For many years the Walker Cup Match to give it its full title has been contested since 1922 between teams of amateur golfers from the USA and opponents from Great Britain and Ireland, only for the result to nearly always be the same.

From its inauguration until 1969, only once did the US side fail to prevail, with the winning margins often embarrassingly high.

However, the tables have begun to turn in recent years, with five of the 10 contests up to 2009 having gone to the Great Britain and Ireland side.

For those taking part, though, the Walker Cup came to represent everything that was best about the sport of golf and its spirit of fair play, not to mention the relationships it built between future star golfers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Players as young as 16 and as old as 55 have competed in the Walker Cup, with many going on to become successful professionals, but some retaining their amateur status and taking part in the competition many times. American Jay Sigel is the most prolific winner, having lost only five of the 33 matches he played in nine Walker Cups.

Most of golf's greatest names have taken part. In 1995 Tiger Woods represented the United States, but was beaten in his singles match by Great Britain and Ireland's Gary Wolstenholme.