Georgia’s Davis Thompson will represent the United States this weekend as a member of the Walker Cup Team.
The 48th Walker Cup, which is the amateur version of the Ryder Cup, will be held Saturday and Sunday at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla. The Walker Cup will pit 10 men from the United States against 10 men from Great Britain and Ireland. The United States leads the overall series 37-9-1.
“I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to sleep on Friday night,” Thompson said with a laugh. “Any time you get to represent your country, it’s nerve-racking. Hopefully, I can pull it together and hit a good shot on the first hole.
“It’s an honor to have this opportunity. I want to play well for the United States and for the University of Georgia. I have prepared to the best of my ability, so I’m ready for this experience.”
Following the opening ceremony on Friday, the teams will play foursomes and singles matches on both Saturday and Sunday. The Walker Cup will receive six hours of live network coverage among Golf Channel and Peacock on both Saturday and Sunday. Golf Channel will air the singles finals each day from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Georgia has a longstanding history of Americans playing for the Walker Cup: George Hamer (1947), Arnold Blum (1957), Vinny Giles (1969, 1971,1973, 1975), Allen Miller (1969, 1971), Jimmy Gabrielsen (1971), Griff Moody (1979), Danny Yates (1989, 1993), Franklin Langham (1991), Nick Cassini (2001), Erik Compton (2001), Brian Harman (2005, 2009), Chris Kirk (2007), Adam Mitchell (2009), Harris English (2011), Russell Henley (2011), and Lee McCoy (2015). In addition, Gabrielsen was the U.S. captain in 1981 and 1991, Giles served as the captain in 1993, and Yates captained the 1999 and 2001 squads.
Thompson is a two-time All-American, including First-Team designation for 2019-20. He has been named both All-Southeastern Conference and All-Southeast Region. Thompson leads the SEC with a 69.75 scoring average, including 13 rounds in the 60s. He won the Tiger Invitational earlier this season for his third career victory. Thompson recently was chosen as Georgia’s male nominee for the SEC’s H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship. With a 3.65 GPA in Sport Management, Thompson was chosen as the male recipient of the 2020-21 Joel Eaves Award and he earned a Ramsey Scholarship for Academic & Athletic Excellence.
In December, Thompson also wore the red, white, and blue as he went 2-1-1 for Team USA in the Arnold Palmer Cup. Thompson joins Cassini, Compton, Harman, Henley, McCoy, Kirk, and Mitchell as the only Bulldogs to play in both the Walker Cup and the Palmer Cup.