Tag Archives: Benjamin Reuter

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2024 Preview & Results

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9th June 2024

Seb CAVE (ENG) completed a wire-to-wire victory in the 35th St. Andrews Links Trophy after a final day of play on the Old Course.

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Seb Cave (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

Cave speaking to the St. Andrews Links Trust Media Team afterwards said “It feels amazing. You can’t really get much bigger than this as an amateur. I’ve never really seemed to crack it round here but I came here with a good mindset and I genuinely believe having my girlfriend on the bag has helped massively and I just stayed chilled.”

Round 4

A 1-under par 71 in the final round was good enough to get Seb CAVE (ENG) over the line at St. Andrews.

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Seb Cave’s Championship Scorecard (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Simon HOVDAL (SWE) was one shot behind Cave playing the 18th but a double bogey, having surprisingly pulled his tee shot left and out of bounds, relieved the pressure on the winner and saw the Swede tumble down to 4th place on -3.

Harley SMITH (ENG), who finished with a 68, came 2nd ahead of Calum SCOTT (SCO) 3rd on count back after they both completed the tournament on 283 (-4).

Paul BEAUVY (FRA) was 5th on count back from Hovdal with Lars VAN DER VIGHT (NED) -2 6th. The Dutchman’s 67 this afternoon was the best final round score.

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Lars Van Der Vight’s Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Josh HILL (ENG), Will HOPKINS (ENG) and Cameron ADAM (SCO) all finished on -1 to make the top 10.

With the winds receding as play moved into the early evening the average score in Round 4 from the field was an impressive 72.76 (+0.76).

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

Click here to view the – 2024 St. Andrews Trophy Leaderboard

Round 3

The two overnight leaders did not enjoy their third rounds on a breezy Old Course which made scoring difficult. Seb CAVE (ENG) posted a 75 and Simon HOVDAL (SWE) a 78.

The good news for Cave was that he maintained his 2-shot lead heading into the final round.

Scottish pair Calum SCOTT 69 and Cameron ADAM 71 joined James ASHFIELD (WAL) 73 in tied 2nd place -2, all within striking distance.

Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) -2 tied 5th, Paul BEAUVY (FRA) -2 tied 5th and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) -1 7th were the only other players under par after 54 holes.

The best third round score came from 2024 French International Amateur champion Benjamin REUTER (NED) who recorded a 4-under 68.

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Benjamin Reuter’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

The average score around the Old Course (par 72) on Sunday morning was 74.85 (+2.85) from the 49 remaining competitiors.

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Round 3 Scorecard – Leaders (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

ME.

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8th June 2024

Round 2

Play moved across to the Old Course on Saturday with Seb CAVE (ENG) maintaining his lead after recording a 3-under 69.

Simon HOVDAL (SWE) had the best round of the day; his 6-under 66 moved him up to 2nd place just two shots behind our leader.

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Simon Hovdal’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

James ASHFIELD (WAL), Josh HILL (ENG), Will HOPKINS (ENG), Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), Paul BEAUVY (FRA), Cameron ADAM (SCO) and Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO) all finished the day on 141 (-2) and tied 4th.

English pair Josh Hill and Harley SMITH, who is tied 10th on Even par, both posted 68’s for the joint second best score on Day 2.

49 players made the top 40 and ties 36 hole cut which fell at 147 (+4).

Conor GRAHAM (SCO), who birdied his four of his last five holes, and Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), who birdied the 18th, both shot 1-under 71’s to bounce back well from disappointing opening rounds and make the cut on the +4 mark.

The average score around the Old Course (par 72) from the 144 competitors was 75.24 (+3.24). Conditions were better for the early starters with showers and strong winds coming in during the afternoon.

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Round 2 Scorecard – Leaders (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

ME.

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7th June 2024

Round 1

Seb CAVE (ENG) separated himself from the field with an opening round of 66 (-5) on the New Course which included seven birdies.

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Seb Cave’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Max KENNEDY (IRL), Eliot BAKER (ENG), Luis MASAVEU (ESP) and James ASHFIELD (WAL) are all tied for 2nd place after firing 69’s (-2).

Nine players including Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO), Harry CROCKETT (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL) and Cameron ADAM (SCO) are tied 6th on -1.

Looking forward to the 36 hole top 40 and ties cut 37 players finished the day on +1 or better with a further 13 on +2.

