The Jacques Léglise Trophy – 2026 Preview & Results

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Saturday 22nd August 2026

Day 2

Continent of Europe won the 49th Jacques Léglise Trophy match against GB&I by 14.5 points to 10.5.

This was Europe’s seventh consecutive victory in the match and they are clearly now demonstrating the dominance that GB&I showed in it’s early years.

Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Václav ŠVUB (CZH) and Tao PEMERIKA (FRA) were the leading players for the Continent of Europe.

Aidan LAWSON (SCO), who enjoyed three wins and half, played the best for GB&I.

Day 2 Singles

The nine Singles, featuring all of the players on both sides, were shared 4.5-4.5 at The Island G.C. on the final afternoon of the match.

Charlie RUSBRIDGE (ENG), Aidan LAWSON (SCO), George WHITEHEAD (ENG) and Isaac OLIVER (IRL) all secured final Singles wins for GB&I.

Day 2 Singles Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Day 2 Foursomes

The Saturday Foursomes were shared 2.o-2.0 this morning which means that Continent of Europe now lead GB&I 10.0-6.0 in the match.

The highlight for the home side being the comprehensive 6&5 win for Charlie RUSBRIDGE (ENG) and Aaron MOODY (ENG) over Mathias AASE (FRA) and Boys’ Amateur champion Óliver ELÍ BJÖRNSSON (ISL).

Cole SELF (ENG) and Samuel LOVE LI (FRA) were left out of the GB&I and Continent of Europe line ups this morning.

Day 2 Foursomes Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Jacques Léglise Trophy Scoreboard

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Friday 21st August 2026

Day 1

Continent of Europe will take an 8.0-4.0 lead into Day 2 of the 49th Jacques Léglise Trophy match at The Island G.C.

Day 1 Score Board (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Day 1 Singles

Continent of Europe won five and GB&I three of the eight Singles played on Friday afternoon.

GB&I’s victories came from Ben SESSIONS (ENG), Aidan LAWSON (SCO) and Aaron MOODY (ENG).

Václav SVUB (CZH) came into Europe’s line-up at the expense of Giampaolo GAGLIARDI (ITA) whilst Isaac OLIVER (IRL) was picked ahead of George WHITEHEAD (ENG) for GB&I in the afternoon series.

Day 1 Singles Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Day 1 Foursomes

Continent of Europe won two and halved two of the four Foursomes games played on Friday morning to take an early 3.0-1.0 lead in the Jacques Léglise Trophy match being played at The Island Golf Club.

The two captains held back Isaac OLIVER (IRL) and Václav SVUB (CZH) for GB&I and Continent of Europe for the first series of games.

Day 1 Foursomes Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Jacques Léglise Trophy Scoreboard

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20th August 2026

The 49th Jacques Léglise Trophy match between Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) and Continent of Europe will take place at The Island Golf Club in Ireland on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd August. 

This annual match is contested by two nine-player under 18 boys’ teams. It is essentially a junior equivalent of the biennial men’s St. Andrews Trophy match also played between these two regions.

Having been dominated in the early years by GB&I the Continent of Europe have now won eight of the last nine matches played since 2016.

Following consecutive wins at Aldeburgh G.C., England (2019), Falsterbo G.C., Sweden (2021), Blairgowrie G.C., Scotland (2022), Golf de Chantilly, France (2023), West Lancashire, England (2024) and R.G.C. Belgium (2025) Europe will start as strong favourites to make it seven wins-in-a-row.

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The  Jacques Léglise Trophy (Photo: European Golf Association) 

Teams

The R&A have selected the following players to represent GB&I (WAGR’s at 19th August): –

Adam FAHEY (18) – Portmarnock, Ireland (WAGR #2,029)
Aidan LAWSON (17) – Bruntsfield Links, Scotland (WAGR #1,077)
Aaron MOODY (17) – Burhill, England (WAGR #984)
Harry O’HARA (17), Clandeboye, Ireland (WAGR #2,208)
Isaac OLIVER (18) – Glasson, Ireland (WAGR #1,517)
Charlie RUSBRIDGE (18) – Colne Valley, England (WAGR #1,166)
Cole SELF (18) – Ringway, England (WAGR #847)
Ben SESSIONS (18) – Bishops Stortford, England (WAGR #1,431)
George WHITEHEAD (16) – Hillside, England (WAGR #2,568)

GB&I have no returning players this year.

Ireland’s Niall MACSWEENEY will captain the team for the first time. Appointed in October 2025 Athenry’s MacSweeney was Ireland’s Men’s Team Captain from 2022 to 2024 and was previously an Irish Men’s Selector from 2012.

The 2026 GB&I Jacques Léglise Trophy Team (Graphic: The R&A)

The 2026 Continent of Europe team, selected by the European Golf Association, consists of: –

Mathias AASE – Norway (WAGR #431)
Gonzalo BAÑOS RAMOS – Spain (WAGR #478)
Óliver ELÍ BJÖRNSSON (16) – Iceland (WAGR #1,243)
Giampaolo GAGLIARDI – Italy (WAGR #860)
Louis KLEIN – Czechia (WAGR #67)
Samuel LOVE LI – Spain (WAGR #669)
Youp ORSEL – Netherlands (WAGR #833)
Tao PEMERIKA (16) – France (WAGR #366)
Václav ŠVUB – Czechia (WAGR #460)

Václav Švub returns for the Europeans having played last year in Belgium.

Europe will be led for the third time by Non-Playing Captain Pierre RELECOM of Belgium. During his career Relecom won all of Belgium’s national amateur championships; U14, U16, U18, U21, Men’s, Foursomes and Inter-Club. He also represented Europe in this match. The Belgian played professionally for nine years, with a Challenge Tour victory and multiple European Tour seasons on his golfing CV before regaining his amateur status in 2019.

Format

The Jacques Léglise Trophy match is played over two days.

Four foursomes games are played each morning.

Singles are then played in the afternoon; eight on Day 1 and nine on Day 2.

As there will be 25.0 points to play for each team will require 13.0 points to claim an outright victory.

Tee Times / Results

Click here to view – The R&A Jacques Léglise Trophy Day 1 Draw

Venue

The Island G.C. was founded in 1890 and as its name suggests was originally only accessible by ferry boat.

During the winter of 2019-20 the front 9 holes were updated and lengthened by architects Ebert & McKenzie with the plan being to bring them up to the standard of the already much admired back 9.

With the course bordered by sea on three sides it now plays to 7,257 yards from the back tees and has a testing par of 72. There are twelve par 4’s, three par 3’s and three par 5’s.

This is the first time The Island G.C. has hosted the match. It is the fourth time for Ireland with Lahinch G.C. (2003), Portmarnock G.C. (2012) and Ballybunion G.C. – Old (2017) all previously awarded it by The R&A.

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Weather

The forecast suggests the weather will be largely dry with only light breezes expected.

Friday 21st August – Light Rain Showers / Wind 11 mph N / Temp. Min. 8°C, Max. 18°C.
Saturday 22nd August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 9 mph NW / Temp. Min. 9°C, Max. 19°C

The 2025 Jacques Léglise Trophy Match

Continent of Europe beat Great Britain & Ireland 15.0-10.0 to win the 48th Jacques Léglise Trophy match at Royal Golf Club of Belgium.

Continent of Europe (Photo: EGA)

Europe’s Guus LAFEBER (NED) was the only player on either side to win all four games. Having been rested in the opening foursomes series Tom DE HERRYPON (FRA) won the three games that he contested for Europe thereafter.

Whilst there was little for GB&I to celebrate Toby PETERS (ENG) was unbeaten securing one win and three ties. 

Click here to view the – 2025 Jacques Léglise Trophy Results

Previous Matches

An international junior match was first played between 1958 and 1966 with GB&I winning all nine of them.

After a break it was re-instated to the amateur calendar in 1977 as the Jacques Léglise Trophy. Jean-Louis Dupont donated the new trophy in memory of Jacques Léglise, a former President of both the French Golf Association and the European Golf Association. Léglise was also a past French amateur champion and national team captain.

Since becoming the Jacques Léglise Trophy GB&I have won 29 of the matches with the Continent of Europe claiming 18 victories with the 2015 match tied. Twelve of Europe’s wins have been in away matches.

Originally played in a single day the match moved to two in 1996.

Click here to view all of the – Jaques Léglise Trophy Historic Results

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

U.S. Amateur Championship – 2026 Preview & Results

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Sunday 16th August 2026

Match Play Stage – Final

Jack WHALEY (ENG), 22, with his father Andy on the bag, beat Jay LENG JR (USA), 20, by 4&3 in the Final of the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship.

Speaking afterwards Whaley said “As we were driving back [to the clubhouse], I was looking with my dad at some of the names that are on [the Havemeyer Trophy], and it’s incredible. I never thought that my name would be amongst such impressive people.”

Jack and Andy Whaley (Photo: Dustin Satloff / USGA)

Whaley joins just five other GB&I players to win the U.S. Amateur Championship – Henry J. Whigham (SCO) in 1896 & 1897, Findlay S. Douglas (SCO) in 1898, Harold Hilton (ENG) in 1911, Richie Ramsay (SCO) in 2006 and fellow Yorkshireman Matt Fitzpatrick (ENG) in 2013.

Coincidentally the last time the Championship was held at Merion in 2005, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari came through a 19-for-17 play-off to eventually take the title with a 4&3 win. Fellow European Whaley also advanced out of a 16-for-11 play-off on Wednesday morning to follow in his footsteps by the same victory margin.

With the win Whaley earned exemptions into the 2027 Masters Invitational at Augusta National, the U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach and the Open Championship at St. Andrews. He also now has a ten year exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship and more importantly a place on this year’s GB&I Walker Cup team.

Here is the hole-by-hole Final scoreboard: –

Jack Whaley v. Jay Leng Jr – MP Final Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

The 36 hole Final commenced at 9.00am (2.00pm BST) at Merion G.C. and it was Whaley who made the first move, chipping in from just off the green on the 1st hole for a birdie win.

Whaley was 2Up after eight holes before the pre-match favourite Jay Leng Jr., who was looking to become just the 10th player to win the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in the same year, began a concerted fight back. Wins on 9 and 10 with pars and 12 and 13, with birdies, saw the Californian move to 1Up.

Whaley stayed calm and despite going into lunch 2Down after Leng birdied the par 5 16th came out firing in the afternoon, inevitably feeling more comfortable in the increasingly wet and windy conditions the finalists faced. One crucial factor may have been that Whaley had two waterproof gloves in his bag and put them both on from the 7th hole.

The Englishman who now represents Florida State University won four holes in a row, the 20th to 23rd, with two birdies and two pars, to move 2Up.

Leng won the 24th to get back to 1Down but Whaley showed few nerves and a lovely putting touch over the closing holes to win the 26th, 28th, 30th and finally the 33rd with three priceless birdies.

Click here to view the – 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship Match Play Results (use filter)

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Saturday 15th August 2026

Match Play Stage – Semi-Finals

The Match Play Semi-Finals commenced at 2.00pm (7.00pm BST) at Merion G.C.

Jack WHALEY (ENG) beat Carter LOFIN (USA) by 1 Hole in their Semi-Final match in front of 3,500 spectators.

Whaley again got off to a great start winning the opening two holes before extending his lead to 3Up with a birdie on the 6th hole. Having lost the 7th and 8th holes he turned 1Up but moved back to 3Up with a birdie on 10 and a winning par on 12. Loflin fought back strongly and with Whaley showing nerves with a bogey on 15 and a double on 17 the pair were ultimately tied heading to the difficult par 4 18th. Loflin could only manage a double bogey allowing Whaley to win with a 4 foot bogey putt.

After the match Whaley said “I was a little bit more on the nervous side than I was the last couple of days. But after the second hole, I kind of settled down a little bit and really started playing golf again and thinking more about what I’m going to do with the golf ball instead of just standing there hoping I can hit the ball.

“Then coming down the stretch when I was 3 up and then 2 up and then 1 up and then all square, I was like, ‘All right, now we need to do something special. Again, it goes back to what you work hard for when you’re practicing. You kind of rely on that.”

Carter Loflin v. Jack Whaley – MP Semi-Final Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Jay LENG JR (USA) beat Logan REILLY (USA) by 2&1 in the second semi-final.

Leng won the opening hole but could never quite shake off his determined opponent which made for a tight encounter.

Jay Leng JR v. Logan Reilly – MP Semi-Final Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

The four Semi-Finalists earned two year exemptions into the 2027 and 2028 U.S. Amateur Championships being played at Oak Hill C.C. and Whistling Straits.

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Friday 14th August 2026

Match Play Stage – Quarter Finals

The Match Play Quarter Finals commenced at 1.15pm (6.15pm BST).

Carter LOFLIN (USA), 22 / #47, Jack WHALEY (ENG), 22 / #90, Jay LENG JR. (USA), 20 / #23, and Logan REILLY (USA), 19 / #56, progressed to the Semi-Finals with all four players enjoying healthy wins.

The Quarter Finals saw just 57 holes played; the fewest by three holes since 2002.

The eight players who reached the Quarter Finals earned exemptions into the 2027 U.S. Amateur Championship which will be played at Oak Hill C.C. in Rochester, New York.

Here are the Quarter Final results: –

MP Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Jack WHALEY (ENG) got off to a dream start against Adam BRESNU (MOR) birdieing the first two holes. Having been handed the 4th a further birdie on the 8th meant the Florida State rising senior turned 4Up. An out of sorts Bresnu simply had no response and Whaley saw out a 5&4 victory without ever losing a hole.

Adam Bresnu v. Jack Whaley – MP Quarter Finals Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

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Thursday 13th August 2026

Match Play Stage – Round of 16

The Match Play Round of 16 started at 1.15pm (6.15pm BST).

Brandon KNIGHT (USA), 21 / WAGR #534, Carter LOFLIN (USA), 22 / #47, Adam BRESNU (MOR), 22 / #30, Jack WHALEY (ENG), 22 / #90, Jay LENG JR. (USA), 20 / #23, Jack TURNER (USA), 22 / #19, Michael LUGIANO (USA), 20 / #335, and Logan REILLY (USA), 19 / #56, all progressed to the Quarter Finals.

Here is the Round of 32 draw: –

MP Round of 16 Results (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Jack WHALEY (ENG) helped ensure that no mid-amateur would advance beyond the Round of 16 with another impressive performance, this time against Christian CAVALIERE (USA). 5up after eight holes the Yorkshire man saw out a 4&3 victory with little trouble.

Jack Whaley v. Christian Cavaliere – MP Round of 16 Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Match Play Stage – Round of 32

The Match Play Round of 32 commenced at 7.15am (12.15 BST).

MP Round of 32 Results (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Four birdies helped Jack WHALEY (ENG) to a solid 2&1 win against Bowen MAUSS (USA), ranked 203rd on WAGR. He will head into this afternoon’s Round of 16 as the last GB&I player still standing.

Jack Whaley v. Bowen Mauss – MP Round of 32 Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Jack TURNER (USA) proved too consistent for Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (USA) in their Round of 32 match. The rising senior at the University of Florida was 1-under for the 16 holes he required to secure a 3&2 win.

Jack Turner v. Niall Sheils Donegan – MP Round of 32 Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

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Wednesday 12th August 2026

Match Play Stage – Round of 64

The Match Play Round of 64 commenced at 9:30 a.m. Ten of the 32 matches went the distance with four requiring extra holes.

17 year old WAGR #4 Miles RUSSELL (USA) was the biggest name casualty in the Round of 64, falling 2&1 to WAGR #8 Ryder COWAN (USA), 21.

Tyler WATTS (USA), 18, who has already been selected for next month’s Walker Cup match, never trailed in his 3&2 victory over compatriot Parker SANDS.

Taishi MOTO (JAP) took out Stroke Play medalist Joshua RYAN (USA) in a 19 hole match.

In form Jay LENG Jr (USA), who recently won the Western Amateur, beat 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Evan BECK (USA) by 5&4 and is clearly now one of the favourites for the title.

Five players who came through the morning Play-Off, Cowan, Moto, William JENNINGS (USA), Jack WHALEY (ENG) and Joshua BAI (NZL) all advanced to the Round of 32.

Two mid-amateurs, Stewart HAGESTAD (USA), 34 and playing in his 17th U.S. Amateur, and Christian CAVALIERE (USA), 28, also came through the opening match play round.

MP Round of 64 Results (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Two of the four remaining GB&I players advanced to the Last 32. Well done to Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO) and Jack WHALEY (ENG).

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) bogeyed five of the 13 holes he played on his way to a disappointing 6&5 loss to a much more inspired Brandon KNIGHT (USA), ranked 534th in WAGR.

Connor Graham v. Brandon Knight – MP Round of 64 Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

The longest match of the round went to Jack WHALEY (ENG) who after losing the opening two holes fought back superbly to take his game against Jackson ORMOND (USA) on the fourth extra hole with a birdie.

Jackson Ormond v. Jack Whaley – MP Round of 64 Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO) was 2-under par for the 15 holes he played in a solid 4&3 victory over Wheaton ENNIS (USA), the 55th ranked played in WAGR.

Wheaton Ennis v. Niall Sheils Donegan – MP Round of 64 Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Eliot BAKER (ENG) lost 3&1 to the 2026 North & South Amateur champion Joshua BAI (NZL), ranked 106th in WAGR. Tied going into the back nine bogeys on 10,12, 14 and 17 and a double on 16 meant the Tiverton-man effectively handed the game to his opponent.

Eliot Baker v. Joshua Bai – MP Round of 64 Scoreboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Stroke Play Qualifying – Play-Off

The play-off to finalise the 64-man Match Play field commenced at 8.30am on the 119 yard par 3 13th hole at Merion G.C. It took 90 minutes to conclude.

It ended up being a 16 players for 11 spots event after Jason SCHWARZ (USA) bogeyed the difficult 18th at Merion first thing this morning to ‘lose’ his place.

Jack WHALEY (ENG) lipped out for a hole-in-one and after securing his tap-in birdie advanced. Unfortunately WAGR #5 Luke POULTER (ENG) bogeyed the par 14th hole to be eliminated.

Click here to view the – 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship Play-Off Results (use filter)

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Tuesday 11th August 2026

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

Joshua RYAN (USA), 23 this coming Friday and the winner of the local 2026 Pennsylvania Amateur at Oakmont, earned medalist honours with a 132 (-8) 36-hole total. He shot 67 (-3) at Philadelphia C.C. on Monday and backed it up with a 65 (-5) at Merion G.C. on Day 2.

Tyler WATTS (USA), 18, earned the 2nd seed with a -6 score, 18 hole leader Drake HARVEY (USA) the 3rd and Finn KOELLE (GER) the 4th after they both finished on 136 (-4).

Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Eliot BAKER (ENG), tied 9th on -2, was the leading GB&I qualifier. He was joined by Connor GRAHAM (SCO), tied 16th on -1 and Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO) tied 33rd on +1.

Play was suspended due to darkness at 8:09 p.m. Every player had finished their second rounds at Philadelphia C.C. but 13 players will need to come back tomorrow morning at 7.00am to complete theirs at Merion.

The cut for match play came at 2-over 142 with 70 players currently inside it. Luke POULTER (ENG) and Jack WHALEY (ENG) are amongst these and will therefore have the opportunity to make it five GB&I Match Play qualifiers via a play-off. This matched the lowest cut mark in U.S. Amateur history alongside Erin Hills (2011) and Oakland Hills C.C. (2016).

The play-off to finalise the 64-man Match Play field currently looks like it will be 17 players for 11 spots but Jason SCHWARZ (USA) still has to play the 18th at Merion to retain his place.

GB&I-Only Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Mason HOWELL (USA) was the first defending champion to miss the cut since Andy Ogletree (USA) in 2020 at Bandon Dunes.

