The European Tour’s FINAL STAGE QUALIFYING event at Lumine Golf Club in Tarragona, Spain came to a conclusion on Thursday 15th November 2018.
A total of six rounds were played. The first 72 holes were played on Lumine’s Lakes and Hills Courses, the field switching between the two on a daily basis. The final 36 holes were played solely on the Lakes Course.
156 players from 28 countries started the event. 59 of them were exempt due to past performances, 95 were Second Stage Q-School qualifiers and 2 were Second Stage Alternates (Will ENEFER ENG and David COOKE USA).
77 players, including 18 from Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I), made the top 70 and ties cut which fell at 280 (-6) after 72 holes. In achieving this these players all secured full Category 15 Challenge Tour membership for 2019 and a lower membership category on the European Tour.
Following the final 36 holes 27 players finished in the all important top 25 to earn full Category 17 2019 European Tour cards. Of these just 5 were from GB&I. Well done to Scott GREGORY (ENG), Daniel GAVINS (ENG), Marc WARREN (SCO), Gavin MOYNIHAN (IRE) and Ben EVANS (ENG).
20 year old Norwegian amateur Kristoffer REITAN was amongst the 8 players who finished tied 20th to secure the final cards. A well deserved switch to the professional ranks can now only be days away for him.
Alejandro CAÑIZARIES (ESP) and Zander LOMBARD (RSA) finished tied 1st with a 404 (-24) final score. Impressive scoring under the most extreme pressure. They both earned €13,750 each. A final 18 hole card play-off means the Spaniard will have the No. 1 Q-School card.
I have been following all of the 52 GB&I players this week as well as a few selected overseas competitors (in green). The list below shows how they all finished, along with their qualification information: –
PLAYERS T25 OR BETTER EARNING A EUROPEAN TOUR CARD
T1 -24 Alejandro CAÑIZARIES(ESP) – Las Colinas 2nd Q
T1 -24 Zander LOMBARD (RSA) – 2018 RTRAK 19th Q
T3 -23 Kurt KITAYAMA (USA) – Hardelot 1st (Winner) / Las Colinas 2nd Q
5th -22 Romain LANGASQUE (FRA) – 2018 RTRAK 19th Q
T11 -19 Scott GREGORY (ENG) – The Players 1st / Alenda 2nd Q
T13 -18 Deyen LAWSON (AUS) – Desert Springs 2nd (Winner) Q
T13 -18 Daniel GAVINS (ENG) – Frilford 1st / El Encin 2nd Q
19th -17 Marc WARREN (SCO) – 2018 RTD 131st / ET Career Earnings 69th Q
T20 -16 Gavin MOYNIHAN (IRE) – Desert Springs 2nd Q
T20 -16 Kristoffer REITAN (NOR)AM– Stoke By Nayland 1st / Las Colinas 2nd Q
T20 -16 Ben EVANS (ENG) – El Encin 2nd Q
PLAYERS FINISHING T70 OR BETTER WHO MADE THE CUT
T28 -15 Duncan STEWART (SCO) – Las Colinas 2nd
T28 -15 Josh GEARY (AUS) – El Encin 2nd (Winner)
T28 -15 Cormac SHARVIN (NI) – El Encin 2nd
T28 -15 Joe DEAN (ENG) – Alenda 2nd (Winner)
T28 -15 Christian BRAEUNIG (GER) – Las Colinas 2nd (Winner)
T37 -14 David BOOTE (WAL) – Frilford 1st / El Encin 2nd
T37 -14 Chris HANSON (ENG) – 2018 RTD 164th
T57 -10 Laurie CANTER (ENG) – 2018 RTD 155th
T57 -10 Connor SYME (SCO) – 2018 RTD 127th
T63 -9 Nick MCCARTHY (ENG) – Hardelot 1st / Alenda 2nd
T63 -9 Craig ROSS (SCO) – Fleesensee 1st / Alenda 2nd
T67 -8 Jonathan THOMSON (ENG) – 2018 RTD 148th
T67 -8 Ryan EVANS (ENG) – 2018 RTD 149th
71st -7 Paul MADDY (ENG) – Las Colinas 2nd
T73 -3 Jamie ABBOTT (ENG) – Stoke By Nayland 1st (Winner) / Desert Springs 2nd
T73 -3 Robin DAWSON (IRE) TURNED PRO 9/18 – El Encin 2nd
There will then be a cut with only the top 70 players and ties playing the two final rounds, both on the tougher Lakes Course.
Players who finish in the top 25 and tied for 25th place will secure a Category 17 2019 European Tour card and membership of the Challenge Tour.
Those players who make the cut will be handed a lower membership of both the European Tour and Challenge Tour.
Those who miss the cut will receive an even lower Category membership of the Challenge Tour.
The final Q-School finishing positions are important when it comes to determining each player’s standing in each Category and as such their actual playing opportunities next season.
The 2018 Final Q-School will have a total prize fund of c.€150,000. The winner will receive c.€18,000 with those finishing in the Top 25 (and ties) reducing amounts down to c.€1,850.
THE 2018 STORY SO FAR
First Stage
First Stage consisted of eight 72 hole stroke play qualifying events, split into four Sections, A, B, C and D, played between 11th September and 12th October.
804 players contested First Stage Qualifying this year with 171 progressing to Second Stage.
These numbers included 62 amateurs, 13 of which were successful. Of these Spain’s Angel Hidalgo and Switzerland’s Perry Cohen chose to turn pro ahead of Second Stage.
The Second Qualifying Stage consisted of four separate 72-hole events played at Desert Springs R&GC, Las Colinas G&CC, El Encin GH and Alenda Golf, all in Spain, on 2nd – 5th November 2018.
291 players started Second Stage Qualifying with 98 of these coming from Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I). 120 players were exempted straight into Second Stage based on their past performances.
93 qualifying places were made available for Second Stage with sudden death play-offs required at three of the four sites to separate tied players.
Four amateurs, Ben HUTCHINSON (ENG), Allen JOHN (GER), Kristoffer REITAN (NOR) and Andrew WILSON (ENG) were amongst the qualifiers. Andrew WILSON chose to turn Pro ahead of Final Stage.
Sam HORSFIELD (ENG) won the Final Stage of the 2017 European Tour Qualifying School, played for the first time at Lumine Golf Club.
His final -27 score, with all six rounds in the 60’s and a best of the day final round of 63 (-8), saw him win the 108 hole event by an impressive 8 shots.
Following in the footsteps of Nathan KIMSEY (ENG) in 2016 he became the second player in a row and the third in total to come through all three stages of Q-School and win.
Sam Horsfield – Winner of the European Tour’s 2017 Q-School (Photo: @hr59sam)
Looking back 2018 has proved to be a relatively good year for Q-School graduates. Andreas PAVANN (ITA), Sam HORSFIELD (ENG), Mattias SCHWAB (AUS), Jacques KRUYSWIJK (RSA), Gonzalo FERNANDEZ-CASTAÑO (ESP) and Christian BEZUIDENHOUT (RSA) and Justin WATERS (RSA) all retained their cards this season.
I continue to follow the progress of all of the amateurs and some selected Great British and Irish (GB&I) professionals in the 2018 European Tour Q-School series.
This article focuses on SECOND STAGE QUALIFYING which ended on Monday 5th November at Desert Springs GC, Las Colinas G&CC, El Encin GH and Alenda Golf, all in Spain.
Each competition was played concurrently over 72 holes over four days with no cut.
291 players started these events with 98 (34%) of these hailing from Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I).
804 players contested First Stage Qualifying this year with 171 (21.3%) progressing to Second Stage. These numbers included 62 amateurs, 13 of which were successful. Of these Spain’s Angel Hidalgo and Switzerland’s Perry Cohen chose to turn pro ahead of Second Stage.
These 171 qualifiers were joined by those players who were exempt from First Stage due to their performances on the 2018 European Tour, Challenge Tour and other feeder / satellite tours.
Exemptions were also given to the leading five Q-School entrants as at 29th August 2018, up to a limit of 15th place, in the Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. As a result of this Matthew JORDAN (ENG), Robin DAWSON (IRE) and Todd CLEMENTS (ENG) – all of whom have recently turned Pro – started their Q-School journeys at Second Stage this year.
95 qualifying places were made available for Second Stage with sudden death play-offs required at three of the four sites to separate tied players for the final space(s) and to determine the alternates.
Well done to Kristoffer REITAN (NOR), Ben HUTCHINSON (ENG), Andrew WILSON (ENG) and Allen JOHN (GER), the four amateurs who progressed from Second Stage.
These 95 qualifiers will be joined by 61 exempt players at Lumine GC for next week’s Final Stage event. The total field of 156 will play 108 holes with the target for all of the players being a Top 25 finish and a European Tour card.
Here are the links to the European Tour’s Q-School results webpages as well my own selected player summaries (name / country / scores / result / 1st stage qualification where applicable) : –
Entries – 73 players with 28 from GB&I (38%) started with 24 qualifying.
QUALIFIED
Deyen LAWSON (AUS) -21 WINNER
Gavin MOYNIHAN (IRE) -15 4th
Jamie ABBOTT (ENG) -9 T14 (Stoke By Nayland 1st – Winner)
Daniel YOUNG (SCO) -9 T14 (Bom Sucesso 1st)
DID NOT QUALIFY
Matthew JORDAN (ENG) TURNED PRO 9/18 -8 T19 / Lost in a 6 from 8 play-off
Jonathan CALDWELL (N.I.) -8 T19 / Lost in a 6 from 8 play-off
Todd CLEMENTS (ENG) TURNED PRO 8/18 -4 T37
Victor VEYRET (FRA) AM -2 T42 (Hardelot 1st)
Leandro MARELLI (ARG) -2 T42 (Bogogno 1st – Winner)
Jack FLOYDD (ENG) AM Ev T51 (Frilford 1st)
Gary HURLEY (IRE) Ev T51 (Frilford 1st – Winner)
Craig HOWIE (SCO) +7 63rd
[Luke DONNELLY (IRE) – WD before play started on Day 1 (The Players 1st)]
Entries – 71 players with 18 from GB&I (25%) started with 23 + 1 qualifying.
QUALIFIED
Christian BRAEUNIG (GER) -15 WINNER (on countback)
Kristoffer REITAN (NOR) AM -12 T8 (Stoke By Nayland 1st)
Kurt KITAYAMA (USA) -9 T13 (Hardelot 1st – Winner)
Ben HUTCHINSON (ENG) AM-7 T19 (Frilford 1st)
Will ENEFER (ENG) -6 T24 (Fleesensee 1st) 1st Alternate
DID NOT QUALIFY
Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) TURNED PRO 9/18 -4 T32 (The Players 1st)
Angel HIDALGO (ESP) TURNED PRO 10/18-3 T35 (Bogogno 1st)
Cameron RAYMOND (IRE) +1 T47 (Bogogno 1st)
Vince VAN VEEN (NED) TURNED PRO 9/18 +2 T50 (Bogogno 1st)
Dan HEBENSTREIT (AUT) AM +3 T53 (Ebreichsdorf 1st)
Joshua WHITE (ENG) +4 T57 (Frilford 1st)
Maximilian LECHNER (AUT) AM +10 66th (Ebreichsdorf 1st)
Bradley MOORE (ENG) +15 67th (Stoke By Nayland 1st)
Bryden MACPHERSON (AUS) WD After Rd 3 on +11 (Ebreichsdorf 1st)
3. EL ENCIN GOLF HOTEL, Madrid – 7,539 yards, Par 72
Entries – 74 players with 24 from GB&I (32%) started with 24 qualifying.
QUALIFIED
Josh GEARY (AUS) -17 WINNER
Toby TREE (ENG) -13 T6
Cormac SHARVIN (NI) -13 T6
Robin DAWSON (IRE) TURNED PRO 9/18 -13 T6
David BOOTE (WAL) -12 T14 (Frilford 1st)
Andrew WILSON (ENG) AM-11 T18 (Frilford 1st)
DID NOT QUALIFY
Joshua MCMAHON (ENG) AM -7 T31 (Stoke By Nayland 1st)
Lorenzo SCALISE (ITA) TURNED PRO 9/18-5 T43 (Bogogno 1st)
Haydn MCCULLEN (ENG) -6 T35 (The Players 1st – Winner)
Casey WITTENBERG (USA) WD After Rd 3 on +5 (Ebreichsdorf 1st – Winner)
Entries – 73 players with 28 from GB&I (38%) started with 24 qualifying.
QUALIFIED
Joe DEAN (ENG) -15 WINNER
Jack MCDONALD (SCO) -12 T3 (Hardelot 1st)
Allen JOHN (GER) AM -12 T3 (Hardelot 1st)
Sebastian GARCIA RODRIGUEZ (ESP) -10 T8 (Bom Sucesso 1st – Winner)
Scott GREGORY (ENG) -10 T8 (The Players 1st)
Craig ROSS (SCO) -9 T12 (Fleesensee 1st)
Frederik DREIER (DEN) -6 T21 / Won in a 4 from 6 play-off (Fleesensee 1st – Winner)
DID NOT QUALIFY
Jack DAVIDSON (WAL) -6 T21 / Lost in a 4 from 6 play-off (Stoke By Nayland 1st)
Bradley NEIL (SCO) -5 T27
Ross CAMERON (SCO) -3 T33 (Ebreichsdorf 1st)
Marco PENGE (ENG) -3 T33 (The Players 1st)
Alfie PLANT (ENG) -3 T33 (Bogogno 1st)
Hunter STEWART (USA) -2 T39 (Bogogno 1st)
Ashton TURNER (ENG) -1 T46 (Frilford 1st)
Mike TOOROP (NED) AM Ev T50 (Hardelot 1st)
Richard MANSELL (ENG) +1 T54 (The Players 1st)
Nick POPPLETON (ENG) AM+2 T58 (Frilford 1st)
Conor O’ROURKE (IRE) +4 65th (Bom Sucesso 1st)
Perry COHEN (SUI) TURNED PRO 11/18 +11 70th (Ebreichsdorf 1st)
THE 2018 EUROPEAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL SERIES
The European Tour Qualifying School was first played in 1976, four years after the European Tour was founded. What started out as a 72 hole test has grown into potentially a 252 hole marathon.