The average score around the New Course (par 71) from the 144 competitors was 74.70 (+3.70).

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Round 1 Scorecard – Leaders (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

ME.

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31st May 2024 (Updated 4th June 2024)

144 golfers will tee off on Friday 7th June in the 35th St. Andrews Links Trophy.

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

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

St Andrews Clubhouse

R&A Clubhouse, St. Andrews (Photo: R&A Website)

Competition Format

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

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

This year Round 1 will be played on the New Course and Round 2 on the Old Course. The Jubilee Course is sometimes used for Round 1 but not this year.

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

The Old Course has been set up at 7,171 yards for the event and has a par of 72. Both nines have a par of 36 and have similar yardages – the front is 3,535 yards long whilst the back is longer at 3,636 yards. It has a Course Rating of 75.6 and a Slope of 143.

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

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

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

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

The Field

As this is the first event that takes place in Great Britain & Ireland after the U.S. college season has ended the field is stronger than we have seen in recent weeks.

26 different countries will be represented in Fife.

The players I will be following most closely are James ASHFIELD (WAL), Eliot BAKER (ENG), Jack BIGHAM (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), Harry CROCKETT (ENG), Quinton DEBOVE (FRA), Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG), Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), Will HOPKINS (ENG), Jack INGHAM (NED), Seán KEELING (IRL), Max KENNEDY (IRL), Luis MASAVEU (ESP), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Jonathan NIELSEN (DEN), Tom OSBORNE (ENG), Calum SCOTT (SCO), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), Benjamin REUTER (NED), Matt ROBERTS (WAL), Harley SMITH (ENG), Gregor TAIT (SCO), Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) and Lars VAN DER VIGHT (NED).

The most notable GB&I ‘absentees’ this week are Ben BOLTON (ENG), Barclay BROWN (ENG), James CLARIDGE (ENG) WD, Paul CONROY (IRL) WD, Charlie CROCKETT (ENG), Daniel HAYES (ENG), Conor GOUGH (ENG), Kris KIM (ENG), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Joe SULLIVAN (ENG) and Tyler WEAVER (ENG).

Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2024 St. Andrews Links Trophy Tee Times

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 4th June)

The current weather forecast looks just about acceptable with dry mornings and some rain every afternoon. Strong breezes should also make play interesting at times.

Friday 7th June – Sunny AM / Light Rain PM. Wind 23 mph W. Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 13°C.
Saturday 8th June – Sunny AM / Light Rain PM. Wind 19 mph SE. Temp. Min. 9°C / Max. 15°C.
Sunday 9th June – Sunny AM / Light Rain PM. Wind 15 mph w. Temp. Min. 9°C / Max. 16°C.

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

Prizes

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

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

Reducing voucher prizes are also awarded to the top 10 finishers.

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

The Open Championship

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

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

Competition Website

For more information click here to view the – 2024 St. Andrews Links Trophy Tournament Website

2023 St. Andrews Links Trophy

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) won the St. Andrews Links Trophy by 5-shots with rounds of 70, 66, 66 and 64 and a 266 (-21) total.

The Laytown & Bettystown member became the fourth Irish winner following in the footsteps of Alan Dunbar (2009), Connor O’Rourke (2016) and John Murphy (2018).

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Alex Maguire (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

Albert HANSSON (SWE) -16 finished 2nd, Calum SCOTT (SCO) -15 3rd, Harry CROCKETT (ENG) -15 4th and Paul BEAUVY (FRA) -12 5th.I

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2023 STAL Final Results (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2023 St. Andrews Links Trophy Results

Past Winners

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2024, Mark Eley. All Rights Reserved.

Scottish Men’s Open Championship – 2024 Preview & Results

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2nd June 2024

Round 4

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) has won the Scottish Men’s Open Championship with a 260 (-24) total.

He is the 11th English winner and the fourth in the last five playings.

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Dominic Clemons (Photo: Scottish Golf)

I was impressed with his 65 this morning in the circumstances but clearly Mr. Clemons was not. A bogey free 9-under 62 in the final round this afternoon saw him run off into the distance and ultimately win by an amazing 17 shots.

21 year old  – he’s 22 on 14th June – Clemons has just finished his senior fourth year at Stetson University having transferred there from Hutchinson two years ago. He arrived home to Cambridge in good form having finished 87th in the 2024 Clipped Scoreboard Men’s Division I Individual Ranking. Whilst I tipped him to do well in my Preview below I’m sure neither he nor certainly I were expecting a performance of this magnitude.