WAGR #1 Preston STOUT (USA), who will play in his second consecutive Walker Cup Match next month, two-time USA Walker Cupper Ethan FANG (USA) and 2026 Amateur champion and two-time GB&I Walker Cupper Stuart GREHAN (IRL) also failed to progress.

During the Stroke Play Qualifying Merion played to an average of 73.97 compared to 73.15 for the 353 yards longer Philadelphia C.C.

Each golfer advancing to the Match Play Stage received a red flag with the championship logo and their seeding number on it.

Click here to view the – 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard (use filter)

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Monday 10th August 2026

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

William LISLE (HKG), 17, and Finn KOELLE (GER), 21, shared the overnight Round 1 lead after shooting 5-under 65’s at Philadelphia C.C. and Merion G.C. respectively.

Max HERENDEEN (USA) finished strongly to post a 66 at Philadelphia. Drake HARVEY (USA), 4-under with two holes left to play at Merion, has the chance to pass or join him on this mark.

[Harvey birdied the final two holes at Merion on Tuesday morning to match the competitive course record of 64 and secure the Day 1 stroke play lead.]

Nine other players posted 67s, a group including the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up Miles RUSSELL (USA).

Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Defending champion Mason HOWELL (USA), 74 at Merion, Ethan FANG (USA), 74 at Philadelphia, WAGR No. 1 Preston STOUT (USA), 75 at Merion, 2025 Walker Cupper Jacob MODLESKI (USA), 75 at Merion, and 2026 Amateur champion Stuart GREHAN (IRL), 77 at Merion, all look unlikely to the make the Match Play Stage after disappointing opening rounds.

Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG), 68 at Philadelphia, Eliot BAKER (ENG) 69 at Merion and Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO), -1 after 17 holes at Merion made the best starts out of the 14 Great Britain & Ireland players who are competing.

Play was suspended for 54 minutes due to an afternoon thunderstorm that 39 players were unable to complete their opening rounds. Play was stopped for the day at 8:02 p.m and will resume at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, alongside the start of Round 2.

The two courses played similarly in terms of stroke average on Day 1; Merion at 73.28 and Philadelphia C.C., which is 353 yards longer but playing to the same par of 70, at 73.26.

GB&I-Only Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

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6th August 2026

Introduction

The 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship will be played at Merion G.C. in Pennsylvania from 10th-16th August with the nearby Philadelphia C.C. co-hosting the stroke play qualifying stage.

Administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) the U.S. Amateur is the most important and prestigious individual competition in the amateur golf calendar.

I will be updating this article as more information comes to light and providing daily reports once play starts.

2026 Field

5,111 entries were received by the USGA for this year’s Championship.

312 players from 36 different countries will be competing. 233 are from USA with England the second best represented country with 7.

173 were exempt with the remaining 139 coming through qualifying. 91 of these players competed last year in San Francisco.

Mike MCCOY (USA), aged 63 and playing in his 21st U.S. Amateur, and Landon TUDOR (USA) & Bento ASSIS (BZL), both aged 15, are the oldest and youngest players. The average player age is 22.85.

Exemptions were granted based on past performances in previous amateur championships, selection for the Walker Cup teams and World Amateur Golf Rankings. 47 of the top ranked players in WAGR are in the field.

48 Local Qualifying events, all played over 18 holes, were staged between 1st-30th June and 3rd July before 19 Final Qualifying competitions, again over 18 holes, took place between 13th-22nd July.

Click here to view the – 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship Local & Final Qualifying Results

14 Great British & Irish (GB&I) players are competing in 2026: –

Eliot BAKER (ENG) – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2025 / WAGR Top 100 May 2026
Jack BIGHAM (ENG) – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2023
Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) – Exemption: WAGR Top 100 June 2026
Connor GRAHAM (SCO) – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2023 & 2025 / WAGR Top 100 May 2026
Stuart GREHAN (IRL) – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2025 / Amateur champion 2026 / WAGR Top 100 May 2026
Mike HEARNE (WAL) – Qualifier: Dallas National G.C. (Alt. 1), July 2025
Ieuan JONES (WAL) – Qualifier: Ohio State University GC, July 2025
Zach LITTLE (ENG) – Exemption: WAGR Top 100 May 2026
Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2023
Luke POULTER (ENG) – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2025 / WAGR Top 20 March 2026 / WAGR Top 100 May 2026
Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO) – Exemption: US Amateur SF / Walker Cup GB&I Team 2025 / WAGR Top 100 May 2026
Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2025
Freddie TURNELL (ENG) – Exemption: WAGR Top 100 May 2026
Jack WHALEY (ENG) – Exemption: WAGR Top 100 June 2026

This number matches the historical high of 14 GB&I players who competed last year at Olympic Club. There were 10 at Hazeltine National in 2024, 8 at Cherry Hills in 2023, 9 at Ridgewood in 2022, 5 at Oakmont in 2021, 11 at Bandon Dunes in 2020, 11 at Pinehurst in 2019, 7 at Pebble Beach in 2018, 9 at Riviera in 2017 and 11 at Oakland Hills in 2016.

Format / Schedule

36-holes of stroke play (SP) will determine the top 64 match play (MP) qualifiers. Ties for the last qualifying place will be resolved by a sudden death play-off.

Six 18 hole MP rounds will then be played culminating in a 36-hole Championship Final. Extra holes will be played to resolve any halved games.

Monday 10th August – SP Qualifying Round 1 (Merion and Philadelphia – 18 holes)
Tuesday 11th August – SP Qualifying Round 2 (Merion and Philadelphia – 18 holes)
Wednesday 12th August – SP Qualifying Play-Off / MP Round of 64 (Merion – 18 holes)
Thursday 13th August – MP Rounds of 32 and 16 (Merion – 18 holes)
Friday 14th August – MP Quarter Finals (Merion – 18 holes)
Saturday 15th August – MP Semi-Finals (Merion – 18 holes)
Sunday 16th August – MP Championship Final (Merion – 36 holes)

Stroke Play Qualifying Start Times

GB&I Player: Round 1 / Round 2
1 – 1st hole  /  10 – 10th hole /  M – Merion Golf Club (East) / O – Philadelphia Country Club
Time Difference – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania EDT: BST – 5 hours

Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG): 10-P 7.00am / 1-M 12.30pm
Connor GRAHAM (SCO): 10-M 7.37am / 1-P 12.52pm
Zach LITTLE (ENG): 10-P 7.55am / 1-M 1.25pm
Eliot BAKER (ENG): 1-M 8.06am / 10-P 1.36pm
Gavin TIERNAN (IRL): 1-M 8.06am / 10-P 1.36pm
Jack WHALEY (ENG): 10-P 8.17am / 1-M 1.47pm
Stuart GREHAN (IRL): 10-M 8.54am / 1-P 2.09pm
Freddie TURNELL (ENG): 1-M 9.12am / 10-P 2.42pm
Mike HEARNE (WAL): 1-M 12.30pm / 10-P 7.00am
Ieuan JONES (WAL): 10-P 1.14pm / 1-M 7.44am
Matt MCCLEAN (IRL): 1-M 1.36pm / 10-P 8.06am
Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO): 1-M 2.09pm / 10-P 8.39am
Jack BIGHAM (ENG): 1-M 2.09pm / 10-P 8.39am
Luke POULTER (ENG):  10-P 2.09pm / 1-M 8.39am

Click here to view the – 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship Start Times

Host Courses

The Championship is being played at Merion Golf Club and Philadelphia Country Club.

7th Hole, Merion Golf Club (Photo: USGA / Fred Vuich)

Merion Golf Club (East Course) – stroke play and match play
6,693 yards / Par 70 / Course Rating 75.3 / Slope 153

Opened in 1912.
Originally designed by Hugh Wilson with recent renovations by Gil Hanse & Jim Wagner (2014).
It has previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1934, 1950, 1971, 1981 and 2013, U.S. Amateur in 1916, 1924, 1930, 1966, 1989 and 2005 and Walker Cup in 2009.

Philadelphia Country Club – stroke play co-host
7,201 yards / Par 70 / Course Rating 75.4 / Slope 144

Opened in 1890.
Designed by William Flynn with recent renovations by Jim Nagle of Forse Design (2012).

Weather Forecast (as at 6th August 2026)

The weather forecast looks good for the whole Championship week with generally sunny conditions. Only modest breezes are expected which shouldn’t interfere with play.

Stroke Play Qualifying
Mon 10th August – Sunny / Wind 9mph SW / Temp. Min. 22°C, Max. 33°C.
Tues 11th August – Sunny / Wind 12mph W / Temp. Min. 21°C, Max. 32°C.

Match Play Stage
Weds 12th August – Thundery Showers / Wind 7mph W / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 29°C.
Thurs 13th August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 7mph W  / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 29°C.
Fri 14th August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 8mph W  / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 28°C.
Sat 15th August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 7 mph NW / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 28°C.
Sun 16th August – Light Cloud / Wind 7mph NW / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 27°C.

Prizes

The 2026 U.S. Amateur champion will receive the following: –

a) The Tiger Woods Gold Medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the following year;

b) Automatic selection to the 2026 USA or GB&I Walker Cup squad (if applicable);
c) An exemption to play in the 2027 U.S. Open which is being staged at Pebble Beach Golf Links;
and assuming they remain amateur,
d) An invitation to play in the 2027 Masters at Augusta National G.C.;
e) An exemption to play in the 2027 Open Championship at St. Andrews Old Course;
f) An exemption to play in the 2027-2036 U.S. Amateur Championships;

and unofficially

g) Various invitations to play in PGA Tour and DP World Tour events.

A Silver Medal is awarded to the runner-up and Bronze Medals to the two losing semi-finalists.

A Silver Medal is also awarded to the stroke play medalist(s).

In recent years all of the players advancing to Match Play have received a commemorative coin with their seeding engraved on it. At Merion in 2026 they received a red flag with the championship logo and their seeding number sown onto it.

The original silver Havemeyer Trophy was presented to the U.S.G.A. on March 1895 in honour of the Association’s first President Theodore A. Havemeyer. This was lost in a fire at Bobby Jones’ home club, East Lake, in 1925.

A new gold trophy was produced in 1926. This was retired in 1992 with a copy of the trophy being produced and passed from champion to champion ever since. Sadly the original gold trophy was stolen from the U.S.G.A. Museum in 2012 and has never been seen since.

US Amateur Information

Click here to view the – 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship Official Website

Spectators / Television Coverage

Some highlights of the SP Qualifying will be shown on the USGA website and social media channels.

In the USA Peacock and Golf Channel will be covering the MP stage.

In the UK Sky Sports Golf normally takes the U.S. television feed, via the Red Button, over the final match play weekend.

2025 U.S. Amateur Championship
Mason HOWELL (USA) beat Jackson HERRINGTON (USA) by 7&6 to win the 125th U.S. Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Mason Howell (Photo: Chris Keane / USGA)

The Georgian became the third-youngest champion behind Byeong-Hun An and Danny Lee at 18 years, 1 month and 20 days old. Herrington was the first left-handed player to compete in the final since Phil Mickelson won the title in 1990 at Cherry Hills.

Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) was the best of the 14 GB&I players who competed. The US-based Scot became the first GB&I player to reach the Semi-Finals of the U.S. Amateur Championship since Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013, the year he won it. During the Match Play Stage he beat four WAGR top 30 players in a row; Preston Stout #4 (Round of 16), Christian Maas (Round of 32) #9, Jacob Modleski (Quarterfinals) #15 and Luke Poulter (Round of 64) #28.

Click here to view the full – 2025 U.S. Amateur Championship MP Results – use filter

Preston STOUT (USA), 21, earned medalist honours with a 132 (-8) total. He separated himself impressively from 2nd placed Tommy MORRISON (USA) -6, top-ranked junior Miles RUSSELL (USA) -4 in 3rd and Logan REILLY (USA) -3 in 4th.

Daniel BENNETT (RSA), Daniel SVÄRD (SWE) and Charlie FORSTER (ENG), who all finished on 139 (-1), were the leading International qualifiers.

Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -1 tied 8th, Luke POULTER (ENG) Ev tied 16th, Tyler WEAVER (ENG) +1 tied 23rd and Connor GRAHAM (SCO) +2 tied 33rd all advanced to the Match Play Stage. They were joined after a 20 players-for-17 spots play-off by Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO), +3 tied 48th, but Jack BIGHAM (ENG), also +3 tied 48th, missed out.

2025 Stroke Play Qualifying Results – GB&I Players (Graphic: USGA / CISCO)

Click here to view the full – 2025 U.S. Amateur Championship SP Qualifying Results – use filter

U.S. Amateur Championship History

The U.S. Amateur is the oldest golf championship in America and 2026 will see its 126th playing.

It was first played in 1895, the winner being Charles B. Macdonald.

It has always been decided by match play save for an 8 year period between 1965 and 1972 when the winner was determined solely by stroke play.

Former U.S. winners include Walter Travis (1900-01-03), Jerome Travers (1907-08-12-13), Bobby Jones (1924-25-27-28-30), Francis Ouimet (1914-31), W. Lawson Little (1934-35) Arnold Palmer (1954), Jack Nicklaus (1959-61), Deane Beman (1960-63), Lanny Wadkins (1970), Craig Stadler (1973), Mark O’Meara (1979), Hal Sutton (1980), Phil Mickelson (1990), Justin Leonard (1992), Tiger Woods (1994-95-96), Matt Kucher (1997), Ryan Moore (2004) and Bryson DeChambeau (2015).

The last five winners, 2025-2019, have been Mason Howell (USA), Jose Ballester (ESP), Nick Dunlap (USA), Sam Bennett (USA) and James Piot (USA).

British players have won the Championship on six occasions but just twice in the last 100 years – H.J. Whigham (1896-97), Findlay Douglas (1898), Harold Hilton (1911), Richie Ramsay (2006) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (2013).

Matthew Fitzpatrick (Photo: USGA)

Italy’s Edoardo Molinari (2005 at Merion) and Norway’s Viktor Hovland (2018) are the only players from the Continent of Europe to have lifted the Havemeyer Trophy.

Click here to view the full list of past – U.S. Amateur Champions

Future U.S. Amateur Venues

For reasons I have never understood the USGA continue to allocate their Championship venues far out into the future: –

127th – 9-15 August 2027 – Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, New York
128th – 14-20 August 2028 – Whistling Straits Golf Club, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
129th – 13-19 August 2029 – Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio
130th – 12-18 August 2030 – Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia
131st – 11-17 August 2031 – Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tennessee
132nd – 9-15 August 2032 – Bandon Dunes, Bandon, Oregon
133rd – 15-21 August 2033 – Chambers Bay, University Place, Washington
134th – 14-20 August 2034 – The Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts
135th – 13-19 August 2035 – Erin Hills, Erin, Wisconsin
136th – 11-17 August 2036 – Scioto Country Club, Upper Arlington, Ohio
137th – TBD August 2037 –
138th – TBD August 2038 – Pinehurst Resort No. 2, Pinehurst, North Carolina
139th – TBD August 2039 – Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield, New Jersey
140th – TBD August 2040 –
141st – TBD August 2041 – Bandon Dunes, Bandon, Oregon
142nd – TBD August 2042 – Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, New Jersey
143rd – TBD August 2043 –
144th – TBD August 2044 – Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma
145th – TBD August 2045 –
146th – TBD August 2046 –
147th – TBD August 2047 – Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
148th – TBD August 2048 –
149th – TBD August 2049 –
150th – TBD August 2050 –
151st – TBD August 2051 – Saucon Valley Country Club, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

Men’s Home Internationals – 2026 Preview & Results

Posted on by

Friday 7th August 2026

RESULTS

Despite their disappointing final day performance ENGLAND pipped WALES to the Raymond Trophy on match points won – 20.0 v. 18.0. IRELAND finished 3rd and SCOTLAND 4th after they both recorded a single win over the three days.

England (Photo: England Golf)

DAY 3 STANDINGS

Click here to view the – 2026 Men’s Home Internationals Standings

Caolan BURFORD (WAL) was the star man at this year’s Home Internationals winning all six of his games.

Ben BOLTON (ENG), Dylan KEATING (IRL) and Chris SOMERS (SCO) produced the best performances for the other home nations.

DAY 3

ENGLAND 4.0 – 8.0 IRELAND

SCOTLAND 5.0 – 7.0 WALES 

All Graphics, Tables and Scoring shown are shared courtesy of Golf Ireland and Golf Genius.

Click here to view the – 2026 Day 3 Men’s Home Internationals Match Results

ME.

_________________________________

Thursday 6th August 2026

DAY 2

ENGLAND, now two from two and clear favourites for the title, and SCOTLAND were victorious on Day 2 beating WALES and IRELAND respectively.

ENGLAND 8.5 – 3.5 WALES

IRELAND 5.0 – 7.0 SCOTLAND 

DAY 2 TEAM STANDINGS

All Graphics, Tables and Scoring shown are shared courtesy of Golf Ireland and Golf Genius.

Click here to view the – 2026 Day 2 Men’s Home Internationals Match Results

ME.

_________________________________

Wednesday 5th August 2026

DAY 1

Day 1 saw wins for ENGLAND and WALES, both team’s winning 7.5-4.5 against SCOTLAND and IRELAND respectively.

ENGLAND 7.5 – 4.5 SCOTLAND

IRELAND 4.5 – 7.5 WALES

DAY 1 TEAM STANDINGS

All Graphics, Tables and Scoring shown will be shared courtesy of Golf Ireland and Golf Genius.

Click here to view the – 2026 Day 1 Men’s Home Internationals Match Results

_________________________________

Monday 3rd August 2026

This year’s Men’s Home Internationals will be played at Woodbrook Golf Club in Ireland on 5th-7th August 2026.

ENGLAND will be defending the Raymond Trophy which they won at Woodhall Spa G.C. in Lincolnshire last year.

This article will focus on the Men’s Home Internationals and will be updated with score links and daily reports once the competition starts.

Combined Event

In 2022 The R&A and four Home Golf Unions decided to combine the Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals into one mixed event.

The R&A first introduced this type of change in August 2021 when they took control of and combined both the Boys’ and Girls’ Home Internationals and Senior Men’s and Women’s Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa.

Whilst the mixed R&A Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals are now given primary importance the International Trophy and Raymond Trophy are still presented to the leading country in the women’s and men’s matches.

The R&A stepped back from running all of the Home Internationals in 2024 returning their organisation to each host nation in turn.

I hope the organisers look to remove the mixed element completely in due course and return to the separate men’s and women’s competitions which have a lot of history and should never have been interfered with.

2026 Men’s Players

The four national golf unions have selected the following players to represent their countries this year. I have added their World Amateur Golf Rankings as at 29th July 2026 in brackets.

ENGLAND
Ben BOLTON – Enville (100)
Jenson BULL – Remedy Oak (488)
Ed FEATHERSTONE – Sheringham (231)
Dan HAYES – Bramhall (126)
Greg HOLMES – Royal Birkdale (832)
Lewy HAYWARD – Marlborough (369)
Max HOPKINS – Bishop Stortford (611)
Harley SMITH – The Rayleigh Club (120)
Jamie VAN WYK – Royal Lytham & St. Annes (673, won the English Amateur last week)

Tyler Weaver (2), Luke Poulter (4), Eliot Baker (18), Freddie Turnell (74), Sam Easterbrook (79), Jack Whaley (93), Zach Little (94), Josh Hill (96), Seb Cave (123), Tom Osborne (131), Matthew Dodd-Berry (163), Jack Bigham (174) and Frazer Jones (221) are WAGR top 250 English players who are not competing. 

England (Photo: Golf Ireland / Info)

IRELAND
Fionn DOBBIN – Malone (966)
John DOYLE – Fota Island (192)
Gerard DUNNE – County Louth (1,837)
Keith EGAN – Carton House (986)
Thomas HIGGINS – Roscommon (211)
David HOWARD – Fota Island (900)
Dylan KEATING – Seapoint (1,579)
David KITT – Athenry (1,116)
Gavin O’NEILL – Malahide (875)

Stuart Grehan (22), Caolan Rafferty (183) and Gavin Tiernan (205) are WAGR top 250 Irish players who are not competing.