Nowadays there are three stages of stroke play qualifying, First, Second and Final.
This year the European Tour Q-School entrance fee has been increased to €2,000 (2017: €1,800).
First Stage
First Stage consists of eight 72 hole stroke play qualifying events split into four Sections, A, B, C and D.
Around 20% of each field, normally 15-30 players, progress from each event.
A 54-hole cut, where players need to be within 7 shots of the final allocated qualifying place, reduces the field for the final round. Ties for the final qualifying place at the end of play proceed too.
The Second Qualifying Stage consists of four separate 72-hole events that will be played at Desert Springs R&GC, Las Colinas G&CC, El Encin GH and Alenda Golf, all in Spain, concurrently on 2nd-5th November 2018.
El Encin GH on the outskirts of Madrid was announced as a replacement venue for Panoramica G&SR on 9th October. El Encin is a former host of the Madrid Masters and the Challenge Tour’s Challenge de Madrid. I assume Panoramica failed the final European Tour inspection given the late change.
Final Stage
The Final Qualifying Stage consists of 108 holes on the Lakes and Hills Courses at Lumine GC in Tarragona, Spain. Lumine replaced PGA Catalunya Resort in 2017 and will host Final Stage both the this year and in 2019. This competition will be played on 10th-15th November 2018.
The leading 25 players (and ties) from the 156 that will contest Final Stage will be eligible for membership of the European Tour and membership of the Challenge Tour for the 2018/19 season. The leading 70 players (and ties) who make the 72-hole cut will obtain a lower category memberships of the European Tour and the Challenge Tour. Those who miss the cut receive an even lower category membership of the Challenge Tour.
ENGLAND won the 2018 Men’s Home Internationals beating IRELAND 9 – 6 in today’s championship match.
England celebrate with the Raymond Trophy (Photo: Wales Golf)
Here is a summary of the final results from this year’s tournament: –
Final Results – 2018 Men’s Home Internationals (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox)
In the ENGLAND v. IRELAND match today the foursomes were shared 2.5 – 2.5 but in the afternoon England pulled away with some impressive singles victories.
The highlights were Andrew WILSON’s 7&6 win over the previously unbeaten Conor PURCELL and Mitch WAITE’s 2 Holes win over Robin DAWSON, both of which set the foundation for their team to build on.
Ireland v. England Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)
David HAGUE (ENG) and Tiarnan MCLARNON (IRE) both finished the tournament with 100% records, winning all 6 of their games. Tom PLUMB (ENG) was also unbeaten, winning four of his games and halving two of his foursomes.
Host nation WALES once again fell the wrong side of the thin line that sometimes separates winning and losing. Today Scotland edged them out 8 – 7.
Scotland won the foursomes 4 -1 in the morning but were made to work hard for the additional four single wins they needed in the afternoon.
Scotland v. Wales Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)
Whilst it was tough going for SCOTLAND and WALES for most of the week it was possible for some of their individuals to shine.
Euan WALKER was outstanding for Scotland winning five of his six games.
Likewise Paddy MULLINS did well for Wales and can be particularly pleased with his two singles wins.
Click here to view the full – 2018 Men’s Home Internationals Results – click the match score to see the individual games and the game score to view the hole by hole scores.
ME.
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13th September 2018
IRELAND beat WALES 11.5 – 5.5 on Day 2 of the Men’s Home Internationals at Conwy Golf Club.
The morning foursomes went the way of the Irish 3.5 – 1.5 albeit the Robbie CANNON / JAMES SUGRUE pairing needed a birdie on the 18th to secure a half in their match so the overall series scoreline could have been closer.
Ireland won the singles 6 – 4 with Conor PURCELL, Caolan RAFFERTY and Peter O’KEEFFE (all 4&3) enjoying their biggest wins.
However, the best performance of this match arguably fell to Welshman Jake HAPGOOD. He beat in form Robin DAWSON 4&3 with both players blitzing Conwy’s back nine. Jake recorded four birdies and two eagles between the 7th and 15th holes to unsurprisingly take the game.
Ireland v. Wales Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)
In the second match of Day 2 ENGLAND narrowly beat SCOTLAND 8 – 7.
After the morning foursomes, which England won 4 – 1, it appeared the Scots could be in for another heavy defeat.
However, Scotland showed great heart to run out 6 – 4 winners of the singles series. Ryan LUMSDEN, Euan WALKER, Kieran CANTLEY, Stephen RODGER, Jeff WRIGHT and James WILSON were all victorious in the afternoon.
At the end of the day England won the match and that’s all that matters – unless like last year the two leading nations draw again ! The four single wins they enjoyed were all comprehensive and as such after their dominant foursomes performance there was never really a feeing that an upset might be in the air.
Scotland v. England Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)
ME.
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12th September 2018
IRELAND beat SCOTLAND 11.5 – 3.5 in the opening game of the 2018 Men’s Home Internationals at Conwy Golf Club.
Ireland won the morning foursomes 4 – 1. Most of the matches tipping their way due to some exceptional play on the back nine by their four final pairings. Scotland’s Euan MCINTOSH and Ryan LUMSDEN provided the only resistance in game 1.
The Irish carried their momentum into the afternoon series too winning the singles 7.5 – 2.5. Robin DAWSON (5&3), Jonathan YATES (5&4) and Tiarnon MCLARNON (4&3) enjoyed the biggest wins.
Ireland v. Scotland Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)
ENGLAND overcame a stubborn WALES 11.5 – 3.5 in the second match on Day 1. As you can see below the games were generally closer than in match 1 and the margin of victory somewhat flatters England who were made to work hard for many of their points.
The morning foursomes were halved 2.5 – 2.5 with Welsh pairing Matt ROBERTS and Paddy MULLINS enjoying the biggest victory of the series, 5&3.
ENGLAND composed themselves in the afternoon and in the end won nine of the ten singles. Ben JONES won his match 4&3 but otherwise the games were tight affairs. Paddy MULLINS maintained his unbeaten personal record by recording the sole singles win for the hosts.
England v. Wales Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)
ME.
_________________________________________________
9th September 2018
The 2018 Men’s Home Internationals will be contested at Conwy Golf Club in Wales between 12th and 14th September.
IRELAND will travel to North Wales hoping to win the Raymond Trophy for a fifth consecutive year.
Conwy Golf Club (Photo: Golfing Wales)
The Competition
11-man teams from ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND and WALES play against each other annually, taking it in turns to the host the event.
Over three days all of the countries play each other once. There are five foursomes and ten singles match play games in each series.
The winner is the country with the highest number of match points. 1 point is awarded for a win, 0.5 for a half and 0 for a loss. Ties are resolved by considering the number of individual game points secured in the three matches played.
2018 Players
The four national golf unions have selected the following players to represent their countries this year.
I have also included the current Team (total) and Individual Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings (SPWAR) below.
ENGLAND – Team SPWAR 1,432
Jack BURNAGE (93)
Bailey GILL (176)
David HAGUE (99)
Ben JONES (105)
David LANGLEY (169)
Joe LONG (201)
Tom PLUMB (147)
Nick POPPLETON (190)
Tom SLOMAN (64)
Mitch WAITE (40)
Andrew WILSON (148)
IRELAND – Team SPWAR = 3,300
Robbie CANNON (908)
Robin DAWSON (14)
Alex GLEESON (122)
Tiarnan MCLARNON (406)
Ronan MULLARNEY (265)
Peter O’KEEFFE (354)
Mark POWER (240)
Conor PURCELL (37)
Colin RAFFERTY (82)
James SUGRUE (374)
Jonathan YATES (498)
The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)
SCOTLAND – Team SPWAR = 3,620
Kieran CANTLEY (448)
Matthew CLARK (483)
Stuart EASTON (187)
Calum FYFE (259)
Jim JOHNSTON (562)
Ryan LUMSDEN (80)
Euan MCKINTOSH (156)
Stephen ROGER (406)
Euan WALKER (113)
James WILSON (227)
Jeff WRIGHT (699)
WALES – Team SPWAR = 13,944
Oliver BROWN (2,041)
Ben CHAMBERLAIN (976)
Archie DAVIES (981)
Jacob DAVIES (1,438)
Jake HAPGOOD (395)
Kieron HARMAN (1,698)
Paddy MULLINS (1,572)
Matt ROBERTS (797)
Lewys SANGES (1,095)
Gaelan TREW (2,217)
Tom WILLIAMS (734)
Just 14 of the 44 players competed last year at Moortown. England have 8 new players in their 2018 line up, Ireland 6, Scotland 9 and Wales 7.
I think ENGLAND have got to start as slight favourites this year but I certainly wouldn’t bet against IRELAND making it five in a row.
Venue – Conwy Golf Club
Founded in 1890 the Conwy (Caernarvonshire) Golf Club is the third oldest club in Wales.
The course was originally laid out by Jack Harris with more recent alterations completed by Frank Pennink.
One of the best links courses in Great Britain it has hosted many amateur and professional tournaments in the past. It’s next big appointment is the Curtis Cup match which it will stage in 2020.
Conwy Golf Club Scorecard (Photos: Conwy Golf Club)
The courses measures 6,936 yards from the Blue Championship tees, playing to a par of 72. It is relatively flat with it’s exposed coastal position meaning the prevailing westerly wind is always a major factor particularly as the design has holes going in all directions.
Conwy Golf Club Course Map (Photos: Conwy Golf Club)
2018 Weather Forecast (as at 9.00am Sunday 9th September)
Wed. 12th Sept. – Light Rain / Temp. Min 9º / Max 15º / Wind 11mph NW
Thurs. 13th Sept. – Sunny / Temp. Min 10º / Max 16º / Wind 11mph W
Fri 14th Sept. – Cloudy / Temp. Min 11º / Max 16º / Wind 15mph SW
2017 Men’s Home Internationals
IRELAND won the 2017 Men’s Home Internationals at Moortown Golf Club in Leeds.
They secured the Raymond Trophy after halving the deciding match with ENGLAND 7.5 – 7.5. This was good enough for the Irish to pip the home nation by a half point in total match points earned, 26.5 against 26.0.
The win was a record breaking fourth consecutive victory in the event for the men in green.
The 2017 Ireland Team (Photo: Leaderboard Photography)
WALES beat SCOTLAND 9.5 – 5.5 on the final day to consign the Scots to the wooden spoon.
Scotland’s Sam LOCKE saved the day for GB&I amateur golf at Final Qualifying today. Rounds of 69 and 66 helped the Stonehaven man to medalist honours on 135 (-7) at The Renaissance and a place in The 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links.
(l-r) Thomas Curtis, Sam Locke and Grant Forrest (Photo: @Renaissancegc)
With only 3 qualifying places available from each site it was always going to be a big ask for any amateur to come through. It’s therefore a great achievement for Sam who had been exempted into Final Qualifying as the reigning Scottish Closed Amateur champion. He was also rewarded by a 105 place jump in the SPWAR to 140th.
Other notable amateur performances came from David HAGUE ENG (T6), Alex FITZPATRICK ENG (T6) and Jake BURNAGE ENG (T9) at Hollinwell, Ryan LUMSDEN SCO (T4) at Prince’s, Joshua MCMAHON ENG (T8) and Ben HUTCHINSON ENG (T8) at St. Annes Old Links and Eugenio LOPEZ-CHACARRA ESP (T5) at The Renaissance. All ‘came close but no cigar’.
There were 72 amateurs amongst the 288 players contesting today’s four 36 hole Final Qualifying events. 59 of them came through Regional Qualifying whilst 13 were granted exemptions.
Links to the final results are provided below, along with a list of all of the qualifiers from each site and every amateur performance.
Final Qualifying for the 2018 Open Championship will take place on Tuesday 3rd July at four courses across Great Britain.
The qualifying venues are Notts G.C. (Hollinwell), Prince’s G.C., St. Annes Old Links and The Renaissance Club.
There are currently three amateurs in The Open Championship field. These are: –
The Amateur Champion for 2018 – Jovan REBULA (RSA);
The Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion 2017 – Lin YUXIN (CHI); and
The European Amateur Championship 2018 – Nicolai HOJGAARD (DEN).
Doc REDMAN (USA), the 2017 U.S. Amateur Champion, and Joaquin NIEMANN (CHL), winner of the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal (Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking No. 1 in August 2017) have both turned pro and therefore foregone their exemptions.
Final Qualifying represents the last roll of the dice for the Great British and Irish amateur fraternity. There are 72 amateurs competing out of a total field of 288 players, with 65 of them coming from GB&I. 13 amateurs were exempt straight into Final Qualifying. With 12 places available hopefully one of them can come through for me.
Regional Qualifying
143 players initially progressed from the 13 Regional Qualifying events on Monday 25th June with 40 amateurs amongst them.
Following withdrawals from Final Qualifying around 55 Reserves have now also been brought forward from the Regionals. Within this number are another 19 amateurs.
For more information on the Low Amateur prize at The Open Championship you may like to take a look at an article I wrote earlier this year – ‘The Open Championship’s Silver Medal’.
Jovan Rebula (Photo: The R&A / Mark Runnacles / Getty Images)
He is the first South African winner since Bobby Cole in 1966 and can now look forward to playing in the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie Links, the 2019 Masters at Augusta National and the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
He beat Robin DAWSON, 22, (IRE) 3&2 in today’s 36 hole Final at Royal Aberdeen G.C.
Following his win 20 year old Jovan spoke to The R&A: “It’s unreal. It’s really something that is hard to describe. I feel like many have been in this position before but its an unreal feeling. It hasn’t sunk in quite yet but hopefully tomorrow morning I can wake up and I will feel a little different.