Talking to Scottish Golf afterwards he said “When it’s your day, it’s your day. When I was out there, I wasn’t thinking about what it means to win around Muirfield, but now it’s sinking in.”

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Dominic Clemons Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Jordan BURNAND (RSA) -7 finished 2nd on last round count back, Kai KOMULAINEN (AUS) -7 3rd, Jamie NIELSEN (DEN) -6 4th and Matteo CRISTONI (ITA), who had a final round hole-in-one on the 16th, -4 5th.

Jack MCDONALD -1 8th was the highest finishing Scot with Charlie FORSTER (ENG) Ev also finishing in the top 10.

Just eight of the 44 players who made the cut finished under par.

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Dominic Clemons Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Click here to view the – 2024 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Leaderboard

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Round 3

Overnight leader Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) showed few nerves in producing a second consecutive 6-under 65 at Muirfield in this morning’s third round.

He now leads the Scottish Men’s Amateur Open Championship by 5-shots going into this afternoon’s final round.

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Dominic Clemons Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Australian Kai KOMULAINEN, playing in the penultimate three-ball, produced a bogey-free 68 to move into 2nd place on -10.

Clemons’ playing partners Jordan BURNAND (RSA) 71 and Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) 72 just about stayed in touch with him, albeit four and five bogeys respectively on their cards were always going to hold them back.

Jamie NIELSEN (DEN) and Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) finished the round on -5 and tied 5th. Cristoni’s 67 was the second best third round score behind the leader.

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Round 3 Scorecard – Leaders (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

ME.

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1st June 2024

Round 2

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) moved into the lead at the Scottish Men’s Open Championship after shooting a 6-under 65 around Muirfield on Day 2.

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Dominic Clemons Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Jordan BURNAND‘s (RSA) 7-under 64, the best round of the day, lifted him 12 places on the leaderboard into 2nd place. He will start the final day 1-shot behind Clemons.

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Jordan Burnand Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Kai KOMULAINEN (AUS) and Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) -7 are tied 3rd after they both recorded 67’s.

Overnight leader Jamie NIELSEN (DEN) fell back to 5th after his even par 71.

The other big movers towards the top of the leaderboard on Saturday were Maxime LAM (FRA) 66, up 48 spots and now tied 6th on -3, and Rory MCDONALD-O’BRIEN (ENG) 67, up 43 places and now tied 11th on -2.

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Round 2 Scorecard – Leaders (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

44 players made the top 40 and ties cut which fell at +2.

ME.

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31st May 2024

Round 1

Jamie NIELSEN (DEN) took the early lead in the Scottish Open Amateur after a seven birdie 65 (-6) around the famous Muirfield links.

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Jamie Nielsen Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

David LUNDGREN (SWE), Eli RIEGGER (USA), Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Khaled ATTIEH (SAU), Kai KOMULAINEN (AUS), Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) and Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) are all tied 2nd on -3.

On a lovely day for golf in East Lothian 23 players broke par at Muirfield with a further 11 finishing their opening rounds on Even par.

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Round 1 Scorecard – Leaders (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

ME.

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28th May 2024

The 57th Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship starts on Friday 31st May at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian.

I will be updating this article throughout the week.

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Format

This open scratch amateur competition consists of 72 holes of stroke play.

18 holes will be played on both Friday 31st May and Saturday 1st June.

A 36 hole cut will then take place with only the leading 40 competitors and ties qualifying for the final two rounds which will be played on Sunday 2nd June.

In the event of a tie for the Championship there will be a sudden death play off. All other ties will be resolved via card count back.

Field

144 competitors will start the 2024 Championship.

The field will be made up of (1) the 55 entrants with the highest WAGRs, (2) the next 55 players with the lowest WHS Handicap Index, (3) 10 Scottish Golf nominations and (4) a minimum of 24 players via the Pre-Qualifying event (see below).

The busy amateur schedule means that despite hosting the Championship at Muirfield, one of the best courses in the world, Scottish Golf have again struggled to attract a top class field for its Open Amateur. The NCAA U.S. college season, which only ends on Wednesday 29th May, and the conflicting East of Ireland Men’s Open Amateur and PGA Tour Americas Q-School events have attracted some players. Others are resting with the Scottish Open falling between the Brabazon Trophy and St. Andrews Links Trophy & Amateur Championship in a few weeks time.