Ireland (Photo: Golf Ireland / Info)

SCOTLAND
George CANNON – Glenbervie (626)
Andrew DAVIDSON – Crail (355)
Alexander FARMER – Kilmacolm (1,564)
Finlay GALLOWAY – St. Andrews (2,130)
Ross LAIRD – Glenbervie (909)
Oliver MUKHERJEE – Gullane (2,254)
Sam MUKHERJEE – Gullane (1,436)
Ben MURRAY – Portlethan (2,681)
Chris SOMERS – Murcar Links (948)

Niall Sheils Donegan (19) and Connor Graham (23) are WAGR top 250 Scottish players who are not competing.

Scotland (Photo: Golf Ireland / Info)

WALES
Theo BAKER – Celtic Manor (2,603)
Jonathan BALE – Royal Porthcawl (300)
Tomi BOWEN – Welshpool (232)
Caolan BURFORD – Rhuddlan (951, won the Welsh Amateur last week)
Sean DAVID – Pyle & Kenfig (727)
Alex JAMES – Royal Lytham & St. Annes (1,957)
Tom PEET – Pyle & Kenfig (NR)
Ioan ROWE – Royal Porthcawl (1,055)
Bryn THOMAS – Cardigan (NR)

Wales (Photo: Golf Ireland / Inpho)

Venue – Woodbrook G.C.

Woodbrook, a parkland course located next to the sea in Bray to the south of Dublin, is celebrating it’s centenary this year.

Peter McEvoy re-designed the course in 1998 when USGA standard greens were laid in preparation for the Irish Seniors Open being staged there.

It plays to a maximum distance of 7,016 yards and has a par of 72. It has a Course Rating of 74.3 and a Slope Rating of 131 off these back tees.

Match Format

Following the move to a combined Home Internationals event the men’s teams were reduced from 11 to 9 players.

Each country plays every other team over the three competition days.

Men’s matches now consist of 4 foursomes and 8 singles. This is 1 foursomes and 2 singles less than the historic format.

One point is awarded for a win in each foursomes and singles with a half point for a tied match. Each team will be awarded one match point for winning an overall match and a half point for a tie.

The final team positions are determined according to the highest number of match points earned. Ties are broken by reviewing the total number of individual game points.

The winning team receives the Raymond Trophy.  

The Raymond Trophy

The Men’s Home Internationals were first played in 1932 and this year’s staging will be the 84th playing of this prestigious event.

Since 1952 the winning team has received The Raymond Trophy which is named after its donor, the late Raymond Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was an English administrator, golfer and team captain who was very prominent in the amateur game in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

In the 84 competitions played to date England have won 41, Scotland 21, Ireland 14 and Wales 1. The remaining 7 were tied before it was decided that ties would be resolved by using game points.

img_8282

The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2026 Weather Forecast (as at 3rd August 2026)

The forecast is currently looking very good for the three competition days: –

Wed. 6th Aug. – Sunny / Wind 9 mph W / Temp. Min 13º, Max 22º
Thurs. 7th Aug. – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14 mph SW / Temp. Min 13º, Max 24º
Fri. 8th Aug. – Sunny / Wind 11 mph W / Temp. Min 12º, Max 24º

2025 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

ENGLAND won the 2025 Men’s Home Internationals completing a clean sweep against the other home nations over the three days.

England Men’s Team (Photo: England Golf)

Individual Performances

Eliot BAKER (ENG), Alexander FARMER (SCO), Caolan BURFORD (WAL) and Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) were the leading performers for each home nation at Woodhall Spa G.C.

Click here to view the – 2025 Men’s and Women’s Home Internationals Scores

Historic Results

Click here to view all of the – Men’s Home Internationals Historic Results

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

The Amateurs At The 2026 Open Championship

Posted on by

Sunday 19th July 2026

Round 4

Ryan FOX (NZL) won the 2026 Open with a 270 (-10) title. He finished 1-shot ahead of Cameron YOUNG (USA) and two ahead of Sam BURNS (USA).

No amateur made the cut and therefore the low amateur Silver Medal was not awarded.

Click here to view the – 2026 Open Championship Results

ME

__________________________________

Friday 17th July 2026

Round 2

Lucas HERBERT (AUS) shot an 8-under 62 to take the 36 hole lead on 132 (-8).

Just 20 minutes later Sam BURNS (USA) posted his own 62 after holing out from a green side bunker on the 18th. Burns will start Day 3 tied 5th on -5.

62 is the joint lowest round ever recorded in The Open and in any men’s major and sets a new course record for the revised lay-out at Royal Birkdale.

None of the ten amateurs made the cut and therefore the low amateur Silver Medal will not be awarded. This is the first time since 2002 and 2003 that there has been no Silver Medal awarded for two consecutive years.

Mason HOWELL (USA) was the best of this year’s group finishing on 142 (+2) and missing the top 70 and ties 36 hole cut by just 1-shot.

Nevill RUITTER (NED) produced the best round by an amateur with his 2-under 68 in Round 2.

Howell, David HOWARD (IRL), Mateo PULCINI (ARG) and Stuart GREHAN (IRL) all shot 1-under par 69’s in Round 2.

The average Round 2 score was 70.348 (+0.348) [Round 1: 71.436 (+1.436)] with the field cumulatively 54-over-par.

Round 2 Amateur Scoreboards (Graphic: The Open / NTT DATA)

ME

__________________________________

Thursday 16th July 2026 

Round 1

Debutant Jackson SUBER (USA), playing on a links course competitively for the first time, leads The Open after a 66 (-5) in Round 1 which included an eagle and six birdies.

On a generally disappointing day for the ten amateurs in the field Lev GRINBERG (FRA) produced the best amateur score with an opening round of 71 (+1).

The average Round 1 score was 71.436 (+1.436) with the field cumulatively 224-over-par.

Round 1 Amateur Scoreboards (Graphic: The Open / NTT DATA)

ME

__________________________________

Monday 13th July 2026

Introduction

156 players from 28 countries will contest the 154th Open Championship which will be played at Royal Birkdale G.C. in England on 16-19 July 2026.

10 amateurs are in the field this week. Encouragingly for them the two best performances by amateurs in The Open in the last 65 stagings both came at Royal Birkdale; Justin ROSE (ENG) finished tied 4th in 1998 and Chris WOOD (ENG) finished tied 5th in 2008.

The competition will be decided by stroke play over 72 holes. An aggregate four hole play-off will be used to break any ties for 1st place.

The 70 lowest scores over the first 36 holes, and ties for 70th place, will advance to the final two rounds over the weekend.

The Silver Medal is awarded to the leading amateur in The Open Championship who completes 72 holes.

The course will play to 7,223 yards and a par of 70. This makes it the 15th longest course in Open history but the longest ever played to a par of 70.

Amateurs In The Field

Ten amateurs are competing in 2026, one more than last year at Royal Portrush and five more than played at Royal Birkdale in 2017. These are:-

Jack BUCHANAN (RSA), 21, d.o.b. 20th January 2005, WAGR #88 – 2026 African Amateur Champion
Caddie – Kolton Lapa (Mississippi State Men’s Head Coach)

Alejandro DE CASTRO PIERA (ESP), 21, d.o.b. 9th December 2004, WAGR #52 – FQ Burnham & Berrow (WAGR Leading 8 Entries #78)
Caddie – Bruno Marti Jimenez (Spanish amateur golfer) 

Stuart GREHAN (IRL), 33, d.o.b. 30th December 1992, WAGR #19 – 2026 Amateur Champion
Caddie – Greg Milne (Irish caddie)

Lev GRINBERG (FRA), 18, d.o.b. 17th November 2007, WAGR #40 – 2026 Open Amateur Series* Winner. Born in Ukraine but moved to Belgium when he was 11.
Caddie – Joshua Broadwell (English caddie)

David HOWARD (IRL), 27, d.o.b. 5th May 1999, WAGR #1,441 – The Island RQ Res. 5 after Play-Off / FQ Dundonald Links. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 7.
Caddie – John Howard (father)

Mason HOWELL (USA), 19, d.o.b. 27th June 2007, WAGR #54 – 2025 U.S. Amateur Championship. Howell is the first winner of the US Amateur to use his exemption for The Open since Gunn Yang in 2015.
Caddie – Jimmy Gillam (professional at Glen Arven C.C., Georgia)

Pongsapak ‘Fifa’ LAOPAKDEE (THA), 21, d.o.b. 2nd March 2005, WAGR #23 – 2025 Asia-Pacific Champion. Nicknamed Fif due to his father’s love of football.
Caddie – Kyle Roadley (Australian caddie)

Mateo PULCINI (ARG), 25, d.o.b. 30th August 2000, WAGR #78 – 2026 Latin America Amateur Champion
Caddie – Clodomiro Carranza (Argentine pro)

Nevill RUITER (NED), 24, d.o.b. 15th March 2002, WAGR #126 – FQ Dundonald Links (European Amateur ’26 Top 4)
Caddie – Reinier  Saxton (Amateur champion 2008)

Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER), 21, d.o.b. 14th January 2005, WAGR #10 – 2026 European Amateur Champion
Caddie – James Vargas (Texas TechMen’s Associate Coach)

*The Open Championship Amateur Series was introduced by The R&A in 2023. It offers an exemption to the player who gains the most WAGR points in the St. Andrews Links Trophy, the Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Championship events (as long as they didn’t win the Amateur or European Amateur Championships which meant they were already exempt).

The 2026 Amateur Competitors (Photo: The Open)

In total seven winners of The Amateur Championship are competing this week. In addition to Ethan Fang (2025) there is Sergio Garcia (1998), Julien Guerrier (2006), Matteo Manassero (2009), Romain Langasque (2015), Aldrich Potgieter (2022) and Jacob Skov Olesen (2024).

Round 1 & 2 Tee Times (BST)

7.41am / 12.47pm Sungjae IM (KOR) / Daniel BROWN (ENG) / Fifa LAOPAKDEE (THI)

8.03am / 1.09pm Francesco MOLINARI (ITA) / Tom MCKIBBIN (N.I.) / Lev GRINBERG (FRA)

8.25am / 1.31pm Angel AYORA (ESP) / Victor PEREZ (FRA) / Mateo PULCINI (ARG)

10.42am / 3.48pm Kazuma KOBORI (NZL) / Tom SLOMAN (ENG) / David HOWARD (IRL)

11.15am / 4.21pm Jeongwoo HAM (KOR) / Ryutaro NAGANO (JAP) / Alejandro DE CASTRO PIERA (ESP)

12.14pm / 7.08am Cameron SMITH (AUS) / Keith MITCHELL (USA) / Stuart GREHAN (IRL)

1.31pm / 8.25am Tom KIM (KOR) / Billy HORSCHEL (USA) / Mason HOWELL (USA)

1.53pm / 8.47am Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) / Jasper SVENSSON (SWE) / Jack BUCHANAN (RSA)

3.26pm / 10.20am Jacob BRIDGEMAN (USA) / Rasmus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) / Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER)

4.21pm / 11.15am Kazuki HIGA (JAP) / Jiho YANG (KOR) / Nevill RUITER (NED)

Click here to view all of the – 2026 Open Round 1 & 2 Tee Times

Low Amateur Silver Medal

Since 1949 the Silver Medal has been awarded to the leading amateur in The Open Championship who completes 72 holes. Bronze Medals are awarded to all other amateurs who complete 72 holes.

The Open has been staged at Royal Birkdale on ten occasisions, the last time being in 2017. Alfie PLANT (ENG) won the Silver Medal nine years ago when he finished tied 62nd on +6.

The Silver Medal has been awarded eight out of the ten times The Open has been staged at Royal Birkdale – in 1976 and 1983 no amateurs made the cut.

Royal Birkdale Silver Medal Winners (Table: The Open)

Calum SCOTT (SCO), 20 at the time, was the last player to win the low amateur prize when he finished tied 43rd at the 2024 Open at Royal Troon.

img_9259

Calum Scott – Winner of the 2024 Silver Medal (Photo: Luke Walker / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

For more information on this prize please take a look at my article – The Open Championship’s Silver Medal.

Additional Information

Click here to view the official – 2026 Open Championship Website

2026 Qualifying

Three players came through both Regional and Final Qualifying this year, namely, Tiger Christensen (GER) Pro [RQ Minchinhampton / FQ West Lancashire], David HOWARD (IRL) Am [RQ  The Island 5th Res. / FQ Dundonald] and Tom Sloman (ENG) Pro [RQ Ferndown / FQ Burnham & Berrow].

Click here to view my article on – The Open Championship – 2026 Regional, Final & Last Chance Qualifying

Click here to view the official – Open Championship Website (Final Qualifying)

Click here to view the official – Open Championship Website (Regional Qualifying)

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

European Men’s Amateur Team Championship – 2026 Preview & Results

Posted on by

11th July 2026

IRELAND won the 43rd European Men’s Amateur Team Championship after beating ESTONIA in the Final.

Ireland Team (Photo: EGA)

It was Ireland’s seventh win in the Team Championship and their first since 2008. 

The Irish team consisted of John DOYLE, Stuart GREHAN, Thomas HIGGINS, Matt MCCLEAN, Caolan RAFFERTY and Gavin TIERNAN. The team was captained by Damien Coyne and coached by Michael Collins.

ENGLAND finished 7th and WALES 10th at Estonia Golf & Country Club in Estonia.

Match Play – Final

Flight A

IRELAND (4) beat ESTONIA (7) to win the Championship with ITALY (8) beating FRANCE (3) to take the bronze medal.

FINLAND (1) finished 4th after beating SWITZERLAND (6) with ENGLAND (5) 7th after they saw off NETHERLANDS (2) in their final match.

Flight A Match Play Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

The ever dependable Matt MCCLEAN & Caolan RAFFERTY (foursomes) and Stuart GREHAN, Matt MCCLEAN again & critically Thomas HIGGINS on the 20th hole in the final game (singles) picked up the four points that saw IRELAND (4) to victory against ESTONIA (7).

Ireland v. Estonia Flight A Match Play Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ENGLAND (5) earned a 7th place finish thanks to wins for Seb CAVE & Sam EASTERBROOK (foursomes), Tom OSBORNE & LEWY HAYWARD and a half for Eliot BAKER (singles) in their match against NETHERLANDS (2).

England v. Netherlands Flight A Match Play 7th & 8th Place Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2026 Match Play Results – Flight A

Flight B 

There were wins for GERMANY (9), ICELAND (15), SWEDEN (10) and DENMARK (11) on the final day of the Flight B competition.

Flight B Match Play Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Despite some resistance from Caolan BURFORD and Tomi BOWEN WALES (14) lost their match against GERMANY (9) and had to settle for a creditable 10th place finish on their return to Division 1.

Germany v. Wales Flight B Match Play 9th & 10th Place Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2026 Match Play Results – Flight B

ME.

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10th July 2026

Match Play – Semi-Finals

Flight A

IRELAND (4) got the better of ITALY (8) and will now play ESTONIA (7) in tomorrow’s Final after the home team overcame FRANCE (3) in their own semi-final.

Flight A Match Play Semi-Finals Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

IRELAND (4) edged out ITALY (8) by 4.0-3.0 with wins for Gavin TIERNAN & Thomas HIGGINS (foursomes) and Stuart GREHAN, Gavin TIERNAN and crucially Matt MCCLEAN on the 19th hole of his game (singles).

Italy v. Ireland Flight A Match Play Semi-Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ENGLAND (5) were easily beaten 4.0-1.0 by FINLAND (1) in their Day 4 game.

Finland v. England Flight A Match Play Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2026 Match Play Results – Flight A

Flight B 

There were wins for GERMANY (9), WALES (14), SPAIN (13) and  SWEDEN (10) in Flight B 

Flight B Match Play Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

WALES (14) saw off  ICELAND (15) 4.5-0.5 in a one-sided game highlighted by Alex JAMES‘ 7&6 singles win.

Wales v. Iceland Flight B Match Play Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2026 Match Play Results – Flight B

ME.

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9th July 2026

Match Play – Quarter Finals

Flight A

FINLAND (1), NETHERLANDS (2), FRANCE (3), IRELAND (4), ENGLAND (5), SWITZERLAND (6), ESTONIA (7) and ITALY (8) commenced a seeded Flight A Match Play competition on Day 3 to determine the 2026 European Men’s Amateur Team champions. 

ITALY (8) and ESTONIA (7) shocked the leading qualifiers FINLAND (1) and NETHERLANDS (2) respectively with narrow 3.0-2.0 wins in Round 1.

FRANCE (3) and IRELAND (4) also progressed to the semi-finals with 3.5-1.5 wins against SWITZERLAND (6) and ENGLAND (5). 

Flight A Match Play Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Here is the scoreboard from IRELAND‘s win against ENGLAND.

Ireland v. England Flight A Match Play Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2026 Match Play Results – Flight A

Flight B 

GERMANY (9), SWEDEN (10), DENMARK (11), BELGIUM (12), SPAIN (13), WALES (14), ICELAND (15) and POLAND (16) are contesting a seeded Flight B Match Play competition for the weaker qualifiers.

Flight B Match Play Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

WALES (14) enjoyed a good 3.0-2.0 win against DENMARK (11) in their opening Flight B match. Importantly the victory ensures Wales will remain in Division 1 for the 2027 Championship which is due to be played in Woodhall Spa, England.

Denmark v. Wales Flight B Match Play Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2026 Match Play Results – Flight B

ME.

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8th July 2026

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

FINLAND (-27) earned medalist honours with an impressive 7-shot victory in the Stroke Play Qualifying at the European Men’s Amateur Team Championship.

NETHERLANDS (-20), FRANCE (-18), IRELAND (-14), ENGLAND (-14), SWITZERLAND (-13), ESTONIA (-11) and ITALY (-7) were the other Flight A Match Play qualifiers.

WALES (+7) finished 14th and will now see out the Championship in the Flight B Match Play competition.

Round 2 Stroke Play Qualifying Team Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Nevill RUITER (NED) won the 36-hole Individual competition on -9 after rounds of 68 and 67 at Estonia G.&C.C.

Wilhelm RYDING (SWE), Andreas FOGTH (DEN), Sakke SILTALA (FIN) and Laura ROSENDAHL (FIN) all finished tied 2nd on -8. 

Amateur champion Stuart GREHAN (IRL) was the leading GB&I player tieing for 6th place on -7.

Thomas HIGGINS (IRL) -6 8th and Eliot BAKER (ENG), Jonathan BALE (WAL), Tomi BOWEN (WAL) & Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) -3 tied 21st also contributed well.

The 96 players managed an average Round 2 score of 71.69 (-0.04).

Round 2 Stroke Play Qualifying Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2026 Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Teams and Individuals

ME.

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7th July 2026

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

In something of a surprise FINLAND (-9) lead NETHERLANDS (-8) and SWITZERLAND (-7) after Round 1 of the European Men’s Amateur Team Championship.

Looking at the three home nations that are competing ENGLAND (-3) are 5th, IRELAND (+2) 8th and WALES (+11) 15th at the end of Day 1.

Round 1 Stroke Play Qualifying Team Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Sakke SILTALA (FIN) -5 leads Giovanni BINAGHI (ITA), Nevill RUITER (NED), Simon HOVDAL (SWE) and Miles WENNESTAM (SUI) all -4 in the individual standings.

Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) -3 tied 6th and Thomas HIGGINS (IRL) & Tomi BOWEN (WAL) both -2 tied 12th are the best of the GB&I players.

The 96 players managed an average Round 1 score of 72.96 (+0.96).

Round 1 Stroke Play Qualifying Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

The top eight qualifying teams will play in a first flight (A) seeded match play competition, which will determine the medalists, and the next eight a second flight (B).