“I’m shattered. It’s been a long week and especially today. I should have finished maybe a couple of holes earlier, but it’s been awesome. A very tiring week. I’m standing here right now and there’s so much adrenaline pumping through me.
“I had my friend Matt (Saulez) on the bag and he has been unbelievable for me this week. He’s been the foundation to me, keeping me calm, and we just have an awesome time out there. It’s just so much fun.”
It was cloudy with a modest north westerly breeze blowing when the morning round started at 8.30am; conditions which remained throughout the day, save for a slight increase in the wind speed later in the day.
Here’s The R&A film of the opening tee shots.
That special feeling when your name is called to the tee for the 123rd Amateur Championship Final 🙌🏻
We are underway with @JovanRebula and @dawson_robin fighting it out for one of the biggest prizes in amateur golf.
Both players made a steady start halving the first five holes. The South African then birdied 6 before being gifted 7 and 8 when Dawson bogeyed. The remainder of the morning round was up and down with Rebula eventually taking a 1-Up lead into lunch.
A poor front nine in the afternoon round by Dawson allowed Rebula to extend his lead to 5-Up by the turn. Both players settled and halved the opening three holes of the back nine in par. Then the nerves seemed to kick in particularly for the South African whose mind may have started to wander given his strong position. Double bogeys on the 13th and 15th gave Dawson some encouragement.
However, hopes of a big turnaround over the last few holes like last year were quickly extinguished on 16 when Rebula got up and down from a green side bunker to close out the match 3&2.
With Wilco NIENABER also winning the Stroke Play Qualifying the Championship proved to be a very successful one for the South African’s.
It was the fifth time a South African had made the Final but just the second time they had claimed the Gold Medal: –
2014 – Zander Lombard Lost 2&1
1997 – Trevor Immelman Lost 3&2
1988 – Ben Fouchee Lost 1 Hole
1980 – David Suddards Lost 4&3
1966 – Bobby Cole Won 3&2
It wasn’t long before his Uncle Ernie passed on his congratulations to Jovan too.
@JovanRebula You #Legend for winning the Amateur Championship First time since 1966 SA player WON! My man! Jovan ✌✌✌✌
Playing conditions proved to be far more amenable today. Whilst cloudy, with temperatures struggling to rise above 13°C, the north westerly wind was much more manageable at 15mph.
Semi Finals
Jovan REBULA (RSA) beat Mitch WAITE (ENG) 6&4. Waite has enjoyed a very good year and Championship but like compatriot Tom Sloman this morning was unable to find his game in this afternoon’s semi final. Rebula was again not made to work very hard for his victory.
Rebula, the 20 year old nephew of Ernie Els, plays for Auburn University in Alabama and finished tied 21st in the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship in late May. He joined up with the South African touring party for the recent St. Andrews Links Trophy but missed the cut by 1-shot.
Speaking to The R&A afterwards Jovan said: “My game was really solid and I kept the ball in play all day. I took advantage on the holes you need to attack, played it clever out there and I’ve got a good feel of the golf course at this stage. I’m honestly having so much fun. I’m not even looking at my opponents beforehand. I just take it easy and spend time with my mates. They’ve been a great support structure. Also, they keep me motivated and it’s awesome having one of my good friends (Matt Saulez) on the bag too. I’ve been working hard towards this so being able to reach the final is such a big thing and hopefully I can take it a step further tomorrow.”
Tomorrow he will play Robin DAWSON in the 36 hole Final over the Balgownie Links at Royal Aberdeen G.C., their match starting at 8.30am.
Dawson was too good for Conor PURCELL this afternoon winning 3&2. Purcell handed Dawson the initiative with bogeys on the 1st and 3rd and despite fighting all the way to the end couldn’t get close to his fellow Irishman.
Speaking to The R&A afterwards Robin said:“It feels good. I’m somewhat relieved to make it this far and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’m a bit tired now so it’ll be good to get a good sleep tonight and get set for tomorrow. Today was great but it wasn’t easy (playing against fellow countrymen). They are both good friends of mine from being in Ireland teams in the past but we had a couple of good friendly matches out there today. It was nice. I had a good strategy in place and was just hitting decent shots. My swing was good and I was in my own little world at times out there, which was great. To get the chance to play in one major, never mind three, is great. I would love that opportunity but there is still a lot of golf to play tomorrow.”
Dropping very few shots in his two matches today Robin should go in to the Final with great confidence. The winner of the Irish Amateur in May is seemingly in complete control of his game.
The Quarter Finals started at 8.15am with Tom SLOMAN (ENG) taking on Jovan REBULA (RSA) in Match 1. Unfortunately it proved to be a game too far for Sloman who will be disappointed that he didn’t make the South African work harder for his 2&1 victory. Neither player was at their best this morning in a poor quality affair.
England’s other quarter finalist Mitch WAITE faired better beating Christoffer PÅLSSON (SWE) 3&2. As is becoming the norm for Waite it was far from straight forward. He was 3-Up after 7, before slipping to AS after 12 and then recovering to win comfortably on the 16th.
Conor PURCELL recorded an eagle and 4 birdies in a great 3&2 win over David MICHELUZZI (AUS). Micheluzzi, the highest ranked player left in the field, was simply unable to live with the Irishman’s superb play in the middle of their match.
In perhaps the highest quality Quarter Final Robin DAWSON overcame fellow Irishman John MURPHY 2&1. The Waterford man had the upper hand throughout but was certainly made to work hard for the win.
It was a dry but cool day in Aberdeen, temperatures not rising much above 13°C. The wind was the big story. Like yesterday it was primarily from the north west but today it consistently blew at 25mph with occasional gusts reported of up to 45mph.
This made playing conditions particularly challenging. With hole-by-hole scoring now available (click the score or result in the middle of each game to reveal) it was clear to see how tough the links played today.
Round 4
Round 4 proved to be the end of the line for Wilco NIENABER (RSA). In a tight match where neither player led by more than 1 hole Tom SLOMAN (ENG) was handed a 1-Up win when the 18 year old South African missed a relatively short par putt on the last hole.
Fellow South African Jovan REBULA was behind for virtually all of his match before two bogeys on the last two holes by Ben HUTCHINSON ensured there would be Boks representation in the Quarter Finals. Rebula won by 1 hole.
Match 3 arguably proved to be the most exciting in the last 16 with Bristol’s Mitch WAITE attempting to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory before thankfully saving the day against Timo VAHLENKAMP. As you can see from the scorecard below the German made a strong comeback over the last 8 holes but a three putt on the 19th meant it was all in vein.
Mitch Waite v. Timo Vahlenkamp Rd 4 Scoreboard (Photo: R&A / Golfbox Scoring)
Christoffer PÅLSSON (SWE) again didn’t have to work very hard to progress. Luca FILIPPI (RSA) struggled this afternoon and easily fell to a 4&3 defeat.
Conor PURCELL (IRE) was the first of three Irish to make the last 8 at The Amateur Championship. The Charlotte 49ers via Dublin golfer reeled off five birdies in 6 holes from the 11th to blow away Adam BLOMMÉ (SWE).
Robin DAWSON was next up. He beat Elis SVÄRD 6&5 as the relatively inexperienced Swede finally bowed out having enjoyed a very good Championship.
John MURPHY, who seems to have transformed himself into a world beater in the last two weeks, was the third Irishman to make it through to the Quarter Finals. He beat a clearly out of sorts Viktor HOVLAND (NOR) 6&5.
Murphy talking to The R&A afterwards said: “I feel a lot more confident coming off the back of winning the St. Andrews Links Trophy. I feel I can win against the top ranked players in the world and I don’t think I would have felt that way without the victory last week. I’m feeling good and every part of my game is clicking. I was the 14th Reserve so when I got the call to say I was playing here at Balgownie I was delighted.”
There were a number of one sided matches this afternoon as perhaps the physical and mental exertions of the last four days started to affect some of the remaining competitors.
In the other last 16 game David MICHELUZZI played well to beat Paul PEREDA (MEX) 5&4. The experienced Australian seems to be making very comfortable progress, largely under the radar, and must now be one of the favourites for the title.
The highlight of this morning’s golf was the final match, played between relatively unknown Tom FORSTER (ENG) and WAGR Number 5 Viktor HOVLAND (NOR).
Forster, who is studying in the USA at NCAA Division II college Carson-Newman, is clearly not a respecter of reputations as he gave Hovland, one of the star players at Oklahoma State, the 2018 NCAA Division I champions, a game to remember.
Tom Forster v. Viktor Hovland Rd 3 Scoreboard (Photo: R&A / Golfbox Scoring)
As you can see from the above scoreboard Forster led 4-Up after 13 holes, Hovland in all kinds of trouble in the wind. Thankfully the Norwegian recovered his senses just in time and with a little help from an increasingly nervous Forster escaped with a 1 hole victory.
Round 3 started at 7.30am with Wilco NIENABER (RSA) playing US-based Perry COHEN (SUI) in Match 1. The stroke play medalist started well and quickly built a 3-Up lead after 8 holes. However, some loose play around the turn and improvement by Cohen saw the match All Square with just the 18th to play. In the end a par down the last was good enough to secure the win for the South African protégé.
Tom SLOMAN (ENG) enjoyed a tight match with Jeff WRIGHT (SCO). A bogey on the 17th by the battling Scotsman finally letting in the big man from Somerset, who would hold on down the last for a 1 hole win.
Ben HUTCHINSON (ENG) overcame Rowan LESTER 2&1 in Match 3. The Irishman was leading 1-Up after 15 but sadly stumbled down the last 3 holes.
Ben JONES (ENG) had an horrific start in his match and was quickly 5-Down to Timo VAHLENKAMP after just 7 holes. The German youngster ran out a surprisingly easy winner 7&5 in the end.
Mitch WAITE (ENG) beat Stuart EASTON (SCO) by 1 hole in a rollercoaster match. Waite was 2-Up after 4 before then falling 3-Down after 11. Easton then lost his way, recording four bogeys in a row, allowing the man from Bristol to pull 1-Up after 15. Both players then steadied themselves before halving the last in double-bogey 6, Waite moving on.
James SUGRUE (IRE) lost 3&2 to Christoffer PÅLSSON (SWE) in what appears to have been a poor quality Match 7. The Irishman bogeyed or failed to finish 11 of the 16 holes contested.
Matthew JORDAN (ENG) looked comfortable early on against Conor PURCELL (IRE) but let things slip. Purcell, who plays out of Portmarnock, the 2019 host course, drew level after Jordan bogeyed the 18th and then completed the coup de grâce with a 40 foot chip in on their first extra hole.
Scotland bowed out of the Championship later in the morning when their remaining player Sandy SCOTT lost 3&1 to Mexico’s Paul PEREDA.
Match 13 saw Robin DAWSON (IRE) take on Spain’s Victor PASTOR. Dawson struggled on the front nine but played the back nine superbly in 3-under to run out the winner by 2 holes.
In a very similar match Dawson’s compatriot John MURPHY played the back nine very well to overcome Lee WALKER (USA) 4&2 having earlier been 2-Down after 8 holes.
Jovan REBULA (1 Hole) and Luca FILIPPI (4&3) were the winners in the two all-South African matches beating Malcolm MITCHELL and Therion NEL respectively.
There were also wins for Adam BLOMMÉ (SWE), the ever impressive Australian David MICHELUZZI and giant killer Elis SVÄRD (SWE).
At the end of the morning our 14 GB&I players had been reduced to just 6.
Wilco NIENABER (RSA) started his Round 2 match against Niclas WEILAND at 9.15am. Showing no signs of faltering, as often happens with the medalist, he quickly despatched the Swede 5&4.
Malcolm MITCHELL (RSA), David MICHELUZZI (AUS), Paul PEREDA (MEX) and Victor HOVLAND (NOR) are amongst the other highly ranked overseas players who are through to Round 3. However, it was a surprise to see Lorenzo SCALISE (ITA) lose, albeit he took Adam BLOMMÉ (SWE) to the 21st in the longest match of the Championship so far.
GB&I contributed 26 players to the 64 that started Round 2. We finished the day down to 14.
The Irish party are doing well. Rowan LESTER will be pleased with his performance; he beat fellow St. Andrews Trophy squad member David HAGUE (ENG) 6&5. James SUGRUE beat Australian Kyle MICHEL on the 19th hole whilst Conor PURCELL overcame Pablo RODRIGUEZ-TABERNERO TORRES (ESP) 2&1 to progress. Robin DAWSON took control of his match against David RAVETTO (FRA) from the start and ran out a comfortable 4&2 winner. Finally, John MURPHY made it 5 for the ‘Green Army’ coming from being behind early on to beat Oliver FARRELL (ENG) 4&2.
Scotland have three representatives in Round 3. Jeff WRIGHT showed great determination to take out compatriot Euan MCINTOSH on their first extra hole; Euan having qualified strongly and played well for most of this match too. Stuart EASTON beat Australian Will HEFFERNAN by 1 hole before Sandy SCOTT took care of Claudio CONSOL (GER) 3&2.
Of the 13 Round 1 winners just four could do the business again. One of these was Thomas FORSTER who surprised Daniel HILLIER (NZE) 2&1. The Englishman was joined by Tom SLOMAN, who beat Jediah MORGAN (AUS) by 1 hole, and Mitch WAITE, who enjoyed the biggest win of the afternoon, 6&4 against German Alexander HERRMANN. Wins for Ben HUTCHINSON, Ben JONES and Matthew JORDAN took the English qualifiers up to 6. Hutchinson beat Jamie LI (ENG) 5&3, Jones recorded a good 2 holes win against Matt SAULEZ (RSA) whilst Jordan ended up having to go to the 20th to finally despatch Finland’s battling Matias HONKALA.
The Amateur Championship Trophy (Photo: Dominik Holyer)
Round 1
Game 1 of the Match Play Stage between Eetu ISOMETSÄ (FIN) and Robin WILLIAMS (ENG) teed off at Royal Aberdeen G.C. at 7.00am. It was raining, with a north westerly wind appearing for the first time.
