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The European Amateur Championship – 2026 Preview & Results

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27th June 2026

Final Round

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

Tim Wiedemyer (Photo: EGA)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Click here to view the – European Amateur Championship Leaderboard

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26th June 2026

Round 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

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25th June 2026

Round 2

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

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

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

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

Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

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24th June 2026

Round 1

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

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

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

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

Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

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23rd June 2026

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

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

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

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

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

Competition Format

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

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

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

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

Entries

144 players from 41 countries will contest the 2026 Championship.

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

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

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

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

Vanajanlinna G. & C.C., Finland

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

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

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

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

Weather Forecast (as at 23rd June)

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

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

Prizes

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

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

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The European Amateur Championship Trophy (Photo: EGA)

The Open Championship

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

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

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

Other Championships

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

Further Information

Click here to view the – EGA European Amateur Championship Website

2025 European Amateur Championship

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

Filip Jakubčik (Photo: European Golf Association)

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

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

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

History

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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

Men’s European Nations Championship – 2026 Preview & Results

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18th April 2026

Round 4

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

ENGLAND (-31) completed a wire-to-wire victory in the European Nations Championship Team competition. On three of the four days England recorded the best team score which helped them to a comfortable 14-shot win.

England (Photo: England Golf)

FRANCE (-17) finished 2nd, NETHERLANDS (-7) 3rd, ITALY (-6) 4th and IRELAND (-2) 5th at the challenging RCG Sotogrande course.

WALES (+16) 11th and SCOTLAND (+21) 13th both fell down the Team leaderboard after posting disappointing +9 scores on the final day.


Click here to view the – 2026 ENC Men’s Team Results

Individual

Eliot BAKER (ENG) -15 birdied all five of his closing holes to win the Individual title by 3-shots.

Eliot Baker (Photo: England Golf)

Scott WOLTERING (NED) -12 finished 2nd, Ben BOLTON -11 3rd and Filippo PONZANO (ITA) & Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) -7 tied 4th.

Caolan BURFORD (WAL) -5 was tied 8th, Stuart GREHAN (IRL) & Tom OSBORNE (ENG) -4 tied 10th and Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO) +1 tied 16th.

Click here to view the – 2026 Men’s ENC Individual Results

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17th April 2026

Round 3

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

ENGLAND (-21) will take a 7-shot lead into the final round of the European Nations Championship Team competition after they posted -4 score in Round 3.

On a tougher scoring day FRANCE (-14), now in 2nd place, closed the gap with a best of the day -8 team score. ITALY (-6) dropped to 3rd, NETHERLANDS (-5) stayed 4th and ESTONIA (-2) rose to 5th at RCG Sotogrande.

After 54 holes IRELAND (+1) are tied 7th, WALES (+7) are 11th and SCOTLAND (+12) 12th.

Individual

Scott WOLTERING (NED) -11 continues to lead the Individual competition from English pair Eliot BAKER -10 and Ben BOLTON -9.

Caolan BURFORD (WAL) -8 is 4th,  Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO) -2 tied 12th, Tom OSBORNE (ENG) -1 tied 14th and Stuart GREHAN (IRL) Ev tied 16th.

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16th April 2026

Round 2

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

ENGLAND (-17) again produced the best score of the day (-7) to extend their lead in the European Nations Championship Team competition to 10 shots.

After 36 holes ITALY (-7) are 2nd, FRANCE (-6) 3rd, NETHERLANDS (-5) 4th and CZECH REPUBLIC (-2) 5th at RCG Sotogrande.

WALES (-1) enjoyed a good day to move up to 8th whilst IRELAND & SCOTLAND (+4) dropped down the leaderboard finishing Round 2 tied 11th.

Individual

Scott WOLTERING (NED) followed up his opening 67 with a 68 to remain in the Individual lead on -9.

Ben BOLTON (ENG) -8 2nd and Eliot BAKER (ENG) -7 3rd continue to drive the English score.

Caolan BURFORD (WAL) -5 is tied 5th and Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO) & Kris KIM (ENG)  -2 are all tied 11th.

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15th April 2026

Round 1

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

ENGLAND (-10) made a dream start to the 2026 European Nations Championship and after 18 holes enjoy a 7-shot lead.

At the close of Day 1 FRANCE (-3) and GERMANY & ITALY (-2) are the only other countries that are under par at RCG Sotogrande.

SCOTLAND (+1) are tied 5th, IRELAND (+3) tied 8th and WALES (+5) tied 10th.

Individual

Scott WOLTERING‘s (NED) 5-under 67 was the best round of the day.

Eliot BAKER and Ben BOLTON led the English scoring effort with 68’s (-4).

England had the luxury of being able to use either Tom OSBORNE‘s (ENG) or Kris KIM‘s (ENG) 70 (-2) card to make up their team score. Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO) led the Scots with his own 70 too.

John DOYLE (IRL), 71  (-1) was the only other home nation player to shoot under par in Round 1 with Caolan BURFORD (WAL) and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) having to settle for even par 72’s.

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15th April 2026

The Men’s European Nations Championship (ENC), also known as the European Nations Cup, starts on Wednesday 15th April at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande in Andalucía, Spain.

R.C.G. Sotogrande is the permanent home of the ENC and this will be the 18th playing of the event.

It is a 72 hole stroke play Team and Individual competition.

Field
15 four-man teams (60 players) will play for the Team prize.

Teams representing Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and Wales will be joined by one from the host club, RCG Sotogrande.

Austria, Finland and Switzerland, who all played last year, have not entered teams in 2026.

There is also an Individual prize on offer to the field.

The following players have been selected to represent the four competing home nations in 2026: –

England – Ben BOLTON, Eliot BAKER, Kris KIM, Tom OSBORNE

Ireland – John DOYLE, Stuart GREHAN, Matt MCCLEAN, Caolan RAFFERTY

Scotland – Andrew DAVIDSON, Alexander FARMER, Ross LAIRD, Dominic MCGLINCHEY

Wales – Tom BASTOW, Tomi BOWEN, Caolan BURFORD, Iestyn MCAVOY

A Women’s ENC, made up of 13 three player teams, also takes place alongside the Men’s competition. England and Ireland are competing this year.

Format and Prizes
72 holes of stroke play, with 18 holes played daily, will be contested by all of the players. There is no cut.

In the Team event the best three 18-hole scores from the four players count towards the overall total.

In the case of a tie for 1st place it will be resolved by the best player score being discarded and if the tie persists, the second best score discarded and so on. If scores are still tied a team member will be nominated and a sudden death play-off will be contested. Other ties will not be resolved.

The Individual prize is awarded to the lowest scoring player. Ties for 1st place will be broken via a sudden death play-off. Any remaining ties will be broken by the best results of the last 18, 27, 36, etc., holes.

Winning Team members each receive a replica of the Nations Trophy. The Individual champion receives a trophy and a bright yellow jacket.

Venue and Course
Real Club de Golf Sotogrande was opened in 1964 and was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones. One of the best courses in Continental Europe it first held the Spanish Open in 1966, won that year by Roberto de Vicenzo.

In 1970 The Sherry Cup, the precursor of the European Nations Championship / Cup, was established. Former Individual winners of this include Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia. (see below for the full list of past Individual winners).

In 1973 a Women’s event started to be played alongside the Men’s.

In 1983 Sotogrande hosted the Spanish Amateur Championship with Jose Maria Olazabel victorious.

Sotogrande was awarded royal patronage by HM King Juan Carlos I in 1994.

Between 1996 and 2001, in tandem with nearby San Roque GC, the course hosted the European Tour’s Qualifying School.

In 2006 The Sherry Cup was rebranded as the European Nations Cup and in 2017 become known as the European Nations Championship played for the Sotogrande Cup.

In 2011, ahead of it’s 50th anniversary, the Club decided to embark upon a major course renovation appointing Roger Rulewich and David Fleury. With the work on greens, bunkering and drainage taking place in 2015 and early 2016 the ENC moved temporarily to the nearby La Reserva Club de Golf for two years. Since 2017 the competition has been played on the renovated course.

The Black Tee Championship Course at Sotogrande plays 6,492m with a par of 72. The front nine measures 3,163m and the back 3,329m.

Weather Forecast
The forecast looks very good. High winds, often stronger in the afternoon, can cause problems given the numerous water hazards on the course.

Wednesday 15th – Sunny.  Min. 15°C / Max. 22°C; Wind S 9mph
Thursday 16th – Sunny. Min. 15°C / Max. 21 °C; Wind E 12mph
Friday 17th – Sunny. Temp. Min. 15°C / Max. 21°C; Wind E 18mph
Saturday 18th – Sunny. Temp. Min. 15°C / Max. 21°C; Wind E 15mph

Past ENC Winners

The home nations have an excellent record in this event.