The defending champion Connor GRAHAM (SCO), still recovering from a wrist injury, and his brother Gregor GRAHAM, one of GB&I’s best players this year, are both skipping the event.

On paper Cameron ADAM (SCO), Eliot BAKER (ENG), Jordan BURNAND (RSA), Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG), Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), Brodie CUNNINGHAM (SCO), Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO), Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Andrew HASWELL (ENG), Jack INGHAM (NED), Jack MCDONALD (SCO), Benjamin REUTER (NED), Matt ROBERTS (WAL), Gregor TAIT (SCO), Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) and Matthew WILSON (SCO) seem the most likely to feature highly on the leaderboard.

Pre-Qualifying

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Gullane Course No. 2

Scottish Golf, for the third time, held an 18 hole Pre-Qualifying event. This year it took place on Tuesday 28th May at Gullane No. 2.

Jack DRURY (ENG) and Charlie GILLESPIE (SCO), who both posted 65’s (-6), were the co-medalists leading 36 guaranteed players into the main event. The top 36 cut off fell at -1 with II players on the number. Seven made it through on count back with Ellis WILLOT (ENG) taking the final spot and the four remaining players making up a reserve list.

Click here to view the – 2024 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Pre-Qualifying Results

Muirfield

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (HCEG) was formed in 1744 with Muirfield becoming their home in 1891.

The original links was laid out by Old Tom Morris before Harry Colt redesigned it; his course, now on a larger site, opening for play in 1924. Martin Hawtree undertook further refinements in 2011.

Muirfield has staged the Open Championship (16 times), Amateur Championship (11), Curtis Cup (2), Walker Cup (2), Vagliano Trophy (2) and Ryder Cup (1).

It staged the inaugural Scottish Open Amateur in 1967 when Bernard Gallacher won and then again in  1977 when Paul McKellar (SCO) was victorious.

Unusually for a links course the opening nine holes circle clockwise around the edge of the property before the back nine plays in an anti-clockwise direction on the inside. The fairways are generally flat and visible, and despite their being 148 deep bunkers, the test has always been considered a fair one.

The Championship course plays to 7,245 yards and a par of 71. It has a Course Rating of 73.8 and a Slope Rating of 142.

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Prizes

The Winner receives the distinctive silver Championship Trophy and a Crystal Award.

Crystal Awards are also given to the runner-up and third place finisher.

Weather Forecast (last updated Friday 30th May)

The weather forecast suggests the Championship will be played largely in sunny conditions with only light breezes expected throughout.

Fri 31st May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 10 mph NE / Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 16°C,
Sat 1st June – Sunny /  Wind 8 mph NE / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 17°C
Sun 2nd June – Sunny Intervals / Wind 20 mph W / Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 18°C

2023 Results

A 16 year old Connor GRAHAM (SCO) won the 2023 Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Meldrum House in Aberdeenshire.

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Conor Graham (Photo: Scottish Golf)

Graham produced four under par rounds for a 265 (-15) total. This included a final round 63 (-7), the low round of the Championship, to storm to a 4-shot victory.

Experienced South African, Altin VAN DER MERWE -11, finished 2nd, Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) -8 was 3rd, Jordan BURNAND (RSA) -7 4th and Max HOPKINS (ENG) -6 5th on count back (last 3 holes) from Connor MCDADE (AUS) -6 who had to settle for 6th.

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Final Results (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Click here to view the – 2023 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Leaderboard

Past Winners

The Scottish Men’s Open Amateur was first contested in 1967 and has an impressive list of past winners. Here are some of them: –

2011 – Andy Sullivan (ENG)
2009 – Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
2004 – Richie Ramsay (SCO)
2003 – Gary Wolstenholme (ENG)
1997 – Barclay Howard (SCO)
1996 – Alastair Forsyth (SCO)
1995 – Stephen Gallacher (SCO)
1992 – Dean Robertson (SCO)
1991 – Andrew Coltart (SCO)
1985 – Colin Montgomerie (SCO)
1981 – Philip Walton (IRE)
1980 – Gordon Brand Jr (ENG)
1975 and 1984 – Charlie Green (SCO)
1971, 1974 and 1979 – Ian Hutcheon (SCO)
1970 – Dale Hayes (RSA)
1968 – Ronnie Shade (SCO)
1967 – Bernard Gallacher (SCO)

A full list of the past winners can be viewed here – Scottish Open Amateur Winners

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2024, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

Brabazon Trophy – 2024 Preview & Results

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26th May 2024

Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) continued his excellent form in 2024 by collecting the prestigious Brabazon Trophy at Hollinwell G.C.