It was a game that Williams would disappointingly go on to lose 3&2.
Of the 30 qualifying GB&I players 8 were required to play in this preliminary Round 1 which consisted of 13 matches.
John PATERSON (SCO), Jack COPE (ENG), Oliver FARRELL (ENG) and Thomas FORSTER (ENG) were successful with the last three all requiring extra holes to overcome stubborn opponents. Cope ended up beating compatriot Max O’HAGAN, who had led for much of their match, on the 20th hole.
Callan BARROW (ENG) lost 4&3 to Top 100 SPWAR ranked Mexican Paul PEREDA.
Australia-based Scot Robbie MORRISON lost by 1 hole to experienced German Claudio CONSUL.
The 13 winners of these Round 1 matches fed into the bottom of the Round 2 draw and would therefore be required to play again in the afternoon.
The rest of the field will certainly have been pleased to see Takumi KANAYA (JAP), Alvaro ORTIZ (MEX) and Matias SANCHEZ (AUS) all surprisingly fall at this first step.
18 year old Wilco NIENABER (RSA) shot a 67 (-4) at Royal Aberdeen G.C. today to secure medalist honours at the 2018 Amateur Championship. His impressive 133 (-8) total included 11 birdies and just three bogeys.
Wilco Nienaber’s Stroke Play Scores (Photo: R&A / Golfbox)
In an interview quoted on The R&A website Wilco said: “When I heard I was going to play The Amateur Championship this year I was really excited. To finish at the top after the qualifying is great. I made good decisions from the tee, stuck to my game plan and hit the greens. When I missed a green I got up and down – I kept the momentum going and didn’t really make a lot of bogeys. The match play stage is a different game but winning this or finishing at the top makes me feel like I can beat the other guys, which is really nice. So we will see what happens this week.”
Watch Wilco’s interview with GolfWeek’s Alistair Tait after the stroke play qualifying prize presentation: –
Listen to South Africa's number one ranked Wilco Nienaber chat to the Scottish press after going wire-to-wire to win the stroke play qualifier for the 123rd Amateur Championship.https://t.co/1c5WcqEKWZ
Two shots further back was Victor HOVLAND (NOR) who finished second in the stroke play qualifying on 135 (-6). Hovland shot a 65 (-5) at Murcar Links today, the best score on this course over the two days.
Sam MEEK (CAN), who recorded rounds of 69 and 69 for a 138 (-3) total, finished third to claim the final stroke play qualifying prize.
MATT SAULEZ (RSA) and Blake WINDRED (AUS) joined Wilco in shooting 67 at Royal Aberdeen today. This was the best score at the lead host course during the stroke play stage.
Harry HALL (ENG) recorded a second successive 70 today to finish on 140 (-1). His tied 5th result was the best of all of the GB&I players in the field.
Ben HUTCHINSON (ENG) Ev and Mitch WAITE (ENG) +1 finished 8th and tied 9th respectively.
At the end of play the top 64 and ties match play cut fell at +6 with 77 players progressing.
There were 30 GB&I qualifiers in total including 2018 winners John MURPHY (IRE) +2, Matthew JORDAN (ENG) +3, Robin DAWSON (IRE) +3 and Billy MCKENZIE (ENG) +4.
With the wind dropping on Day 2 and the sun shining for the most part the scores were much improved. Murcar Links (par 70) saw it’s average score drop to 73.94 from yesterday’s 77.30 (-3.36) whilst Royal Aberdeen’s (par 71) fell from 76.86 to 73.98 (-2.88). Clearly those that played at the tougher Murcar Links yesterday had a slight disadvantage over the two days of qualifying.
Amongst the leading players to miss out were Joe PAGDIN (ENG) +7, Dylan PERRY (AUS) +7, Andrew WILSON (ENG) +7, Calum FYFE (SCO) +8, Euan WALKER (SCO) +8, John AXELSON (DEN) +8, Angel HIDALGO (ESP) +8, Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) +8, Clayton MANSFIELD (RSA) +9, Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) +9, Sam LOCKE (SCO) +9, Nick POPPLETON (ENG) +9, Alex GLEESON (IRE) +10, Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) +10, Jake BURNAGE (ENG) +11, Caolan RAFFERTY (IRE) +13, Bailey GILL (ENG) +14, Jamie STEWART (SCO) +16, Garrick HIGGO (RSA) +17, Todd CLEMENTS (ENG) +17 and John PAK (USA) +18.
ME.
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Monday 18th June 2018
Wilco NIENABER (RSA) shot a 66 (-4) at Murcar Links to lead the 36 hole Stroke Play Qualifying after Round 1 of the 123rd Amateur Championship.
David MICHELUZZI (AUS) and Sam MEEK (CAN) are second having both posted 69’s (-2), the best round of the day, at Royal Aberdeen G.C.
Laird SHEPHERD (ENG) was the only GB&I player to post an under par score; his 69 (-1) at Murcar Links leaving him in tied 4th place.
Euan MCINTOSH (SCO), who hit the first tee shot at Royal Aberdeen at 7.00am this morning, shot 71 (Ev) and finished the day tied 7th alongside Harry HALL (ENG) whose 70 (Ev) at Murcar Links looked like being much better for most of his round.
On a windy but sunny day in Scotland the average score was higher at Murcar Links (77.30 / +7.30 in relation to par) than at Royal Aberdeen (76.86 / +5.86).
After 18 holes there are 60 players on +3 or better, with a further 31 on +4, implying that the top 64 and ties cut will be around +7.
The final stroke play round will start at 7.00am tomorrow morning with each competitor playing on the other host course.
ME.
_____________________________________________
17th June 2018
Unsurprisingly Chun An YU (CTP), who played the first two rounds of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, has withdrawn from this year’s Amateur Championship.
Other late withdrawals include William BUHL (USA), Falko HANISCH (GER) – winner of the 2016 Boys’ Amateur Championship at Muirfield -, Noah COMBS (USA), Yuxin LIN (CHN), Zach MURRAY (AUS) and Raphael GEISSLER (GER).
The 123rd Amateur Championship starts on Monday 18th June at Royal Aberdeen G.C. and Murcar Links G.C. in north east Scotland.
The Amateur is the most prestigious amateur golf event played outside of the United States and without question the highlight of the Great British and Irish (GB&I) amateur season.
Royal Aberdeen Golf Club (Photo: Royal Aberdeen G.C.)
Format
288 players will play two stroke play qualifying rounds, one round on each course, on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th June.
As in previous years tee times will commence at 7.00am and end at 3.52pm on both days.
The 64 players with the lowest 36 hole scores, and ties for 64th place, will advance to the match play stage and be seeded in line with their qualifying finishes.
The match play games will be played solely at Royal Aberdeen between Wednesday 20th and Saturday 23rd June.
Matches will be played over 18 holes except for Saturday’s Final which will be over 36 holes.
5th hole, Murcar Links Golf Club (Photo: Albrecht Golf Guide)
Players
The 288 players are drawn firstly from a number of exempt categories covering R&A and U.S.G.A. Championship performances and representative teams. Thereafter places are allocated to those players ranked 1st – 2,000th in the WAGR as at 16th May 2018 and, if required, by reference to exact handicaps.
Players from 38 different countries will contest the 2018 Amateur Championship.
Outside of the home nations the best represented countries are France (31 players), U.S.A. (23), Australia (20), Germany (14), Spain (13), Sweden (13), South Africa (10), The Netherlands (9) and Italy (8).
Whilst there are a large number of Americans playing it sadly remains the case that the vast majority of their leading players continue to skip the Championship. It is a sad state of affairs that most of them prefer to play in the Northeast Amateur Invitational at Wannamoisett C.C. in Providence, Rhode island – an event that starts on Wednesday 20th June. Without their participation The Amateur will always lack a little something despite the Major exemptions on offer. The best American this year is John PAK (SPWAR 52).
Harry ELLIS, the defending champion, has not entered the Championship. He has been playing in the U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills this week and is expected to turn pro immediately afterwards. Last year’s runner up Dylan PERRY (AUS) is back for another go at claiming the title that eluded him last year.
KristofferREITAN (NOR) 40 and Ryan LUMSDEN (SCO) 51 had both entered the Championship but both withdrew when they qualified for the U.S. Open. Chun An YU (CTP) 28 is also currently playing in New York but remains entered. It will be interesting to see if he is at Murcar Links on Monday for his 1.02pm tee time. Good on him if he is.
Looking at the the current SPWAR top 50 the leading players, in addition to Yu, competing are Viktor HOVLAND (NOR) 9, Matthew JORDAN (ENG) 12, Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) 17, Garrick HIGGO (RSA) 24, Wilco NIENABER (RSA) 26, Todd CLEMENTS (ENG) 27, Matt SAULEZ (RSA) 29, Lorenzo SCALISE (ITA) 31, David MICHELUZZI (AUS) 33, Joey SAVOIE (CAN) 37, Malcom MITCHELL (RSA) 42 and Alvaro ORTIZ (MEX) 45.
From a GB&I perspective Robin DAWSON (IRE) 57, Jake BURNAGE (ENG) 67, Harry HALL (ENG) 68, Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) 73, David HAGUE (ENG) T74, Alex GLEESON (IRE) T74, Caolan RAFFERTY (IRE) 91, Laird SHEPHERD (ENG) 95, Sandy SCOTT (SCO) 115, Ben JONES (ENG) 124, Andrew WILSON (ENG) 128, John MURPHY (IRE) 145, Bailey GILL (ENG) 177, Tom SLOMAN (ENG) 189 and Nick POPPLETON (ENG) 194 will all arrive with high hopes given their current good form.
With the nine-man GB&I St. Andrews Trophy team due to be announced in mid-July a good Amateur Championship by any of the home players will undoubtedly resonate with the selectors.
Finally, Spain’s Alejandro LARRAZABEL is an interesting entry. Alejandro won The Amateur in 2002 at Royal Porthcawl G.C. and has recently been reinstated to the amateur game. He will be the only past winner in the field.
Host Courses
For the first time in it’s history the Amateur Championship is being staged at Royal Aberdeen and Murcar Links in Scotland.
Royal Aberdeen was founded in 1780 and is the 6th oldest golf club in the world. Originally known as The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen the club’s name was changed in 1815 to Aberdeen Golf Club. In 1903 the ‘Royal’ title was conferred on the club by His Majesty King Edward VII.
The club has hosted many prestigious championships, including seven Scottish Amateurs, two Boys’ Amateur Championships, the Boys’ Jacques Léglise Trophy and perhaps most memorably the 2011 Walker Cup, when GB&I defeated the United States by a single point.
In 2005, it hosted the Senior Open which was won by five-time Open champion Tom Watson. In 2014, the Scottish Open was held there for the first time with Justin Rose coming out on top.
Royal Aberdeen – Balgownie Links Indicative Scorecard (Photo: mygolfdays.com)
The Balgownie Links at Royal Aberdeen is a classic links with the outgoing holes played through the undulating dunes on the coast before the return on an inland plateau with numerous blind shots and hidden ditches coming into play.
Neighbouring Murcar Link’s was established in 1909 and lies to the north of the Royal Aberdeen course.
Murcar hosted the inaugural Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play competition on the European Tour in 2016. Previously it had staged the European Girls Team Championship (2009), the Scottish Amateur Stroke Play (2009) and the European Boys Team Championship (2013).
Players will tee off throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday so changes in the weather and wind speed early in the week may impact the stroke play qualifying scoring.
Prizes / Exemptions
A momento is presented by The R&A to the players finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the stroke play qualifying competition, with any ties determined by a second round count back.
The winner of the match play stage will become the Champion Amateur Golfer for the year and is awarded 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 will be exempt into next month’s 147th Open Championship down the coast at Carnoustie Golf Links.
Traditionally, the champion is also invited to compete in the following year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C.
Finally, they will also be exempt into the 2019 U.S. Open Championship which is being held at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.
2017 Amateur Championship
England’s Harry ELLIS won the 2017 Amateur Championship on the 38th hole at Royal St. George’s G.C.
4 Down with five holes to play the odds were well and truly against the then 21 year old Hampshire player. However, his opponent Dylan PERRY (AUS) bogeyed four of the last five holes to let Ellis back in.
On the second extra hole Perry got into trouble and Ellis was able to secure the famous trophy with another par, his seventh in a row.
Harry Ellis (Photo: @RandA / Getty Images)
This was Ellis’ second major amateur victory. In 2012, aged just 16, he became the youngest player to win the English Amateur Championship.
Following in the footsteps of fellow Hampshire player Scott Gregory, Ellis said in his post round press conference: “I can’t believe what I have just done but you should never give up and never give in. I just kept giving myself chances down the stretch and luckily played much better than I had all day. It has always been a dream to play in Majors and I get to play in three now. My game is in a good place so hopefully I can do something .”
Here is the Golfing World / R&A highlights film of the 2017 Amateur Championship: –
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. 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) and Peter McEvoy (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.
Save for exceptional cases like Gary Wolstenholme (ENG) all 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 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 Ellis’ win in 2017 the last 10 winners of The Amateur Championship have been: –
2016 Scott Gregory (ENG) – Royal Porthcawl GC
2015 Romain Langasque (FRA) – Carnoustie GL
2014 Bradley Neil (SCO) – Royal Portrush GC
2013 Garrick Porteous (ENG) – Royal Cinque Ports GC
2012 Alan Dunbar (IRE) – Royal Troon GC
2011 Bryden Macpherson (AUS) – Hillside GC
2010 Jin Jeong (KOR) – Muirfield
2009 Matteo Manassero (ITA) – Formby GC
2008 Reinier Sexton (NED) – Trump Tunberry
2007 Drew Weaver (USA) – Royal Lytham & St. Annes GC
A great achievement and honour for all of the players listed above. However, it’s also another reminder of how incredibly tough golf is and that wins in the biggest events are no guarantee of success in the professional game.