Team Competition

2025  England     2025 ENC Men’s Team Results

The England Team (Photo: England Golf)

2024  Ireland     2024 ENC Team Results
2023  England     2023 ENC Team Results
2022  Spain     2022 ENC Team Results
2021  Cancelled
2020  Cancelled
2019  England     2019 ENC Team Results
2018  England     2018 ENC Team Results
2017  Wales    2017 ENC Team Results
2016  Ireland    2016 ENC Team Results
2015  England
2014  Scotland
2013  England
2012  France
2011  England
2010  England
2009  England
2008  Scotland
2007  Denmark

Past Sherry Cup Team Winners (started 1998)

2006  Spain
2005  Spain
2004  England
2003  England
2002  Wales
2001  England
2000  England
1999  Germany
1998  Spain

Individual Competition

2025 Kevin Jegers (EST)     2025 ENC Men’s Individual Results
2024 James Ashfield (WAL)     2024 ENC Men’s Individual Results
2023 Albert Hansson (SWE)     2023 ENC Men’s Individual Results
2022 Jaime Montojo (ESP)     2022 ENC Men’s Individual Result
2021  Cancelled
2020  Cancelled
2019  Tom Sloman (England)     2019 ENC Individual Results
2018  Todd Clements (England)    2018 ENC Individual Results
2017  Jack Davidson (Wales)    2017 ENC Individual Results
2016  Jack Hume (Ireland)    2016 ENC Individual Results
2015  Mario Galliano (Spain)
2014  Guido Migliori (Italy)
2013  Adrien Saddier (France)
2012  Robin Kind (The Netherlands)
2011  Julien Brun (France)
2010  Nino Bertasio (Italy)
2009  Sam Hutsby (England)
2008  Shane Lowry (Ireland)
2007  Rory McIlroy (Ireland)

Past Sherry Cup Individual Winners

2006  Nigel Edwards (Wales)
2005  Gary Wolstenholme (England)
2004  Francesco Molinari (Italy)
2003  Gary Wolstenholme (England)
2002  Lee Harpin (Wales)
2001  Gary Wolstenholme (England)
2000  Gary Wolstenholme (England)
1999  Marcel Siem (Germany)
1998  Sergio Garcia (Spain)
1997  Sergio Garcia (Spain)
1996  Alvaro Salto (Spain)
1995  José María Zamora (Spain)
1994  Francisco Cea (Spain)
1993  Francisco Valera (Spain)
1992  Frederic Cupillar (France)
1991  Padraig Harrington (Ireland)
1990  Alvaro Prat (Spain)
1989  Diego Borrego (Spain)
1988  Yago Beamonte (Spain)
1987  Yago Beamonte (Spain)
1986  Borja Queipo de Llano (Spain)
1985  José L. Padila (Spain)
1984  John Marks (England)
1983  José L. de Bernardo (Spain)
1982  Borja Queipo de Llano (Spain)
1981  Veit Pagel (Germany)
1980  Jesús López (Spain)
1979  Veit Pagel (Germany)
1978  José L. de Bernardo (Spain)
1977  F. Jiménez (Spain)
1976  Alberto Croze (Italy)
1975  Veit Pagel (Germany)
1974  Veit Pagel (Germany)
1973  Alberto Croze (Italy)
1972  E. de la Riva and J. Gancedo (Spain)
1971  Alberto Croze (Italy)
1970  Henric Adam (England)

ME.

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

World Amateur Team Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

Posted on by

11th October 2025

Round 4

SOUTH AFRICA secured their first Eisenhower Trophy victory with a 547 (-29) total on the Tampines Course at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.

South Africa (Photo: IGF)

AUSTRALIA (-21) finished 2nd and ENGLAND (-19) 3rd, securing the silver and bronze medals.

SCOTLAND (-11) finished tied 7th, IRELAND (Ev) tied 21st and WALES (+5) tied 27th.

Defending champions USA (-9) were a disappointing tied 10th.

Team Results (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

The outstanding player at this year’s Championship, Christiaan MAAS (RSA), finished with a 69 for a 266 (-22) total, 10 shots ahead of Australia’s Declan O’DONOVAN in 2nd place.

Eliot BAKER (ENG), 67, and Connor GRAHAM (SCO), 66, with the best score in Round 4, both finished on -6 and tied 11th. Stuart GREHAN (IRL), 71, Charlie FORSTER (ENG), 70, and Tyler WEAVER (ENG), -5, were tied 17th.

Individual Results (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – Men’s 2025 WATC Team and Individual Leaderboards

The 2027 World Amateur Team Championships will be hosted by the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation and will be played at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.

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10th October 2025

Round 3

With just 18 holes to play SOUTH AFRICA (-26), who are surprisingly seeking their first Eisenhower Trophy victory, enjoy an 11-shot lead after they delivered a best of the week 132 (-13) in the third round.

AUSTRALIA and MEXICO are tied 2nd on -15 with ENGLAND (-12) and FRANCE (-11) also well placed in the race for the silver and bronze medals.

SCOTLAND (-5) are tied 10th, IRELAND (-1) tied 19th and WALES (Ev) tied 22nd heading in to tomorrow’s final round.

Defending champions USA (-4) are tied 14th after a second consecutive 139 (-5) score in Round 3.

Round 3 Team Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Christiaan MAAS (RSA) shot a third round 65 to move on to -19. With a 10-shot lead he now seems assured of the Individual honours in Singapore.

Mexico’s Eduardo DERBEZ, a University of Texas teammate of Maas, shot the best round of the week so far in Round 3. His 64, which included six consecutive birdies on the front nine and a final hole eagle, earned him a share of the course record.

After 54 holes Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -6 is tied 7th, Stuart GREHAN (IRL) -4 tied 12th, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -3 19th and Eliot BAKER (ENG) & Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) -1 tied 27th.

Round 3 Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

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9th October 2025

Round 2

SOUTH AFRICA (-14) moved into a commanding 5-shot lead at the Eisenhower Trophy after a 135 (-9) Round 2 score.

On a low scoring day in Singapore, albeit one where play was suspended for 1 hour and 24 minutes in the morning due to dangerous weather, AUSTRALIA, FRANCE and ENGLAND (-9) are all tied 2nd after 138 (-6), 139 (-5) and 137 (-7) team scores respectively.

The other home nations also improved their leaderboard positions. IRELAND and WALES (both -2) rose to tied 14th whilst SCOTLAND (-1) are up to tied 18th.

Defending champions and favourites USA (+1) are tied 22nd after a 139 (-5) Round 2 score.

Round 2 Team Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Christiaan MAAS (RSA) -12 leads the Individual standings by 4-shots after he posted a second consecutive 66.

Rintaro NAKANO (JAP) also recorded a 66 to move up to tied 3rd place on -7 behind Hiroshi TAI (SNP) -8, after he could only manage a 71, and alongside Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA) who shot one of three 67’s in Round 2.

Charlie FORSTER (ENG) 69, now on -4 in tied 11th, and Stuart GREHAN (IRL) 68, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) 67 & Tyler WEAVER (ENG) 68, -3 in tied 14th are the leading GB&I players after 36 holes.

Round 2 Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

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8th October 2025

Round 1

Carlos Astiazaran (-4) and Eduardo Derbez (-3) helped MEXICO (-7) to a surprise Round 1 lead in the Eisenhower Trophy competition.

SOUTH AFRICA (-5) and FRANCE (-4) are their nearest challengers after a typically warm day in Singapore where temperatures peaked at 91°F in the afternoon.

ENGLAND (-2) finished the opening day tied 8th, WALES (+2) tied 20th, SCOTLAND (+3) tied 25th and IRELAND (+4) tied 28th.

Defending champions USA (+6), tied 32nd, got off to a disappointing start which may prove to be unsurmountable even with their elite team. All three of their players posted scores of 75 (+3).

Round 1 Team Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Home favourite Hiroshi TAI (SNP) -7 leads Christiaan MAAS (RSA) -6 and Carlos ASTIAZARAN (MEX) (-4) in the Individual standings. Tai had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot this morning and finished the day 1-shot shy of David Puig’s course record.

From a GB&I perspective Eliot BAKER (ENG) & Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -1 are tied 15th and Tyler WEAVER (ENG), Caolan BURFORD (WAL), Jonathan BALE (WAL), Stuart GREHAN (IRL) & Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) +1 are all tied 35th.

Round 1 Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

ME.

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7th October 2025

The 34th Men’s World Amateur Team Championship (WATC), played for the Eisenhower Trophy, starts on Wednesday 8th October in Singapore.

The Championship will be hosted by the Singapore Golf Association and played at Tanah Merah Country Club.

USA, who won the competition for the 16th time in 2023, will be looking to defend the title for the first time since they last did so in 2014. They also have the opportunity to become the first country since 1994 to win both the men’s and women’s competitions in the same year following their victory in the Espirito Santo Trophy last week.

The WATC is a biennial international amateur golf competition run by the International Golf Federation (IGF).

The IGF comprises 153 national governing bodies of golf in 150 countries as well as tours and organizations that conduct championships. It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the body responsible for golf and as such, in addition to the Men’s and Women’s WATC’s it also organises the golf competitions in both the Olympics and Youth Olympics.

The WATC are hosted by rotation taking in Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, Africa and for the first time in 2023 the Middle East.

