Walker Cup Archives - Silver Club Golfing Society

#38 – Nathan Smith

Steve Scott — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 11:00:50 +0000

Pittsburgh native Nathan Smith has had one of the best amateur careers of modern times. Smith has won the U.S. Mid-Amateur four times in a span from 2003 to 2012, the 2011 Sunnehanna Amateur, the 2002 and 2009 Pennsylvania Amateur, the West Penn Amateur four times (2007–10), and the R. Jay Sigel Match Play three times (2011, 2013, 2015). With his partner Todd White, he also won the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at the famed Olympic Club in 2015. To cap it off, Smith played in three consecutive Walker Cup matches representing the Unites States in 2009, 2011 and 2013.

Smith, who balances his golf game and his day job of a financial adviser, has played in five major championships, including four Masters Tournaments and one U.S. Open, but unfortunately missed the cut in each of them. He did come within one shot of making the cut at the 2004 Masters Tournament, but if it was any consolation, had the great fortune of being paired for the first two rounds with the legend Arnold Palmer.

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#44 – Matt Kuchar

Steve Scott — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 11:00:00 +0000

Matt Kuchar was born in Winter Park, Florida, to a Ukrainian family. He went on to graduate from Seminole High School in Sanford in 1996. Later he attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he was a two-time first-team All-American on the Yellow Jackets’ golf team. Kuchar won the U.S. Amateur title in 1997 at Cog Hill in Chicago. He received the Haskins Award in 1998 as the nation’s top collegiate golfer, and was the low amateur at both The Masters and U.S. Open. He was a member of the United States Walker Cup Team and earned his bachelor’s degree in management. After considering staying a career am like another Georgia Tech grad, Bobby Jones, he turned pro in 2000. One of Kuchar’s teammates at Georgia Tech was future PGA Tour professional Bryce Molder. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Kuchar)

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Honorable Mentions

Will Smith — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 22:12:45 +0000

Legendary Amateur Ed Updegraff had a long and distinguished amateur career, winning the Western Am (1957, 1959), Sunnehanna Am (1962), Pacific Coast Am (1967) and the U.S. Senior Amateur (1981). He was a semi-finalist at 1963 British Amateur. He played on three winning WalkerCup teams (1963, 1965, 1969) and captained the 1975 team to a win. Interestingly enough, Updegraff also finished in a tie for 4th place at the 1969 Tucson Open on the PGA Tour but failed to sign his scorecard and was disqualified! We are sure he felt better after receiving the Bob Jones Award from the @USGA in 1999. 2011 and 2013 WalkerCup Captain Jim Holtgrieve has had a long and distinguished amateur career and has given so much back to the game. He won the inaugural U.S. Mid Amateur in 1981, was runner up at the 1983 British Am and made it to the semis in the 1980 U.S. Am as well as being a 3 time Walker Cup competitor. A classic pose from O. Gordon Brewer Jr, former president at Pine Valley, arguably the world’s greatest course. As a player, he made it into a mind-boggling 42 USGA national championships, capping his competitive career with two victories in the U.S. Senior Amateur (1994, ’96). He also won five Crump Cups.

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