This page notes some of the more memorable amateur playing performances in amateur events, major championships and on professional tours.

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Amateur Who Have Won The Open

3 – Bobby Jones (USA) – 1926 Royal Lytham & St. Annes, 1927 St. Andrews, 1930 Royal Liverpool
2 – Harold Hilton (ENG) – 1892 Muirfield, 1897 Royal Liverpool
1 – John Ball Jr (ENG) – 1890 Prestwick

Amateurs Who Have Been Runner-Up

John Ball Jr (ENG) – 1892 Muirfield
John E. Laidlay (SCO) – 1893 Prestwick
Roger Wethered (ENG) – 1921 St. Andrews (after 36 hole play-off)
Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1947 Royal Liverpool
Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1953 Carnoustie

Most Recent Top 10 Finish By An Amateur

Jordan Niebrugge (USA) – 2015 St. Andrews T6th
Chris Wood (ENG) – 2008 Royal Birkdale 5th
Justin Rose (ENG) – 1998 Royal Birkdale

Lowest Total By An Amateur

Jordan Niebrugge (USA) – 277; 67, 73, 67, 70 -11

Lowest Individual Round By An Amateur

65 – Tom Lewis (ENG) – 2011 Royal St. George’s
65 – Matthias Schmid (GER) – 2021 Royal St. George’s

Lowest First Round By An Amateur

65 – Tom Lewis (ENG) – 2011 Royal St. George’s

Lowest Second Round By An Amateur

65 – Matthias Schmid (GER) – 2021 Royal St. George’s

Lowest Third Round By An Amateur 

66 – Paul Dunne (IRL) – 2015 St. Andrews

Lowest Final Round By An Amateur

66 – Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1950 Troon

Winners Of The Silver Medal

Click here to read my article – The Open Championship’s Silver Medal

_______________________________________

THE MASTERS

Click here to read my article – The Masters – Amateur Records

_______________________________________

U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Low Amateur Honours in the Masters Invitational and U.S. Open Championship In The Same Year

Neal Shipley (USA) – 2024
Viktor Hovland (NOR) – 2019
Matt Kuchar (USA) – 1998
Phil Mickelson (USA) – 1991
Sam Randolph (USA) – 1986
Jack Nicklaus (USA) – 1960
Ken Venturi (USA) – 1956
E. Harvie Ward (USA) – 1955
Billy Joe Patton (USA) – 1954

_______________________________________

THE PGA TOUR

Amateur Wins On The PGA TOUR (Since 1940)

Nick Dunlap (USA)^1 2 – 2024 American Express
Phil Mickelson (USA) – 1991 Northern Telecom Open
Scott Verplank (USA) – 1985 Western Open
Doug Sanders (USA) – 1956 Canadian Open
Gene Littler (USA) – 1954 San Diego Open
Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1948 Miami Open
Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1946 Fort Worth Invitational
Frank Stranahan (USA) – 1946 Kansas City Invitational Victory Bond Golf Tournament
Frank Stranahan (USA) –  1945 Durham War Bond Tournament
Cary Middlecoff (USA) – 1945 North & South Championship
Fred Haas (USA) – 1945 Memphis Invitational

Nick Dunlap (Photo: Ray Acevedo)

¹ Nick Dunlap (d.o.b. 23/12/03), a sophomore at the University of Alabama who had just turned 20, won on 21st January 2024. He became the youngest amateur and second youngest player ever, behind Jordan Speith, to win on the PGA TOUR. Whilst Dunlap gave up a first prize cheque of $1.512m he did rise to 1st in WAGR and 68th, from 4,129th, in the OWGR. The American Express was Dunlap’s fourth PGA TOUR event (two of which were U.S. Opens) – he missed the cut in all of his previous outings – and in the third round shot an 11-under 60 at La Quinta C.C., the joint lowest by an amateur on Tour. Tiger Woods and he are the only two players to have won both the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship (2021) and the U.S. Amateur Championship (2023). However, Woods never won a PGA TOUR event as an amateur

² Nick Dunlap went on to also win the Barracuda Championship, also in California, on 21st July 2024, thus becoming the first player to win both as an amateur and as a professional on the PGA TOUR. This time he happily received the prize money of $0.720m

Littler, Verplank, Mickelson, Dunlap and Lee were all the reigning U.S. Amateur champion at the times of their wins.