ME.

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7th July 2026

Introduction

The 43rd European Men’s Amateur Team Championship will be played between Tuesday 7th and Saturday 11th July 2026 at Estonia Golf & Country Club in Estonia.

Estonia Golf & Country Club (Photo: Estonia G&CC)

England, Ireland and Wales will be competing in the main men’s event this week. For the second year running Scotland are amongst the nine teams playing in the Division 2 competition being played in Greece.

Italy are the defending champions having beaten Denmark in last year’s final at Killarney Golf & Fishing Resort in Ireland.

Scotland were the last home nation to win the Team Championship when they successfully defended the title at Golf de Chantilly in France in 2016. England last won in 2013, Ireland in 2008 and Wales in 1993. 

The European Ladies’, Boys’ and Girls’ Team Championships are also being played elsewhere in Europe this week.

2026 Teams

16 national teams of 6 players will contest the 2025 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship.

The teams competing are Belgium, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.

The home nation teams are made up of the following players (1st July 2026 WAGR’s in brackets): –

ENGLAND – Captain: Benjamin Gorvett / Advice Giver: Rob Watts
Eliot BAKER (#21), Seb CAVE (#128), Sam EASTERBROOK (#80), Lewy HAYWARD (#412), Tom OSBORNE (#133), Harley SMITH (#119). Total Team WAGR = 893.

England (Photo: EGA)

IRELAND – Captain: Damiens Coyne / Advice Giver: Michael Collins
John DOYLE (#212), Stuart GREHAN (#19), Thomas HIGGINS (#267), Matt MCCLEAN (#376), Caolan RAFFERTY (#217), Gavin TIERNAN (#216). Total Team WAGR = 1,307.

Ireland (Photo: EGA)

WALES – Captain: Llewellyn Matthews / Advice Giver: Neil Matthews
Jonathan BALE (#357), Tomi BOWEN (#353), Caolan BURFORD (#1,106), Sean DAVID (#1,702), Alex JAMES (#1, 968), Ioan ROWE (#1,211). Total Team WAGR = 6,697.

Wales (Photo: EGA)

Format / Schedule

The Championship is run by the European Golf Association, this year in partnership with the Estonian Golf Association.

Two rounds of stroke play qualifying are completed on the first two days, with the lowest five scores from each team counting. All ties will be broken by reference to each team’s non-counting scores.

These results then determine a seeded match play draw. The top eight qualifying teams will play in a first flight (A), which will determine the medalists, and the next eight a second flight (B).

Fight A start off with 1st v. 8th, 2nd v. 7th, 3rd v. 6th and 4th v. 5th. Winning teams advance in their brackets while losing teams play against other defeated nations to determine the final positions.

The teams in Flight A play 2 foursomes and 5 singles whilst losing teams and those in Flight B play 1 foursomes and 4 singles.

A win earns one point, a draw half a point and a loss no points in all of the individual games that make up a match.

The teams that finish 14th to 16th in the match play stage will be relegated to the Division 2 Championship for 2027.

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The European Amateur Team Championship Trophy (Photo: EGA)

Estonian Golf & Country Club, Estonia

Estonia is situated in northeastern Europe beside the Baltic Sea.

Estonian Golf & Country Club, located 15 miles from Tallinn, the capital city, was opened in 2005.

The club’s par 72 Sea Course plays over 7,100 yards and features oak-lined fairways and natural water hazards with the holes extending to the coastline and alongside the Jägala River.

It previously hosted the European Amateur Championship in 2016. 

Weather Forecast

This week’s weather forecast looks relatively poor with generally wet conditions and some wind expected.

Tue 7th July – Showers. Wind 13 mph W. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 17°C.
Wed 8th July – Light Rain. Wind 13 mph NE. Temp. Min. 14°C / Max. 16°C.
Thur 9th July – Thundery Showers. Wind 14 mph NE. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 18°C.
Fri 10th July – Drizzle. Wind 10 mph NE. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 21°C.
Sat 11th July – Drizzle. Wind 8 mph NE. Temp. Min. 16°C / Max. 21°C.

EGA Website Links – 2026 Scores / Information

2026 Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboards – Teams and Individuals

2026 Match Play Scoreboards – Flight A and Flight B

European Golf Association Championship Website

2025 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship

ITALY won the 2025 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship at Killarney Golf & Fishing Resort in Ireland.

Italy Celebrate Victory (Photo: EGA / INPHO / Laszlo Geczo)

The final results were: –

ESTONIA, CZECH REPUBLIC and PORTUGAL finished 14th-16th and were therefore relegated to Division 2 for the 2026 Championship. However, Estonia subsequently received a stay of execution due to their hosting responsibilities.

In the 2025 Division 2 competition BELGIUM 1st and WALES 2nd earned promotion back to the main event. AUSTRIA 3rd missed out due to Estonia’s position. SCOTLAND‘s 4th place saw them miss out.

Match Play Flight A

ITALY (4th seed) beat DENMARK (3) 6.0-1.0 in the Final not losing any of the seven games that were contested.

A strong finished helped ENGLAND (1) claim a 4.0-3.0 victory over IRELAND (2) to take home bronze.

2025 Match Play Scoreboards – Flight A and Flight B

Stroke Play Qualifying

ENGLAND (-44) earned the No. 1 Match Play Flight A seeding with an outstanding performance in the 36 hole Stroke Play Qualifying competition.

Making up the qualifiers for Flight A were IRELAND (-25) who finished 2nd, DENMARK (-25) 3rd, ITALY (-24) 4th, FRANCE (-17) 5th, GERMANY (-14), 6th SWEDEN (-12) 7th and FINLAND (-10) 8th.

Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -12 produced the best individual performance just edging out his teammate Charlie FORSTER by 1-shot.

Eliot BAKER (ENG) -9 5th, Stuart GREHAN (-8) 8th, Luke POULTER (ENG) -6 13th, Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) -5 17th and Thomas HIGGINS (IRL) -5 20th all performed well for their countries in the Stroke Play Qualifying.

2025 Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Teams and Individuals

History / Previous Results

The European Men’s Amateur Team Championship was first played in 1959.

It was played every second year until 2007. Since then it has been played annually save for 2012 when no Championship was held.

To date England have won 11 times, Scotland 8, Ireland and Spain 6, Sweden 3, Italy 2 and Denmark, Finland, France and Germany and Wales once each.

Click here to view the full list of – European Men’s Amateur Team Championship Past Winners 

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

The European Amateur Championship – 2026 Preview & Results

Posted on by

27th June 2026

Final Round

Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) won the 39th European Amateur Championship with a 271 (-13) total at Vanajanlinna G.&C.C.

Tim Wiedemyer (Photo: EGA)

Wiedemyer needed to be on his game on the final day with a 3-under 68 required to maintain his 2-shot advantage.

The victory comes with an exemption into the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale G.C.

Nevill RUITER (NED) shot 68 on Saturday to finish 2nd on 273 (-11).

Riccardo FANTINELLI (ITA) produced a best of the week 64 on the final day to jump up 33 places on the leaderboard to claim 3rd on -7 count back.

Ed FEATHERSTONE (ENG), the best GB&I player, finished 4th and Arthur CARLIER (FRA) 5th after they tied Fantinelli’s 277 (-7) total.

After starting with a 6-over 77 in Round 1 Eliot BAKER (ENG) showed his class to finish 9th on -6 after rounds of 68, 68 and 66.

Looking at the other leading GB&I players, Ben BOLTON (ENG) came home in 13th, Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) 16th, Sebastian DESOISA (ENG) 19th, all on -3, and Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) 20th, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) 21st, John DOYLE (IRL) 23rd and Connor GRAHAM (SCO) 24th, all on -2.

Lev GRINBERG‘s (FRA) 6th place finish was good enough to take him top of The Open Amateur Series Leaderboard, based on WAGR points awarded for performances in the St. Andrews Links Trophy, the Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Championship, and to secure a spot in the field at Royal Birkdale.

The 60 players who made the 54 hole cut managed an average final round score of 71.85 (+0.85).

Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Click here to view the – European Amateur Championship Leaderboard

ME.

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26th June 2026

Round 3

A second consecutive 65 around Vanajanlinna lifted Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) into the solo lead at the European Amateur on 203 (-10). Having foregone his exemption into next Tuesday’s Final Qualifying for The Open the German looks well placed to book his ticket to Royal Birkdale anyway.

After third rounds of 67 and 71 Aaron POUNDS (USA) and Nevill RUITER (NED) will head into the final day 2 shots back on -8.

Thomas HIGGINS (IRL), who posted a 66 in Round 3, Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO), tied 11th, are the best of the GB&I contingent with a 210 (-3) 54 hole total.

Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG), Jack BIGHAM (ENG), John DOYLE (IRL) and Sebastian DESOISA (ENG), tied 15th on -2, will be hoping to break into the top 10 on the final day.

60 players made the top 60 and ties 54 hole cut which fell at 216 (+3).

The 98 players who made the 36 hole cut produced an average Round 3 score of 72.07 (+1.07).

Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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25th June 2026

Round 2

Neville RUITER (NED) and Louis ANCEAUX (FRA) both shot their second 67’s of the Championship to share the halfway lead on 134 (-8).

Jack BUCHANAN (RSA), Arthur CARLIER (FRA), Sebastian DESOISA (ENG) and Lev GRINBERG (FRA) are all 2 shots further back, tied 3rd on -6.

Looking at the other leading GB&I players, Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Tomi BOWEN (WAL) and Seb CAVE (ENG) are all tied 15th on -2 with Jack WHALEY (ENG), John DOYLE (IRL) and Ed FEATHERSTONE (ENG) tied 26th on -1.

The average Round 2 score was 73.30 (+2.30). 98 players made the 36 hole cut (top 96 and ties) which fell at 147 (+5). Just 40 players finished Day 2 on Even par or better.

Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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24th June 2026

Round 1

Lev GRINBERG (FRA) leads the European Amateur at Vanajanlinna after a bogey-free 6-under 65 which included a 5 birdie opening nine.

Grinberg finished the day 1-shot ahead of his compatriot Arther CARLIER and Sebastian DESOISA (ENG), the leading GB&I player in the Championship, who birdied his final four holes in his 66 -5.

Tomi BOWEN (WAL) and Seb CAVE (ENG) 68 -3, tied 10th, and Harley SMITH (ENG), Oli BLACKADDER (SCO), Patrick KEELING (IRL), Ben BOLTON (ENG), Sam EASTERBOOK (ENG), Mark STOCKDALE (ENG), Ed FEATHERSTONE (ENG) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO) 69 -2, tied 19th, are also well placed heading into Day 2.

The 144 players managed an average Round 1 score of 72.52 (+1.52). 63 players finished the day on Even par or better.

Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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23rd June 2026

The 39th European Amateur Championship will be played at Vanajanlinna G.& C.C. in Finland between 24th-27th June 2026.

This prestigious Championship is run by the European Golf Association (EGA), assisted each year by the host nation; this year being the Finnish Golf Union.

This will be the third occasion that Finland has hosted the European Amateur. It has previously been staged at Aura G.C. (1994) and Vanajanlinna G.&C.C. (2010).

I will be updating this article with daily scoring reports throughout the Championship.

Vanajanlinna G. & C.C. (Photo: linnagolf.fi)

Competition Format

The European Amateur is a 72-hole stroke play competition with 18-holes played daily over four days.

There will be two cuts applied to the field during the Championship. After 36 holes only players with the 96 lowest scores and ties will progress and then after 54 holes only the 60 lowest scores and ties will qualify for the final round.

A 3 hole aggregate score play off will decide the winner in the event of a tie. If this doesn’t separate the players then a sudden death play-off will commence over the same holes.

A card count-back (last 36, then 18, then 9, etc,) will be used to resolve a tie for 2nd and 3rd place.

Entries

144 players from 41 countries will contest the 2026 Championship.

All of the players in the field must have handicaps of 0.0 or better with the entry ballot applied based on the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Exemptions were available to the defending champion, highly ranked players in the European Amateur Order of Merit (EAOM), a single nomination from each EGA member nation, four nominated players from the host nation, Finland, competitors in the 2025 Bonallack Trophy, St. Andrew’s Trophy and Jacques Léglise Trophy matches, the 2025 South American Amateur champion and the 2025 European Mid-Amateur champion.

There are 35 GB&I entries, namely Eliot BAKER (ENG) #25, Tom BASTOW (WAL), Jack BIGHAM (ENG), Oli BLACKADDER (SCO), Ben BOLTON (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Seb CAVE (ENG), Sebastian DESOISA (GIB), John DOYLE (IRL), Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG), Ed FEATHERSTONE (ENG), Jenson FORRESTER (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #26, Daniel HAYES (ENG), Lewy HAYWARD (ENG), Josh HILL (ENG), Thomas HIGGINS (IRL), Patrick KEELING (IRL),  Zach LITTLE (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Dominic MCGLINCHEY (SCO), Jack MURPHY (IRL), Tom OSBORNE (ENG), Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), Dion REGAN (WAL), Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO) #21, Harley SMITH (ENG), Jake SOWDEN (ENG), Luke STOCK (ENG), Mark STOCKDALE (ENG), Drew SYKES (ENG), Gavin TIERNAN (IRL), Jamie VAN WYK (ENG) and Jack WHALEY (ENG) #98.

The leading international entries (WAGR Top 100) are Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) #18, Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA) #39, Segundo OLIVA PINTO (ARG) #43, Lev GRINBERG (FRA) #45, Sergio JIMENEZ (ESP) #50, Wilhelm RYDING (SWE) #64, Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) #65, Alejandro DE CASTRO (ESP) #68, Alfons BONDESSON (SWE) #70, Louis KLEIN (CZH) #77, Albert HANSSON (SWE) #79, Wolfgang GLAWE (GER) #84 and Aaron POUNDS (USA) #89.

Vanajanlinna G. & C.C., Finland

Vanajanlinna or Linna Golf is considered Finland’s best course.

It hosted the European Amateur in 2010, the St. Andrews Trophy match in 2018 and the European Young Masters in 2022.

The course opened in August 2005 and was designed by Tim Lobb of European Golf Design. It is set in the grounds of an old hunting lodge which was built in 1924 with the routing through a pine and birch forest.

Linna plays to 7,192 yards and a par of 71. It has a Course Rating of 75.5 and a Slope Rating of 146.

Weather Forecast (as at 23rd June)

Conditions are expected to be generally good, albeit with a small chance of rain on every day.

Weds 24th June – Showers (30%). Wind 5 mph SE. Min. 11°C / Max. 19°C.
Thurs 25th June – Showers (20%). Wind 8 mph NW. Min. 11°C / Max. 19°C.
Fri 26th June – Cloudy (5%). Wind 11 mph NW. Min. 13°C / Max. 21°C.
Sat 27th June – Cloudy (20%). Wind 15 mph S. Min. 14°C / Max. 24°C.

Prizes

Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to the top 3 finishers.

The silver Championship Trophy, shown below, is held by the winning player’s national golf authority.

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The European Amateur Championship Trophy (Photo: EGA)

The Open Championship

The champion earns an exemption into The Open Championship in a few weeks time, this year being played at Royal Birkdale G.C. in England.

The Open Amateur Series Winner – the player who gains the most WAGR points in the St. Andrews Links Trophy, the Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Championship – (as long as they don’t win either the Amateur or European Amateur) will also earn a spot at Royal Birkdale.

Players who finish in 2nd to 4th places in this year’s European Amateur will also be offered a place in Final Qualifying which takes place next Tuesday, the 30th June. Any ties for 2nd-4th will be decided in favour of the highest ranked player in WAGR.

Other Championships

The USGA also grants exemptions to the winner into the U.S. Amateur Championship, the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship (if U19) and into Final Qualifying for the 2027 U.S. Open Championship (subject to remaining an amateur).

Further Information

Click here to view the – EGA European Amateur Championship Website

2025 European Amateur Championship

Filip JAKUBČÍK (CZH), 21 at the time, won the 2025 European Men’s Amateur Championship by 3-shots at Vasatorp G.C. in Sweden. His 280 (-8) total saw him become the first Czech player to win the title. Jakubčík turned pro in June 2026 after finishing his collegiate career at the University of Arizona.

Filip Jakubčik (Photo: European Golf Association)

Kristin BRESSUM (DEN) earned the silver medal on 283 (-5) and Sakke SILTALA (FIN) the bronze medal on 284 (-4). Wolfgang GLAWE (GER) and Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) tied 4th after finishing on 285 (-3).

Cameron ADAM (SCO) was the leading GB&I player finishing tied 9th on 287 (-1). Zach LITTLE (ENG), Charlie FORSTER (ENG) & Stuart GREHAN (IRL) all finished tied 12th on 288 (Ev), Jenson FORRESTER (ENG) & Seb CAVE (ENG) 290 (+2) tied 18th and Freddie TURNELL (ENG) & Eliot BAKER (ENG) 291 (+3) tied 21st.

Click here to view the – EGA / Golfbox 2025 European Amateur Championship Leaderboard

History

The competition was first contested in 1986 at Eindhoven G.C. Initially it was held biennially before moving to an annual fixture from 1990.

Former winners who have gone on to enjoy successful professional careers include Stephen GALLACHER (1994), Sergio GARCIA (1995), Gregory HAVRET (1999), Carl PETTERSSON (2000), Rory MCILROY (2006), Victor DUBUISSON (2009), Nicolai HØJGÅRD (2018) and Matthias SCHMID (2019 & 2020) and Jose Luis BALLESTER BARRIO (2023)

In addition to Gallacher and McIlroy other GB&I past winners include Jim PAYNE (1991), Paddy GRIBBEN (1998), Stephen BROWNE (2001), Brian MCELHINNEY (2003), Matthew RICHARDSON (2004), Rhys PUGH (2012) and Ashley CHESTERS (2013 and 2014) and Alfie PLANT (2017).

Ashley Chesters and Matthias Schmid are the only two-time winners and the only players to have retained the trophy.

Click here to view the – European Amateur Championship Past Winners and Venues

Rory McIlroy – 2006 Champion (Photo: European Golf Association)

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

The Open Championship – 2026 Regional, Final & Last Chance Qualifying

Posted on by

Last Updated 13th July 2026

Introduction

156 players will contest the 154th Open Championship which will be played at Royal Birkdale G.C. on 16-19 July 2026.

The majority of the field were made up of exempt players; recent major champions, winners of professional events and leading players in the world rankings.

The remaining players had to qualify either via The Open Qualifying Series, Regional and Final Qualifying or for the first time this year a Last Chance Qualifier.

26 places were allocated to The Open Qualifying Series. The leading 1-3 players, not already exempt, at 15 professional tour events in 13 countries played in 2025 and 2026 earned these spots.

20 spaces were given over to Final Qualifying. Regional Qualifying was played on Monday 22nd June 2026 with Final Qualifying taking place on Tuesday 30th June 2026. Players in Regional Qualifying played to earn the opportunity to take part in Final Qualifying which presents the gateway in to The Open.

A 12-man Last Chance Qualifying invitational event was played at Royal Birkdale G.C. on Monday 13th July 2026.

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Current Amateur Qualifiers

10 amateurs made it through to the 2026 Open Championship field. They are: –

2025 U.S. Amateur Championship – Mason HOWELL (USA)
2025 Asia-Pacific Champion – Fifa LAOPAKDEE (THA)
2026 Latin America Amateur Champion – Mateo PULCINI (ARG)
2026 African Amateur Champion – Jack BUCHANAN (RSA)
2026 Amateur Champion – Stuart GREHAN (IRL)
2026 European Amateur Champion – Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER)
2026 Open Amateur Series* Winner – Lev GRINBERG (FRA)
FQ Burnham & Berrow Alejandro DE CASTRO PIERA (ESP) – WAGR Leading 8 Entries (#78)
FQ Dundonald Links David HOWARD (Fota Island, IRL) 70 – The Island RQ Res. 5 after Pay-Off
FQ Dundonald Links Nevill RUITER (NED) – European Amateur ’26 Top 4

As the 2025 Mark H. McCormack Medal (WAGR #1) winner Jackson KOIVUN (USA) was also exempt but chose to turn pro after the U.S. Open Championship and is therefore now ineligible under this category.