The first WATC took place in 1958 and was played over the Old Course at St. Andrews. Bobby Jones captained the United States of America famously receiving the Freedom of the Town during the trip, although his team ended up losing a play-off to Australia for the title.

Competition Format

36 teams are competing in the 2025 WATC.

The three players from each team play 72 holes of stroke play over four days. The two lowest rounds recorded on each day count towards the team’s total score.

Ties for the golf medal are resolved by reference to the third non-counting score in the fourth round, then, if necessary, the third, second and first rounds. All other ties are left unresolved.

The winning team receive the Eisenhower Trophy. The Trophy was provided in 1958 by the American Friends of Golf through the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland. It is named in honour of the then United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The inscription on the trophy reads: “To foster friendship and sportsmanship among the Peoples of the World.”

Players in the leading three teams receive gold, silver and bronze medals.

Whilst individual results are reported and the player with the lowest score is recognised at the closing ceremony there has historically been no prize awarded for this achievement.

Competitors

The home nations will be represented by the following players (with their ages and WAGR as at 1st October noted after their name): –

ENGLAND – Eliot Baker 22 (#93), Charlie Forster 22 (#47), Tyler Weaver 20 (#12)

England (Photo: IGF)

IRELAND – John Doyle 18 (#414), Stuart Grehan 32 (#124), Caolan Rafferty 32 (#133)

Ireland (Photo: IGF)

SCOTLAND – Cameron Adam 22 (#18), Connor Graham 18 (#37), Niall Shiels Donegan 20 (#59)

Scotland (Photo: IGF)

WALES – Jonathan Bale 37 (#177), Tomi Bowen 22 (#285) Caolan Burford 21 (#1,488)

Wales (Photo: IGF)

The other competing nations are as follows with those highlighted expected to be the most competitive.

ARGENTINA – Juan Martín Loureiro 22 (#185), Segundo Oliva Pinto 26 (#115), Mateo Pulcini 25 (#171)

AUSTRALIA – Billy Dowling 20 (#262), Declan O’Donovan 22 (#315), Harry Takis 19 (#117)

BRAZIL – Andrey Borges Xavier 24 (#31), Eduardo Ferreira 19 (#148), Herik Oliveira Machado 24 (#46)

CANADA – Isaiah Ibit 19 (#379), Justin Matthews 21 (#237), Ashton McCulloch 23 (#70)

CHINA – Haoyi Wang 16 (#213), Qiyou Wu 16 (#222), Ziqin Zhou 19 (#125)

COLOMBIA – Carlos Ardila Conde 29 (#49), Tomás Restrepo 17 (#183), Emilio Vélez 15 (#143)

CZECHIA – Timotej Formánek 20 (#542), Filip Jakubčík 21 (#7), Štěpán Plášek 16 (#335)

DENMARK – Claes T. Borregaard 25 (#77), Oscar H. Bredkjær 21 (#383), Kristian H. Bressum 25 (#65)

ESTONIA – Kevin Jegers 24 (#107), Richard Teder 20 (#101), Mattias Varjun 25 (#356)

FRANCE – Louis Anceaux 20 (#308), Oscar Couilleau 17 (#120), Hugo Le Goff 17 (#54)

GERMANY – Wolfgang Glawe 23 (#69), Emil Riegger 20 (#116), Tim Wiedemeyer 20 (#22)

GUAM – Redge Camacho 30 (#3,084), Markus Nanpei 20 (#NR), Ivan Sablan 21 (#1,811)

GUATEMALA – Sebastian Barnoya 31 (#76), Gabriel Palacios 20 (#34), Alejandro Villavicencio 45 (#72)

INDIA – Arin Ahuja 24 (#2,018), Rakshit Dahiya 18 (#349), Deepak Yadav 23 (#3,389)

INDONESIA – Randy Bintang 21 (#268), Asa Najib 24 (#277), Amadeus C. Susanto 22 (#362)

ITALY – Riccardo Fantinelli 21 (#163), Michele Ferrero 20 (#270), Filippo Ponzano 21 (#138)

JAPAN – Taishi Moto 20 (#104), Taisei Nagasaki 16 (#159), Rintaro Nakano 21 (#158)

MEXICO – Carlos Astiazaran 20 (#114), Gerardo Gomez 20 (#167), Eduardo Derbez 20 (#637)

MOROCCO – Adam Bresnu 21 (#86), Alexandre El Khomri 15 (#788), Hugo Mazen Trommetter 21 (#553)

NETHERLANDS – Guus Lafeber 17 (#289), Benjamin Reuter 22 (#90), Nevill Ruiter 23 (#265)

NEW ZEALAND – Cooper Moore 17 (#168), Zackary Swanwick 19 (#75), Robby Turnbull 18 (#306)

NORWAY – Emil Herstad 18 (#969), Michael Mjaaseth 22 (#21), Joachim Larsen 21 (#726),

PANAMA – Raul Carbonell 26 (#208), Miguel Ordoñez 41 (#410), Omar Tejeira 35 (#89)

PARAGUAY – Benjamin Fernandez 20 (#211), Franco Fernandez 18 (#629), Erich Fortlage 19 (#173)

SINGAPORE – Brayden Lee 18 (#305), Troy Storm 16 (#385), Hiroshi Tai 23 (#61)

SOUTH AFRICA – Charl Barnard 19 (#684), Daniel Bennett 20 (#24), Christiaan Maas 22 (#6)

SPAIN – Alejandro De C. Piera 20 (#112), Álvaro P. Roman 20 (#293), Sergio J. Romero 20 (#63)

SWEDEN – Alfons Bondesson 22 (#88), Simon Hovdal 20 (#197), Filip Fahlberg Johnsson 19 (#108)

THAILAND – Arsit Areephun 22 (#1,566), Pongsapak Laopakdee 20 (#56), Parin Sarasmut 17 (#212)

USA – Mason Howell 18 (#127), Preston Stout 21 (#4), Ethan Fang 20 (#3)

VIETNAM – Ho Anh Huy 15 (#334), Nguyen Anh Minh 18 (#42), Nguyen Duc Son 18 (#530)

ZIMBABWE – Darlington Chikanyambidze 19 (#715), Munesu Chimhini 14 (#611), Elton Zulu 26 (#816)

20 of the above listed players competed in the 2023 WATC at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in U.A.E.

Venue

The 2025 WATC is being played at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.

Tanah Merah opened in 1984 and has two championship courses, the Garden Course and Tampines Course. The Tampines is being used this week.

The Club has staged many international events, including the Johnnie Walker Classic, Lexus Cup, HSBC Women’s Champions, the Asian Tour’s International Series Singapore (ISS) and the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open.

This week it will be set up to play to 7,394 yards and will have a par of 72.

Hole                1           2          3           4          5          6           7          8          9         Total
Par                  4           4          4           3          5           3          4          5          4           36
Yards            385       475      444      214       636      173      433       569      334       3663

Hole               10         11         12         13        14        15        16        17        18        Total
Par                 5            4            4          4          3          4           3          4         5           36
Yards            598       420      435       397      195       507       156      434      589      3,731

2023 WATC

USA (-36) won the 33rd Men’s World Amateur Team Championship by 11-shots at Abu Dhabi G.C. in U.A.E.

The team finished the event off in style compiling the low round of the Championship; a 132 (-12), helped in no small part by a 64 from David FORD, the second lowest round in the tournament’s history.

img_7011-1

Team USA – Nick Dunlap, David Ford & Gordon Sargent (Photo: IGF)

NORWAY and AUSTRALIA (-25) tied for 2nd place with FRANCE (-24) 4th and NEW ZEALAND and ITALY (-23) tied 5th. It was Norway’s best ever finish in their 26 appearances to date.

IRELAND (-20) finished strongly to rise 11 places on the final day and secure a tied 8th finish.

ENGLAND (-14) finished tied 15th, WALES (-13) tied 17th and SCOTLAND (-10) tied 21st.

32 of the 36 teams finished the 72 holes with an under par score.

img_7007

Team Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Western Amateur champion Kazuma KOBORI (NZL) took the low Individual title with a 272 (-16) total. He rose eight places to secure the honour with a fine 65 (-7) in the final round.

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Nick DUNLAP (USA) finished 2nd on -15 with France’s Bastien AMAT and Norway’s Herman WIBE SEKNE -14 one shot further back.

img_7009

Leading Individual Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) -11 produced the best performance by a GB&I player finishing tied 8th.

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) -10 again impressed at the highest level with a very consistent performance to finish tied 14th.

Five other GB&I players finished under par for the Championship. Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -8 was tied 17th, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -6 tied 30th, Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), who came through the standings with a final day 65, -5 tied 36th, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) -3 tied 43rd and Liam NOLAN (IRL) -2 tied 50th.

img_7010

GB&I Individual Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Historic Results

GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND (GB&I) have won the Eisenhower Trophy four times but only SCOTLAND have won it in their own right since each of the home nations started to compete separately.