Amateur Top 10s in a PGA TOUR Season

4 – Luke Clanton (USA) – 2024 [Rocket Mortgage Classic (27-30 June 2024, T10, -14), John Deere Classic (4-7 July 2024, T2, -24), Wyndham Championship (8-11 August 2024, 5th, -14), The RSM Classic (21-24 November 2024, T2 -15)]
3 – Jackson Koivun (USA) – 2025 [ISCO Championship (10-13 July 2025, T6, -5), Wyndham Championship (31-3 August 2025, T5, -14, Procore Championship (11-14 September 2025, T4, -16)]
3 – Jack Nicklaus (USA) – 1961 [U.S. Masters (7-10 April 1961, T7, -1), U.S. Open (14-17 June 1961, T4, +4, Milwaukee Open Invitational (20-23 July 1961, T6, -5)]
3 – Ken Venturi (USA) – 1956 [Phoenix Open (2-5 February 1956, T6, -10, U.S. Masters (5-8 April 1956, 2nd, +2), U.S. Open (13-16 June 1956, 8th, +9)]
2 – Billy Joe Patton (USA) – U.S. Open (12-15 June 1957, T8, +10) and U.S. Masters (3-6 April 1958, 8th, Ev)

Youngest Amateur Players To Make a PGA TOUR Cut

Tianlang Guan (CHN) – 14 years, 5 months and 19 days at the 2013 Masters Invitational
Tianlang Guan (CHN) – 14 years,  6 months and 2 days at the 2013 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Bob Panasik (CAN) – 15 years, 8 months and 20 days at the 1957 Canadian Open
Tadd Fujikawa (USA) – 16 years and 4 days at the 2007 Sony Open
Matteo Manassero (ITA) – 16 years, 2 months and 29 days at the 2009 Open Championship
Justin Thomas (USA) – 16 years, 3 months and 27 days at the 2009 Wyndham Championship
Kris Kim (ENG) – 16 years, 7 months and 3 days at the 2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson
Kyle Suppa (USA) – 16 years, 8 months and 4 days at the 2015 Sony Open
Jordan Spieth (USA) – 16 years, 9 months and 26 days at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship
Matteo Manassero (ITA) – 16 years, 11 months and 22 days at the 2010 Masters Invitational

_______________________________________

THE DP WORLD TOUR

Amateur Wins On The European / DP World Tour

Shane Lowry (IRL) ¹ – 2009 Irish Open Championship
Danny Lee (NZL) ² – 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic (AUS)
Pablo Martin Benavides (ESP) ³  – 2007 Estoril Open de Portugal

Shane Lowry (Photo: Matt Browne)

¹ Just 12 events after Lee’s success Shane Lowry won his national open at Baltray aged 22.

² Danny Lee, the 2008 U.S. Amateur champion, became the youngest ever amateur to win on a professional tour when he took the Johnnie Walker title aged 18 years and 213 days old.

³ 20 year old Pablo Martin Benavides was studying at Oklahoma State University, by coincidence the same college as Scott Verplank (see PGA Tour table above), when he became the first amateur to win on the European Tour.

_______________________________________

USGA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tiger WOODS (USA) won three consecutive U.S. Junior Amateurs (1991-1993) followed by three straight U.S. Amateurs (1994-1996). He has an overall USGA match play record of P45-W43-L3

_______________________________________

MEMORABLE AMATEUR PERFORMANCES

Cristiaan MAAS (RSA) – 34th WATC Eisenhower Trophy (SNP) – October 2025
Individual 1st 66, 66, 65, 69 = 266, -22 – Won by 10 shots from Declan O’Donovan (AUS) -12
This was the second-lowest Individual mark in championship history. Jon RAHM (ESP) holds the lowest score with his 263 (-23) at Karuizawa, Japan in 2014, albeit he only won by 3-shots.

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) – Scottish Men’s Open Championship, Muirfield – June 2024
1st 68, 65, 65, 62 = 260, -24 – Won by 17 shots from Jordan Burnand (RSA) -17

James HEATH (ENG) – The Lytham Trophy, Royal Lytham & St. Annes – May 2004
1st 67, 68, 66, 65 = 266, -18 – Won by 8 shots from Ross Fisher (ENG) -10

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2025, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.