As the Simpson Cup (kindly supported by the Sinclair Charity) moves into its 11th year, it’s fair to say that the event has grown exponentially since the inaugural showpiece at TPC Sawgrass in 2012. Having graced some of the finest golf courses either side of the Atlantic since then, it will come full circle when it heads to Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England for a second time (the first staging at the prestigious old links was back in 2013).

And Royal Lytham is certainly no stranger to championship golf. With a rich heritage that dates back to 1886, the course has hosted 11 Open Championships in its fabled history, along with two Ryder Cups, and numerous other major tournaments such as the Women’s Open, the Senior Open and the Walker Cup.

The players will arrive with the Simpson Cup series delectably poised at 5-5. Incidentally, both history and the form book paint a positive picture for the host nation.

The Brits have only ever been beaten once on their home turf (at Royal Birkdale in 2017), and have won two of the last three Simpson Cups. The home side have also included eight players from the class of 2022, where a record-equalling 13.5 – 5.5 victory was secured at Baltusrol GC.

“I think we’ve got a great backbone to our team, with lots of experience,” commented GB captain Dave Ward, whose side has just three rookies. “These guys have been building towards this for the past couple of months, and we’ll be ready to go when things get under way next week.”

But the Americans have omens of their own to boost optimism. For starters, they have lost just twice since 2015. They also boast a slightly superior cumulative points total to Team GB (93 vs 90), and have been especially strong in the fourball matches over the past decade (with a points tally of 36, versus 24 for Team GB).

“We’ve dusted ourselves down from Baltusrol, and we know how important it is going to be to hit the ground running this year,” noted USA skipper Marty Caraway, who, like Ward, is the non-playing captain for a second year in a row. “I don’t want to be the leader who goes 0 for 2. My team know what they need to do, and we can’t wait to get started.”

It has all the makings of another tasty showdown, at a venue whose esteem is truly befitting of the occasion. Festivities will commence with the Opening Ceremony on Sunday, September 24. The following day sees the traditional Player/Sponsor Golf Day, before the event proper kicks off on Tuesday, September 26 with the usual six fourball matches (betterball matchplay - one point per match).

Proceedings will then be rounded off on the Wednesday with 13 singles matches (matchplay - one point per match), before the winning team is presented with the Ben Simpson Trophy (in honour of founder John Simpson MBE's son, who sadly passed away last year).

For Ward and Co., a mere 9.5 points to retain it, while for Caraway and his charges, the magic number is 10. The excitement levels are already reaching fever pitch...not long to go!

(With special thanks to Charles Schwab, BECK, GBG, Barclays, Mr. Ma and Summit Golf Brands)