John MURPHY (IRE) beat Jannik DE BRUYN (GER) on the first play-off hole to win the 2018 St. Andrews Links Trophy.
John becomes the third Irish golfer to win the title following in the footsteps of Alan Dunbar (2009) and Conor O’Rourke (2016).
John Murphy (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / Kenny Smith Photography)
Murphy looked second favourite after his approach to the 1st hole on the Old Course ended up 25 feet away after De Bruyn had left himself just 6 feet. However, the Irishman sank his birdie putt and perhaps unsurprisingly in the circumstances the German was unable to match him.
The St. Andrews Links Trust tweeted a video of the winning putt with a short interview with their winner.
John Murphy won a dramatic sudden death play off in style to be Links Trophy Champion 2018. He also tried to tell us all about it, despite the local pipe band trying to drown him out to the side of the Swilcan Bridge!#LinksTrophy@John_murphy5pic.twitter.com/JSJNyfgg5n
This was a great win for the man from Kinsale who has just completed his sophomore year at University of Louisville in the United States. He rose to 143rd in the SPWAR, jumping 616 places, as reward for the biggest win of his career.
Round 4 started at 12 noon with the leaders setting off at 2.56pm.
Jannik DE BRUYN (GER) shot the best final round, his second 68 of the day. Whilst his morning round had included two bogeys this afternoon he produced a clean card with four birdies. He posted 278 (-9) and waited patiently in the clubhouse to see if it would hold up.
Jannik De Bruyn Round 4 Scorecard (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / Intelligent Golf)
John MURPHY (IRE) also recorded the same score as he did in the morning. His 71 meant he was the only player to catch De Bruyn on -9 and that a play-off would be required to decide the winner.
Jake BURNAGE (ENG) shot final day rounds of 70 and 69 to finish tied 3rd with Haydn BARRON (AUS) on 279 (-8), just one shot back.
Englishman Burnage was bogey free in the afternoon but his morning 70 was something of a rollercoaster. Without wishing to be dismissive of his seven birdies it included, with the benefit of hindsight, a painful double bogey 6 on 12 and bogeys on 15 and 16. Nevertheless this represented another very good result for the Devonian No. 1 and a welcome return to form. He was the leading GB&I player in one of the world’s best amateur events.
Compatriot Laird SHEPHERD finished well with a 70 to secure a tied 5th place result on 280 (-7). Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) was next best for GB&I. His 281 (-6) score was good enough to secure tied 8th.
Round 3
Round 3 started at 7.00am with Kieran CANTLEY (SCO) going out alone. The two leading players, Laird SHEPHERD (ENG) -8 and John MURPHY (IRE) -7, teed off at 9.56am.
36 holes on the Old Course lay ahead as the 45 qualifying players set out to determine the winner of the 2018 St. Andrews Links Trophy.
Joey SAVOIE (CAN) 67 and John MURPHY (IRE) 71 shared the 54 hole lead on -8.
Overnight leader Laird SHEPHERD (ENG) shot 75, faltering late on with a double bogey on the 15th and a bogey on 17.
Sandy SCOTT (SCO) shot the best third round score. His blemish free 66 included an eagle on the par 5 5th and birdies on 9, 12, 13 and 14.
Daniel O’LOUGHLIN (ENG) also shot 67, with defending champion Matthew JORDAN (ENG) and fellow Englishman Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) 68 delivering the next best GB&I scores.
Jannik DE BRUYN (GER) moved up to -6 after a 68 in Round 3.
The star of Day 2 was Laird SHEPHERD (ENG). The Stirling University student knows St. Andrews well and demonstrated it around the Old Course today. With a supportive wind on the way out he completed his front 9 in just 30 shots and held it together nicely on the way home. His 65 (-7) helped him move to the top of the 36 hole leaderboard on 135 (-8).
There were a number of great rounds today reflecting the generally benign conditions in Fife. John MURPHY (IRE) shot 66, Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) – winner of the East of Ireland Amateur earlier this week – 67, David HAGUE (ENG) 67, Joey SAVOIE (CAN) 67 and Jamie LI (ENG) 68, all moving into the top 10 as a result.
Stuart EASTON (SCO) 67, Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) 68, Therion NEL (RSA) 68 and Daniel O’LOUGHLIN (ENG) 68 all knew they needed good rounds to make the cut and impressively delivered.
However, the bounceback prize has to go to Joao GIRAO (POR). After a disappointing 80 on the New Course yesterday, from which there was never going to be a way back, he at least went down fighting delivering a 66 which included 7 birdies.
First round leader Olly HUGGINS (ENG) found the going harder today – his 75, and 142 (-1) total, was at least good enough to ensure he made the cut.
The top 40 and ties 36 hole cut eventually fell at even par with 45 players making it through to the final day.
144 golfers from 26 different countries will tee off on Friday 8th June in the 30th St. Andrews Links Trophy.
This event has become one of the ‘Majors’ in men’s amateur golf helped by venue and timing.
R&A Clubhouse, St. Andrews (Photo: R&A Website)
Competition Format
The Links Trophy is a 72 hole scratch stroke play competition played over the St. Andrews Links in early June.
After various National Golf Union and St. Andrews Links Trust nominations the field is determined by World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) as at 3rd May 2018 rather than handicap as is normally the case.
This year Round 1 will be played on the New Course – the Jubilee Course was used last year – with Round 2 on the Old Course.
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 New Course plays 6,625 yards to a par of 71. The front nine is 3,270 yards long with a par of 36 whilst the tougher back nine is 85 yards longer but with a par of 35.
New Course Scorecard (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)
The Old Course is 6,721 yards off the white tees and has a par of 72. Both nines have a par of 36 and have similar yardages – the front is 3,336 yards long whilst the back is a little longer at 3,385 yards.
Old Course Scorecard (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)
The winner will be the player who returns the lowest 72 hole score. In the event of a tie a sudden death play-off will be held over holes 1 and 18.
Ties for other places are decided by the lowest score for the last 18 holes or the last 9 or 6 or 3 or 2 or 1 hole if necessary.
The Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR) placed the Links Trophy 8th in its 2017 Amateur Tournament Ranking based on the strength of it’s field. It was 6th in the same ranking in 2016.
18 of the 20 members of the 2018 GB&I St. Andrews Trophy squad will be competing at St. Andrews this week. Harry HALL (ENG) and Ryan LUMSDEN (SCO) are the exceptions; both were competing in U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying today in the United States. Many of the Squad have been drawn together in the opening rounds to help the selectors follow their play closely.
The attraction of St. Andrews always ensures a strong overseas entry. Australia, Canada and South Africa are particularly well represented in 2018 with Hugo BERNARD (CAN), Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), David MICHELUZZI (AUS), Wilco NIENABER (RSA), Dylan PERRY (AUS) and Matt SAULEZ (RSA) all strong challengers.
Weather Forecast (updated on Wednesday 6th June)
The current weather forecast appears perfect for golf – dry with minimal chance of rain.
Friday 8th June – Cloudy. Wind 13 mph E. Temp. Max. 15°C / Min 9°C.
Saturday 9th June – Cloudy. Wind 11 mph E. Temp. Max. 15°C / Min 10°C.
Sunday 10th June – Cloudy. Wind 11 mph E. Temp. Max. 16°C / Min 9°C.
Tee times in Rounds 1 and 2 start at 7.00am and end at 3.10pm so as with any links course the draw could play a big part in proceedings.
Prizes
The winner receives The St Andrews Links Trophy and a cheque for £500.
The runner-up and third place finisher also receive commemorative medals.
Reducing cash prizes are awarded to the top 10 finishers in all.
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 event.
2017 Event
Royal Liverpool’s Matthew JORDAN won the 2017 St. Andrews Links Trophy. Following an outstanding run of form the victory almost certainly secured his place in last year’s Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) Walker Cup team.
Matthew Jordan (Photo: Kenny Smith)
Rounds of 70, 68, 69 and 70 took Matthew to a finishing total of 277 (-11).
J.R. GALBRAITH (IRE) shot 66, 71, 70 and 71 (-10) to secure second place with Ben FERGUSON (AUS) finishing 3rd on -9.
Other GB&I players to finish in the top 10 included Laird SHEPHERD (-8) 4th, David BOOTE (-8) 6th, Liam JOHNSTON (-6) 7th , Gian-Marco PETROZZI (-5) 8th and Jack DAVIDSON (-5) 9th.
Only Craig WATSON (1992 and 1998), the current Great Britain & Ireland (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 three occasions – Australia’s Stuart BOVIER (1990), Daan HUIZING from The Netherlands (2012) and FedericoZUCCHETTI from Italy (2015).
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.
Nick POPPLETON (ENG) today won the 2018 Brabazon Trophy after a sudden death play-off with Wilco NIENABER (RSA).
Both players had started the day on 6-under, 3 shots back of overnight leader Jeong Weon KO (FRA).
Nick shot two rounds of 67 on the final day recording just two bogeys while Wilco posted a 65 and 69. Both players posting an impressive aggregate score of -10 for their final two rounds, played in glorious sunshine on Frilford Heath’s Red Course.
Nick Poppleton (Photo: Golf Bible)
Play-Off
The play-off took place on the 9th hole of Frilford’s Red Course. The 9th is a 180 yard par 3 played over a valley to an elevated green that slopes from back to front and is protected by two short bunkers. The flag was in the front right portion of the green.
Nick teed off first and finished short right in front of the bunker. Wilco followed him and finished in roughly the same area, a little closer to the bunker. Nick chipped up and watched in anguish as his well judged shot hit the flag and stayed out. Wilco followed and saw his chip finish an inch to the right of the hole. Both tapped-in quickly and returned to the tee to try again.
Despite now playing the hole for the fourth time on the day both players again missed the green short right. Nick was further away, perhaps as much as 30 feet. This time his chip ran up perfectly and dropped into the hole beside the flag. A magnificent shot played under the most extreme pressure. Wilco then chipped up from just in front of the green and amazingly lipped out, the ball finishing stone dead. The gallery had seen four difficult chips to a raised green and from reasonable distance in the play-off; three hit the hole and one stayed on the lip. It was some exhibition of the skills these elite amateurs have.
Nick had won the 2018 Brabazon Trophy in some style on the second extra hole. It was a great win for the likeable Yorkshireman.
Wilco should be disappointed he lost. This was my first viewing of him and he certainly looked the part, a professional in all but name. He hits the ball miles, has a beautiful short game and his temperament was first class. He clearly has a big future in the game, a prediction I wouldn’t normally make but feel confident of doing so with him. I am sure he will learn from this loss.
I set off with the Wilco NIENABER and Jack COPE pairing this afternoon, keeping a close eye on Nick POPPLETON who was playing ahead of them with David LANGLEY.
Not for the first time this season I would end up watching a relatively comfortable leader grasp defeat from the jaws of victory.
Wilco seemed very relaxed and despite leaking most of his tee shots to the right took advantage of his power and beautiful short game. He seemed to escape with pars or earn birdies on most of the holes on the front nine. The exception being the downhill 500 yard 6th where he eagled after a long drive and iron shot to 10 feet. When he followed it with a birdie on the 7th he was 5-under for his final round and -18 for the Championship, leading Nick by 4 shots.
Jack was playing very well but simply couldn’t get anything to drop on the greens on the front nine. Up ahead Nick was continuing his good form and was 3-under on the front nine for his own round.
Wilco was a bit lose around the turn dropping shots on 8 and 11 but doing well to get one back on the 12th where his towering approach from the deepish rough was judged perfectly.
After a solid par on the strategic right-to-left dogleg 13th, where he hit an iron off the tee and a nice approach to the difficult back pin position, the South African Number 1 was -4 for the round and -17 for the event. He was leading Nick by 3 shots.
As the small gallery walked up the 354 yard par 4 – what appeared to be the tightest, most penal hole on the course – we discussed how Wilco would surely play an iron. Jack, who had birdied the 12th and was therefore playing first, did just that and found the centre of the fairway, leaving himself a wedge in.
This was the point at which the Championship was undoubtedly lost.
Wilco, who was confidently being advised and caddied for throughout by a Golf RSA coach / manager, proceeded to smash his drive well into the gorse, again long right. This was not a surprise; he had done the same thing on most of the proceeding holes, the difference being they had all been much wider, allowing short ‘recovery’ shots to be played to the green. Aggressive play is great and clearly Wilco’s preferred approach but certain situations – e.g. when you have a 3 shot lead with 5 holes to play and are facing a hole bordered by gorse on both sides – require a bit more subtlety and the removal of big numbers from the potential equation.
If I had been caddying for him neither his woods, or for that matter his long irons, would have gone within 100 yards of the tee box. After all this is a lad that probably hits his 7-iron 200 yards. Surprisingly he hit his provisional with his driver too. To be fair this time he came up 20 yards short of the green. His chip was poor by the high standards of earlier in his round and before he knew it he was writing down 6 on his scorecard. He may not of known it at the time but his lead was now just 1 shot.
On the 421 yard 15th Wilco smashed his ball to within 30 yards of the green. Even allowing for the perfect playing conditions this was a massive hit. However, he couldn’t get up and down for birdie. Playing from the semi-rough he misjudged the lack of spin he would be able to generate and ran well past the hole.
As he putted out Nick was waiting on the nearby 16th with his caddie, friend and professional Alex Stubbs.
This was the point where the Championship was won.
England Golf had pushed the tee up for the final round and as such the hole was playing as a drivable 295 yard par 4. Nick hit a superb drive that found a path up the narrow right side of the green to a pin perched on the right ledge. When he holed the 15 foot putt for eagle he led by 1 shot.
With the green clear Jack found the putting surface whilst Wilco bounced into the left hand bunker. Jack proceeded to three putt for par whilst Wilco played a superb long bunker shot to a few feet but to everyone’s surprise missed his short birdie putt.