The Blairgowrie man joins Ronnie Shade (1961, ’63, ’67), Sandy Lyle (1975, ’77), Gordon Brand Jr (1978) and Lloyd Saltman (2005) as Scottish winners of the Brabazon.

Talking to England Golf afterwards Graham said “It feels absolutely amazing. It’s great to win such a big event like this. When I knew it was going to be 12 holes on the final day, it felt a bit different and strange but it was a bit of a shootout so I just tried to make as many birdies as possible.”

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Gregor Graham (Photo: England Golf / Leaderboard Photography)

Round 3

With a high probability of thunder and lightening during the day England Golf took the early decision to cancel Round 4 and to play Round 3 over 12 holes. The reduction to 12 holes being made due to the Rules of Golf not permitting the number of holes in a round to be reduced once it has commenced.

Holes 1-8, 15, 16, 17 and 18 at Hollinwell (with a par of 50) were used to ensure that a speedy course evacuation could take place if required.

Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), who started the day 4-shots back and in tied 4th, came through the field to lift the famous gold trophy with a 3-under 47.

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Gregor Graham Championship Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

Daniel HAYES (ENG) finished 2nd on -8. Like the winner, who had finished in the group ahead of him, he bogeyed the 460 yard closing hole to miss out on a possible play-off.

Wilhelm RYDING (SWE) was 3rd on -8. His 49 (-1) included an eagle on the 17th but the birdie he then needed on 18 alluded him.

The biggest move of the day came from Wilmer EDERO (SWE) who posted a 45 (-5), which included four closing birdies, to finish 4th on -7.

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Wilmer Edero Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

Eliot BAKER (ENG) finished strongly with a 47 to claim 5th place also on -7.

Overnight leader Harry TAKIS (AUS) had a day to forget shooting a 59 (+9) and tumbling down to a 28th place finish. Playing partner Harley SMITH (ENG) didn’t fair much better; his 53 (+3) on the final day seeing him fall to 9th place.

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Brabazon Trophy Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

There was some consolation for runner-up Daniel HAYES (ENG) in that he won The George Henriques Salver, awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20.

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Daniel Hayes (Photo: England Golf)

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George Henriques Salver Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

Click here to view the – 2024 Brabazon Trophy Results

ME.

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25th May 2024

Round 2

Harry TAKIS (AUS) backed up yesterday’s 65 with a 69 today to maintain his position at the head of affairs. After going out in a 1-over 37 he birdied four of his last six holes including the two closing ones.

Harley SMITH (ENG) shot a 68, which included eagles on the 3rd and 17th holes, to move into solo 2nd place on -9.

Wilhelm RYDING (SWE) followed his opening 68 with a 69 to move up into 3rd on -7.

Daniel HAYES (ENG) and Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) will head into the final day tied 4th on -4.

Matt ROBERTS (WAL), now tied 8th, bounced back superbly from an opening round 75 with a joint best of the week 65 which included an eagle and six birdies.

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Matt Roberts Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

Also noteworthy was Gregor TAIT‘s (SCO) bogey free 66 to make the cut. No mean achievement after he started the day on +5 and just the kind of round selectors like to see.

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Gregor Tait’ Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

41 players made the top 36 and ties 36 hole cut which fell at Even par.

Amongst those to miss out were Benjamin REUTER (NED) +1, Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG), Seán KEELING (IRL) +2, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) +3, Conor GOUGH (ENG) +4, James CLARIDGE (ENG) +4, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) +6 and Dylan SHAW-RADFORD +9.

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Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

ME.

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24th May 2024

Round 1

It may have been 24 hours later than originally scheduled but Round 1 didn’t disappoint with a number of players going low at Hollinwell.

18 year old Harry TAKIS (AUS), ranked 606th in the WAGR, took the early lead with a bogey free 65 (-7).

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Harry Takis Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) also shot seven birdies on Day 1 but a bogey on the short par 4 11th meant he had to settle for 2nd place on -6.

Olly ALLISON (ENG), a Midland qualifier, Daniel BENNETT (RSA), Harley SMITH (ENG) and Monty HOLCOMBE (ENG) are all tied 3rd after signing for 67’s.