*The Open Championship Amateur Series was introduced by The R&A in 2023. It offers an exemption to the player who gains the most WAGR points in the current year’s St. Andrews Links Trophy, Amateur Championship and European Amateur Championship events (as long as they didn’t win the Amateur or European Amateur Championships which meant they were already exempt).

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Last Chance Qualifier

A 12-man Last Chance Qualifying invitational event, played over 18 holes at Royal Birkdale G.C., started at 7.30am on Monday 13th July 2026.

Matt MOLONEY (USA), Amateur Championship runner-up, Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG), a Final Qualifying play-off loser at West Lancs, and Frazer JONES (ENG), who missed out by 1-shot in the Burnham & Berrow Final Qualifier, secured places in this competition. Jones was a late addition to the line up when Marcus Helligkilde (DEN) withdrew.

ROYAL BIRKDALE, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results
7,223 yards, par 70, course rating 76.5, slope rating 151
12 players / 3 amateurs / 1 qualifying places

Professional Qualifier
1st Joe DEAN (ENG) – 68 (-2)

Amateur Non-Qualifiers
4th Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) – 71 (+1)
T5 Matt MOLONEY (USA) – 72 (+2)
T5 Frazer JONES (ENG) – 71 (+1)

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Final Qualifying

Final Qualifying took place over 36 holes at Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire on Tuesday 30th June 2026.

There were 288 players competing, 72 at each site.

A number of amateur and professional players were exempt directly into Final Qualifying based on their past playing achievements. The rest of the field came through Regional Qualifying (see below for more information on these 16 events).

A minimum of 20 spots in The Open, 5 from each site, were offered by The R&A. Any ties for the last qualifying place from each site were broken by a sudden-death play-off.

The R&A broadcast live coverage of Final Qualifying from 4.30pm on its YouTube channel for the first time in 2026.

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All of the amateurs who are contesting Final Qualifying are listed below, along with their routes to this stage and their final results.

BURNHAM & BERROW, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,910 yards, par 71, course rating 74.6, slope rating 129
72 players / 24 amateurs / 5 qualifying places

Burnham & Berrow FQ Results (Graphic: The Open / NTT Data)

Amateur Qualifiers
T3 Alejandro DE CASTRO PIERA (Barcelona, ESP) – WAGR Leading 8 Entries (#78) – 65, 69 (-8)

Professional Qualifiers
1st James NICHOLAS (Old Palm, USA) – 65, 67 (-10)
2nd Caleb SURRATT (Longview, USA) – 67, 66 (-9)
T3 Tom SLOMAN (Taunton & Pickeridge, ENG) – 69, 65 (-8)
T3 Austen TRUSLOW (Pasadena Y&CC, USA) – 66, 68 (-8)

Amateur Non-Qualifiers
T6 Frazer JONES (Kirby Muxloe, ENG) – The Open Championship ’25 – 67, 68 (-7)
T14 Alex EMMS (The Vale, ENG) – Minchinhampton RQ Res. 17 – 71, 68 (-3)
T14 Ellis BRIGHT (Camberwell Park, ENG) – Minchinhampton RQ – 70, 69 (-3)
T18 Daniel BENNETT (Silver Lakes, RSA) – WAGR Leading 8 Entries (#15) – 72, 68 (-2)
T18 Harley SMITH (Rayleigh Club, ENG) – Moor Park RQ after Play-Off – 71, 69 (-2)
T18 Eliot BAKER (Tiverton, ENG) – St. Andrews Trophy & Walker Cup Team ’25 – 67, 73 (-2)
T28 Ed FEATHERSTONE (Sheringham, ENG) – The Amateur Championship QF ’26 – 72, 70 (Ev)
T33 Josh RUDKIN (Cosby, ENG) – Gog Magog RQ after Play-Off – 74, 69 (+1)
T33 Reggie FEAR (Wentworth, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ – 73, 70 (+1)
T39 Max WEAVER (Bury St. Edmunds, WAL) – Welsh Amateur Champion ’25 – 75, 70 (+3)
T45 Kris KIM (Wentworth, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ Res. 11 – 74, 72 (+4)
T50 Justin CHENU (Rochester & Cobham Park, ENG) – Rochester & Cobham Park RQ – 74, 73 (+5)
T50 Lucas MARTIN (Rotherham, ENG) – Fulford RQ – 74, 73 (+5)
T50 Agustin Segundo OLIVA PINTO (Córdoba, ARG) – WAGR Leading 8 Entries (#59) – 73, 74 (+5)
T50 Henry DALY (Wentworth, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ – 72, 75 (+5)
T50 Charlie PRESTON (Hartley Wintney, ENG) – North Hants RQ – 69, 78 (+5)
58th Darren STRACHAN (Golf de Chantilly, FRA) – Chart Hills RQ Res. 1 after Play-Off – 77, 74 (+9)
T59 Harry DICKINS (High Post, ENG)  Ferndown RQ Res. 26 after Play-Off – 79, 74 (+11)
T59 Joe BUENFELD (Stoneham, ENG) – Ferndown RQ after Play-Off – 82, 71 (+11)
T61 Oliver MARTIN (Sand Martins, ENG) – North Hants RQ – 73, 82 (+13)
T62 Joshua DAVIES (Bramley, ENG) Ferndown RQ – 77, 78 (+13)
64th Tommy OBERGAN (Gerrards Cross, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ – 80, 78 (+16)
65th Tony ADAMS (Princes, ENG) Ferndown RQ Res. 7 after Play-Off – 78, 81 (+17)

DUNDONALD LINKS, SCOTLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
7,213 yards, par 72, course rating 75.9, slope rating 143
72 players / 17 amateurs / 5 qualifying places

Dundonald Links FQ Results (Graphic: The Open / NTT Data)

Amateur Qualifiers
T2 David HOWARD (Fota Island, IRL) 70 –The Island RQ Res. 5 after Pay-Off – 69, 71 (-4)
T4 Nevill RUITER (NED) – European Amateur ’26 Top 4 – 71, 70 (-3)

Professional Qualifiers
1st Jack MCDONALD (Whitecraigs, SCO) – 70, 69 (-5)
T2 Matthew BALDWIN (Royal Birkdale, ENG) – 69, 71 (-4)
T4 Marcus PLUNKETT (PYCC, USA) – 69, 72 (-3)

Amateur Non-Qualifiers
T6 Connor GRAHAM (Blairgowrie, SCO) – St. Andrews Trophy & Walker Cup Team ’25 – 70, 72 (-2)
T16 Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (Meadow Club, SCO) – Walker Cup Team ’25 – 71, 74 (+1)
T27 Oliver CAGE (Moortown, ENG) – Fulford RQ – 74, 76 (+6)
T38 Ben LOVEARD (Woburn, ENG) – Gog Magog RQ Res. 14 after Play-Off – 74, 79 (+9)
T45 Jordan BOLES (Carton House, ENG) – The Island RQ – 78, 77 (+11)
T45 James STEVEN (Kirkhill, SCO) – Craigielaw RQ – 77, 78 (+11)
51st Erik JOHANSSON (Ljunghusen, SWE) – Craigielaw RQ – 78, 79 (+13)
T52 Alex BOYES (Cleveland, ENG) – Fulford RQ Res. 15 – 81, 77 (+14)
T54 Bryan HUGHES (Hesketh, ENG) – Hesketh RQ – 83, 76 (+15)
56th Chris SOMERS (Murcar Links, SCO) – Scottish Amateur Champion ’25 – 75, 85 (+16)
58th Will SWARBRICK (Moortown, ENG) – Fulford RQ – 82, 82 (+20)
59th Jonathan HOBSON (Clandon Regis, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ – 85, 82 (+23)
60th Charlie TOWNSEND (West Byfleet, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ Res. 22 – 85, 89 (+30)
WD Ashley WILLIAMS (Bolton Old Links, ENG) – Caldy RQ – 85, WD (WD )
WD Ryder COWAN (Oak Tree National, USA) – WAGR Leading 8 Entries (#23) – NR, WD (WD)

ROYAL CINQUE PORTS, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
7,204 yards, par 72, course rating 76.2, slope rating 146
72 players / 17 amateurs / 5 qualifying places

Royal Cinque Ports FQ Results (Graphic: The Open / NTT Data)

Amateur Qualifiers
None

Professional Qualifiers
T1 Baard Bjoernevik SKOGEN (Haugaland, ISL) – 68, 64 (-12)
T1 MJ DAFFUE (Deerwood, RSA) – 67, 65 (-12)
3rd Matthew SOUTHGATE (Thorpe Hall, ENG) – 68, 66 (-10)
4th Peter UIHLEIN (Medalist, USA) – 66, 69 (-9)
5th Antoine ROZNER (RCF La Boule, FRA) – 69, 67 (-8)

Amateur Non-Qualifiers
T14 Louis KLEIN (Albatross Golf Resort, CHK) – St. Andrews Trophy Team ’25 – 72, 68 (-4)
T21 Laurie OWEN (Letchworth, ENG) – Gog Magog RQ – 70, 73 (-1)
T21 Sergio JIMENEZ ROMERO (Retamares, ESP) – WAGR Leading 8 Entries (#61) – 67, 76 (-1)
T30 Aaron MOODY (Burhill, ENG) – North Hants RQ Res. 6 after Play-Off – 73, 72 (+1)
T32 Luke POULTER (Woburn, ENG) – St. Andrews Trophy & Walker Cup Team ’25 – 75, 71 (+2)
T32 Patrick FOLEY (GC Lausanne, SUI) – The Island RQ – 70, 76 (+2)
T46 Luke JENKINS (Rochester & Cobham Park, ENG) – Chart Hills RQ – 75, 76 (+7)
T46 Sam EPSTEIN (Maylands, ENG) – Gog Magog RQ – 75,  76 (+7)
T51 Jamie SHORT (Oake Manor, ENG) – Minchinhampton RQ Res. 16 after Play-Off – 77, 75 (+8)
T51 Oliver DAWS (Royal St. George’s, ENG) – Chart Hills RQ – 76, 76 (+8)
T51 Josh HUSSEIN (WGC London, ENG) – Gog Magog RQ Res. 19 after Play-Off – 75, 77 (+8)
T56 Haiden MATOS (Dartford, ENG) – Rochester & Cobham Park RQ – 81, 72 (+9)
T56 Max MOSELEY (Knole Park, ENG) – Chart Hills RQ after a Play-Off – 77, 76 (+9)
T56 Connor O’BRIEN (ENG) – Brocket Hall – Moor Park RQ – 77, 76 (+9)
61st Robbie FLOWER (Royal Winchester, ENG) – North Hants RQ – 74, 81 (+11)
62nd Christian JOHNSON (Formby Hall, ENG) – Hesketh RQ Res. 20 – 81, 77 (+14)
65th Jonah FERNANDES (RCG Guadalmina, ENG) – Moor Park RQ Res. 3 after Play-Off – 86, 86 (+28)

WEST LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
7,000 yards, par 72, course rating 75.4, slope rating 140
72 players / 16 amateurs / 5 qualifying places

West Lancashire FQ Results (Graphic: The Open / NTT Data)

Amateur Qualifiers
None

Professional Qualifiers
1st Sam BAIRSTOW (Hallowes, ENG) – 66, 68 (-10)
T2 Kazuma KOBORI (Rangiora, NZL) – 70, 65 (-9)
T2 José Luis BALLESTER BARRIO (ESP) – 70, 65 (-9)
T2 Tiger CHRISTENSEN (GER) – 65, 70 (-9)
T5 Matthew JORDAN (Royal Liverpool, ENG) – 69, 67 (-8), after a 3-for-1 Play-Off

Amateur Non-Qualifiers
T5 Sam EASTERBROOK (Olton, ENG) – The Amateur Champ. QF ’26 – 69, 67 (-8), after a 3-for-1 Play-Off
T22 Guus LAFEBER (The International, NED) – The Boys’ Amateur Champion ’25 – 70, 71 (-3)
T22 Richard TEDER (Estonian G&CC, EST) – The Open Championship ’25 – 67, 74 (-3)
T25 Abel EDUARD (Kingston Heath, AUS) – Hesketh RQ – 71, 71 (-2)
T30 Emil RIEGGER (Trinifold Sports, GER) – The Amateur Championship QF ’26 – 72, 71 (-1)
T33 Adam BRESNU (RGD Essalem, MOR) – WAGR Leading 8 Entries (#44) – 71, 73 (Ev)
T33 Seb CAVE (ENG) – The Open Championship ’25 – 70, 74 (Ev)
T36 Gunnlauger Arni SVEINSSON (GKG, ISL) – St. Andrews Trophy Team ’25 – 75, 70 (+1)
T36 Liam ABOM (Edmonstown, IRL) – The Island RQ – 73, 72 (+1)
T36 Henry STYLES (Romford, ENG) – English Amateur Champion -25 – 73, 72 (+1)
T44 Andrew HASWELL (ENG) – Ormskirk – Hesketh RQ after Play-Off – 77, 69 (+2)
56th Josh MCASPURN (Crosland Heath, ENG) – Lindrick RQ – 79, 71 (+6)
T57 Joseph DODD-BERRY (Royal Liverpool, ENG) – Caldy RQ – 77, 74 (+7)
T64 Jason RENTON (West Lancashire, ENG) – Caldy RQ after Play-Off – 76, 77 (+9)
T66 Neil WILLIAMS (St. Annes Old Links, SCO) – Hesketh RQ – 82, 72 (+10)
68th Jayden PHIPPS (South Staffordshire, ENG) – Enville RQ after Play-Off – 79, 76 (+11)

Click here to view the official – Open Championship Website (Final Qualifying)

Final Qualifying – Amateur Reserves
Darren STRACHAN (Golf de Chantilly, FRA) – Chart Hills RQ Res. 1 after Play-Off
Jonah FERNANDES (RCG Guadalmina, ENG) – Moor Park RQ Res. 3 after Play-Off
David HOWARD (Fota Island, IRL) 70 –The Island RQ Res. 5 after Pay-Off
Aaron MOODY (Burhill, ENG) – North Hants RQ Res. 6 after Play-Off
Tony ADAMS (Princes, ENG) Ferndown RQ Res. 7 after Play-Off
Kris KIM (Wentworth, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ Res. 11
Ben LOVEARD (Woburn, ENG) – Gog Magog RQ Res. 14 after Play-Off
Alex BOYES (Cleveland, ENG) – Fulford RQ Res. 15
Jamie SHORT (Oake Manor, ENG) – Minchinhampton RQ Res. 16 after Play-Off
Alex EMMS (The Vale, ENG) – Minchinhampton RQ Res. 17
Josh HUSSEIN (WGC London, ENG) – Gog Magog RQ Res. 19 after Play-Off
Christian JOHNSON (Formby Hall, ENG) – Hesketh RQ Res. 20
Charlie TOWNSEND (West Byfleet, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ Res. 22
Harry DICKINS (High Post, ENG)  Ferndown RQ Res. 26 after Play-Off
Sam KELLY (The Island, IRL) – The Island RQ Res. 28 after Play-Off
Rio SAIGAL (Moor Park, ENG) – Moor Park RQ Res. 30 after Play-Off
Adam ALLAHBACHANI (Powerscourt, IRL) Craigielaw RQ Res.31
Charles MORGAN (Three Rivers, ENG) – Chart Hills RQ Res. 32 after Play-Off
Marc REID (Craigielaw, SCO) – Craigielaw RQ Res. 34
Oscar MURPHY (Royal Portrush, IRL) – The Island RQ Res. 37 after Play-Off
Ben BUCHANAN (Dunham Forest, ENG) – Caldy RQ Res. 42
Ben WELCH (Woburn, ENG) – Bearwood Lakes RQ Res. 43
Oliver TOYER (St. Neots, ENG) – Gog Magog RQ Res. 46 after Play-Off
Jack BEAUCHAMP (Trinity Forest, USA) – Fulford RQ Res. 50
Will HAWKSWORTH (Hallamshire, ENG) – Lindrick RQ Res. 53 after Play-Off
Dean LENAHAH (The Wilmslow, ENG) – Caldy RQ Res. 55
Sam BURTON (Tytherington Club, ENG) – Enville RQ Res. 57
Lewis WRIGHT (Chelmsford, ENG) – Moor Park RQ Res. 67
Sam DE’ATH (North Hants, ENG) – North Hants RQ Res. 70
Tom WOODS (Bromborough, ENG) – Caldy RQ Res. 74

Final Qualifying – Amateurs Who Have Not Taken Up Their Exemptions
Kihei AKINA (USA) – The Amateur Championship QF ’26
Reed ARNALDO (USA) – The Amateur Championship QF ’26
Alfons BONDESSON (SWE) – St. Andrews Trophy Team ’25
Arthur CARLIER (FRA) – European Amateur ’26 Top 4
JL Dewan DE BRUIN (RSA) – African Amateur Championship Runner-Up ’26
Ethan FANG (USA) – Walker Cup Team ’25
Riccardo FANTINELLI (ITA) – European Amateur ’26 Top 4
Stewart HAGESTAD (USA) – Walker Cup Team ’25
Jackson HERRINGTON (USA) – U.S. Amateur ’25 Runner-Up
Mason HOWELL (USA) – Walker Cup Team ’25
Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) – St. Andrews Trophy Team ’25
Jacob MODLESKI (USA) – Walker Cup Team ’25
Taisei NAGASAKI (JAP) – Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship Runner-Up ’25
Virgilio PAZ VALDES (VEN) – Latin America Amateur Championship Runner-Up ’26
Preston STOUT (USA) – Walker Cup Team ’25
Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) – St. Andrews Trophy Team ’25 – Won European Amateur ’26 To Qualify

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Regional Qualifying

Regional Qualifying took place over 18 holes at 16 venues across Great Britain and Ireland on Monday 22nd June 2026.

Any professional or amateur with a handicap index no higher than 0.4 (scratch) or a WAGR listing of 1st-2,000th during 2024-25 could enter Regional Qualifying subject to paying the £200 entry fee.

The number of qualifying spots from each venue were allocated once all players had teed off. Each site normally receives between 7 and 10 of these depending on its field size. This year 12 venues received 8 places and four received 7 spots.

Reserve places are also allocated and a great many of these are normally called up to Final Qualifying.

2,073 players, with 987 of these being amateurs, teed it up in Regional Qualifying in 2026.

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Here is a summary of the 16 Regional Qualifying events with links to their results.

The leading amateur performances and those who qualified will be shown below. Many of the Reserves will also find their way into Final Qualifying as the events draw nearer.