The competion holds a special place in the story of English amateur Peter MCEVOY. He participated in the winning GB&I team in 1988, he also ‘won’ the Individual (284) that year and he went on to captain the GB&I team that won it again in 1998. A hat trick of Eisenhower Trophy achievements that may prove difficult for anyone else to match.

Here are the historic Men’s WATC results: –

Future WATC Events

The International Golf Federation has confirmed the following future venues for the WATC: –

35th – 2027 – Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Morocco

36th – 2029 – Fontana G.C., Austria

ME.

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

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2025 Preview & Results

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8th June 2025

Play-Off

Cameron ADAM (SCO) won the 2025 St. Andrews Links Trophy after a sudden death play-off with John DOYLE (IRL).

Adam won on the first play-off hole – the 1st on the Old Course – with a two putt par 4 after the young Irishman three putt bogeyed the hole.

The man from The Royal Burgess Golfing Society in Edinburgh also won The Ian Forbes Memorial Cup which is awarded for the best aggregate score on the first two days of the tournament. He shot a 68 on the Jubilee Course in Round 1 and a 64 on the Old Course. in Round 2 for a 132 (-12) total.

Cameron Adam (Photo: Adam Family)

Round 4

Cameron ADAM (SCO) and John DOYLE (IRL) both finished the 72 hole tournament on 271 (-17).

17 year old Doyle completed rounds of 66 (-6) and 65 (-7) to come from outside the top 20 on the final day. Doyle teed off 1 hour and 44 minutes ahead of Adam this afternoon. Despite winning both the Irish Boys’ and Munster Men’s Amateur Open Championships this season Doyle was only ranked 1,524th coming into the event.

Having posted the low round this morning Doyle went one better this afternoon with a 65 which included 10 birdies. This was the joint low round this afternoon with France’s Gaspar GLAUDAS matching his effort.

The far more experienced Adam (WAGR #73), who had to play catch up all afternoon, showed great poise to play a bogey free final round of 68 and secure the birdie he needed on the 72nd hole to force the play-off.

Cameron Adam and John Doyle’s Final Scorecards (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

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

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

The average Round 4 score was 71.41 (-0.59). 37 players shot par or better on Sunday afternoon.

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

Round 3

Thomas HIGGINS (IRL) moved into the lead on -14 after a 5-under 67 in this morning’s third round.

Thomas Higgins’ Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Cameron ADAM (SCO) fell into 2nd place with an up and down 71 which included an eagle, three birdies and four bogeys. This was 2 shots better than his playing partner Niall SHIELS DONEGAN who finished the 54 holes tied 6th after a 73.

John DOYLE (IRL) played his way into the tournament and 3rd place with the best morning round; a bogey free 66 with just 31 shots required on the back nine.

John Doyle’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Timothy CHAN (HKG) 67, Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) & Harley SMITH (ENG) both 68 and Diego PATROCINIO LOURENCO (FRA) & Kayun MUDANDA (AUS) both 69 all moved up the leaderboard with under par rounds.

The average Round 3 score from the 53 players who made the cut was 71.53 (-0.47). 36 players shot par or better on Sunday morning.

Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

ME.

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7th June 2025

Round 2

Cameron ADAM (SCO) will take a 2-shot lead into the final day of the St. Andrews Links Trophy after he shot a superb 8-under 64 on the Old Course in Round 2.

Cameron Adam Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Adam’s 132 (-12) total is 2-shots better than his fellow Scot and current Northwestern University teammate Niall SHIELS DONEGAN who stayed in touch with his own 6-under 66.

Niall Shiels Donegan Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Thomas HIGGINS (IRL) and Kris KIM (ENG) both shot 7-under 65’s on the Old Course to move into the top 5.

Ominously Christiaan MAAS (RSA), ranked 10th in WAGR, moved up into 4th after a 67 today.

Overnight co-leader Ugo MALCOR -7 slipped to tied 5th but remains in the mix. The other co-leader Loran APPEL could only manage a 75 on Day 2, just making the cut on the 142 (-2) number.

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

The average Round 2 score was 71.98 (-0.02). There were 72 rounds below par on Saturday with a further 14 of par.

53 players made the top 40 and ties cut and can now look forward to a final 36 holes on the Old Course.

Amongst those to miss out were Jack BIGHAM (ENG) -1, Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG) Ev, Zach LITTLE (+2), Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) +3, Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) +4, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +5, Tommy MORRISON (USA) +5 and defending champion Seb CAVE (ENG) +5.

ME.

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6th June 2025

Round 1

Ugo MALCOR (FRA) and Loran APPEL (NED) both shot 5-under 67’s around the Jubilee Course to share the early lead at the St. Andrews Links Trophy.

Ugo Malcor and Loran Appel Round 1 Scorecards (Graphic: St Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Lauri ROSENDAHL (FIN), Louis ANCEAUX (FRA), Cameron ADAM (SCO), Filippo PONZANO (ITA), Niall SHIELS-DONEGAN (SCO) and Josh HILL (ENG) are all 1-shot further back.

The average Round 1 score was 73.15 (+1.15).

48 players recorded under par scores in the opening round. A further 21 players finished the day on Even par. One of the latter group, Paraguay’s Erich FORTIAGE, enjoyed a hole-in-one on 146 yard par 3 5th.

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

ME.

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3rd June 2025

144 golfers will tee off on Friday 6th June in the 36th 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.

Competition Format

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

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

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

The Jubilee Course plays 6,735 yards to a par of 72. The front nine is 3,186 yards long whilst the tougher back nine is 3,549 yards, both playing to pars of 36. It has a Course Rating of 74.1 and a Slope of 135.

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 count back – the lowest score for the last 18 holes or the last 9 or 6 or 3 or 1 hole if necessary.

The Field

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

The DRVN.Golf Power Estimator is estimating a WAGR rating of 728.6450 for this year’s event*. This compares favourably with 717.2064 in 2023 and 675.4594 in 2024.

[*The Actual WAGR Power Number was 729.8928]

30 different countries will be represented in Fife in 2025.

The 20 highest ranked players in the field are Tommy MORRISON (USA) #9, Christiaan MAAS (RSA) #10, Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) #45, Luke COLTON (USA) #51, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #55,  Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) #68, Cameron ADAM (SCO) #73, Luke SAMPLE (USA) #87, Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG) #102, Segundo OLIVA PINTO (ARG) #108, Lev GRINBERG (UKR) #124, defending champion Seb CAVE (ENG) #127, Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) #154, Rintaro NAKANO (JAP) #161, Gerardo GOMEZ (MEX) #173, Harley SMITH (ENG) #175, Jacob MELIN (SWE) #185, Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) #186, Eliot BAKER (ENG) #188 and Alexis LERAY (FRA) #193.

GB&I notables Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Ross LAIRD (SCO), Luke POULTER (ENG) and Tyler WEAVER (ENG) are all competing in The Arnold Palmer Cup USA v. International team match at Congaree G.C.

Jonathan BALE (WAL), who is US-based, Seb DESOISA (GIB), Calum SCOTT (SCO), who is turning pro shortly, and Freddie TURNELL (ENG) are the only GB&I players in the WAGR Top 500 who are not competing.

Tee Times

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

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 3rd June)

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

Friday 6th June – Sunny AM / Light Rain PM. Wind 18 mph SW. Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 16°C.
Saturday 7th June – Light Rain. Wind 9 mph S. Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 14°C.
Sunday 8th June – Sunny AM / Light Rain PM. Wind 16 mph W. Temp. Min. 6°C / Max. 16°C.

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

Prizes

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

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

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

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

The Open Championship

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

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

Competition Website

For more information click here to view the – 2025 St. Andrews Links Trophy Tournament Website

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

2024 St. Andrews Links Trophy

Seb CAVE (ENG) completed a wire-to-wire victory in the 35th St. Andrews Links Trophy with a 281 (-6) total. The English Midlander shot 66 (New), 69 (Old), 75 (Old) and 71 (Old) to secure the coveted title.

img_8730-1

Seb Cave (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

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

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.

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.

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

img_8720-1

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

Click here to view the – 2024 St. Andrews 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 © 2014-2025, Mark Eley. All Rights Reserved.

Irish Amateur Open Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

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Sunday 11th May 2025

Round 4

Stuart GREHAN (IRL) beat Lewy HAYWARD (ENG) on the third play-off hole to win the Flogas-sponsored Irish Amateur Open Championship at Seapoint Golf Links.

Both players finished the 72 holes on 273 (-15) after they both impressively produced bogey-free rounds under the pressure of the final day; recently reinstated amateur Grehan, who plays out of neighbouring County Louth, a 66 and Hayward a 69.

Defending champion Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) finished as he started with the low round of the day; his 65, which included eight birdies, lifting him up the leaderboard into 3rd place.

Matt ROBERTS (WAL) backed up his tied 3rd result at last week’s Lytham Trophy with a 4th place finish in Ireland.

Greg HOLMES (ENG) -11 finished in 5th and Gerry DUNNE (IRL) -11 6th on final round count back.

