Six Scots have been named in the initial 19-man squad for the 2017 Walker Cup.

Robert MacIntyre, who was defeated by Scott Gregory in the final of The Amateur at Royal Porthcawl last year, heads the Scottish contingent after reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Amateur at the weekend.

He is joined by Craig Howie, Sandy Scott and 2016 Australian Amateur champion Connor Syme (below), who all played in Scotland’s successful defence of the 2016 European Amateur Team Championship.

Completing the Scottish six are Barry Hume, who has been reinstated as an amateur following a spell in the professional ranks, and 2016 South African Amateur champion Craig Ross.

The 46th Walker Cup match will be played over the weekend of September 9-10 at Los Angeles Country Club, with GB&I aiming to retain the trophy after a record 16.5-9.5 victory over the USA at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2015 (below).

The 19-man squad will be cut to ten for the match later this year and Craig Watson, who will captain the team for the first time, believes he has a strong squad available to him.

“We have identified a strong group of players who are all in contention for a place on the team and we will be monitoring their performance and results over the coming season,” said Watson.

“We will also pay close attention to the progress and form of players who have not been included in this current squad as they also have the opportunity to play their way into contention for the team selected to play the USA in September.”

The initial 19-man Walker Cup squad

• David Boote (Walton Heath, Surrey)
• Daniel Brown (Masham, Yorkshire)
• Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint, County Down)
• Owen Edwards (Llanwern, Newport)
• Alex Gleeson (Castle, Dublin)
• Scott Gregory (Corthampton, Hampshire)
• Stuart Grehan (Tullamore, County Offaly)
• Craig Howie (Peebles, Borders)
• Barry Hume (Haggs Castle, Glasgow)
• Robert MacIntyre (Glencruitten, Argyll & Bute)
• Paul McBride (The Island, Dublin)
• Bradley Moore (Kedleston Park, Derbyshire)
• Conor O’Rourke (Naas, County Kildare)
• Marco Penge (Golf at Goodwood, Sussex)
• Alfie Plant (Sundridge Park, Kent)
• Craig Ross (Kirkhill, Lanarkshire)
• Sandy Scott (Nairn, Nairnshire)
• Connor Syme (Drumoig, Fife)
• James Walker (Oaks, Yorkshire)