BEARWOOD LAKES, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,846 yards, par 72, course rating 74.0, slope rating 145
131 players / 61 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T1 Henry DALY (ENG) – Wentworth 68 -4 QUALIFIED
T1 Reggie FEAR (ENG) – Wentworth 68 -4 QUALIFIED
T4 Tommy OBERGAN (ENG) – Gerrards Cross 69 -3 QUALIFIED
T6 Jonathan HOBSON (ENG) – Clandon Regis 70 -2 QUALIFIED
T9 Kris KIM (ENG) – Wentworth 71 -1 Reserve 11
T9 Charlie TOWNSEND (ENG) – West Byfleet 71 -1 Reserve 22
T9 Ben WELCH (ENG) – Woburn 71 -1 Reserve 43
T17 Calum MILLER (SCO) – Bedgemore Park 72 Ev
T17 Edward DAVIS (ENG) – Studley Wood 72 Ev
T17 Jack SMALL (IRL) – Bearwood Lakes 72 Ev
T17 Ashton GREEN (ENG) – Bearwood Lakes 72 Ev

CALDY, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,740 yards, par 72, course rating 73.3, slope rating 134
131 players / 77 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T3 Ashley WILLIAMS (ENG) – Bolton Old Links 69 -3 QUALIFIED
T3 Joseph DODD-BERRY (ENG) – Royal Liverpool 69 -3 QUALIFIED
T8 Jason RENTON (ENG) – West Lancashire 71 -1 QUALIFIED after a 3-for-1 Play-Off
T11 Ben BUCHANAN (ENG) – Dunham Forest 72 Ev Reserve 42
T11 Dean LENAHAH (ENG) – The Wilmslow 72 Ev Reserve 55
T11 Tom WOODS (ENG) – Bromborough 72 Ev Reserve 74
T15 Sam PRINCE (ENG) – Ringway 73 +1
T15 Edward REED (ENG) – Royal Birkdale 73 +1
T15 Owen LEIGH (ENG) – Pleasington 73 +1
T15 David RAMSAY (ENG) – Eaton 73 +1
T15 Harry HOLLAND (ENG) – Southport & Ainsdale 73+1
T15 Lucas KUIPER (ENG) – Southport & Ainsdale 73 +1
T15 George HOLLAND (ENG) – Southport & Ainsdale 73+1

CHART HILLS, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,939 yards, par 72, course rating 75.5, slope rating 149
127 players / 75 amateurs / 7 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T3 Oliver DAWS (ENG) – Royal St. George’s 68 -4 QUALIFIED
T3 Luke JENKINS (ENG) – Rochester & Cobham 68 -4 QUALIFIED
T7 Darren STRACHAN (FRA) – Golf de Chantilly 69 -3 Reserve 1 after a 5-for-1 Play-Off
T7 Charles MORGAN (ENG) – Three Rivers 69 -3 Reserve 32 after a 5-for-1 Play-Off
T7 Ethan ROOS (ENG) – Thornton Park 69 -3 Reserve 33 after a 5-for-1 Play-Off
T7 Max MOSELEY (ENG) – Knole Park 69 -3 QUALIFIED after a 5-for-1 Play-Off
T12 Conor BYERS (ENG) – Langley Park 70 -2
T12 Josh MCCARTAIN (ENG) – Golf at Goodward 70 -2
T12 Andres ASIN GARCIA (ESP) – La Peñaza 70 -2
T12 George HARRIS-ANDREWS (ENG) – The London Club 70 -2
T12 Buster O’CALLAGHAN (ENG) – Walton Heath 70 -2

CRAIGIELAW, SCOTLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,556 yards, par 71, course rating 72.3, slope rating 128
128 players / 66 amateurs / 7 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T2 Erik JOHANSSON (SWE) – Ljunghusen 64 -7 QUALIFIED
T2 James STEVEN (SCO) – Kirkhill 64 -7 QUALIFIED
T9 Adam ALLAHBACHANI (IRL) – Powerscourt 66 -5 Reserve 31
T9 Marc REID (SCO) – Craigielaw 66 -5 Reserve 34
T13 Ollie MUKHERJEE (SCO) – Craigielaw 67 -4
T13 Sam MUKHERJEE (SCO) – Craigielaw 67 -4
T17 Cameron MUKHERJEE (SCO) – Craigielaw 68 -3

ENVILLE (HIGHGATE), ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,645 yards, par 72, course rating 73.6, slope rating 139
133 players / 58 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T5 Jayden PHIPPS (ENG) – The South Staffordshire 68 -4 QUALIFIED after a 5-for-4 Play-Off
T10 Sam BURTON (ENG) – The Tytherington Club 69 -3 Reserve 57
T16 Oliver SCRIVEN (ENG) – Pearl Valley 71 -1
T16 Lewin AUCIELLO (ENG) – Burghley Park 71 -1
T16 Rory MCDONALD-O’BRIEN (ENG) – Burghley Park 71 -1
T16 Louis SANDERS (ENG) – Olton 71 -1
T16 Philipp KRONE (ENG) – Moseley 71 -1

FERNDOWN (OLD), ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,516 yards, par 71, course rating 72.2, slope rating 130
133 players / 66 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T3 Joshua DAVIES (ENG) – Bramley 68 -3 QUALIFIED
T7 Joe BUENFELD (ENG) – Stoneham 69 -2 QUALIFIED after a 6-for-2 Play-Off
T7 Tony ADAMS (ENG) – Princes 69 -2 Reserve 7 after a 6-for-2 Play-Off
T7 Harry DICKINS (ENG) – High Post 69 -2 Reserve 26 after a 6-for-2 Play-Off
T13 Luke METCALF (ENG) – Tandridge 70 -1
T21 Jamie ROBERTS (ENG) – The London Club 71 Ev
T21 Tom CHALK (ENG) – Stoneham 71 Ev
T21 Steve MITCHELL (ENG) – Cowdray 71 Ev
T21 Warren CLARKE (ENG) – Knebworth 71 Ev

FULFORD, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,811 yards, par 72, course rating 74.0, slope rating 144
128 players / 63 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
1st Oliver CAGE (ENG) – Moortown 67 -5 QUALIFIED
T2 Will SWARBRICK (ENG) – Moortown 68 -4 QUALIFIED
T2 Lucas MARTIN (ENG) – Rotherham 68 -4 QUALIFIED
T9 Alex BOYES (ENG) – Cleveland 69 -3 Reserve 15
T11 Jack BEAUCHAMP (USA) – Trinity Forest 70 -2 Reserve 50
T11 George DAVIES (ENG) – Harrogate 70 -2
T11 Damon COULSON (ENG) – Fulford 70 -2
T11 Harry RICHMOND (ENG) – Ilkley 70 -2

GOG MAGOG (OLD), ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,392 yards, par 70, course rating 71.4, slope rating 121
129 players / 58 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T3 Laurie OWEN (ENG) – Letchworth 66 -4 QUALIFIED
T6 Sam EPSTEIN (ENG) – Maylands 67 -3 QUALIFIED
T8 Ben LOVEARD (ENG) – Woburn 68 -2 Reserve 14 after a 10-for-1 Play-Off
T8 Josh RUDKIN (ENG) – Cosby 68 -2 QUALIFIED after a 10-for-1 Play-Off
T8 Josh HUSSEIN (ENG) – WGC London 68 -2 Reserve 19 after a 10-for-1 Play-Off
T8 Oliver TOYER (ENG) – St. Neots 68 -2 Reserve 46 after a 10-for-1 Play-Off
T18 Theo BAKER (ENG) – Colchester 69 -1
T18 Max HOPKINS (ENG) – Bishops Stortford 69 -1
T18 Max SAUNDERS (ENG) – Walton Heath 69 -1

HESKETH, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,595 yards, par 71, course rating 73.4 , slope rating 134
129 players / 70 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T1 Abel EDUARD (AUS) – Kingston Heath 68 -3 QUALIFIED
T3 Neil WILLIAMS (SCO) – St. Annes Old Links 69 -2 QUALIFIED
T3 Bryan HUGHES (ENG) – Hesketh 69 -2 QUALIFIED
T6 Andrew HASWELL (ENG) – Ormskirk  70 -1 QUALIFIED after a 4-for-3 Play-Off
T10 Christian JOHNSON (ENG) – Formby Hall 71 Ev Reserve 20

KILMARNOCK (BARASSIE), SCOTLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,847 yards, par 71, course rating 74.8, slope rating 138
120 players / 53 amateurs / 7 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T15 Rhys MCILROY (SCO) – Elderslie 71 -1
T15 George WILLIAMSON (USA) – Turf Valley Resort 71 -1
T15 Callum MACAULAY (SCO) – Tulliallan 71 -1
T15 Will COXON (ENG) – Carus Green 71 -1

LINDRICK, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,725 yards, par 70, course rating 73.6, slope rating 128
129 players / 61 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T4 Josh MCASPURN (ENG) – Crosland Heath 68 -2 QUALIFIED
T8 Will HAWKSWORTH (ENG) – Hallamshire 70 Ev Reserve 53 after a 6-for-1 Play-Off
T14 Brandon PERRY (ENG) – Rotherham 71 +1
T14 Nathan GARRATT (ENG) – Kirby Muxloe 71 +1
T14 Nyle CHALLINOR (ENG) – Sitwell Park 71 +1
T14 Maxwell BERRISFORD (ENG) – Ilkley 71 +1

MINCHINHAMPTON, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,691 yards, par 72, course rating 73.6, slope rating 130
131 players / 59 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T1 Ellis BRIGHT (ENG) – Camberwell Park 68 -4 QUALIFIED
T5 Jamie SHORT (ENG) – Oake Manor 69 -3 Reserve 16 after a 5-for-4 Play-Off
T10 Alex EMMS (ENG) – The Vale 70 -2 Reserve 17
T10 Milan REED (ENG) – Long Ashton 70 -2
T10 Jack DART (ENG) – Churston 70 -2
T17 Calum FITZGERALD (ENG) – Bowood Hotel 71 -1
T17 Tom HOWELLS (ENG) – The Worcestershire 71 -1
T17 Ashley MILLINGTON (ENG) – The Players Club 71 -1
T17 Jordan STANDING (WAL) – Cottrell Park 71 -1

MOOR PARK (HIGH), ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,795 yards, par 72, course rating 73.8, slope rating 141
123 players / 45 amateurs / 7 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
1st Connor O’BRIEN (ENG) – Brocket Hall 67 -5 QUALIFIED
T6 Jonah FERNANDES (ENG) – Real Club de Golf Guadalmina 69 -3 Reserve 3 after a 4-for-2 Play-Off
T6 Rio SAIGAL (ENG) – Moor Park 69 -3 Reserve 30 after a 4-for-2 Play-Off
T6 Harley SMITH (ENG) – The Rayleigh Club 69 -3 QUALIFIED after a 4-for-2 Play-Off
T10 Lewis WRIGHT (ENG) – Chelmsford 70 -2 Reserve 67

NORTH HANTS, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,607 yards, par 70, course rating 71.4, slope rating 122
134 players / 56 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
1st Robbie FLOWER (ENG) – Royal Winchester 65 -5 QUALIFIED
T3 Oliver MARTIN (ENG) – Sand Martins 67 -3 QUALIFIED
T3 Charlie PRESTON (ENG) – Hartley Wintney 67 -3 QUALIFIED
T7 Aaron MOODY (ENG) – Burhill 69 -1 Reserve 6 after a 6-for-2 Play-Off
T13 Sam DE’ATH (ENG) – North Hants 70 Ev Reserve 70
T13 Freddie TURNELL (ENG) – Burnham & Berrow 70 Ev
T13 Tommy EVANS (ENG) – Beaconsfield 70 Ev

ROCHESTER & COBHAM PARK, ENGLAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
6,586 yards, par 71, course rating 73.3, slope rating 134
131 players / 60 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T1 Haiden MATOS (ENG) – Dartford 67 -4 QUALIFIED
T6 Justin CHENU (ENG) – Rochester & Cobham Park 69 -2 QUALIFIED
T12 Callum RANA (ENG) – Eaton 71 Ev

THE ISLAND, IRELAND
– click here to view The Open Website Results or Golfbox Results
7,154 yards, par 72, course rating 74.2 , slope rating 131
136 players / 59 amateurs / 8 qualifying places

Leading Amateurs
T1 Liam ABOM (IRL) – Edmonstown 64 -8 QUALIFIED
T3 Patrick FOLEY (SUI) – Golf Club de Lausanne 68 -4 QUALIFIED
T6 Jordan BOLES (ENG) – Carton House 69 -3 QUALIFIED
T8 David HOWARD (IRL) – Fota Island 70 -2 Reserve 5 after a 8-for-1 Play-Off
T8 Sam KELLY (IRL) – The Island 70 -2 Reserve 28 after a 8-for-1 Play-Off
T8 Oscar MURPHY (IRL) – Royal Portrush 70 -2 Reserve 37 after a 8-for-1 Play-Off
T8 Mark GAZI (IRL) – Tralee 70 -2
T16 William O’RIORDAN (IRL) – Greystones 71 -1

Notes
a) Ties for the last qualifying place(s) were resolved by sudden death play-off at each site.
b) Irrespective of any play-off results reserve places at each site were allocated by card count back (CB) – back 9 or 6 or 3 or 1 hole – based on each player’s 18 hole score.

Click here to view the official – Open Championship Website (Regional Qualifying)

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Low Amateur Silver Medal

The Silver Medal is awarded to the leading amateur in The Open Championship who completes 72 holes. Bronze Medals are awarded to all other amateurs who complete 72 holes.

For more information on this prize please take a look at this article – The Open Championship’s Silver Medal.

More Championship Information

Click here to view the official – Open Championship Website

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

The Amateur Championship – 2026 Preview & Results

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Saturday 20th June 2026

Stuart GREHAN (IRL), 33, won The 131st Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool G.C.

He beat Matt MOLONEY (USA), 20, by 1 Hole in the 36 hole Final.

Stuart Grehan (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

After heading into lunch 1Down Grehan, a re-instated amateur, fought back on the second 18 and despite a nervy finish, which saw him lose the 34th and 35th holes, claimed victory on the final green with a half.

The champion receives the Championship Trophy and a Gold Medal. On the basis he remains an amateur Grehan will also receive exemptions into he 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale G.C., the 2027 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C., the 2027 U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach G.L. and a DP World Tour event.

The unheralded Moloney, who has enjoyed a superb week on The Wirral, receives a Silver Medal and for the first time a place in the 12 man field for this year’s Last Chance Qualifier for The Open event. A great opportunity for him to make his major championship debut.

Moloney v. Grehan Final Result (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – 2026 Amateur Championship Match Play Results

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Friday 19th June 2026

Match Play – Semi-Finals (Afternoon)

Matt MOLONEY (USA), a rising junior at the University of Georgia, was never behind in his game with Emil RIEGGER (GER). The American, ranked 677th in WAGR, held on well through a tight back nine to come out with a 1 Hole win.

Riegger v. Moloney Semi-Final Result (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

In the second semi-final Ireland’s Stuart GREHAN, ranked 46th in WAGR, came out on the right side of a competitive match with Estonia’s Richard TEDER.

Grehan v. Teder Semi-Final Result (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Match Play – Quarter Finals (Morning)

Emil RIEGGER (GER) was in stunning form this morning at Royal Liverpool G.C. to secure a 2 Holes win over Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG). Riegger was 6-under par for the final 14 holes of the match.

A poor start and finish from Kihei AKINA (USA) opened the door for Matt MOLONEY (USA) to advance in their topsy turvy Quarter Final where 12 of the 18 holes played were won outright.

Stuart GREHAN took advantage of a nervy start from Ed FEATHERSTONE, which saw the Englishman gift Grehan a 4Up lead after 5 holes, to see out their game comfortably.

Richard TEDER‘s (EST) typical fireworks proved too much for the more consistent Reed ARNALDO (USA). Teder recorded six birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey in the 17 holes he required to progress.

Match Play Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

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Thursday 18th June 2026

Match Play – Last 16 (Afternoon)

The Round of 16 started at at 1.10pm at Royal Liverpool G.C.

20 year old Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) posted seven birdies on his way to a 3&2 victory against Stefan JACOBS (RSA) who had led by 2Up after three holes.

The Englishman will play Emil RIEGGER after the German got the better of an up and down Lewy HAYWARD (ENG) over 19 holes.

Matt MOLONEY (USA) required 24 Holes, the longest contest of the Championship so far, to see off Arthur CARLIER (FRA).

Moloney will face highly rated Kihei AKINA (USA) in the Quarter Finals after his compatriot birdied the 17th and 18th holes to turn his game around against Jakob MELIN (SWE).

Stuart GREHAN (IRL) appears to be the best GB&I bet for the title but was made to work hard for his place in the Last 8, needing a conceded birdie on the 20th hole to get past Spain’s Sergio JIMENEZ ROMERO.

Grehan will play Ed FEATHERSTONE (ENG) who continued his strong form with a 3&1 win against Malan POTGIETER (RSA). An eagle-birdie-birdie run on the 3rd to 5th holes set the foundations for the Englishman’s victory.

Richard TEDER (EST) progressed to the Quarter finals for the third time in the last four years after another battling game this afternoon. 3Down after eight holes against Yuki MIYA (NZL) he ultimately saw out a 2&1 victory.

Teder will face Reed ARNALDO (USA) tomorrow after he overcame Denmark’s Oscar Valdemar HOLM BREDKJÆR in a match that required 23 holes to find a winner.

Match Play Last 16 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Match Play – Round 2 (Morning)

The Round of 32 got underway at 7.30am with the final game going out at 9.45am.

Six birdies in the 16 holes played was good enough for Stefan JACOBS (RSA) to overcome medalist Wilhelm RYDING (SWE).

English pair Sam EASTERBROOK and Lewy HAYWOOD enjoyed their morning’s on Hoylake’s links. Easterbrook beat Guus LAFEBER (NED) by 3&1 in a game littered with birdies whilst Marlborough’s Hayward recorded the biggest win of the round; a 6&5 triumph over Marcel FONSECA AGUILAR (ESP).

Kihei AKINA (USA), the highest WAGR ranked player left in the field at #22, secured his second match play win with a 5&3 victory against Andries VAN DER VYVER (RSA).

It was a mixed morning for Ireland with Stuart GREHAN (IRL) making short work of Ioan ROWE (WAL) but Matt MCCLEAN losing narrowly to Sergio JIMENEZ ROMERO after three late bogeys opened the door to the Spaniard.

Malan POTGIETER (RSA) recorded seven birdies to get the better of a battling Morgan BLYTHE (ENG) by 3&2.

After trailing 2Down with 3 holes to play Ed FEATHERSTONE fought back with birdies on 16 and 17 to take compatriot Kris KIM to extra holes. Both players birdied the 19th before Norfolk’s Featherstone completed a great comeback with another birdie on the 20th. Featherstone is the highest placed stroke play qualifier (tied 2nd) left in the Championship.

It was a game of two halves between Oscar Valdemar HOLM BREDKJÆR (DEN) and James EARLE (USA). The Dane reeled off six birdies for a stunning front nine 30 to take a 3Up lead. However, four bogeys on the back nine including two on the 17th and 18th saw the match head into extra holes. Thankfully Earle bogeyed the 19th to enable Holm Bredkjær to progress to the Last 16.

Match Play Round 2 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

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Wednesday 17th June 2026

Match Play – Round 1

Round 1 of the Match Play Stage started at 9.30am with the final game going out at Royal Liverpool G.C. at 2.45pm.

Medalist Wilhelm RYDING (SWE) was made to work hard for his place in the Round of 32 coming back from 1Down with 3 Holes to play against Loran APPEL (NED) to secure a narrow 1 Hole win.

Guus LAFEBER (NED), the 2025 R&A Boys’ Amateur champion, confirmed his match play pedigree with a 19th hole win against Scotland’s 2-time Walker Cupper Connor GRAHAM.

In form English pair Sam EASTERBROOK and Lewy HAYWARD were both victorious in the Upper half of the draw but there were early losses for Keith EGAN (IRL), Luke KELLY (ENG), against Easterbrook, Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO), Jamie VAN WYK (ENG), Joshua MCCARTAIN (ENG) and Zach LITTLE (ENG).

Andries VAN DER VYVER (RSA) completed the biggest win of the Round with a 6&5 thrashing of Melvin MULLER (NED).

In the Lower Half of the draw Stuart GREHAN (IRL) took out Eliot BAKER (ENG) by 3&2 in the standout game of Round 1 between the two 2025 GB&I Walker Cup players.

Ioan ROWE, who was the fourth Reserve from last Friday’s Pre-Qualifying event, got the better of Tomi BOWEN on the first extra hole in their all-Welsh clash.