At the end of the day 38 players were under par and a further 10 finished on even par.

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Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

ME.

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16th May 2024 (Updated 23rd May 2024)

The 78th English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy will be played at Hollinwell, the home of Notts Golf Club, between Friday 24th and Sunday 26th May 2024.

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

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18th Hole & Clubhouse, Hollinwell (Photo: Kevin Murray)

Format

The competition traditionally consists of 72 holes of stroke play golf with 18 holes being played over four days. A 36 hole cut reduces the field to the leading 60 competitors and ties for the final two rounds.

However, due to heavy rain on Wednesday 22nd May, which forced the official practice day to be abandoned, the format this year has been changed. The practice round will now be played on Thursday 23rd, Round 1 on Friday 24th and Round 2 on Saturday 25th. A revised cut, taking in only the leading 36 players and ties, will then be made before the final two rounds are played on Sunday 26th. 

In the event of a tie for the Championship there will be a sudden death play off.

All other places will be determined by a card count-back, starting with the final round and working backwards from there.

Tee Times

Play on the opening two days will commence at 7.00am with the final three-ball heading out at 3.30pm.

Click here to view the – 2024 Brabazon Trophy Tee Times

Field

144 competitors from 16 different countries will contest the 2024 Brabazon Trophy Championship.

The majority of this number were exempt with starting places offered to a number of national golf federations and to those players who have performed well in other recent Championships.

Amongst the 87 exempt players and most highly ranked players are James ASHFIELD (WAL / WAGR #48), Daniel BENNETT (RSA / #262), Tomi BOWEN (WAL / #205), James CLARIDGE (ENG / #199), Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI / #236), Gregor GRAHAM (SCO / #228), Conor GOUGH (ENG / #319), Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL / #76), defending champion Liam NOLAN (IRL / #109), Benjamin REUTER (NED / #169) and Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA / #148).

Will HOPKINS (ENG / #101) was a late withdrawal with a minor shoulder injury.

The Championship clashes with the NCAA Division I National Championship in California which means a number of leading GB&I and European players are otherwise engaged with their U.S. colleges.

Just eight of England’s top 20 WAGR-ranked players are competing in their country’s leading amateur event.

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Three 18 hole regional Qualifying Tournaments were staged on 14th May 2024. 16 players automatically qualified from each of the Midland, Northern and Southern Qualifiers. 9 more subsequently made the final start sheet after being called up from the Alternates / Reserves list.

Ties for the last qualifying place at each venue were determined by card countback.

Here is a summary of the Qualifier results and a list of all the players who progressed: –

MIDLAND – Nuneaton G.C., Warwickshire – Results
6,422 yards – Par 71
115 players / 18 Qualifiers

Co-Medalists – Spencer WORLEY (ENG) & Ben A WILLIS (ENG) 68 -3
Other Qualifiers – Tom Matthews (WAL), Alfie Oakes (ENG), Chanon James (ENG), Alex Timms (SCO), Harry English (ENG), Dylan Kayne (RSA), Olly Allison (ENG), Reuben Harvey (ENG), John Kemp (ENG), James Donaldson (SCO), Shreyas Sanmathy (ENG), Rory Bennet (ENG), Spencer Davies (ENG), Maximus Maddocks (ENG), Connor Byers – Alt (ENG), Danny Loveday – Alt (ENG)

NORTHERN – Wetherby G.C., Yorkshire – Results
6,663 yards – Par 73
109 players / 19 Qualifiers

Co-Medalist – Greg HOLMES (ENG) & Noah CAMBRIDGE(ENG) 67 (-6)
Other Qualifiers – George Hanson (ENG), Tom Osborne (ENG), Jamie van Wyk (ENG), Dominic McGlinchey (SCO), Lucas Kuiper (ENG), Jake Sowden (ENG), Ross Laird (SCO), Brodie Cunningham (SCO), Cameron Thoburn (ENG), Alex Boyes (ENG), Adam Giles (SCO), Ben Willis (ENG), Samuel Claypole (ENG), Luke Quint (ENG), Alexander Farmer – Alt (SCO), Aamar Saleem – Alt (SCO), Owen Rafferty – Alt (ENG)

SOUTHERN – Marlborough G.C., Wiltshire – Results
6,348 yards – Par 72
120 players / 20 Qualifiers

