Far Hills, N.J. (Nov. 3) – Jim Holtgrieve, whose stellar amateur career includes a winning record as a player on three victorious USA Walker Cup teams and an individual triumph at the inaugural 1981 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, has been chosen by the United States Golf Association to be the captain of the 2011 USA Walker Cup squad.
“I’m elated to be given this honor by the USGA and to have the chance to captain 10 young men from the United States of America,” said Holtgrieve, 60, who was inspired by his father to play the game of golf. “The USGA has always been very special to me and this is something that my father always hoped I would be able to do. This would have made him very proud.”
Holtgrieve will captain the United States team that travels to Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Aberdeen, Scotland, for the 42nd Walker Cup Match, to be held Sept. 10-11, 2011.
The Walker Cup Match is a 10-man amateur team competition between the USA and a team composed of players from Great Britain and Ireland. The 2009 Match will be played Sept. 12-13 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. Current USGA Senior Amateur champion George “Buddy” Marucci will be the USA captain for the upcoming Walker Cup Match.
Holtgrieve was one of the country’s top amateur players during the 1970s and ’80s and earned a spot on winning Walker Cup teams in 1979, 1981 and 1983, where he had a combined record of 6-4. He also represented the USA on two victorious World Amateur Championship squads, in 1980 and 1982. A semifinalist at the 1980 U.S. Amateur and runner-up at the 1983 British Amateur, Holtgrieve won numerous state and district amateur titles in Missouri.
Holtgrieve played in five Masters Tournaments as an amateur – making the cut three times – and also qualified for the 1978 U.S. Open.
Holtgrieve turned professional in 1998 and played on the Champions Tour from 1999 to 2005, where his top finish was a tie for second at the 1999 Home Depot Invitational. In all, he has played in four U.S. Senior Opens and a total of 42 USGA championships.
The USGA reinstated Holtgrieve’s amateur status in 2007 after he played in 122 professional events. He also serves the USGA as a member of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship committee. Holtgrieve resides in St. Louis, Mo.
About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the world’s golfers and golf courses.
The Association’s most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open. Ten additional USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, funds research for better turf and a better environment, maintains a Handicap System and administers an ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program, which has allocated more than $62 million over 11 years to successful programs that bring the game’s values to youths from disadvantaged backgrounds and people with disabilities. For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.
Contact:
Dave Fanucchi (dfanucchi@usga.org)
Web Address: www.usga.org
USGA Phone: (908) 234-2300
