Hitchner Invited to Walker Cup Practice Session

MALIBU, California – Pepperdine's Derek Hitchner will be headed to Florida next month as one of 16 invitees to the USA's Walker Cup practice session.

The tryout will be held December 15-18 in Jupiter, Fla.

Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) is in his fifth season with the Waves. He is currently #36 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. He received All-American honors for the first time in his career this past spring, making Golfweek's honorable mention. Hitchner ended the 2021-22 season ranked #48 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #61 by Golfstat. This summer, he made the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur. Earlier this month, Hitchner was one of four amateurs to play in the East West Matches. He's also a three-time GCAA All-American Scholar.

The 2023 Walker Cup will be played on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, on Sept. 22-23. The Walker Cup has the U.S. face off against players from Great Britain and Ireland over two days, with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes (alternate-shot) matches. The U.S. leads the overall series 38-9-1.

The invitation to the practice session does not guarantee Hitchner a spot on the team. Ten of the 16 players that attended the 2020 practice session ended up making the U.S. squad that competed in 2021.

The Waves have had three players participate at the Walker Cup: Jason Gore (1997), Michael Putnam (2005) and William Mouw (2021).

Players Mentioned

Derek Hitchner

William Mouw

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