Medalist – Ashley MILLINGTON (ENG) 67 -5
Other Qualifiers – Jonathan Exon-Taylor (ENG), Harry Malin (ENG), Jayden Tucknott (ENG), Frederik Dortmans (ENG), George Mills (ENG), Drew Rolfe (ENG) Oscar Lent (ENG), Connor Bell (ENG), Tommy Evans (ENG), Charlie Robb (ENG), Calum Fitzgerald (ENG), Harry Cox (ENG), Sam Russell (ENG), Harry Fairclough (ENG), Joshua Hayes (ENG), Edmund Fry – Alt (ENG), Nate Warren – Alt (ENG), Harry T Butler – Alt (ENG), Callum Hook – Alt (WAL)

Prizes

The Winner receives the magnificent gold Brabazon Trophy shown below.

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The Champion’s Prize and The Brabazon Trophy (Photo: Golf Bible)

Prize vouchers will be awarded to those players finishing in the top five.

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 Scrutton Jug is awarded to the player returning the best aggregate scores in The Brabazon Trophy and The Berkshire Trophy. The latter was played on 18-19 May and won by Freddie Turnell (ENG), who failed to qualify from the Southern Qualifier at Marlborough (he finished tied 29th).

Hollinwell

Hollinwell, the home of the Notts Golf Club, was formed in 1887 and moved to it’s current site in Kirkby in Ashfield in 1901 inviting twice Open champion Willie Park Jnr to lay out an original 18 hole course.

Tom Williamson and JH Taylor developed the course further in the early 20th Century.

The course is in an outstanding location, mixing heathland, moorland and woodland features. The 11th-13th holes played on the higher ground are particularly memorable. The holy well, which gives the course its name, is located near the 8th tee.

The blue championship course plays to 7,250 yards and a par of 72. It has a Course Rating of 76.2 and Slope of 145.

Hollinwell has hosted numerous amateur and professional Championships over the years and between 2018-2022 was a Final Qualifying venue for the Open Championship.

This will be a record sixth time that it has hosted the Brabazon Trophy. Past winners here include Doug Sewell (1959), Sandy Lyle (1975), Charlie Banks (1983), Ignacio Garrido (1992) and Cormac Sharvin (2015).

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Par 3 13th Hole, Hollinwell (Photo: Kevin Murray)

Weather Forecast – on Wednesday 22nd May 2024

The weather forecast suggests the Championship will be predominantly dry with some sun and light breezes. Late afternoon showers are possible over the weekend.

Thur 23rd May – Light Cloud / Wind 18 mph SW / Temp. Min. 10°C, Max. 13°C.
Fri 24th May – Thick Cloud / Wind 9 mph SW / Temp. Min. 8°C, Max. 15°C.
Sat 25th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 8 mph SE / Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 18°C.
Sun 26th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 7 mph S / Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 19°C.

England Golf Event Website

Click here to view the – England Golf / Golf Genius Brabazon Trophy Website

2023 Brabazon Trophy

Liam NOLAN (IRL), then 23 years old, won the 2023 Brabazon Trophy on Sunningdale’s New Course after over coming Zach LITTLE (ENG) in a sudden death play-off which lasted three holes.

Both players completed the regulation 72 holes in 277 (-3).

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Liam Nolan (Photo: Golf Bible)

Zach LITTLE (ENG) had the consolation of winning the George Henriques Salver awarded to the highest finishing U20 GB&I player.

James CLARIDGE (ENG) -2 finished 3rd, Jack PLUMB (ENG) & Seán KEELING (IRL) Ev tied 4th, John GOUGH (ENG) +1 6th and Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Will COXON (ENG) & Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) +2 tied 7th.

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Final Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Click here for more information on the 2023 Championship – Brabazon Trophy – 2023 Preview & Results

Recent Results

Click below to view the results over the last three years: –

Sunningdale – 2023 Brabazon Trophy Results

Saunton – 2022 Brabazon Trophy Results

Ganton – 2021 Brabazon Trophy Results

History, Past Winners and Records

The English Amateur International Trophy competition was first played in 1947.

In 1957 the official title was changed to the English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship.

The current trophy was donated by Lord Brabazon of Tara in 1948 and the event has come to be widely known as the Brabazon Trophy.

Click here to view the full list of – Brabazon Trophy Past Winners

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 winners include well known pros Ignacio GARRIDO (1992), Peter HANSON (1998) and Charl SCHWARTZEL (2002).

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2024, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.