Experienced Matt MCCLEAN became the second Irish player into the last 32 with a good 2&1 win against WAGR #84 Wolfgang GLAWE (GER).

Morgan BLYTHE (ENG), Kris KIM (ENG) and Ed FEATHERSTONE (ENG) all secured home wins late on albeit the latter two came against compatriots Josh HILL (ENG) by 1 Hole and Jack LEE (ENG) by 3&1.

A disappointing day for GB&I players, where only 8 of the 22 qualifiers progressed to Round 2, finished poorly with losses for Seb CAVE (ENG), Henry STYLES (ENG) and Ben BOLTON (ENG).

Match Play Round 1 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Stroke Play Qualifying Play-Off

Played on the 17th and 18th holes at Royal Liverpool G.C. the 21-players-for-10-spots sudden death play-off started at 7.00am.

Hole 1 – 17th

Nils-Levi BOCK (GER) was the only player to birdie the 17th and therefore the first to claim their place in the Match Play Stage.

A further ten players, Loran APPEL (NED), Seb CAVE (ENG), Jack CROUSORE (USA), Wesley HINTON (AUS), Max HOPKINS (ENG), Jaden HUGGINS (USA), Jack LEE (ENG), Emil RIEGGER (GER), Parker SEVERS (USA) and Kuan ZHOU (USA) parred the hole to move onto the 18th hole.

Veigar HEIÐARSSON (ISL), Frazer JONES (ENG), Noah KENT (USA), Luke POULTER (ENG), Drew SYKES (ENG), Gavin TIERNAN (IRL), Miles WENNESTAM (SUI), Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER), Toby WILT (USA) and Andre ZHU (CAN) failed to make par and were eliminated.

Hole 2 – 18th

Max HOPKINS (ENG) was the only player out of the ten remaining to bogey the 18th hole.

Loran APPEL (NED) and Wesley HINTON (AUS) birdied the hole whilst Seb CAVE (ENG), Jack CROUSORE (USA), Jaden HUGGINS (USA), Jack LEE (ENG), Emil RIEGGER (GER), Parker SEVERS (USA) and Kuan ZHOU (USA) all secured their pars to advance.

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Tuesday 16th June 2026

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

The Stroke Play Qualifying Stage saw all 288 competitors play 36 holes over the first two days of the Championship; 18 holes at Royal Liverpool G.C. and 18 holes at West Lancashire G.C. The aim being to finish in the top 64 to earn a place in the Match Play Stage which will start tomorrow.

Wilhelm RYDING (SWE), 21, earned medalist honours with a 135 (-9) total. He shot a 68 (-4) at Royal Liverpool yesterday and a 67 (-5) at West Lancs today. His two rounds included just four bogeys.

Wilhelm Ryding and Stuart Graham (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A/ R&A via Getty Images)

Speaking to The R&A after his round the Swede said “The key to my success has been playing smart. I’ve not hit a lot of drivers. I’ve mostly been hitting 2-irons off the tee to avoid the bunkers. I think I’ve been in only one bunker, and that was a greenside bunker. In this type of golf, if you hit all the fairways, then you’ll have plenty of opportunities. I’ve been good out of the rough when I did miss a fairway, and my putting has been good. It’s all added up to a good couple of days.”

Ben BOLTON (ENG), Ed FEATHERSTONE (ENG), Edwin ASKERFORS (SWE) and Joshua MCCARTAIN (ENG) all finished tied 2nd on 136 (-8). Bolton, the England International who primarily plays out of Enville G.C. in Staffordshire, is also a member at Royal Liverpool so has some course knowledge on his side.

Malan POTGIETER (RSA) produced a brilliant bogey free 9-under 63 at Royal Liverpool, tieing the amateur course record, to bounce back from his disappointing opening 76 yesterday, making the cut easily on -5.

Tomi BOWEN (WAL) enjoyed an 8-under 64 at Hoylake in Round 2 which finished with a rare eagle 2 on the 18th after he holed a 65 yard wedge shot.

Jake FOLEY (IRL) missed out on Match Play but at least had the consolation of a second round hole-in-one on West Lancashire’s 176-yard par-3 12th hole.

At the close of play 75 competitors had finished on -2 or better. With 54 players on -3 or better that left 21 players having to contest a sudden death play-off for the 10 remaining spots in the Match Play Stage.

The average score in Round 2 at Royal Liverpool was 71.67 (-0.23). It was 74.64 (+2.64) in Round 1. The average score in Round 2 at West Lancs was 71.48 (-0.52). It was 75.16 (+3.16) in Round 1.

Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – 2026 Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Results

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Monday 15th June 2026

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

Henry STYLES (ENG), Reserve #2 following Friday’s Pre-Qualifying event, took advantage of his late call up to the field by shooting a 5-under 67, which included seven birdies, in his opening 18 holes at West Lancashire G.C. Styles, now 20, was part of the GB&I side that won the Jacques Leglise Trophy at West Lancs in 2024.

Wilhelm RYDING (SWE), 21, produced the best score at Royal Liverpool G.C. with a 4-under 68. His round included an unblemished back nine of 31.

At the end of Day 1 there were 76 players at par or better.

The average score in Round 1 at Royal Liverpool was 74.64 (+2.64) whilst at West Lancs it was higher at 75.16 (+3.16).

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Field Update

Giedrius MACKELIS (LIT), Reserve #5 and Gavin O’NEILL (IRL), Reserve #6, were called up this morning. A total of 29 players who competed in the Pre-Qualifying event therefore ultimately made it into the final field.

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Sunday 14th June 2026

Field Update

Henry STYLES (ENG), Reserve #2, Harry DICKINS (ENG), Reserve #3, and Ioan ROWE (WAL), Reserve #4, have all been called up to the Championship field.

Styles won the English Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool G.C. (and Wallasey G.C.) last August beating Max HOPKINS (ENG) by 5&4 in the Final. One would have thought the national champion of all countries, let alone the hosting nation, would have been exempt into a 288 player field without the need for pre-qualifying.

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Saturday 13th June 2026

Stroke Play Qualifying Startsheets

Royal Liverpool G.C. member Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG) has been afforded the honour of playing the opening tee shot at this year’s Amateur Championship. He will tee off at his home club at 6.45am on Monday morning.

Up the coast Pre-Qualifying medalist Ben MURRAY (SCO) will open proceedings at West Lancashire G.C. at the same time.

Click here to view the – 2026 Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Startsheets

Field Update

Aron Emil GUNNARSSON (ISL) has been called up to the Championship field from the Reserve list.

Henry STYLES (ENG) is now Reserve #1, Harry DICKINS (ENG) Reserve #2 and Ioan ROWE (WAL) Reserve #3.

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12th June 2026

Pre-Qualifying

The fifth Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying (PE) event started at 7.30am with 72 players competing over 18 holes at West Lancashire G.C. The par 72 course was set up at 6,992 yards.

This field was made up of the 15 highest ranked WAGR players not originally accepted into the Championship field followed by a lowest handicap ballot for the remainder.

23 qualifying spots were available at the commencement of play.

Ben MURRAY (SCO) and Riki MATSUMOTO (JAP) were the leading qualifiers after they recorded 1-under par 71’s around West Lancashire.

18 other players on 74 (+2) or better secured places in The Amateur Championship. Greg HOLMES (ENG), Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO), Colm CAMPBELL JR (IRL), Alexander FARMER (SCO) and Cameron MUKHERJEE (ENG) were amongst this group.

Pre-Qualifying Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

A 9 player for 3 spots play-off saw Keith EGAN (IRL), Ashley MILLINGTON (ENG) and Sam MUKHERJEE (SCO), the third brother to advance, make up the 23.

Irrespective of the play-off results reserve spots, which may become available due to subsequent withdrawals from the Championship over the weekend, will be decided by a card count back from the PQ competition itself. Aron Emil GUNNARSSON (ISL) is therefore Reserve #1, Henry STYLES (ENG) Reserve #2 and Harry DICKINS (ENG) Reserve #3.

Pre-Qualifying Results – Play-Off (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – 2026 Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying Results

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11th June 2026

Preview

The 131st Amateur Championship will be played at Royal Liverpool G.C. and West Lancashire G.C. in north west England on 15th-20th June 2026.

Ahead of the main Championship an 18 hole Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event is being played on 12th June 2026 at West Lancashire G.C.

The Amateur is the most prestigious amateur golf event played outside of the United States and the highlight of the Great British and Irish (GB&I) amateur season.

I will be updating this article as more information becomes available and providing daily reports throughout the Championship.

The Amateur Championship Trophy (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Format

Stroke Play Qualifying

Two rounds of stroke play will be completed on Monday 15th June and Tuesday 16th June to determine a top 64 match play field.

Each contestant will play 18 holes around Royal Liverpool G.C. and West Lancashire G.C. with three-ball tee times between 6.45am and 3.37pm on both days.

Since 2024 a sudden death play-off, rather than a Match Play Preliminary Round, has been used to break ties for the last qualifying place. The play-off will be held on the 17th and 18th holes at Royal Liverpool G.C. on Wednesday (17th), commencing at 7.00am.

Ties for all other match play seedings are resolved by reference to the combined back nines (then six, three and one) from each course.

Match Play Stage

The Match Play stage will be contested between Wednesday 17th and Saturday 20th June solely at Royal Liverpool G.C.

The following Match Play template is used to set up the draw.

Each match will consist of one round of 18 holes except for the Final which will be played over 36 holes. Any tied matches will continue into sudden death extra holes to determine a winner.

Royal Liverpool G.C.

Field

607 entries were received this year with 288 players competing in the 2026 Amateur Championship.

42 countries will be represented with players from Hungary and the United Arab Emirates playing for the first time this year.

278 competitors secured places in the Championship when entries closed on 21st May 2026. These players were drawn from 1) a number of exempt categories covering previous Championship performances and representative team selections and 2) allocated to those highest ranked players 1st-2,000th in the WAGR as at Week 20 2026 (i.e. the Wednesday 13th May release), and then via WHS Handicap index at the date of entry.

At entry players were offered the opportunity to play in a Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event, should they not make the initial line-up, for which a minimum of 5 spots were originally guaranteed – see below.

Click here to view the full – 2026 Amateur Championship Terms of Competition

Pre-Qualifying (PQ)

The R&A are running a PQ event for the fifth time to offer some of the players not allocated an original place in the field an opportunity to earn one.

72 players will contest this 18 hole event at West Lancashire G.C. on 12th June 2026.

This field was made up of the 15 highest ranked WAGR players not originally accepted into the Championship field followed by a lowest handicap ballot for the remainder.

The current number of spots available has already risen from the guaranteed 10 to 23 (as at 5.00pm on Thursday 11th June). This is because 13 players have subsequently withdrawn from the Championship before PQ started.

Amongst the 13 withdrawals were highly ranked Miles RUSSELL (USA) and Árni Gunnlaugur SVEINSSON (ISL) who were both successful in Final Qualifying for next week’s U.S. Open Championship which is being played at Shinnecock Hills G.C.

Ties for the last qualifying places will be decided by a sudden death play-off. However, reserve / alternate spots, due to subsequent late withdrawals from the Championship over the weekend, will be decided by a card count back from PQ.

In previous years the number of playing spots derived from PQ have been – 30 (2022), 34 (2023), 43 (2024) and 31 (2025).

West Lancashire G.C.

Leading Players

Luke POULTER (ENG), WAGR #9, is the lowest ranked player in the Championship.

Daniel BENNETT (RSA) #16, Akina KIHEI (USA) #22, Jack TURNER (USA) #23, Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) #28, Niall SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO) #31, Eliot BAKER (ENG) #35, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #36, Max HERENDEEN (USA) #42 and Adam BRESNU (MOR) #44 are the other players in the WAGR top 50.

The other home players in the WAGR Top 250 competing this year are Stuart GREHAN (IRL) #56, Freddie TURNELL (ENG) #89, Jack WHALEY (ENG) #109, Zach LITTLE (ENG) #120, Harley SMITH (ENG) #121, Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) #130, Josh HILL (SCO) #139, Tom OSBORNE (ENG) #142, Daniel HAYES (ENG) #147, Seb CAVE (ENG) #159, Ben BOLTON (ENG) #162, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #174, Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG) #181 and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) #198.

Host Courses

Royal Liverpool G.C.

Royal Liverpool or Hoylake, a renowned links course situated on The Wirral in Cheshire and founded in 1869, is arguably the most historic course in England. It set out the first rules of amateur status and came up with the idea of staging The Amateur Championship with the inaugural event taking place there in 1885 (44 players from 12 clubs competed).

The club has hosted 19 Amateur Championships (a record), 13 Open Championships, one AIG Women’s Open (2012), two Walker Cups (1983 and 2019), a Curtis Cup (1992), three Women’s Amateur (1896, 1989 and 1990) and five Boys’ Amateurs.

The last Amateur played at Hoylake was in 2000 with Finland’s Mikko Ilonen defeating Christian Reimbold of Germany by 2&1 in the final.

This year the R&A will be playing the course at 7,119 yards with a par of 72 during the event.

West Lancashire G.C.

Founded in 1873 West Lancs is located up the coast in Blundellsands, just a few miles north of Liverpool city centre.

It co-hosted The Amateur with Formby in 2009 and has been a regular and current Open Regional and Final Qualifying venue.

During the Championship the course will play to 7,060 yards and a par of 72.

Schedule

The R&A have laid out the following provisional schedule for the Championship: –

2026 Amateur Championship Schedule (Graphic: The R&A)

Weather Forecast

The Championship is set to be played in reasonably good conditions with sunshine, showers and modest winds expected.

Click here to view the – Latest BBC Weather Forecast for Hoylake, Wirral

With tee times between 6.45am and 3.37pm over the opening two days modest changes in the weather throughout each day will inevitably impact scoring in the stroke play qualifying.

Prizes / Exemptions

A momento (a framed championship flag) is presented by The R&A to the leading player in the stroke play qualifying competition, with any ties for this prize decided on the lowest aggregate score for the second nine holes on both courses (or the last six or three or one if necessary).

The winner of the match play stage will become the Amateur Champion receiving the Championship Trophy and a Gold Medal.

The runner-up receives a Silver Medal and each losing semi-finalist a Bronze Medal.

The winner of The Amateur Championship, on the basis they remain an amateur, will receive the following exemptions / invitations into: –

a) the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale G.C., England on 16-19 July 2026;

b) the 2027 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C., Georgia on 8-11 April 2027;

c) the 2027 U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach G.L., California on 17-20 June 2027; and

d) a DP World Tour event (to be determined).

The Runner-Up will be given one of the 12 places in the inaugural Last Chance Qualifier for The Open event scheduled to take place on Monday 13th July.

The two losing Semi-Finalists and four losing Quarter finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will be exempt into Final Qualifying for the 2026 Open Championship.

The Open Championship Amateur Series Winner

For the fourth year The R&A will be running The Open Championship Amateur Series.

The player who gains the most WAGR points in the 2026 St. Andrews Links Trophy (5-7 June), Amateur Championship (15-20 June) and European Amateur Championship (24-27 June) will earn an exemption into the forthcoming Open at Royal Birkdale G.C.

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Cameron ADAM (SCO) earned this exemption in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively.

2026 St. Andrews Trophy and Walker Cup GB&I Team Selection

Should a Great Britain & Ireland player win the Amateur Championship they are guaranteed a place on the GB&I Walker Cup team for the match against USA in September.

More Information

Click here to view the – R&A Amateur Championship Official Website

The Quarter Finals, Semi-Finals and Final of the match play stage will be live streamed on The R&A TV & You Tube channels as well as being shown on Sky TV in the UK.

2025 Amateur Championship

Match Play Stage

Ethan FANG (USA), then aged 20, won the 130th Amateur Championship at Royal St. George’s G.C. beating Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) by 1 Hole in the 36 hole Final.

Ethan Fang Holds The Amateur Championship Trophy (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Click here to view the – 2025 Amateur Championship Match Play Results

Stroke Play Qualifying

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) claimed medalist honours at The Amateur Championship with a 133 (-9) total.

Graham became just the third player to win the Stroke Play Qualifying competition in two consecutive years since it was introduced in 1983. The other two cases happened immediately after this format change was made; Philip Parkin (WAL) in 1983-84 and Dana Banke (USA) in 1985-86.

Charlie Maran Presents Medalist Connor Graham With His Flag (Photo: Oisin Kenny / R&A / R&a via Getty Images)

59 players finished on 140 (-2) or better after their 36 holes at Royal St. George’s G.C. (par 70) and Royal Cinque Ports G.C. (par 72).

A sizeable 24-for-5 spots sudden death play-off was therefore required to sort out which of the players who finished on 141 (-1) advanced.

89 players (31%) from GB&I competed in the 2025 Amateur Championship in Kent.

Click here to view the – 2025 Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Results

31 players ultimately advanced from the 72 who contested the Pre-Qualifying event.

Click here to view the – 2025 Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying Results

For more information on last year’s Championship please click here – The Amateur Championship – 2025 Preview & Results Article

A Short History of The Amateur

The Amateur Championship was first played in April 1885 at Royal Liverpool G.C. Allan Macfie (SCO) was the first champion beating Horace Hutchinson (ENG) 7&6 in the Final.

Up until the Second World War it was a hugely prestigious event and in many of these early years was afforded a much higher standing in the game than The Open Championship. Players like Johnny Ball (ENG), Harold Hilton (ENG) and Freddie Tait (SCO) were all amateurs and as good if not better than most of the professionals of the day.

With only modest rewards available in the professional game many of the better players simply stayed amateur. The great American Bobby Jones, who won The Amateur in 1930 on the way to his Grand Slam, remains the most well known career amateur.

Even after the war players remained amateur for much longer and famous names like Frank Stranahan (USA), Joe Carr (IRE), Sir Michael Bonallack (ENG), Peter McEvoy (ENG) and Gary Wolstenholme (ENG) all built their reputations on Amateur Championship wins.

With the growth and transformation of the professional game from the early 1980s onwards both the better players and the media increasingly started to turn their backs on the amateur game.

Any continuity has been lost over the last 30 years and most of the young golfing stars of today rarely play any more than 2 or 3 Amateurs before being lured into the pro ranks by the potentially huge rewards on offer.

Past Winners

The greatest player in the history of The Amateur is Johnny Ball. The Hoylake man won the Championship a record 8 times between 1888 and 1912.

Only three other players have won the competition more than twice; Sir Michael Bonallack (5), Harold Hilton (4) and Joe Carr (3). Bonallack amazingly won it three years in a row between 1968-1970. The last person to retain The Amateur was Peter McEvoy in 1977 and ’78.

Prior to Ethan FANG‘s (USA) win in 2025 the previous 10 winners of The Amateur Championship were: –

2024  Jacob Skov Olesen (DEN) – Ballyliffin G.C.
2023  Christo Lamprecht (RSA) – Hillside G.C.
2022  Aldrich Potgieter (RSA) – Royal Lytham and St. Annes G.C.
2021  Laird Shepherd (ENG) – Nairn G.C.
2020  Joe Long (ENG) – Royal Birkdale G.C.
2019  James Sugrue (IRL) – Portmarnock G.C.
2018  Jovan Rebula (RSA) – Royal Aberdeen G.C.
2017  Harry Ellis (ENG) – Royal St. George’s G.C.
2016  Scott Gregory (ENG) – Royal Porthcawl G.C.
2015  Romain Langasque (FRA) – Carnoustie G.C.

A great achievement and honour for all of the players listed above. However, looking through the names reminds us of how incredibly tough golf is and that wins in the biggest amateur events are no guarantee of success in the professional game.

Excluding Ethan Fang, who is expected to turn pro shortly, the most recent Amateur champion not to have subsequently turned professional is Scotland’s Stuart Wilson who won at St Andrews in 2004.