I quickly scampered after the Yorkshireman who by this time was finishing off on the 17th. Nick held his nerve to par in. He did give himself a 20 footer on the last for the outright win but the putt lipped out.
Wilco missed a relatively short downhill putt on 17 to draw back level. Hitting driver – perfectly justifiable given he was now chasing – on the 324 yard par 4 18th he flirted with the members car park before coming up just short of pin high on the left hand side. His chip was well played but ran out four feet passed the hole which was on the right edge of the green. To his credit he bravely slotted the downhill right to lefter for birdie, thus gaining a chance for redemption in a play-off.
With four groups still to come in it took almost an hour before the play-off could commence.
The Leading Brabazon Trophy Scorecard (Photo: England Golf / GolfBox)
As can be seen from the above screenshot England’s Bailey GILL and Jack COPE (-13 / tied 3rd), Andrew WILSON (-11 / tied 6th), Mitch WAITE (-11 / tied 6th), Arun SINGH BRAR (-9 / 8th), Max MARTIN, David LANGLEY and Ben JONES (-8 / all tied 9th) all enjoyed Top 10 finishes.
Jack COPE (ENG) seemed to gain confidence from Wilco’s back nine difficulties coming home in 33 with four birdies and one bogey. His -13 total and tied 3rd finish helped him win The George Henriques Salver, a prize awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20. Arun SINGH BRAR (-9) finished second in these supplementary standings.
Jack Cope (Photo: GolfBible)
Round 3
Play commenced at 7.30am with the leaders, Messrs. Ko and Waite, heading off at 9.09am. Unfortunately they recorded a 73 and 72 respectively from which they were unable to recover in the afternoon despite posting much improved rounds of 68 and 69.
However, the two main stories from Round 3 concerned South African protege Wilco NIENABER (RSA) and Darlington’s Andrew WILSON.
Wilco started on the 10th being one of the leading players. His halves of 33 and 32 included six birdies and one eagle. His -13 total after 54 holes gave him a 2 shot lead over Nick POPPLETON who had also impressed with his own 6 birdie 67 to move into second on -11.
Andrew started on the 1st at 8.15am and shot a sparkling best of the tournament course record 63 which he told me could have been better; a bogey on three and with four birdie opportunities all passed up over the closing holes. He was now right in the mix but would need to go low again in the afternoon.
Andrew Wilson’s 3rd Round Scorecard (Photo: England Golf / GolfBox)
ME.
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Saturday 2nd June 2018
Round 2
Jeong Weon KO (FRA) leads Mitch WAITE (ENG) by 1 shot at the end of Round 2. Ko shot a 69 to move onto -9 whilst Waite posted a joint best of the day 67 (-5), including 7 birdies, to move on to -8.
Jeong Weon Ko (Photo: Leaderboard Photography / England Golf)
Charlie STRICKLAND (ENG), whose season has been interrupted with health issues, is pleasingly in a three way tie for third on -7; he’s joined by Stuart EASTON (SCO) and Ferdinand MUELLER (GER).
Thomas BEASLEY (ENG) was the other player to shoot 67 on Day 2. His bogey free round included 4 birdies in his last 6 holes. Thomas will start the final day on -2 and in tied 28th place.
The cut fell at -1 with 46 players progressing.
With 21 players within 5 shots of the lead Sunday’s 36 holes should provide an exciting race to the title.
ME.
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Friday 1st June 2018
Round 1
Round 1 was concluded by early afternoon with the scoring bar lowered even further.
Jeong Weon KO (FRA), Nick POPPLETON (ENG) and Jay BEISSER (ENG) all posted 66’s (-6) on Day 2 to tie the Round 1 lead.
Beisser birdied every par 3 and par 5 to hand in an unusual card made up solely of 2’s and 4’s.
The Leading Round 1 Scorecards (Photo: England Golf / GolfBox)
Frederic LACROIX (FRA) joined Wilco NIENABER (RSA), Jack COPE (ENG) and Ferdinand MUELLER (GER), yesterday’s clubhouse leaders, by recording a 67 (-5). The four of them are all tied for fourth at this early stage.
Round 1 scoring has been good with 42 players under par from the 155 who started the event.
England Golf have announced that the 36 hole cut will now be set at the top 45 and ties, rather than the normal top 60 and ties; the higher level having also been reaffirmed yesterday after the suspension in play.
With 59 players tied 45th or better and 78 players at tied 60th or better after Round 1, and with only another 18 holes to be played before the cut is made, I assume a fear of having too big a field for the final 36 holes on Sunday has driven this decision.
After disappointing first rounds Matt SAULEZ (RSA) 74 +2, Chris WOOLLAM (RSA) 74 +2, Sam LOCKE 75 (SCO) +3, Andrew WILSON (ENG) 75 +3, Lewis GEORGE (ENG) 76 +4 and Robin WILLIAMS (ENG) 77 +5 are amongst the more notable players that will require a strong bounce back tomorrow to make the final day.
ME.
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Thursday 31st May 2018
Round 1
Play started at 8.00am but was brought to a premature close around 3.00pm by thunderstorms which left the Frilford Heath course flooded.
The Practice Putting Green (Photo: Frilford Heath G.C.)
74 players managed to complete their first rounds before play was abandoned. The leaders in the clubhouse being Wilco NIENABER (RSA), Jack COPE (ENG) and Ferdinand MUELLER (GER) who all shot 67’s (-5).
Sadly Todd CLEMENTS (ENG), one of the highest ranked competitors, had to withdraw before his 9.05am tee time with a back injury. In an event already lacking some of the field depth seen in previous years this was a blow from a ranking perspective.
England Golf have now decided to complete Round 1 tomorrow before playing Round 2 on Saturday.
The Top 60 and Ties cut will still take place after 36 holes meaning the leading players will now have to play 36 holes on Sunday.
ME.
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28th May 2018
The English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy will be played at Frilford Heath Golf Club this week.
The 72nd playing of this event takes place between Thursday 31st and Sunday 3rd June on the Oxfordshire Club’s Red Course.
Frilford Heath Golf Club (Photo: Frilford Heath G.C.)
Format
The competition consists of 72 holes of stroke play golf with 18 holes being played each day.
A 36 hole cut will take place with only the leading 60 competitors and ties progressing to the two weekend rounds.
In the event of a tie for the Championship on Sunday, there will be a sudden death play off.
Field
156 competitors will start the 2018 Championship. Whilst England dominates the entries players from 12 other countries are also represented.
78 players were exempted into the field based on their previous accomplishments with 78 coming through a qualifying process.
Callan BARROW (-2) of Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C. was the medalist at neighbouring Fairhaven in the North Qualifier, pipping Lincolnshire’s Sam DONE on count back. Click here to view the full North Qualifier Results
Cameron PHILLIPS (-6) from Hindhead G.C. led the qualifiers at Camberley Heath G.C. in the South Qualifier. Click here to view the full South Qualifier Results
13 of the 20 recently announced Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) St. Andrews Trophy Squad will be competing at the Brabazon. These are Todd CLEMENTS (ENG), Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG), Calum FYFE (SCO), David HAGUE (ENG), Ben JONES (ENG), Matthew JORDAN (ENG), Sam LOCKE (SCO), Billy MCKENZIE (ENG), Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG), Jamie STEWART (SCO), Euan WALKER (SCO), Robin WILLIAMS (ENG) and Andrew WILSON (ENG).
Of those missing the event Harry HALL (ENG), Ryan LUMSDEN (SCO) and Sandy SCOTT (SCO) were unable to enter due to the conflicting NCAA Division I National Championships which is currently being played in Oklahoma.
Rowan LESTER (IRE) and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRE) are playing in the East of Ireland Amateur Championship. The two leading Irish players Robin DAWSON (IRE) and Alex GLEESON (IRE) appear to be taking the week off.
To put the event in context the 2017 Brabazon was ranked the 17th most important amateur competition in the world last year based on the strength of it’s field by the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR). Unfortunately a scheduling clash with the East of Ireland Championship means a much lower event ranking can be expected in 2018.
Prizes
The Winner receives the magnificent gold Brabazon Trophy shown in the photo below.
The Champion’s Prize and Brabazon Trophy (Photo: GolfBible)
Prize vouchers will be awarded to those players finishing in the top six.
Two other prizes are connected to the Brabazon Trophy competition. The George Henriques Salver is awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20. The Philip Scruton Jug is awarded later in the year to the player returning the best aggregate scores in The Brabazon Trophy and The Berkshire Trophy (which will be played on 23rd and 24th June).
Frilford Heath Golf Club
Frilford’s first course, the Red, was designed by J.H. Taylor, the five times Open Champion, in 1908 and opened in the following year. Club professional J.H. Turner undertook some later tweaks but it largely remains as originally planned.
This predominantly heathland course measures around 7,000 yards depending on which tees are selected. A par of 72 is split 36-36, albeit as you can see from the scorecard below the hole configurations are different on the two nines.
Red Course Scorecard (Photo: Frilford Heath G.C.)
Weather Forecast
The weather forecast (as at Wednesday 30th May) is broadly positive for all four competition days, albeit the modest winds are expected to move around from day to day.
Thu 25th May – Thundery Showers / Wind 8 mph E / Temp. Min. 15°C, Max. 21°C. Fri 26th May – Light Rain / Wind 11 mph SW / Temp. Min. 13°C, Max. 21°C. Sat 27th May – Sunny / Wind 9 mph W / Temp. Min. 10°C / Min 21°C. Sun 28th May – Cloudy / Wind 8 mph NE / Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 23°C.
It is worth remembering that Rounds 1 and 2 will see players tee off the 1st from 8.00am right through until 2.35pm.
The 2017 Brabazon Trophy
South Africa’s Kyle MCCLATCHIE celebrated his 20th birthday by winning the 2017 English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Woodhall Spa Golf Club.
Kyle shot rounds of 70, 66, 75 and 71 for a 282 (-10) total and a 1-shot victory. He was the fifth South African to win the Brabazon Trophy, following in the footsteps of Neville Sundelson (1974), Richard Kaplan (1986), Craig Rivett (1989T) and Charl Schwartzel (2002).
Kyle McClatchie (Photo: Ernest Blignault)
Jamie STEWART (SCO), Jake BURNAGE (ENG) and Jack SINGH BRAR (ENG) all finished on -9 to tie for second place.
Jamie Stewart had a superb weekend shooting the lowest two scores on both days. He followed a 67 (-6) with a 68 (-5) in the final round.
Matthew JORDAN (ENG) (-7) finished 5th, Dan BROWN (ENG) (-5) 6th and David BOOTE (WAL) (-4) 7th.
The first player to successfully defend the title was Ronnie WHITE who won at Birkdale in 1950 and nearby Formby in 1951.
Shortly afterwards Philip SCRUTTON won the Brabazon three times in four years (1952, ‘54 & ‘55).
Sir Michael BONALLACK has four wins to his name. The first came at Royal Cinque Ports in 1964 and the last at Hillside in 1971. At Moortown in 1969, with play-offs having been discarded at this time, he shared the title with Rodney FOSTER.
Other well known British winners of the Brabazon include Gordon Brand Jnr, Sandy Lyle (2), Peter MCEVOY, Ronan Rafferty and Ronnie SHADE(3).
Other notable European winners include well known pros Ignacio GARRIDO (1992) and Peter HANSON (1998).
England beat France 13 – 7 in the 2018 Men’s International Match.
The 2018 England Team (Photo: Federation of French Golf / @ffgolf)
With heavy rain forecast to start in the St. Tropez area around midday the decision was taken to cancel the Day 2 Foursomes series and to concentrate on completing the 8 Singles.
England enjoyed a great team performance winning the Day 2 Singles series 6.5 – 1.5. This took them to a 13 – 7 lead and therefore meant the decision to cancel the four foursomes was pleasingly irrelevant to the overall match result.
As you can see from the results below there were Singles wins for Matthew Jordan, Todd Clements, Andrew Wilson, Ben Jones, Bailey Gill and David Hague.
Well done to the England team and in particular Ben Jones and David Hague who were both unbeaten in all three of their matches.
Day 2 Scoreboard (Photo: Federation of French Golf)
England lead France 6.5 – 5.5 after the first day’s play at Vidauban G.C.
The morning foursomes were shared, two a piece. Matthew Jordan and Gian-Marco Petrozzi and Ben Jones and David Hague were the successful pairings for England.
The afternoon singles also proved tight with England narrowly edging them 4.5 – 3.5. Ben Jones enjoyed the most convincing win, 7&5 over Jeong-Weon Ko. Gian-Marco Petrozzi and David Hague (both 4&3) also did well against Antoine Auburn and Paul Margolis respectively. Todd Clements picked up England’s fourth win battling hard for a 2Up win against Victor Veyret.
Tomorrow will hopefully see a further four foursomes and eight singles so there is clearly still lots to play for. I say hopefully because forecast rain in the afternoon is expected to lead to some adjustments being made to the match format.
Day 1 Scoreboard (Photo: Federation of French Golf)
ME.
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11th May 2018
England take on France this coming weekend in the 35th Men’s International Match between the two countries.
This year’s match is being played at Vidauban Golf Club in South East France.
Format
8 man teams from each country play 4 foursomes and 8 single matches on the two competition days.
With a total of 24 points to play for the winning team needs to secure 12.5 points to win the match outright. As England won the 2016 match they will also retain the trophy in the event of a 12-12 tie.
France is 1 hour ahead of the UK so play on Day 1 will start at 7.30am our time.
Teams
Here are the two 8 man teams with their current Scratch Player World Amateur Rankings in brackets: –
England Todd Clements (21) Bailey Gill (301) David Hague (100) Ben Jones (174) Matthew Jordan (14) Billy McKenzie (200) Gian-Marco Petrozzi (93) Andrew Wilson (433)
France
Antoine Auboin (347)
Edgar Catherine (105)
Clément Charmasson (305)
Jeong-Weon Ko (789)
Frédéric Lacroix (126)
Aymeric Laussot (813)
Paul Margolis (742)
Victor Veyret (332)
England will clearly start the match as favourites as is normally the case. At this time of year, with a number of players still engaged in the US College Championship series, France simply don’t have the strength in depth.
