WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A standout summer for Sam Easterbrook ended Tuesday when the R & A announced that he was selected for the 52nd edition of the Walker Cup, amateur golf’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup.
Easterbrook, a native of Tomworth, England, is one of 10 players selected to the Great Britian and Ireland side to square off against the United States in match-play format. The event will be contested at the Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland on Sept. 5 and 6.
“I am completely honored and humbled for inclusion in this year’s Walker Cup. Growing up in England, this is something you dream of. It’s the pinnacle of amateur golf,” Easterbrook said. “I would like to thank captain Dean Robertson for the selection and my coaches and teammates here at Purdue for their support. I look forward to representing the Great Britain and Ireland squad with pride, and am excited to work with my teammates to bring back the Walker Cup trophy to our side.”
“Obviously, we are so excited for Sam and are very proud of the work he has put in to get selected. When you get the chance to represent your country on the international stage, it always means something significant,” Purdue head coach Andrew Sapp. “The Walker Cup has been a goal of his for a long time and this will be an amazing opportunity and experience for him. He has had a fantastic spring and summer of competition and this selection is extremely well-deserved.”
Easterbrook becomes the first Purdue golfer to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup, and only the third Boilermaker to compete in the event, joining Bill Hoffer (1983) and Joe Campbell (1957).
Easterbrook is the only one to be a current Boilermaker at the time of inclusion.
He will be joined on the team by Stuart Grehan (Eastern Michigan alum; No. 24), Connor Graham (Texas Tech; No. 25), Eliot Baker (No school; No. 16), Luke Poulter (Florida; No. 6), Niall Sheils Donegan (North Carolina; No. 18), Tyler Weaver (Florida State; No. 2), Ben Bolton (No school; No. 92), Josh Hill (Tennessee; No. 96) and Jack Whaley (Florida State; No. 90).
The United States squad consists of Preston Stout (Oklahoma State; No. 1), Tyler Watts (Tennessee; No. 3), Ethan Fang (Oklahoma State; No. 4), Miles Russell (Florida State commit; No. 4), Kihei Akina (BYU; No. 11), Ryder Cowan (Oklahoma; No. 8), Josiah Gilbert (Auburn; No. 7), Stewart Hagestad (USC alum; No. 28), William Jennings (Alabama; No. 6) and Jay Leng Jr. (Stanford, No. 23)
Easterbrook has had an outstanding summer, mostly in Europe. Easterbrook narrowly missed qualifying for The Open Championship twice, losing in a playoff in final qualifying, then finishing fourth out of 12 players in the “last-chance” qualifier at Birkdale. He also reached the quarterfinals of The Amateur Championship and the South of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship. He was a participant in the European Amateur Team Championship for team England.
He qualified for the U.S. Amateur via being a top-100 point leader in the WAGR (World Amateur Golf Rankings) as of June 24, but missed out on qualifying for the match-play portion by one shot.
Outside of his finish in the U.S. Amateur, Easterbrook’s lowest finish in his last nine events is a 20th-place showing at the European Amateur Championship, via official WAGR events.
One of Purdue’s best golfers in school history, Easterbrook’s name is littered throughout the record books.
Single-Season Record Book
-- Stroke Average: 2nd – 70.72 (2025-26); 9th – 71.77 (2024-25)
-- Stroke Average by a freshman: 7th – 73.36 (2023-24)
-- Total Related to Par: 2nd – 26-under par (2025-26)
-- Top-5 Finishes: 5th – 4 (2025-26)
-- Top-10 Finishes: 2nd – 7 (2025-26); 7th – 6 (2024-25)
-- Top-20 Finishes: 3rd – 9 (2025-26)
-- Rounds in the 60s: 3rd – 11 (2025-26); 3rd – 11 (2024-25)
-- Rounds of even-par or better: 1st – 26 (2025-26); 5th – 19 (2024-25)
-- Rounds of 75 or better: 1st – 36 (2025-26); 6th – 33 (2024-25)
-- Birdies: 1st – 147 (2025-26); 2nd – 140 (2024-25)
Career Record Book
-- Stroke Average: 2nd – 71.87 (2024-pres.)
-- Total Related to Par: 2nd – 62-over par (2024-pres.)
-- Top-5 Finishes: 6th – 8 (2024-pres.)
-- Top-10 Finishes: 5th – 16 (2024-pres.)
-- Top-20 Finishes: 8th – 20 (2024-pres.)
-- Rounds in the 60s: 2nd – 27 (2024-pres.)
-- Rounds of even-par or better: 2nd – 59 (2024-pres.)
-- Rounds of 75 or better: 9th – 94 (2024-pres.)
Tournament Record Book
-- Lowest 54-hole score: 3rd – 201 (Puerto Rico Classic; Feb. 2025)
-- Lowest 54-hole score: 13th – 204 (Island Resort Intercollegiate; Sept. 2025)
-- Lowest 54-hole score (rel. to par): 2nd – 15-under par (Puerto Rico Classic; Feb. 2025)
-- Lowest 54-hole score (rel. to par): 10th – 12-under par (Island Resort Intercollegiate; Sept. 2025)
Last spring, he narrowly missed a spot on the All-NCAA Championships Team after placing 16th at the NCAA Championships at 5-under par 283 (72-73-68-70). He became the second player in Purdue history to finish in the top nine at both the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Regionals in the same season. Since the end of the spring season, Easterbrook has jumped 50 spots in the official WAGR.
During Easterbrook’s last 16 rounds of competition at Purdue, he recorded 12 rounds of even-par or better.
Easterbrook has seen his scoring average dwindle every year since his arrival at Purdue, from 73.36 as a freshman in 2023-24, to 71.77 as a sophomore, to 70.72 as a junior last year.
The Walker Cup features 26 matches between the two sides. Saturday morning has four foursomes (alternate-shot) with eight singles matches during the afternoon. On Sunday, the competition highlights four more alternate-shot foursomes with the afternoon session featuring singles matches for all 10 competitors on each side. Great Britain and Ireland need 13.5 points to win the Walker Cup, while the United States needs 13 points to retain it.
Great Britain and Ireland have not won the Walker Cup since 2015.