Click here to view a complete list of – Past Amateur Championship Winners

Click here to view a complete list of – Past Amateur Stroke Play Qualifying Medalists

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2026 Preview & Results

Posted on by

7th June 2026

Rounds 3 and 4

Rounds of 67 and 70 on the final day ensured 18 year old Lev GRINBERG (FRA) became just the fifth overseas winner of the St. Andrews Links Trophy. His 269 (-18) final score was good enough for a 7-shot victory.

Lev Grinberg (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

Melvin MULLER (NED) finished 2nd on -11 and Rodolphe CICALA (FRA) -9 finished 3rd on count back.

Fionn DOBBIN (IRL) was the highest finishing GB&I player in 7th place 0n -7, again after count back. Connor GRAHAM (SCO) 10th and Freddie TURNELL (ENG) 11th also finished on the same score.

The 47 remaining players produced average scores of 72.17 (+0.17) in both Rounds 3 and 4.

Final Results (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2026 St. Andrews Links Trophy Leaderboard

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6th June 2026

Round 2

Lev GRINBERG (FRA) will take a 2-shot lead into the final day of the 2026 St. Andrews Links Trophy after a 66 in Round 2.

Melvin MULLER (NED) -9 moved up into 2nd after recording the best round of the day; a 7-under 65 which was only matched by his compatriot Loran APPEL. Appel birdied six holes in a row on the way to his score – the 2nd to the 7th.

Connor GRAHAM (SCO), the leading GB&I player, and Mischa CANDINAS (SUI) -7 are tied 3rd with Stefan JACOBS (RSA) and Veikka VISKARI (FIN) one shot further back in tied 5th place.

The average Round 2 score on the Old Course was 73.33 (+1.33) with 64 players posting a par or better score on Day 2.

At the close of play 47 players made the top 40 and ties 36 hole cut which fell at 142 (-1).

Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

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5th June 2026

Round 1

Veikka VISKARI (FIN), Mischa CANDINAS (SUI), Filippo PONZANO (ITA) and Rodolphe CICALA (FRA)  all recorded 6-under 65’s on the New Course to share the early St. Andrews Links Trophy lead.

George CANNON (SCO) -4, Finlay GALLOWAY (SCO) and Dominic MCGLINCHEY (SCO) both -3 are the best of the GB&I contingent in Fife.

The average Round 1 score on the New Course was 71.73 (+0.73) with 66 players posting a par or better score on Day 1.

Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

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3rd June 2026

144 golfers will tee off on Friday 5th June in the 37th St. Andrews Links Trophy competition.

This three day event has become one of the ‘majors’ in men’s amateur golf helped by its venue and timing.

I will be updating this article with daily reports once play gets underway.

Competition Format

The Links Trophy is a 72 hole scratch stroke play competition played annually over the St. Andrews Links in early June.

The field is primarily determined by reference to the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and finished off with various National Golf Union and St. Andrews Links Trust nominations.

The Old Course (Photo: St. Andrews Links – The Home of Golf)

This year Round 1 will be played on the New Course and Round 2 on the Old Course. The Jubilee Course is sometimes used for Round 1 as it was last year.

The New Course plays 6,681 yards to a par of 71. The front nine is 3,302 yards (par 36) long whilst the tougher back nine is 3,379 yards (par 35). It has a Course Rating of 73.3 and a Slope of 132.

The Old Course has been set up at 7,190 yards for the event and has a par of 72. Both nines have a par of 36 and have similar yardages – the front is 3,554 yards long whilst the back is longer at 3,636 yards. It has a Course Rating of 75.7 and a Slope of 143.

Following a top 40 and ties cut on Saturday the leading players will play a final 36 holes on the Old Course on Sunday.

The winner will be the player who returns the lowest 72 hole aggregate score.

In the event of a tie a sudden death play-off will be held over holes 1 and 18 on the Old Course.

Ties for all other places will be decided by count back – the lowest score for the last 18 holes or the last 9 or 6 or 3 or 1 hole if necessary.

The Field

As the NCAA Division I National Championship ends a week later this year (on 3rd June 2026) the field will be missing a number of Great Britain & Ireland’s leading players.

28 different countries will be represented in Fife in 2026.

The highest ranked players in the field are Eliot BAKER (ENG) #35, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #37, Stuart GREHAN (IRL) #47,  Segundo OLIVA PINTO (ARG) #59, Milan POTGIETER (RSA) #64, Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) #66, Alfons BONDESSON (SWE) #69, Lev GRINBERG (FRA) #83, Freddie TURNELL (ENG) #92, Wolfgang GLAWE (GER) #95, Emil RIEGGER (GER) #102, Harley SMITH (ENG) #103, Zach LITTLE (ENG) #104, Mateo PULCINI (ITA) #108, Filippo PONZANO (ITA) #110, Tom OSBORNE (ENG) #113, Jack BUCHANAN (RSA) 129, TAISEI NAGASAKI (JAP) #134, Seb CAVE (ENG) #149 and Kayan MUDADANA (AUS) #151.

Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2026 St. Andrews Links Trophy Tee Times

Weather Forecast (as at Wednesday 3rd June)

The current weather forecast looks poor; cool with rain and strong winds expected every day.

Friday 5th June – Light Rain. Wind 19 mph SW. Temp. Min. 9°C / Max. 16°C.
Saturday 6th June – Light Rain. Wind 19 mph SE. Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 15°C.
Sunday 7th June – Light Rain Showers. Wind 21 mph SW. Temp. Min. 9°C / Max. 16°C.

Tee times in Rounds 1 and 2 will start at 7.00am and end at 3.10pm so as with any links course the draw could play a part in proceedings.

Prizes

The winner receives The St Andrews Links Trophy and a commemorative medal.

The runner-up and third place finisher also receive medals.

Reducing cash prizes from £700 to £125 are also awarded to the top 10 finishers.

In addition to the main prizes The Ian Forbes Memorial Cup is awarded for the best aggregate score on the first two days of the Championship, together with £150 cash.

The Open Championship

Introduced in 2023 The Open Amateur Series, which offers an exemption into The Open Championship, is again being run by The R&A.

The player who gains the most WAGR points in the 2025 St. Andrews Links Trophy, Amateur Championship and European Amateur Championship will earn a spot at Royal Birkdale in July.

Competition Website

For more information click here to view the – 2026 St. Andrews Links Trophy Tournament Website

Click here to view the – 2026 St. Andrews Links Trophy Leaderboard

2025 St. Andrews Links Trophy

Cameron ADAM (SCO) won the 2025 St. Andrews Links Trophy after a sudden death play-off with John DOYLE (IRL). Adam won on the first play-off hole – the 1st on the Old Course – with a two putt par 4 after the young Irishman three putt bogeyed the hole.

Adam and Doyle both finished the 72 hole tournament on 271 (-17).

Cameron Adam (Photo: Adam Family)

Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) -14 finished 3rd, Harley SMITH (ENG) -12 4th, Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) -12 5th, Christiaan MAAS (RSA) -11 6th, Ugo MALCOR (FRA) -11 7th and Thomas HIGGINS -11 8th.

2025 St. Andrews Links Trophy – Top 20 Results (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2025 St. Andrews Links Trophy Results

Past Winners

Click here to view a full list of the – St Andrews Links Trophy Past Winners

Only Craig WATSON (1992 and 1998), the former GB&I Walker Cup captain, and Barclay HOWARD (1994 and 1996) have won the title twice.

The most famous winner is Justin ROSE who won in 1997.

Interestingly given the normally cosmopolitan nature of the fields the Links Trophy has only been won by players from outside GB&I on four occasions – Australia’s Stuart BOVIER (1990), Daan HUIZING from The Netherlands (2012), Federico ZUCCHETTI from Italy (2015) and Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) from Australia (2022).

Huizing, who had won the 2012 Lytham Trophy by 11 shots just a few weeks earlier, set a scoring record of -23 in 2012 (65 New, 64, 68 and 67 all Old) and won by an astonishing 14 shots.

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All Rights Reserved.

NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship – 2026 Preview & Results

Posted on by

3rd June 2026

MATCH PLAY STAGE

FINAL

AUBURN (1) beat UCLA (7) 4-1 in the Final to win the 2026 NCAA Division I National Golf Championship played at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in California.

Auburn (Photo: Auburn Men’s Golf / Zach Bland)

Having also won the title in 2024 this was the Tigers second win in the last three years.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – 2026 MATCH PLAY – TEAM

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2nd June 2026

MATCH PLAY STAGE 

ROUND 2 (PM)

UCLA (7) beat ARIZONA (6) whilst AUBURN (1) white washed defending champions OKLAHOMA STATE (5) in the afternoon semi-finals at La Costa.

Match Play Round 2 Team Results (Graphic: Scoreboard / NCAA)

ROUND 1 (AM)

AUBURN (seeded 1), TEXAS (2), VANDERBILT (3), FLORIDA (4), OKLAHOMA STATE (5), ARIZONA (6), UCLA (7) and STANFORD (8) were the leading eight teams who progressed to the Match Play Stage of the NCAA Division I National Championship.

In Round 1 medalists AUBURN (1) beat STANFORD (8) but the remaining games all went to the lower qualifier; ARIZONA (6), UCLA (7) and defending champions OKLAHOMA STATE (5) all advancing.

GB&I’s only remaining player, Luke POULTER (ENG), lost by 6&4, to Eric LEE (USA) as Florida’s Championship ended in defeat to Oklahoma State.

Match Play Round 1 Team Results (Graphic: Scoreboard / NCAA)

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – 2026 MATCH PLAY – TEAM

ME.

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1st June 2026

STROKE PLAY STAGE 

TEAM

AUBURN (-26) earned medalist honours at the NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship being played at Omni La Costa in California.

TEXAS (-23), VANDERBILT (-12), FLORIDA (-11), OKLAHOMA STATE (-11), ARIZONA (-3), STANFORD (-2) and UCLA (-2) also advanced to the top 8 Match Play Stage.

Florida enjoyed a final round -12 score and Stanford a -4 score to rise six and four places respectively on the team leaderboard and into the qualifying spots.

NORTH CAROLINA (-2), TENNESSEE (-2), VIRGINIA (+1), LSU (+3), DUKE (+4), OKLAHOMA (+5) and SAN DIEGO (+24), the other teams that made the top 15 54 hole +2 cut, missed out.

North Carolina and Tennessee lost out in a four-for-two play-off which saw Stanford and UCLA advance after all four teams finished with a -2 total, a record low match play cut line. The play-off involved each team sending a player to play holes 1, 15, 16, 17 and 18 with the aggregate team score then being used to break the tie. Stanford played the five holes in Even par, UCLA in +1 and North Carolina and Tennessee in +2.

Stroke Play Round 3 Team Scores (Graphic: Scoreboard / NCAA)

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – 2026 STROKE PLAY – TEAM

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – 2026 STROKE PLAY – TEAM PLAY-OFF

INDIVIDUAL

Preston STOUT (USA / Oklahoma State) won the NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship Individual title with a 274 (-14) total.

After a nervy finish which included bogeys on 12, 14 and 17 Stout needed a birdie on the 18th hole to finish 1-shot ahead of William JENNINGS (USA / Alabama IND.).

The victory earns Stout an exemption into this years U.S. Open Championship as well as the 2027 Masters Invitational so long as he remains an amateur.

Preston Stout (Photo: OSU Cowboy Golf)

Josiah GILBERT (USA / Auburn) finished 3rd on -11 with Will HARTMAN (USA / Vanderbilt) & Filip JAKUBCIK (CZH / Arizona) tied 4th on -10.

Jack WHALEY (ENG / Florida State) and Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG / Purdue), who both played the final round as individuals as their teams missed the 54 hole cut, were the best of the GB&I group. Whaley was tied 14th on -6 and Easterbrook tied 16th on -5.

Dan HAYES (ENG / LSU) produced the best round of the Stroke Play Stage with a 64 (-8) in Round 3, a new tournament record at La Costa.

Stroke Play Leading Individual Results (Graphic: Scoreboard / NCAA)

Here are the Individual results / positions for all of the GB&I players: –

Made The 54 Hole Stroke Play Cut
JACK WHALEY (ENG / FLORIDA STATE) 72, 68, 73, 69 (-6) T14
SAM EASTERBROOK (ENG / PURDUE) 72, 73, 68, 70 (-5) T16
DAN HAYES (ENG / LSU) 76, 75, 64, 73 (Ev) T32
LUKE POULTER (ENG / FLORIDA) 76, 74, 68, 71 (+1) T39
NIALL SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO / NORTH CAROLINA) 69, 73, 72, 76 (+2) T42
JOSH HILL (ENG / TENNESSEE) 74, 72, 74, 72 (+4) T49
MATTY DODD-BERRY (ENG / LSU) 75, 72, 69, 77 (+5) T58
OLIVER MUKHERJEE (SCO / DUKE) 72, 77, 72, 76 (+9) T70

Missed The 54 Hole Stroke Play Cut
JENSON FORRESTER (ENG / PURDUE) 72, 71, 74 (+1) T55 (after 54 holes)
JAKE WALLIS (ENG / ARKANSAS STATE) 73, 73, 77 (+7) T102
MILAN REED (ENG /ARKANSAS STATE) 74, 74, 75 (+7) T102
JACK BIGHAM (ENG / FLORIDA STATE) 80, 72, 72 (+8) T109
CIAN O’CONNOR (IRL / MEMPHIS) 80, 76, 76 (+16) T146

Team Substitutes / Did Not Play
SAM MUKHERJEE (SCO / DUKE) SUB / DNP
ADAM BUCHANAN (IRL / LOUISVILLE) SUB / DNP
TYLER WEAVER (ENG / FLORIDA STATE) SUB / DNP

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – 2026 STROKE PLAY – INDIVIDUAL

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26th May 2026

The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s National Golf Championship will be played at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California on 29th-3rd June 2026.

This is the third of three NCAA National Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships that will be staged at La Costa.

A former long time PGA Tour stop off the North Course was recently re-designed by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner with the two 2024 NCAA Golf Championships marking its official re-opening.

The men’s course will play 7,538 yards with a par of 72.

30 5-man teams and 6 individuals not on those teams qualified to play through six Regional events played on 12th-14th May. To learn more about these Regionals please read my earlier article – NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2026 Preview & Results

At the National Championships 54 holes of stroke play will be played on 29th-31st May. A cut will then take place which will see the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on those teams play a final 18 holes on 1st June. Team scores in the stroke play stage are based on a best four from five players cumulative total. After 72 holes an Individual champion is crowned with the leading 8 teams progressing to a match play stage. Seeded match play will then take place on 2nd-3rd June to determine the Team national champions.

I will be providing daily reports on play when the Championship gets underway.

img_4771

Here is a list of the teams and individuals along with their Regional site results in brackets.

There are 16 players from Great Britain & Ireland, three of whom started as substitutes, competing this year; they are highlighted in blue below.

TEAMS (30)

Arizona (Marana, 1st)

Arizona State (Columbus, 4th)

Arkansas (Corvallis, 3rd)

Arkansas State (Marana, Tied 4th) – MILAN REED (ENG), JAKE WALLIS (ENG)

Auburn (Athens, 3rd)

BYU (Athens, 4th)

Chattanooga (Bryan, 3rd)

Duke (Marana, Tied 4th) – OLLIE MUKHERJEE (SCO), SAM MUKHERJEE (SCO) SUB

Florida (Columbus, 1st) – LUKE POULTER (ENG)

Florida State (Columbus, 5th) – JACK BIGHAM (ENG), JACK WHALEY (ENG), TYLER WEAVER (ENG) SUB

Georgia (Athens, 5th)

Louisville (Athens, 2nd) – ADAM BUCHANAN (IRL) SUB

LSU (Marana, 3rd) – MATTY DODD-BERRY (ENG), DAN HAYES (ENG)

Memphis (Columbus, 3rd) – CIAN O’CONNOR (IRL)

Mississippi State (Bermuda Run, 5th)

North Carolina (Bryan, 4th) – NIALL SHEILS DONEGAN (SCO)

Oklahoma (Corvallis, 1st)

Oklahoma State (Marana, 2nd)

Ole Miss (Bermuda Run, 3rd)

Pepperdine (Bermuda Run, 2nd)

Purdue (Corvallis, 4th) – SAM EASTERBROOK (ENG), JENSON FORRESTER (ENG)

San Diego (Corvallis, 5th after a play-off with Liberty)

Stanford (Columbus, 2nd)

Tennessee (Bryan, 5th) – JOSH HILL (ENG)

Texas (Bryan, 1st)

Texas A&M (Bryan, 2nd)

UCLA (Corvallis, 2nd)

USC (Bermuda Run, 4th)

Vanderbilt (Athens, 1st)

Virginia (Bermuda Run, 1st)

INDIVIDUALS

William Jennings – USA / Alabama (Marana, Tied 1st)

Jacob Lang – USA / Kentucky (Bermuda Run, Tied 5th)

Michael Lugiano – USA / Liberty (Corvallis, 1st)

Malan Potgieter – RSA / Louisiana (Athens, Tied 1st)

Jorge Martin Sampedro – ESP / UTRGV Bryan, 10th)

Steen Zeman – USA / Long Beach State – (Columbus, 5th)

SUB = Substitute / NS = Not Selected

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2025 Results

TEAM

OKLAHOMA STATE (4) won the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship at Omni La Costa, beating VIRGINIA (7) 4.0-1.0 in the Final.

This was The Cowboys 12th national title placing them tied 3rd alongside Princeton. Only Yale with 21 wins and Houston with 16 now lie ahead of them in the all-time list.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – 2025 MATCH PLAY – TEAM

Oklahoma State (Photo: Oklahoma State Men’s Golf Team)

ARIZONA STATE earned medalist honours in the Stroke Play Qualifying Stage with a -14 total team score. The other seven Match Play spots were taken by AUBURN (-12) 2nd, FLORIDA (-9) 3rd, OKLAHOMA STATE (-1) 4th, OKLAHOMA (Ev) 5th, TEXAS (+5) 6th, VIRGINIA (+9) 7th and OLE MISS. (+11) 8th.

INDIVIDUAL

Junior Michael LA SASSO (USA / Ole Miss.) -11 won the NCAA Division I Individual National Championship title.

His victory earned him an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Open Championship and the 2026 Masters Invitational. He gave up the latter when he turned pro in early 2026 to join the LIV Golf League.

Michael La Sasso (Photo: PGA Tour University)

Phichaksn MAICHON (THA / Texas A&M) -9 finished 2nd, Preston STOUT (USA / Oklahoma State) -7 3rd and Jackson KOIVUN (USA / Auburn) & Josele  BALLESTER (ESP / Arizona State) -6 tied 4th.

Here are the final Individual scores / positions for all of the GB&I players who competed: –

CALUM SCOTT (SCO / TEXAS TECH) 77, 71, 71, 71 (+2) T27
LUKE POULTER (ENG / FLORIDA) 70, 70, 75, 76 (+3) T32
TYLER WEAVER (ENG / FLORIDA STATE) 74, 74, 72, 73 (+5) T44
CONNOR GRAHAM (SCO / TEXAS TECH) 72, 75, 73, 74 (+6) T50
JACK BIGHAM (ENG / FLORIDA STATE) 73, 72, 79, 77 (+13) T70

ZACH LITTLE (ENG / UNLV) 75, 71, 73 (+3) T36 MISSED CUT
OLIVER CAGE (ENG / NEW MEXICO) 74, 74, 79 (+11) T101 MISSED CUT
JOSH HILL (ENG / TENNESSEE) 78, 73, 77 (+12) T108 MISSED CUT
SAM EASTERBROOK (ENG / PURDUE) 82, 75, 77 (+18) T139 MISSED CUT
JENSON FORRESTER (ENG / PURDUE) 84, 71, 80 (+19) T144 MISSED CUT
SEAN KEELING (IRL / TEXAS TECH) SUB (N/A)

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – 2025 STROKE PLAY – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2026, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.