled to cope with greens running at 14 at Cypress Point.
“We won't be putting down the bonnet of a car, and the wind should be blowing a little bit,” he said. “Let the golf course be natural, be the brilliant course that it is.”
It’s the first time the Walker Cup has come to Ireland since 2007 and while demand for tickets is likely to be high, the successful ‘Kids go Free’ programme will be in place.
This provides children under 16 years old with free entry to the match when accompanied by a paying adult.
Discounted youth tickets are also available for 16-24-year-olds
Entry to the opening ceremony at 5 pm on Friday, 4 September, is free.
As a former DP World Tour winner, Robertson is the first professional to captain the Great Britain and Ireland team and he believes winning at Lahinch would be special.
"I would be absolutely thrilled," he said. "It would be immensely emotional. It would be fantastic, and I would be super proud.”