The average Round 4 score was 72.10 with 34 of the remaining 59 players shooting par or better.

Final Results (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2025 Irish Amateur Open Results

ME.

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Saturday 10th May 2025

Round 3

Lewy HAYWARD (ENG) and Gerry DUNNE (IRL) both recorded 2-under par 70’s in the third round at Seapoint to give themselves a 2-shot lead heading into tomorrow’s final round. They will both start the day on 204 (-12) after strong finishes; Hayward birdied his closing two holes whilst Dunne eagled the 18th.

Matt ROBERTS (WAL) enjoyed the second best round of the day with his 67, moving into 3rd alone on 206 (-10).

Matt Roberts’ 54 hole Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Archie DAVIES (WAL) and Stuart GREHAN (IRL) are tied 4th on -9 with Greg HOLMES (ENG) two shots further back in 6th place.

Overnight co-leader and defending champion Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) will start the final round in tied 7th after he shot a disappointing 76 to probably fall out of contention on -6.

The field found scoring slightly harder on Day 3 with the average score being 73.94, although more players, 51, shot par or better.

Shot of the day came from Conor HICKEY (IRL) who recorded a hole in one on the par 3 187 yard 17th.

59 players made the top 50 and ties 54 hole cut which fell at 219 (+3).

Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

ME.

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Friday 9th May 2025

Round 2

Lewy HAYWARD (ENG), Gerry DUNNE (IRL) and Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) share the 36 hole lead on 134 (-10).

Hayward, alongside Lewis GOWDY (IRL), produced the joint best round of the day with a blemish free 7-under 65.

Lewy Hayward’s 36 Hole Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Stuart GREHAN (IRL) -9 is 4th, Archie DAVIES (WAL) & Greg HOLMES (ENG) -5 tied 5th, Lewis GOWDY (IRL) -7 6th and David HOWARD (IRL) & Colm CAMPBELL (IRL) -6 tied 8th.

The average Round 2 score was 73.71, slightly higher than yesterday, with 49 competitors shooting par or better at Seapoint Golf Links.

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

ME.

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Thursday 8th May 2025

Round 1

Defending champion Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL) produced a course record 8-under 64 at Seapoint to take the early lead in the Irish Amateur Open.

Matthew McClean’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

On a low scoring day Charlie MCDONNELL (IRL) -7 is 2nd, Stuart GREHAN (IRL) & Caelan COLEMAN (IRL) -6 tied 3rd and Colm CAMPBELL (IRL), Gerry DUNNE (IRL) & Greg HOLMES (ENG) -5 tied 5th.

The average Round 1 score was 73.41 with 56 competitors shooting par or better.

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

ME.

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6th May 2025

The Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship, sponsored by Flogas, starts on Thursday 8th May 2025 at Seapoint Golf Links near Drogheda, County Louth on Ireland’s east coast.

It will be the 86th playing of this prestigious Championship but the first time it has visited Seapoint.

Seapoint’s 2nd Hole (Photo: Seaport G.C.)

Format

Organised by Golf Ireland the Irish Amateur Open is a 72-hole stroke play event played over four days.

18 holes will be played on each of the first three days before a top 50 and ties cut is made. A final 18 holes will then be played by the leading competitors on Sunday.

A tie for the Championship will be resolved by a sudden death play-off. All other ties will be resolved by a last eighteen and then last nine countback.

The Irish Amateur Open Champion Golfer is awarded a superb silver trophy (see photo below). Irish winners are allowed to take the trophy back to their Club for the year whereas overseas winners must return it to the organisers after the prize presentation.

Players

132 golfers will contest the 2025 Championship.

I expect the following players to do well (in alphabetical order): Colm CAMPBELL (IRL), Paul COUGHLAN (IRL), Brian DORAN (IRL), TJ FORD (IRL), Stuart GREHAN (IRL), Dylan HOLMES (IRL), David KITT (IRL), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Jack MCDONNELL (IRL), Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), Matt ROBERTS (WAL) and Gregor TAIT (SCO).

It will also be interesting to see how Seapoint’s Dylan KEATING (IRL) gets on around his home course.

Like all events played before June the field quality isn’t helped by the large number of GB&I and European players now playing on the U.S. college circuit.

Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2025 Irish Amateur Open Tee Times

Players will tee off, from the 1st and 10th tees, between 8.00am and 2.55pm in three-balls on each of the first three days so changes in the weather and wind speeds throughout each day could play a big part in scoring.

Course

Seapoint is a modern championship links course designed by Des Smyth in the early 1990s and opened for play in June 1993.

Located adjacent to Termonfeckin Beach the course is 7,150 yards from the back tees and has a par of 72.

Over the last 30 years it has hosted a number of professional events as well as the Irish Amateur Close Championship in 2014 which was won by JR Galbraith.

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 6th May)

The weather forecast for this week looks very good for all four days – mainly sunny with only light winds expected.

Thu 8th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 11 mph E / Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 15°C.
Fri  9th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph SE / Temp. Min. 6°C / Max. 15°C.
Sat  10th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph SE / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 16°C.
Sun 11th May – Sunny / Wind 8 mph E / Temp. Min. 9°C / Max. 16°C.

The 2024 Irish Amateur Open Championship

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) won the 2024 Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship at County Sligo G.C., his first Irish Championship.

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Matt McClean (Photo: Golf Ireland)

McClean’s 273 (-11) total was 2-shots better than Liam NOLAN (IRL). TJ FORD (IRL) produced a superb final round 65 to finish in 3rd place on -6. Oswestry’s Tom MATTHEWS (WAL) -5 came in 4th and Hugh FOLEY (IRL) -4 5th.

Click here to view the – 2024 Irish Amateur Open Championship Results

History, Past Winners and Records

The Irish Amateur Open Championship was first played in 1892 with early winners including the English amateur greats John Ball and Harold Hilton.

Between 1894 and 1901 (6 years) the competition was played as part of the Irish Championship Meeting alongside a professional tournament.

The Championship was not played during both World Wars.

It was also not played between 1960 and 1994 due to a lack of interest from overseas players amidst concerns over safety.

Prior to 1958 it was a match play event but since returning to the amateur calendar in 1995 it has been 72 holes of stroke play.

To view a list of past winners click here – Irish Amateur Open Past Champions

ME.

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

The St. Andrews Trophy – 2024 Preview & Results

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26th July 2024

Continent of Europe won the 34th St. Andrews Trophy match against Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) at Royal Porthcawl G.C. by 16.0-9.0.

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Continent of Europe (Photo: Cameron Smith / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

It was Europe’s sixth win in total, only their second away victory and their biggest ever surpassing their 15.5-9.5 triumph in Finland in 2018.

Spain’s Carlos de Corral, the Continent of Europe Captain, said “You only have to see the history of the match to see how special it is for us to win this great event. It’s tough to win and we are going to celebrate.”

GB&I captain Dean Robertson said “The result obviously didn’t go our way but I couldn’t have asked any more from my team in terms of preparation. On the week we were just beaten by a team that played better.”

Luis MASAVEU (ESP) from the Continent of Europe was the only player to complete a 100% 4-from-4 record over the two days. Compatriot Pablo EREÑO PÉREZ was also undefeated, winning all three of the games he was selected for.

GB&I’s Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO) won both of their Singles and finished the match with three wins in total.

Here is an analysis of all of the individual performances from both sides: –

Screenshot 2024-07-26 at 18.26.44

Click here to view the – R&A St. Andrews Trophy Match Results

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The Final Scoreboard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The updated St Andrews Trophy match record now reads – 26 GB&I wins, 7 Continent of Europe wins with 1 draw.

The Continent of Europe will defend the trophy at Puerta De Hierro in Madrid, Spain next year as the biennial match moves to odd years.

Friday PM Singles (9)

Continent of Europe confirmed their victory over GB&I in style by taking the Day 2 Singles 7.0-2.0.

Filip JACUBČIK (CZH) obtained revenge for his loss against James ASHFIELD (WAL) in yesterday’s Singles. Jakubčk again birdied the opening hole but this time proceeded to put together a very tidy round of golf which proved too much for the Welshman who in his defence did little wrong.

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Jakubcik v. Ashfield Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) beat the previously unbeaten Richard TEDER (EST) by 4&2 in Game 2 this afternoon. In a tight match the Englishman pulled away on the back nine with a string of birdies to complete an impressive debut for the GB&I team.

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Teder v. Clemons Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) destroyed another unbeaten match record when he outclassed Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) by 4&3 in their Day 2 Singles. Three birdies on the front nine set up the win which the Blairgowrie man saw out with comfort.

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Wiedemeyer v. Graham C. Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Lars Van Der VIGHT (NED) and Jack BIGHAM (ENG) were again drawn together in the Singles and as on Day 1 both played relatively poorly with way too many bogeys evident on the scorecard. The Dutchman ultimately won by 1 Hole and it seems appropriate that the 18th was halved in bogeys.

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Van Der Fight v. Bigham Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

In a high quality match Jerry JI (NED) edged out Charlie FORSTER (ENG) by 2&1. Forster again made some mistakes on the back nine which derailed any hopes he may have had of gaining his first point in the match.

