At 50th Walker Cup, this captain is first of his kind

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The Walker Cup is being played for the 50th time. For the first time, one of the captains is a professional. The Great Britain & Ireland captain is a Scotsman named Dean Robertson, who turned pro after playing in the 1993 Walker Cup and won the 1999 Italian Open by a shot over Padraig Harrington. He now runs the golf program at the University of Stirling, in Scotland.

The American captain is a lifelong amateur, Nathan Smith, 47, winner of five USGA titles, four Mid-Am wins and one Four-Ball title. He’s an insurance salesman. He’s been in the pipeline for this position for a half-decade or longer. He was asked on Friday afternoon if he thought the U.S. would ever have a professional golfer as a Walker Cup captain.

“That could open up the door for some different things,” he said. “I’d first say there are so many deserving guys that are still amateur to be Walker Cup captains.”

Stewart Hagestad, who at 34 is the oldest playing member of the American team, was sitting beside Smith as the captain spoke those words. He is playing in his fifth Walker Cup here at Cypress Point and it would be a shocker if he is not a captain sometime in the next decade or two, particularly if he never turns pro, which is almost certainly the case.

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Smith continued: “But you would never shut the door on that,” the idea of an American professional as a Walker Cup captain. “That that could happen someday, with the right, very accomplished player. It could happen, sure.”

Smith was asked: “How do you think Tiger Woods would be as a Walker Cup captain?”

On the chance you are not familiar with Woods’s USGA credentials, he won three consecutive U.S. Junior titles, then won three straight U.S. Amateur titles, and as a professional has won three U.S. Opens. Next year, he is eligible to play in his first U.S. Senior Open. He played in the 1995 Walker Cup as well, when the U.S. lost to GB&I at Royal Porthcawl, in Wales. That likely sticks in his craw. One of his regular refrains is, “I love winning, but I hate losing more.”

Smith took a nanosecond to consider Woods as a Walker Cup captain. Smith is from Western Pennsylvania, as Arnold Palmer was. Understatement is a way of life there.

“He’d probably be pretty good,” Smith said, before adding: “What do you think?”

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com