Venue
Vidauban Golf Club is an ultra-private club that was opened in 1999 on the hilly land around 10 miles north of St. Tropez.
Vidauban G.C. (Photo: Patrick Jantet)
The site was originally acquired by the famous golf architect Robert Trent Jones Snr. in the late 1970s. Fraught with subsequent financial and planning issues a course was eventually designed on the land by his son Robert Trent Jones Jnr.
Following recent renovation work the course is now established as one of Continental Europe’s finest. It is an undulating parkland track often compared with Spain’s Valderrama both in design and standing.
This International Match was first played in 1934, originally starting with 6 players aside before moving to 8 in 1949.
It lapsed after the 1962 match at Ganton G.C. but was resurrected in 1982 at Chantilly with a new format which has been retained to this day. It has been played biennially ever since.
Frilford Heath G.C., hosts of the 1984 match, donated a silver salver which the winning team retains.
England v. France Match Salver (Photo: Cyprien Comoy / Vidauban G.C.)
To date England have won 29 of the matches with France winning just 5, the last one being in 2010 at Chantilly.
Previous Results
England beat France 14 -10 in the 2016 match played at Formby G.C – Full Results
The 2016 England Team (Photo: GolfBible)
The England team back then consisted of Jamie Bower, Scott Gregory, Josh Hilleard, Paul Kinnear, Bradley Moore, Alfie Plant, Ashton Turner and James Walker.
The overall match record is Played 34, England Won 29 and France Won 5.
Match
Year
Venue
England
France
Winner
35
2018
Vidauban
34
2016
Formby
14
10
England
33
2014
Fontainebleau
13
11
England
32
2012
Rochester & Cobham
15
9
England
31
2010
Chantilly
11
13
France
30
2008
Frilford Heath
14
10
England
29
2006
Golf du Medoc
16.5
7.5
England
28
2004
Royal St. George’s
11.5
12.5
France
27
2002
Chantilly
17.5
6.5
England
26
2000
Chart Hills
17.5
6.5
England
25
1998
Les Bordes
11.5
12.5
France
24
1996
Sunningdale
9
15
France
23
1994
Nimes
17
7
England
22
1992
Royal Lytham & St. Annes
18
6
England
21
1990
Morfontaine
16.5
7.5
England
20
1988
Berkshire
16
8
England
19
1986
Hossegor
14.5
9.5
England
18
1984
Frilford Heath
16
8
England
17
1982
Chantilly
13
11
England
1963-1981 No matches were played
16
1962
Ganton
7.5
4.5
England
15
1960
Chantilly
7.5
4.5
England
14
1959
West Hill
8.5
3.5
England
13
1956
Chantilly
10
2
England
12
1954
Berkshire
11
1
England
11
1952
Deal
8
4
England
10
1950
Morfontaine
8.5
3.5
England
9
1949
Deal
5
4
England
8
1948
St. Cloud
5.5
3.5
England
7
1947
Wentworth
8
1
England
1940-1946 No matches were played
6
1939
Morfontaine
5
4
France
5
1938
Sunningdale
8.5
0.5
England
4
1937
Chantilly
7
0
England
3
1936
Deal
5.5
3.5
England
2
1935
St. Germain-en-Laye
5.5
3.5
England
1
1934
Wentworth
5.5
3.5
England
N.B. Matches 1–8 had 6 players and matches 9-35 had 8 players
As we come to the end of 2017 I thought I would record the more memorable performances that we have seen from Great British and Irish (GB&I) amateur golfers throughout the year.
When one reads through the months below it’s hard not to conclude that the year has generally been another successful one, with many highs and just a few lows.
An unusually large number of players have turned professional in the last 3 months (‘Amexit’) but I think we can take comfort from the positive signs already emanating from the next generation of players coming through.
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JANUARY
The year started with various touring parties heading off to events in the Southern Hemisphere.
Evan GRIFFITH (quarter finals) and Robert MACINTYRE (semi-finals) enjoyed good runs in the Australian Men’s Amateur.
Jack DAVIDSON and Conor O’ROURKE finished 4th and tied 7th at the South American Amateur in Argentina.
Jack SINGH BRAR and Bradley MOORE finished 2nd and 3rd in the Avondale Amateur in Australia.
FEBRUARY
Scott GREGORY delivered GB&I’s first major win of 2017, beating compatriot Marco PENGE by 1 hole in the Final of the New South Wales Amateur.
Robin DAWSON (2nd), Dan BROWN (3rd), Liam JOHNSTON (5th) and Craig HOWIE (7th) made good starts to their seasons with high finishes in the South African Stroke Play Championship.
Back in Europe Josh MCMAHON (2nd), Gian-Marco PETROZZI (T4), David BOOTE (T4) and Bailey GILL, George BLOOR and Tiarnan MCLARNON (T7) all showed early season form at the Portuguese International Amateur.
Robin DAWSON (2nd) lost a play-off to South African star Garrick Higgo in the Cape Province Open. Stuart GREHAN and Alex GLEESON finished T4 in the same event whilst Craig HOWIE was T9.
Dan BROWN (-15) was co-medalist in the South African Amateur. Dan sadly lost the play-off for the Proudfoot Trophy on the 4th extra hole albeit his second round 63 at Humewood GC will no doubt live long in his memory. He was 6-under after his first 5 holes having eagled two par 4’s. Liam JOHNSTON and Joe LONG made the Quarter-Final when the Championship match play got going.
Liam Johnston (Photo: Ernest Blignault)
Liam JOHNSTON didn’t have to wait much longer to get his name up in lights. The following week he went on to win the African Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Leopard Creek CC. In a good week for Scottish Golf Connor SYME (2nd), Jamie STEWART (3rd) and Craig HOWIE (5th) also finished high up.
Ben AMOR (ENG) turned Pro in February.
MARCH
Jack DAVIDSON got the European season underway by winning the Spanish International Amateur. Interestingly Jack was the final stroke play qualifier after Chris MACLEAN had pipped Stuart GREHAN to medalist honours. Nevertheless he soon got to grips with EL Saler ultimately beating Marco PENGE 4&3 in the 36 hole final.
In an event with little GB&I support David HAGUE popped up with a T7 result at the Italian International Amateur. Even more surprisingly Sean CROCKER the highly rated US College golfer turned up and ended up winning the Championship comfortably by 5 shots.
A superb opening day’s play from Bailey GILL, where he shot two 65’s, helped the Yorkshireman literally blow the field away at the subsequently weather shortened Darwin Salver.
Scott GREGORY re-affirmed his match play credentials with an impressive 1st Extra Hole win over Australia’s 2016 US Amateur champion Curtis LUCK in the pre-Masters Georgia Cup match.
APRIL
WALES, represented by David BOOTE, Jack DAVIDSON, Joshua DAVIES and Owen EDWARDS, won the European Nations Cup Team competition at RCG Sotogrande in Spain. WALES’ total of +13 was 11 shots better than second placed IRELAND (+24) and 21 shots better than fourth placed SCOTLAND (+34). An out of sorts ENGLAND (+61) finished a disappointing 12th.
Jack DAVIDSON won the Individual European Nations Cup title by 4-shots. Rounds of 70, 70, 70 and 73 (-5), which included 20 birdies and 2 eagles, gave him his second major title in less than a month.
Charlie STRICKLAND, who was runner-up to Bailey GILL at the Darwin Salver, then came to the fore, winning two 72 hole events in consecutive weeks. First came the Duncan Putter – which will be moving to three days at Southerndown in 2018 – and quickly following it up with the U18 Peter McEvoy Trophy at my home club, Copt Heath.
Charlie Strickland with Peter McEvoy (Photo: @GolfBible)
The 2016 US Mid-Amateur champion, Stewart HAGESTAD, won the Silver Cup at The Masters following rounds of 74, 73, 74 and 73 (+6). His tied 36th finish saw him comfortably win low amateur honours. Our Amateur champion, Scott GREGORY, missed the cut after rounds of 82 and 75 (+13).
The Scottish Boys Open Championship, disappointingly scheduled directly against the Peter McEvoy Trophy, was won in style by John PATERSON who came past runner-up Jamie STEWART at Monifieth with an exceptional final round of 67.
The Hampshire Salver again proved a popular weekend for competitors. Jack SINGH BRAR won Saturday’s Selborne Salver and Jake BURNAGE Sunday’s Hampshire Hog at North Hants. Singh Brar beat Burnage by 1shot for the combined 72 hole Hampshire Salver.
Up in Scotland Craig HOWIE, the clear favourite at the start of play, dominated the Craigmillar Park Open shooting rounds of 66, 66, 66 and 67 (-15) and winning by 8 shots.
Barry ANDERSON won the West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at County Sligo beating Jack PIERSE 3&2 in the Final. Earlier Conor O’ROURKE had edged out fellow Naas member Jonathan YATES to secure medallist honours in the 36 hole stroke play qualifier.
Chile’s Joaquin NIEMANN started his rise to the top of the Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking by winning the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in the United Sates.
Owen EDWARDS (-3) won the West of England Stroke Play after a strong final day’s play at Saunton left him as the only player under par. David HAGUE (+1) was 2nd and Will POOLE (+3) tied 3rd.
On the same weekend Connor SYME won the Battle Trophy at Crail. Despite giving the field a chance with a final round 79 the Drumoig man still won by 5 shots.
Meanwhile in South Wales Matthew HARRIS won the Carmarthenshire Open at Ashburnham and Callum MORRIS the Golden Eagle at Tenby. However, it was Luke HARRIES who won the Trubshaw Cup for the best 72 hole score over the weekend.
MAY
May saw the focus return to Great Britain and Ireland with our leading amateur events now starting to be played.
Jack SINGH BRAR won the Lytham Trophy helped in no small part by a superb first round of 68 achieved in strong winds when the rest of the elite field struggled (CSS 79). Charlie STRICKLAND and Jake BURNAGE finished 2nd and 3rd in what proved to be a very good week for England Golf with 7 of the top 10 coming from the home nation.
Just down the road George RAITT and Conor GOUGH finished 2nd and tied 3rd respectively in the Boys’ Fairhaven Trophy. However, Sweden’s Ludvig ABERG was in a class of his own that week winning by 9 shots.
Having come close in the West of England a few weeks’ earlier Will POOLE found Kent’s links courses even more to his liking winning the South East of England Links Championship.
Peter O’KEEFFE won the Irish Open Amateur Championship holding off a strong field at Royal County Down GC. A posse of English and Scottish players made Peter work for it with Chris MACLEAN and Tom SLOMAN ultimately finishing 3 shots back in tied 5th.
David HAGUE won the Lagonda Trophy by 12 shots. An astonishing 62 63 final day finish on the 6,367 yards par 70 Old Course blitzing the field.
David Hague (Photo: Kevin Diss)
Josh HILLEARD won the Murat Cup at the French International Amateur beating the home junior Pierre PINEAU on the second play-off hole. Both players came through the field in the final round of the 72 hole contest at Chantilly; Hilleard shooting 64 and Pineau 66.
In what proved to be a successful weekend for England Golf Gian-Marco PETROZZI secured the Welsh Amateur Open Stroke Play title at The Vale Resort. Gian-Marco (-13) won by 9 shots from fellow Staffordshire player Jack GAUNT (-4) and local favourites Jack DAVIDSON (-3) and Owen EDWARDS (-1).
Woodhall Spa staged the 2017 Brabazon Trophy with South Africa’s Kyle MCCLATCHIE beating Jamie STEWART, Jake BURNAGE and Jack SINGH BRAR by 1 shot to secure the prestigious English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play title and beautiful gold plated trophy.
In what proved to be a generally disappointing US Collegiate season for GB&I players Braden THORNBERRY won the NCAA Division 1 Individual Stroke Play before OKLAHOMA secured the Team title in the subsequent Match Play stage.
Sam HORSFIELD (ENG) turned Pro in May 2017.
JUNE
June started with England’s Max MARTIN picking up the Welsh Open Youths Championship at Prestatyn.
Liam JOHNSTON won the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Western Gailes, holding off an in form Matthew JORDAN (2nd) by 2 shots and fellow Scottish Internationals Craig HOWIE (T3) and Connor SYME (5th).
The East of Ireland Amateur went to Reece BLACK whose final round 66 at County Louth was needed to hold off a fast finishing Robbie PIERSE (69).
Matthew JORDAN finally got the win his outstanding play in May and June deserved when he picked up the St. Andrews Links Trophy. Two late bogeys on the Old Course from Matthew enabled Ireland’s John Ross GALBRAITH, who birdied two of his last four, to finish 1 shot back, making the result tighter than it really should have been.
Somewhat ominously, given September’s Walker Cup match, USA ran out easy winners against Europe in the Arnold Palmer Cup played at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Driven on by unbeaten Doug GHIM, with Maverick MCNEALY, Collin MORIKAWA and Norman XIONG all featuring, USA won easily 19.5 – 10.5. The Arnold Palmer Cup match moves to a new mixed format in France next July.
One of the highlights of the year was Harry ELLIS’ magnificent win in The Amateur Championship staged at Royal St. George’s and Princes in Kent. 4 Down with five holes to play Ellis somehow fought back, helped in no small part by Dylan PERRY bogeying four of these remaining holes. The Hampshire man ultimately won on the second extra hole when the Australian could do no better than a 6 on the par 4 2nd hole. The win secured Harry his place in history but also this year’s Open Championship and the GB&I Walker Cup team. With a trip to Augusta National in April 2018 still to come it really is the Championship that keeps on giving. A quick word also for medallist Caolan RAFFERTY whose 62 on Day 2 at Prince’s, even with a bogey on the last, was one of the amateur stroke play rounds of the year.
