Excitement builds as Simpson Cup returns to Royal Lytham & St Annes
The R&A
23 Sep 23
3 mins
The Simpson Cup, the event between teams of injured Service members and veterans from the USA and their British counterparts, takes place this week at Royal Lytham & St Annes (24 – 27 September).
Inaugurated in 2012, the Simpson Cup pits the teams against one another in an annual, Ryder Cup-style contest that raises funds and awareness for On Course Foundation – a charitable organisation which is registered in both the USA and the UK.The R&A provide £5,000 in funding to the On Course Foundation that runs the event, one that has grown exponentially since the inaugural showpiece at TPC Sawgrass 11 years ago.Having graced some of the finest golf courses either side of the Atlantic since then, it will come full circle when it heads to Royal Lytham & St Annes in England for a second time (the first staging at the prestigious links was back in 2013).
Famous venue
The Lancashire venue is certainly no stranger to championship golf. With a rich heritage that dates back to 1886, the course has hosted The Open 11 times, along with two Ryder Cups, and numerous other championships such as the AIG Women’s Open, the Senior Open presented by Rolex and the Walker Cup.The players will arrive with the Simpson Cup series delectably poised at 5-5. Both history and the form book paint a positive picture for the host nation.The British team have only ever been beaten once on their home turf (at Royal Birkdale in 2017), and have won two of the last three Simpson Cups. The home side have also included eight players from the class of 2022, where a record-equalling 13.5 – 5.5 victory was secured at Baltusrol GC.“I think we’ve got a great backbone to our team, with lots of experience,” commented GB captain Dave Ward, whose side has just three rookies. “These guys have been building towards this for the past couple of months and we’ll be ready to go when things get under way.”
Fast start needed
But the Americans have omens of their own to boost optimism. For starters, they have lost just twice since 2015. They also boast a slightly superior cumulative points total to Team GB (93 vs 90).“We’ve dusted ourselves down from Baltusrol and we know how important it is going to be to hit the ground running this year,” noted USA skipper Marty Caraway, who, like Ward, is the non-playing captain for a second year in-a-row. “I don’t want to be the leader who goes zero for two. My team know what they need to do and we can’t wait to get started.”It has all the makings of another great showdown. Festivities will commence with the Opening Ceremony on Sunday (24 September). The following day sees the traditional Player/Sponsor Golf Day, before the event proper kicks off on Tuesday 26 September with six four-ball matches.Proceedings will then be rounded off the following day with 13 singles matches, before the winning team is presented with the Ben Simpson Trophy (in honour of founder John Simpson MBE's son, who sadly passed away last year).For Ward’s side, nine-and-a-half points are required to retain it, while for Caraway and his charges, the magic number is ten.The Simpson Cup is kindly supported by the Sinclair Charity.View more information: https://www.simpsoncup.com/