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Ji v. Forster Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Bastian AMAT (FRA) just got the better of Seb CAVE (ENG) by 2 Holes. In a tight match Cave played well but will be rueing his inability to hole some putts and a a couple of mistakes on the back nine which handed the initiative to the Frenchman.

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Amat v. Cave Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Sadly for Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN) finally turned up at Royal Porthcawl. The Amateur champion, who had lost all three of the games he had participated in up until this point, made a strong start to the match and thereafter refused to give Gregor any comeback encouragement.

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Olesen v. Graham G. Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The steadier play of Pablo EREÑO PÉREZ (ESP) this afternoon enabled him to overcome Max KENNEDY (IRL) by 2&1. Despite coming to life towards the end of the game the Irishman simply made too many bogeys to threaten a victory for GB&I.

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Ereño Pérez v. Kennedy (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Luis MASAVEU (ESP) is a class act and ran out a 3&2 winner against Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) who typically fought to the very end.

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Masaveu v. Rafferty Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

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Friday AM Foursomes (4)

Continent of Europe and GB&I tied the Day 2 Foursomes series 2.0-2.0 in the St. Andrews Trophy Match.

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Day 2 Morning Scoreboard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Continent of Europe captain Carlos de Corral retained his successful day 1 Foursomes pairings albeit he tweaked his running order. Filip JACUBČIK (CZH) was again left out.

Despite a 3.0-1.0 defeat in the Day 1 Foursomes GB&I captain Dean Robertson generally kept faith with his pairings. The only exception being Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) who replaced Seb CAVE (ENG) as Jack BIGHAM‘s (ENG) partner.

Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) and Richard TEDER (EST) recorded their second Foursomes win of the contest in Game 1. They took control of the match against James ASHFIELD (WAL) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO), who were GB&I’s sole winners yesterday morning, with a run five birdies and six holes on the front nine.

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Wiedemeyer & Teder v. Ashfield & Graham C. Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) recorded a welcome win for GB&I in Game 2 against the Dutch pair of Lars VAN DER VIGHT and Jerry JI. The Anglo-Irish pair played consistently well through out with four birdies ensuring the door remained firmly closed to their opponents.

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Van Der Fight & Ji v. Clemons & Rafferty Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Four birdies in the closing five holes from Jack BIGHAM (ENG) and Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) saw them secure a potentially critical 2 Holes win over Bastian AMAT (FRA) and Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN). The GB&I pair needed seven birdies to win what was arguably the best game of the match so far.

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Amat & Olesen v. Bigham & Graham G. Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Luis MASAVEU and Pablo EREÑO PÉREZ pulled away from Max KENNEDY (IRL) and Charlie FORSTER (ENG) down the home stretch to secure a 3&2 win. The Spanish pairing had started strongly with three early birdies but had to be patient before wearing the GB&I pair down.

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Masaveu & Ereño Pérez v. Kennedy & Forster Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

ME.

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25th July 2024

Continent of Europe lead GB&I 7.0-5.0 after the opening day of the St. Andrews Trophy match at Royal Porthcawl G.C.

As forecast conditions were a little challenging with drizzle and moderate winds blowing across the links.

Six players, Jerry JI (NED), Luis MASAVEU (ESP), Richard TEDER (EST) and Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) from the Continent of Europe and JAMES ASHFIELD (WAL) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO) for GB&I, won both of their Day 1 games.

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Day 1 Afternoon Scoreboard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Thursday PM Singles

The Day 1 Singles series was tied 4.0-4.0.

Filip JACUBČIK (CZH) got off to a dream start in his first outing of the match birdieing the par 4 1st hole in his game against home favourite James ASHFIELD (WAL). Ashfield got off to a poor start, bogeying the first three holes, but once he started to reel off the pars and sprinkle in a couple of birdies the game quickly turned in GB&I’s favour.

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Jakubcik v. Ashfield Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The repeat of the recent Amateur Championship Final saw Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) gain a modicum of revenge over Denmark’s Jacob Skov OLESEN with a 3&2 win in a game where they both played well.

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Olesen v. Clemons Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

A six birdie blitz from Connor GRAHAM (SCO) proved too much for Bastian AMAT (FRA) who didn’t do too much wrong in his 2 Hole defeat and even enjoyed a hole-in-one on the short par 3 7th.

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Amat v. Graham C. Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), who was rested in the Foursomes this morning, would have been hoping to send a message of defiance to his captain but could only present a disappointing 6&5 loss to Estonia’s Richard TEDER. After being given every encouragement in the opening holes by the out of sorts Scotsman Teder produced four birdies in the 13 holes he required for victory.

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Teder v. Graham G. Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Birdies on the 6th and 9th holes helped Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) pull into the lead and when Charlie FORSTER lost his way on the back nine he soon ran out a 4&3 winner.

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Wiedemeyer v. Forster Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Game 6 proved to be a very poor quality affair with both players struggling around Royal Porthcawl this afternoon. Jack BIGHAM (ENG) won’t care too much though as his 3&1 victory over Lars Van Der VIGHT (NED) was very welcome to a GB&I side on the comeback trail.

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Van Der Fight  v. Bigham Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Jerry JI (NED) and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) returned the standard of play to a more acceptable level with the Dutchman just keeping one step ahead of the experienced Irishman throughout a close contest.

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Ji v. Rafferty Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Captain Robertson will be disappointed that the final Singles game got away from Max KENNEDY (IRL) who was 1Up with four holes to play. Going into tomorrow tied at 6.0-6.0 or even down 6.5-5.5 would have meant the momentum was with his side after this morning’s Foursomes loss. However, Luis MASAVEU (ESP), fresh from The Open Championship is no mug, the closing holes at Porthcawl are no push over and in Kennedy’s defence he had played very well up until the 15th.

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Masaveu v. Kennedy Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Seb CAVE (ENG) and Pablo EREÑO PÉREZ (ESP) were respectively left out of the GB&I and European Singles teams when the draw was made last night.

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Thursday AM Foursomes

Continent of Europe won the Day 1 Foursomes series 3.0-1.0 to take the early lead against GB&I in the St. Andrews Trophy Match.

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Day 1 Morning Scoreboard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Captain’s Dean Robertson and Carlos de Corral rested Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) and Filip JACUBČIK (CZH) from their opening Foursomes line-ups.

The GB&I pairings didn’t look a natural fit on paper last night and this largely proved to be the case on the course this morning.

James ASHFIELD (WAL) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO) didn’t have to work too hard to secure the first point of the match as the European pairing of Bastian AMAT (FRA) and Amateur champion Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN) never got going.

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Amat & Olesen v. Ashfield & Graham C. Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) and Richard TEDER (EST) started poorly to hand the early initiative to Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL). However, the Europeans bounced back strongly with three birdies on the front nine and after the GB&I pair started to struggle from the 13th onwards the visitors ran out comfortable winners.

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Wiedemeyer & Teder v. Clemons & Rafferty Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

MAX KENNEDY (IRL) and Charlie FORSTER (ENG) started the third game very poorly gifting the Dutch pairing of Lars VAN DER VIGHT and Jerry JI a 4Up advantage after just six holes. It was to their credit that they fought back to 1Up after 14 holes but ultimately they had given themselves too big a hill to climb.

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Van Der Fight & Ji v. Kennedy & Forster Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The Spanish pairing of Luis MASAVEU and Pablo EREÑO PÉREZ were simply too good for England’s Jack BIGHAM and Seb CAVE in the final game of the morning session, playing error free golf on the way to a confidence boosting 5&4 win.

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Masaveu & Ereño Pérez v. Bigham & Cave Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

ME.

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17th July 2024 (Updated 23rd July 2024)

The 34th St. Andrews Trophy match will be contested on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th July at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales.

This amateur men’s team match has been played biennially between Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) and the Continent of Europe since 1956.

It was originally established by The R&A to give more European players the chance to play at the highest level and GB&I players more team match play experience for the Walker Cup which is held in alternate years with this competition.

The St. Andrews Trophy was put forward for the match by the Royal and Ancient G.C. of St. Andrews in 1963.

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

2024 Teams

Each team has nine players.

The golfing calendar is extremely busy at this time of year and therefore player availability can be impacted by other opportunities. Recent history shows that this is a particular issue on the Continent of Europe’s side.

Great Britain & Ireland Team

The R&A Selection Committee, including new Captain Dean ROBERTSON (Scotland), announced their nine man team on 8th July.

GB&I’s team will consist of nine new players this year.

Each player’s nationality, WAGR as at 17th July 2024 and Selection Route is shown below.

James ASHFIELD (23) – Wales, #27, WAGR Top 5

Jack BIGHAM (20) – England #37, WAGR Top 5

Seb CAVE (20) – England, #342, Captain’s Pick

Dominic CLEMONS (22) – England, #157, Captain’s Pick

Charlie FORSTER (21) – England, #262, Captain’s Pick

Connor GRAHAM (17) – Scotland, #149, Captain’s Pick

Gregor GRAHAM (20) – Scotland, #108, Captain’s Pick

Max KENNEDY (22) – Ireland, #30, WAGR Top 5

Caolan RAFFERTY (31) – Ireland, #53, WAGR Top 5

First Reserve
Will HOPKINS (24) – England, #63, Captain’s Pick

Automatic WAGR Top 5 selection Calum SCOTT – Scotland, #13, made himself unavailable for selection.