Ben JONES won the U18 Boys Sir Henry Cooper Masters by 10 shots at Nizels G&CC, separating himself from his peers after a 9-under, bogey free, 63 in round 3. In a stellar year for the competition the outstanding Lily May HUMPHRIES won the Girls event by 12 shots.
The 2017 Berkshire Trophy was won by Adam LUMLEY who finished on -18, 7 shots ahead of JACK CLARKSON. David HAGUE and Billy MACKENZIE finished tied 3rd.
Mark Power (Photo: Castleroy GC)
Mark POWER retained his Irish Boys Amateur Open Championship title at Castleroy GC, the first person to do so since Paul Dunne a few years ago. He and England’s Jack COPE finished on -5 before Mark ended a topsy-turvy three hole play off in style by holing a 129 yard wedge on the 18th.
Kevin LE BLANC (IRE) turned Pro in June.
JULY
July 1st saw Alfie PLANT memorably win the European Men’s Amateur at Walton Heath GC. A near tap-in birdie on the 72nd hole helped the man from Kent draw level on -15 with Lorenzo SCALISE and defending Luca CIANCHETTI, helped in no small part by both Italians bogeying the same hole. With a place in The Open Championship on the line Plant went on to birdie the Old Course’s 2nd hole, winning the sudden death play off on the fifth extra hole.
Alfie Plant (Photo: GolfBible)
Greg DALZIEL won the Scottish Boys Amateur Championship at Scotscraig, beating Australian-based Josh GREER by 1 hole in the Final.
A week later The Scottish Boys U16 Open Championship at Fairmont Kittocks went to 13 year old Calum SCOTT, younger brother of Scottish Men’s International Sandy. Josh GREER finished tied 2nd four shots back. Equally of note were the 7th and tied 12th place finishes of Max HOPKINS and Aidan O’HAGAN, new names that would come to mean more as the year unfolded.
The North of Ireland Championship was played at Royal Portrush GC with Caolan RAFFERTY winning the stroke play qualifier on -10. Caolan fell to Colin FAIRWEATHER in the semi-finals before Rowan LESTER beat Colin by 2 holes in the final.
DENMARK won the European Boys Team Championship at La Manga beating SPAIN 4-3 in the Final. ENGLAND (T4) and IRELAND (8th) both qualified for Flight A but found little success in their three matches.
ENGLAND (1st), SCOTLAND (5th) and IRELAND (6th) all made Flight A in the Men’s European Amateur Team Championship which was played concurrently with the Boys’ at Diamond CC in Austria. In a closely fought match SPAIN beat ENGLAND 4-3 in the final.
Estonia’s Joonas TURBA was something of a surprise winner at the MacGregor Trophy (Boys’ U16 Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship). English propsects Max HOPKINS and Robin WILLIAMS were second and third respectively.
Noah GOODWIN (USA) beat Matthew WOLFF (USA) 1Up in the final of the US Junior Amateur at Flint Hills National GC in Kansas.
Alfie PLANT collected the Silver Medal for the low amateur at The Open Championship after rounds of 71, 73, 69 and 73 (+6) secured a T62 at Royal Birkdale GC. Connor SYME (73 76, +9) and Harry ELLIS (77 75, +12) both missed the cut.
Jake BURNAGE beat a fast finishing Jack YULE to win the South East of England Amateur Championship played on the New and Old Courses at Walton Heath GC. The Club have recently announced that the event will be renamed as The Walton Heath Trophy from 2018.
Jake Burnage (Photo: GolfBible)
Andrea ROMANO from Italy beat France’s Jean BEKIRIAN in a play-off to secure the Carris Trophy (Boys’ U18 Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship). English trio Jack COPE, Taylor STOTE and Robin WILLIAMS all finished in the Top 5 at West Sussex GC.
Conor GOUGH (-5, 7th), Barclay BROWN (+1 T14), Lily May HUMPHRIES (-2, 1st) and Annabell FULLER (Ev, T3) collectively won the Team title at the European Young Masters with a -12 total score in Oslo.
The 2017 South of Ireland Open Championship was won by James SUGRUE at Lahinch. After the North champion Rowan LESTER had won the 36 hole stroke play qualifier James worked his way through a strong field before beating Conor O’ROURKE 3&2 in the final.
AUGUST
Evan GRIFFITH dominated stroke play qualifying in the Wales Amateur Championship at Aberdovey GC with two rounds of 68 and 64 (-10) seeing him achieve medalist honours by an impressive 6 shots. However, Wales’ player of the year Jack DAVIDSON got the better of him in a tight semi-final before going on to beat Tim HARRY in the 36 hole final by 8&7.
The Scottish Amateur was played at Prestwick and was won by Sam LOCKE. Sandy SCOTT and Calum FYFE were the leading qualifiers. LOCKE played superbly in the match play stage ultimately beating Ryan LUMSDEN 9&8 in the 36 hole final.
The English Men’s Amateur was contested at The Berkshire. The story from the stroke play stage was medalist’s David LANGLEY’s superb 61 on the Blue Course on Day 1. However, it was Todd CLEMENTS who prevailed in the match play eventually beating Jack GAUNT 2&1 in the final.
Like the Brabazon Trophy earlier in the year it was a South African who won the Reid Trophy, awarded to the winner of the English Boy’s U14 Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship. Casey JARVIS (-4) held off fast finishing Spaniard Jose BALLESTER at the Manchester GC. For those looking for potential GB&I stars of the future Rory MCDONALD-O’BRIEN (ENG), George DURKAN (ENG), Joshua HILL (IRE), Joseph BYRNE (IRE) and Jack BIGHAM (ENG) all finished in the top 10.
ENGLAND won The Boys’ Home Internationals at St. Anne’s Old Links. Toby BRIGGS, Conor GOUGH, Joe PAGDIN and Robin WILLIAMS all compiled W5 L1 H0 records during the week. Whilst SCOTLAND came last they did provide the highlight of the week; the unbeaten foursomes pairing of 13 year olds Calum SCOTT and Aiden O’HAGEN.
Calum Scott and Aiden O’Hagen (Photo: GolfBible)
Andrew WILSON (-4), the only player to finish under par for the 72 holes and helped on his way by a 62 in round 1, won the Lee Westwood Trophy at Rotherham GC. Charlie THORNTON and Olly HUGGINS (Ev) were tied 2nd.
IRELAND continued their superb run at the Men’s Home Internationals winning the Raymond Trophy for a fourth consecutive year at Moortown GC in England. Caolan RAFFERTY (W5 L1 H0), Paul MCBRIDE (W4 L0 H1) and Colin FAIRWEATHER (W4 L1 H0) starred in a strong team performance.
The 2017 Boys’ Amateur Championship was played at Nairn GC and Nairn Dunbar GC. Home player Darren HOWIE (-8) was medallist with Alex FITZPATRICK (-7) tied 2nd and Danny DANIELS (-6) tied 4th. However, it was Portugal’s Pedro LENCART SILVA, who had qualified in tied 6th on -4, who came through the match play stage to win. He beat defending champion Falko HANISCH (GER) 5&4 in the 36 hole final.
Played at the magnificent Riviera CC and Bel-Air CC’s in Los Angeles Doc REDMAN won the U.S. Amateur Championship in stunning fashion. Hayden WOOD (-9) achieved medallist honours in the stroke play qualifying. Jack SINGH BRAR (-2) T8 led the way for GB&I, with Connor SYME and Robert MACINTYRE (both +2) T35 following him into the match play stage. Syme went furthest at Riviera ending up losing 2&1 in the quarter finals to Doug GHIM. Ghim went on to reach the final where he found himself 2Up with two to play and just over the back of the green in two on the par 5 17th. With Redman just on the green in front of him easily 50 yards away from the hole he could be forgiven for thinking the Havemeyer Trophy was his and for allowing his mind to wander to the first tee of Augusta National in April 2018. Unfortunately the golfing gods stepped in. After Ghim had left his chip 6 feet short Redman stepped up and at pace holed the most amazing right to left downhill putt of the year, or for that matter almost any year, for eagle. Redman then followed it up with a superb birdie on the uphill 18th from 6 foot with Ghim only managing a scrambled par. With the match now All Square, Redman hit a perfect drive to the front of Riviera’s short 315 yard par 4 10th, the first extra hole. Visibly shocked at what was happening in front of him Ghim then hooked his drive and having hacked around for a while before securing a 6 conceded Redman the Championship. An unbelievable finish to amateur golf’s premier event.
The North of England U16 Boy’s Championship was won by Callum MACFIE at Pannal GC. Matthew JACKMAN was one back with Max HOPKINS a little further back in 3rd place.
The Irish U16 Boys Amateur Open Championship was played at Rockmount and was won by Mullingar’s Adam SMITH. Odhran MAGUIRE, the younger brother of Leona and Lisa, was 2nd.
Down at Sundridge Park GC Liam BURNS (-5) defenced the Waterford Trophy. A 67 66 final day finish was required by the man from Chiselhurst to hold off Nick PANTING by 1 shot.
The U16 Welsh Boys was won by Bryn THOMAS at Cradoc GC. Thomas’ final round of 67 helped him to a 9 shot victory over Tom PEET.
The Irish Amateur Close Championship was won by Jamie FLETCHER at Galway GC. Peter KERR and David BRADY were seeded 1st and 2nd after both recorded 138 (-2) in the stroke play stage. In a tight 18 hole final Fletcher beat David KITT by 1 hole.
Richard MANSELL (ENG), Bradley MOORE (ENG), Marco PENGE (ENG) and Sean TOWNDROW (ENG) all turned Pro in August.
SEPTEMBER
The CONTINENT OF EUROPE won the annual Jacques Léglise Trophy U18 Boys’ match against GB&I at Ballybunion GC by 15.5 – 9.5. Unbeaten pair Pedro LENCART SILVA (W3-L0-H1) and Eduard ROUSARD SABATE (SWE) helped the away side to a second successive win. Ben JONES (W2-L1-H1) and Robin WILLIAMS (W2-L1-H0) put up the best defence for GB&I.
The Walker Cup result was an even more sobering experience for GB&I the following week. Craig WATSON had to step down as GB&I captain on the eve of the match but with Andy INGRAM a very capable deputy I am sure this in no way contributed to what followed at Los Angeles Country Club. Whilst the final result was not unexpected the manner of the 17-9 defeat was. Only Jack SINGH BRAR (W3-L1-H0), Robert MACINTYRE (W1-L1-H1) and Scott GREGORY (W2-L1-H1) really came away with any credit from the match. From the USA side Captain Spider Miller had clearly learned a few lessons from Royal Lytham in 2015 and backed up by superb performances from Doug GHIM, Maverick MCNEALY, Colin MORIKAWA, (all W4-L0-H0) and Norman XIONG (W3-L0-H1) the one sided result felt inevitable as soon as the Day 1 singles were concluded.
The USA Walker Cup Team (Photo: GolfBible)
Ben JONES won The Duke of York Champions Trophy at Royal Liverpool GC by 8 shots from Sweden’s Oscar TEIFFEL. John PATERSON, who shot a 69 in round 2, the best of the week, finished 7th.
David BOOTE (WAL), Dan BROWN (ENG) Jack DAVIDSON (WAL), Tom GANDY (ENG), Scott GREGORY (ENG), Evan GRIFFITH (WAL), Cameron LONG (ENG), Alfie PLANT (ENG), Craig ROSS (SCO), Conor O’ROURKE (IRE), Jack SINGH BRAR (ENG), Connor SYME (SCO), Will WHITEOAK (ENG) and Jack YULE (ENG) all turned Pro in September.
OCTOBER
David HAGUE (+1) won the North of England Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship at Alwoodley GC. Andrew Wilson (+3) was 2nd with Harry GODDARD and Nick POPPLETON (+4) tied 3rd.
Joshua DAVIES (WAL), Owen EDWARDS (WAL), Colin FAIRWEATHER (IRE), Stuart GREHAN (IRE), Liam JOHNSTON (SCO) and Robert MACINTYRE (SCO) all turned Pro in October.
NOVEMBER
A birdie, eagle finish helped China’s LIN YUXIN to the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship title at Royal Wellington GC in New Zealand. We can therefore look forward to seeing him in action at The Masters in 2018.
14 year old Max HOPKINS (-2) became the youngest ever winner of the Boys’ Telegraph Vitality Junior Golf Championship at Quinta do Lago in Portugal. Ben JONES (+1) was 2nd and Alfie FOX (+3) 3rd.
Jamie CLARE (ENG), John Ross GALBRAITH (IRE) and Chris MACLEAN (SCO) all turned Pro in November.
Sam HORSFIELD won the Final Stage of the European Tour Qualifying School at Lumine Golf & Beach Club in Spain. His final -27 score, with all six rounds in the 60’s and a best of the day final round of 63 (-8), saw him win the 108 hole event by an impressive 8 shots. Amongst the other players to pick up a 2018 Tour card were Connor SYME, who finished tied 9th on -17 and Jonathan THOMSON, who finished tied 18th on -14.
DECEMBER
Ben JONES (-12) finished tied 2nd at the South Beach International Amateur in Miami. In an event which enjoyed the 5th strongest field of the year it was also pleasing to see Harry HALL (-7) and Joe PAGDIN (-4) record impressive results; tied 10th and tied 19th respectively.
Ben JONES finished tied 28th at the Boy’s Junior Orange Bowl Championship in Miami, 22 shots behind runaway winner Jerry JI from The Netherlands. Lily May HUMPHRIES enhanced her growing reputation by winning the Girls event by 9 shots.
Mason OVERSTREET (USA) won The Patriot All-America in Arizona. The six GB&I players struggled to make an impression with George BURNS (T38) recording the best finish.
Josh HILLEARD (ENG) turned Pro earlier in the month.
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If you want to review the detailed results of any of the above competitions then please take a look at the GolfBible Results Page where you will be able to find links to nearly all of those mentioned above.
Jake Burnage (Photo: GolfBible)
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