Walker Cup skipper Noel looks ahead to Royal Aberdeen

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By Martin Dempster
During a get-together this week at Celtic Manor, Nigel Edwards only needed to take the members of the Great Britain & Ireland squad into his office at the Golf Union of Wales to show them how passionate he is about amateur golf and, in particular, the Walker Cup.
Edwards played four times in the biennial match against the Americans and, above the Tour-style golf bags from those events, the wall is adorned with pictures capturing magical moments like a fist-pumping celebration after securing the win for Peter McEvoy's team at Ganton in 1993.
Next year, at Royal Aberdeen, the 41-year-old Welshman's connection with the Walker Cup will enter a new phase when he captains the GB&I team, having been appointed by the R&A after Colin Dalgleish's two-match term came to an end.
Edwards, the Director of Player Development and Coaching at the Golf Union of Wales, is excited about the challenge and admits leading GB&I to victory over the Americans would mean as much to him as it undoubtedly will to Colin Montgomerie if he can achieve that feat for Europe in this year's Ryder Cup.
"It (the Ryder Cup] is very different circumstances but obviously the Walker Cup means a lot to me," said Edwards. "There is no financial gain – it is all from the heart. I am pretty passionate about amateur golf and I think people can see that from my past experiences in the Walker Cup."
This week's two-day get-together marked the start of the build-up to the 2010 match and involved two Scots, Colville Park's Ross Kellett and David Law of Hazlehead. Banchory's James Byrne and Michael Stewart of Troon Welbeck are also in the squad but they have not yet returned for the summer from their respective US colleges.
Edwards was pleased to see Kellett lay down a marker when he reached the final of the Argentine Amateur Championship at the end of last year and has certainly been impressed by Byrne's progress.
"I think James is a very good player – he's someone who isn't frightened of winning," said the Welshman. The added incentive for both Byrne and Law, of course, is the chance to play in a Walker Cup on their own doorstep and Edwards, for one, believes Royal Aberdeen will prove a great venue for the event.
"I played there 20 years ago and know what type of course it is, though I believe there have been some changes since then, so it will be interesting to see what it's like now," he said.
+The full article above appears in The Scotsman newspaper today.