The other leading GB&I players, who are in the WAGR Top 100 and are not playing this year, are Liam NOLAN (Ireland) #71, Matt MCCLEAN (Ireland) #75 and Tyler WEAVER (England) #78.

Continent of Europe

2024 will see Carlos de Corral (Spain) take over the captaincy of the Continent of Europe team.

His team was announced by the European Golf Association (EGA) on 20th June (7 players) and 16th July (2 players after the European Amateur Championship).

Spain’s Luis Masaveu Roncal is the only returning player from Europe’s 2022 line-up.

Each player’s nationality and WAGR as at 17th July 2024 is shown below.

Bastian AMAT (22) – France, #24

Pablo EREÑO PÉREZ (20) – Spain, #60

Filip JACUBČIK (20) – Czech Republic, #36

Jerry JI (24)- Netherlands, #213

Luis MASAVEU RONCAL (21) – Spain, #32

Jacob Skov OLESEN (25) – Denmark, #23

Richard TEDER (19) – Estonia, #85

Lars VAN DER VIGHT (21) – Netherlands, #52

Tim WIEDEMEYER (19) – Germany, #68

In recent years the EGA has struggled to attract their very best players to the match so it is good to see them putting out such a strong team in Wales.

The leading European players, according to WAGR Top 100, who are not playing this year are Jose Luis BALLESTER BARRIO (Spain) #9, Tobias JONSSON (Sweden) #42, Daniel SVARD (Sweden) #48, Tiger CHRISTENSEN (Germany) #54, Michael MJAASETH (Denmark) #59, Gregory SOLHAUG (Norway) #61, Algot KLEEN (Sweden) #65, Albert HANSSON (Sweden) #67, Jaime MONTOJO FERNANDEZ (Spain) #96 and Bard SKOGEN (Norway) #97.

It is worth noting from a selection point of view that Sweden won the European (Men’s) Amateur Team Championship earlier in July with Hansson, Kleen and Svard in their six-man team.

Match Format 

The St. Andrews Trophy is played over two days and consists of a number of match play foursomes and singles games.

Thursday 25th July AM – Foursomes x 4
Thursday 25th July PM – Singles x 8
Friday 26th July AM – Foursomes x 4
Friday 26th July PM – Singles x 9

The additional Singles game on Day 2 was introduced in 2016.

With a maximum total of 25 points available and one point awarded for each match a team will be required to accumulate 13 points to secure an outright victory.

As the holders GB&I can retain the Trophy by reaching 12.5 points.

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The St. Andrews Trophy (Photo: Suomen Golfliitto / Finnish Golf Union)

Venue – Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

Royal Porthcawl G.C. was established in 1891 with the original nine hole course laid out by Charles Gibson, the professional at Royal North Devon G.C., in the following year.

A new 18 hole course was built in the late 1890s on the current site.

The 1951 Amateur Championship was the first major tournament that it staged. It has since staged a further six Amateurs.

Porthcawl famously staged the Walker Cup match in 1995 when the USA team included Tiger Woods.

The course, set on land sloping down the seashore, plays to 7,152 yards and a par of 72 from the Black Championship tees. It has a Course Rating of 75.7 and a Slope Rating of 143.

The 2020 St. Andrews Trophy match was originally scheduled to be played at Royal Porthcawl G.C. but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will become the first Welsh club to host the match in 2024.

Weather Forecast – as at 8.00am Monday 23rd July 2024

The weather forecast for south Wales looks mixed for the match with some rain forecast for Thursday and sun for Friday: –

Thur 25th July – Drizzle. Wind 13mph SW. Temp. Max. 18°C / Min. 14°C.
Fri 26th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 13mph SW. Temp. Max. 17°C / Min. 13°C.

2022 Match – Penati Golf Club, Slovakia

Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) won the 33rd St. Andrews Trophy match in Slovakia, beating Continent of Europe by 14.5-10.5.

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Mark POWER (IRL) and Calum SCOTT (SCO) were unbeaten for GB&I whilst Anton ALBERS (GER) was the best performer for the Continent of Europe.

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Great Britain & Ireland (Photo: The R&A)

Click here to view the full – 2022 St. Andrews Trophy Results

Past Results

In the 33 encounters to date GB&I have won the St. Andrews Trophy 26 times.

Europe have six wins to their name albeit three of them have come recently in 2010, 2012 and 2018.

The match in 2016 was tied for the first time  with GB&I, who were the trophy holders, retaining the trophy.

Europe have won only once on GB&I soil in the history of the match, at Portmarnock GC in 2012.

Click here to view a summary of the – Historic St. Andrews Trophy Results

2025 Match – Puerta De Hierro, Spain

As part of the re-arrangement of the amateur calendar the match will next be played in 2025 in Spain before returning to GB&I in 2027.

ME.

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

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.

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.

Irish Amateur Open Championship – 2024 Preview & Results

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12th May 2024

Round 4

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) won the Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship at County Sligo G.C.

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Matt McClean (Photo: Golf Ireland)

The famous Rosses Point links were bathed in sunshine all week and the cream certainly came to the top.

McClean’s 2-under par 69 in the final round was ultimately good enough for a 273 (-11) total and a 2-shot victory over Liam NOLAN (IRL). After bogeying the 10th he managed two birdies on 12 and 15 to produce a nerveless finish.

Speaking afterwards the champion from Malone G.C. said “It’s my first Irish Championship, I came close quite a few times, too many too think about, specifically two years ago when I lost in a play-off. I always felt like I was still chasing which is the easier position. I only had to hold on coming down the last which was the first time I was ahead and I managed to get that par in at the last.”

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Matt McClean’s Championship Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Heading into the final round with a 4-shot lead Nolan got off to a nightmare start dropping three shots in his opening three holes. Whilst he fought back well to still be in contention late on two finishing bogeys, where both of his approaches ran through the green, allowed McClean to see out the Championship with some ease. Perhaps Nolan’s lack of competitive play in 2024 finally caught up with him but nevertheless this was still an encouraging performance for him to move forward from.

TJ FORD (IRL) produced a superb 65, which included an eagle and four birdies, to finish in 3rd place on -6.

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TJ Ford’s Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Oswestry’s Tom MATTHEWS (WAL) -5 will travel back across the Irish Sea pleased with his 4th place finish.

Hugh FOLEY (IRL) also finished strongly; his final round 66 lifting him up to 5th place.

Matthew WILSON (SCO), Joe O’NEILL (IRL) and Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) all finished tied 6th on -3.

They were the only 8 players to finish under par with eight more completing the Championship on Even par.

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Final Results (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2024 Irish Amateur Open Championship Results

ME.

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11th May 2024

Round 3

Liam NOLAN (IRL) shot his second 66 of the Championship on Saturday, the low round of the day, to build a 4-shot lead at the top of the scoreboard.

After a double bogey on the 1st the Galway man produced a stunning 10 birdies, including three consecutively to close, over his remaining holes.

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Liam Nolan’s Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) -9 is 2nd but his 1-under 70, normally a very acceptable score at County Sligo, was made to look a little pedestrian by the scoring of his Walker Cup teammate and playing partner today.

Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) -6 and Tom MATTHEWS (WAL) -4 matched McClean’s 70 and are 3rd and 4th respectively. Joe O’NEILL‘s (IRL) 74 on Day 3 saw him slip to 5th.

Daniel BENNETT (RSA) and Seán KEELING (IRL) -2 both moved up 11 places with well timed 68’s. They sit alongside David TOMI (CZK) 70, Matthew WILSON (SCO) 71 and Keith EGAN (IRL) 71 with 18 holes to play.

52 players made the top 50 and ties cut which fell at 221 (+8).

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Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

ME.

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10th May 2024

Round 2

Liam NOLAN (IRL) and Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) moved to the top of the leaderboard on 134 (-8) after they both shot 68’s on Day 2 of the Flogas  Irish Amateur Open Championship.

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Liam Nolan’s Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

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Matt McClean’s Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

After another beautiful day for golf at County Sligo Joe O’NEILL (IRL) -6 is 3rd, Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) -5 4th and TJ FORD (IRL) & Tom MATTHEWS (WAL) -3 tied 5th.

Luke KELLY (IRL), Gregor TAIT (SCO), Welsh Amateur champion Max WEAVER, Matthew WILSON (SCO) and Shane MCDERMOTT (IRL) all remain in contention on -2.

Round of the day went to Wilson who posted a 67 (-4) to move up 34 places on the leaderboard.

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Matthew Wilson’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

15 players are under par and 1 on even after 36 holes.

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

ME.

