GB&I's Shiels Donegan Keen to Make Home Comforts Count

Home advantage can be a powerful thing when Walker Cup week rolls around. 

With the Match taking place this weekend on the Californian coast – at the iconic Cypress Point Club – one player will be looking to make familiar surroundings count: Great Britain and Ireland star Niall Shiels Donegan. 

The 20-year-old might be part of Dean Robertson’s side aiming to secure an historic away victory, but he’s very much at home in this part of the world. 

Born in Glasgow, Shiels Donegan moved to the USA as a child and grew up in Mill Valley, around 150 miles along the Pacific Coast from Cypress Point. “While I’m Scottish I've lived by far the majority of my life just a couple of hours north of San Francisco,” he said. “Being able to play Walker Cup is the dream of any amateur golfer, but this one has been circled on my calendar for a fair few years. Getting the call from Dean was special, that's for sure. 

"As a junior golfer I played quite a few tournaments down in this area. They have a great repertoire of courses that are willing to host junior events, so I've made the drive down a few times.  “It's always nice to be able to play on home soil - or that feeling of home soil - so hopefully it can give me an edge this week."

Shiels Donegan certainly had the edge last month at the U.S. Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, spurred on by around 100 friends and family whose buoyant support hit the headlines. After making it through the stroke play section, he went on to reach the semifinals, defeating GB&I teammate Luke Poulter before overcoming Christiaan Maas and USA Walker Cupper Preston Stout – both top 10 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR® – and then another USA Walker Cupper Jacob Modleski on the 19th hole.

"I feel like one of the luckier people in the world to have that kind of support and backing from a home crowd,” he said. “There were a lot of tough moments in match play where I felt if they weren't there with their upbeat energy it might have changed the outcome. Lucky for me they were (there) and it kept me fighting.

"It was the best experience of my entire life. So special and so much fun."

Shiels Donegan, No. 63 in the WAGR and a junior at the University of North Carolina (he transferred after two seasons at Northwestern University), has enjoyed a packed summer. In June he made it through to the match-play rounds at The Amateur Championship at Royal St George's, in England, and the following month he narrowly missed out on a place in The 153rd Open through Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links.

Now he is hoping to carry his U.S. Amateur momentum into another huge week at Cypress Point.

“I always think when I head into a tournament I take my confidence from the preparation I've done and the hard work I've put in,” he added. “But to have that experience now of performing on that stage, in match play, under that kind of pressure, I think that experience is going to take me far for sure.

“Everyone [on the team] is upbeat. This group of guys, we've all worked so hard to make this team and I think everyone is just looking to have a fun week. We're all just enjoying the moment and enjoying the fruits of our labour, I guess you could say. We'll see what having fun can do for us. 

"There are some great friendships on the team. A lot of the guys have grown up playing together but to be able to play on a team, those are where the best memories come from. At least that's what it's been for me.” 

Asked whether he can expect similar support this week now that he’s got his GB&I hat on, he laughed, “Fortunately, they seem to like me enough to support me. The U.S. Amateur was special to get the guys out from both my clubs – Meadow Club and Mill Valley – and they've promised me they'll support me the same this week. But when we're going up against the U.S. you just never know. It will test their loyalty that's for sure. 

"It's been tough to get tickets, but a few of the guys have managed to get their hands on some. I think they're renting a house down here for the entire week and they're going to make a good experience out of it."