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9th May 2024

Round 1

18 year old Gavin TIERNAN (IRL), who will be taking up a golf scholarship at East Tennessee State in August, took the Day 1 lead at the Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship after shooting a 6-under 65 around County Sligo G.C.

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Gavin Tiernan’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Paired together Liam NOLAN (IRL), playing his first competitive round of the year, and fellow GB&I 2023 Walker Cupper Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) also started strongly with 66’s (-5).

Joe O’NEILL (IRL) -4 is 4th with 2016 & 2022 champion Colm CAMPBELL (IRL), TJ FORD (IRL) and Ruairi O’CONNOR (IRL)  one shot further back in tied 5th.

Scottish internationals Gregor GRAHAM and Gregor TAIT (-2) are well placed amongst the tied 8th six man group.

With Sligo bathed in sunshine and with only a modest breeze blowing 22 players broke par around the normally challenging links.

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

ME.

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7th May 2024

The Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship, sponsored by Flogas, starts on Thursday 9th May 2024 at County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point in the north-west corner of Ireland.

It will be the 85th playing of this prestigious Championship. It was last played at County Sligo in 2019 when Englishman James Newton was the surprise winner.

I will be updating this article in due course with daily reports on play.

Format

Organised by Golf Ireland the Irish Amateur Open is a 72-hole stroke play event played over four days.

18 holes will be played on each of the first three days before a top 50 and ties cut is made. A final 18 holes will then be played by the leading competitors on the final day.

A tie for the Championship will be resolved by a sudden death play-off. All other ties will be resolved by a last eighteen and then last nine countback.

The Irish Amateur Open Champion Golfer is awarded a superb silver trophy (see photo below). Irish winners are allowed to take the trophy back to their Club for the year whereas overseas winners must return it to the organisers after the prize presentation.

Players

138 golfers will contest the 2024 Championship.

105 players are from Ireland with 33 travelling from overseas to compete.

The field quality has been impacted by the large number of players now playing on the U.S. college circuit, the England v. France International match which is being played this weekend and the relatively remote location of County Sligo.

The players who I expect to do well include (in alphabetical order) Daniel BENNETT (RSA), Caolan BURFORD (WAL), Colm CAMPBELL (IRL), Quentin CAREW (IRL), Paul COUGHLAN (IRL), Keith EGAN (IRL), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), TJ FORD (IRL), Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), Jack HEARN (IRL), Seán KEELING (IRL), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Jack MCDONNELL (IRL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL) Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), Gregor TAIT (SCO) and Gavin TIERNAN (IRL).

Egan beat David BRADY (IRL) in the final of this year’s West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at County Sligo on 2nd April.

Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2024 Irish Amateur Open Tee Times

Players will tee off, all from the 1st tee, between 7.00am and 3.25pm on each of the first three days so changes in the weather and wind speeds could play a big part in scoring.

Course

County Sligo G.C. was established in 1894 with the first nine holes designed by George Combe before Willie Campbell added a further nine a few years later. Harry Colt and Charles Allison remodelled the links in 1927 and more recently Pat Ruddy extended it to ensure it remained of Championship standard.

Famous as the home of the West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship it offers panoramic views, dramatic undulations, dunes and burns, plateau greens with run offs and challenging bunkering.

The course plays to 7,139 yards off the Blue Championship tees. It has a par of 71, a Slope of 146 and Rating of 75.9.

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 7th May)

The weather forecast for this week looks generally good for all four competition days – mainly sunny with only light winds expected.

Thu 9th May – Cloudy / Wind 6 mph S / Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 18°C.
Fri  10th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 10 mph S / Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 20°C.
Sat  11th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14 mph SE / Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 20°C.
Sun 12th May – Light Rain Showers / Wind 13 mph SW / Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 18°C.

The 2023 Irish Amateur Open Championship

John GOUGH (ENG) won the 2023 Irish Amateur Open Championship at The Island G.C. with a 280 (-8) total.

Rounds of 75, 69, 69 and, after starting the final round six shots back, 67 saw him move through the field to take the title.

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Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG) -7 finished 2nd, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -6, which included a 10-under 62 in Round 3, 3rd, Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) -5 4th, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) -4 5th and James CLARIDGE (ENG) -3 6th.

Click here to view the – 2023 Irish Amateur Open Results

History, Past Winners and Records

The Irish Amateur Open Championship was first played in 1892 with early winners including the English amateur greats John Ball and Harold Hilton.

Between 1894 and 1901 (6 years) the competition was played as part of the Irish Championship Meeting alongside a professional tournament.

The Championship was not played during both World Wars.

It was also not played between 1960 and 1994 due to a lack of interest from overseas players amidst concerns over safety.

Prior to 1958 it was a match play event but since returning to the amateur calendar in 1995 it has been 72 holes of stroke play.

To view a list of past winners click here – Irish Amateur Open Past Champions

ME.

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

The Lytham Trophy – 2024 Preview & Results

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5th May 2024

Play-Off

Will HOPKINS (ENG) won the 58th Lytham Trophy after a three hole play-off with Tomi BOWEN (WAL) and James ASHFIELD (WAL) that took in holes 1 (par 3), 2 (par 4) and 18 (par 4).

Will HOPKINS (ENG)         3, 3, 4 = -1
Tomi BOWEN (WAL)          3, 4, 4 = Ev
James ASHFIELD (WAL)   3, 5, 4 = +1

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Will Hopkins (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C.)

Round 4

Will HOPKINS (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL) and James ASHFIELD (WAL) all finished the 72 holes on 279 (-1).

Hopkins closed his tournament with a superb bogey free 66 (-4) to move up from tied 9th at the start of the afternoon series.

Bowen shot a steady even par 70 which included 16 pars.

Ashfield posted a 69 (-1) but will be rueing his bogey on the last hole of the event particularly as he called a penalty shot on himself for making his ball move while addressing his second shot into the green.

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Will Hopkins’ Round 4 Score Card (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius) 

Matt ROBERTS made it three Welshmen in the top 4 with a 69 and 70 on the final day.

Ukraine’s Lev GRINBERG secured a creditable tied 5th result, alongside South Africa’s Daniel BENNETT and third round leader and Lytham member Jamie VAN WYK (ENG), after following a morning 70 with a bogey free 67.

Young English players Daniel HAYES (+2) and Ben BOLTON (+3) enhanced their growing reputations with 8th and tied 9th place finishes (alongside Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG)).

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Final Results (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

The average score in Round 4 by the 46 remaining players was 72.31 (+2.31).

Click here to view the – 2024 Lytham Trophy Final Results

Round 3

Jamie VAN WYK (ENG) extended his lead to 3-shots after an impressive 1-under 69 this morning.

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Round 3 Leaderboard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

Tomi BOWEN (WAL) moved up into 2nd place after a 68. This was some achievement when one sees that he was 4-over after 8 holes of his third round. To birdie six of his remaining 10 holes takes some doing on this course.

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Tomi Bowen’s Round 3 Score Card (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius) 

Bowen’s Welsh compatriots Matt ROBERTS and James ASHFIELD entered the final round tied 3rd on Even par with Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) and Daniel HAYES (ENG) tied 5th on +1.

Hayes shot the best score in Round 3; his 67 including five birdies.

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Daniel Hayes’ Round 3 Score Card (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius) 

The average score in Round 3 by the 46 remaining players was 72.53 (+2.53).

ME.

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4th May 2024

Round 2

Home player Jamie VAN WYK (ENG) produced a solid even par 70, which included two birdies and two bogies, all on the front nine, to move into the lead on -3 at the halfway stage of the Lytham Trophy.

James ASHFIELD (WAL) is one shot back on -2 with Andrew HASWELL (ENG), Luis MASAVEU (ESP) and Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA) all tied 3rd on -1.

Haswell, who finished tied 10th last year, recorded the low round of the day with a bogey free 67 (-3).

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Andrew Haswell’s Round 2 Score Card (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius) 

Spain’s Luis Masaveu, who is the lowest ranked player in the field (WAGR #32) and finished tied 2nd last year, must head into tomorrow’s final two rounds as the favourite.

Couilleau’s 69 in Round 2 included the second hole-in-one of the tournament. Having birdied the 3rd and 4th he went one better at the 5th, the same hole as Tim Shin yesterday.

Will HOPKINS (ENG) Ev is tied 6th and Tomi BOWEN (WAL) & Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +1 both tied 10th.

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Round 2 Leaderboard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

46 players made the top 40 and ties cut which fell at 145 (+5). James CLARIDGE (ENG) +6, Harley SMITH (ENG) +8, Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) +9, Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) +13 and Seán KEELING (IRL) +18 were amongst the higher profile players to miss out.

Round 2 proved to be tougher with the average score rising slightly to 74.73 (+4.73) and only 17 players recording a score of par (70) or better.

ME.

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3rd May 2024

Round 1

James ASHFIELD (WAL) and home player Jamie VAN WYK (ENG) carded 3-under 67’s to take the early lead in the 58th Lytham Trophy.

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James Ashfield’s Round 1 Score Card (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius) 

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Jamie Van Wyk’s Round 1 Score Card (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius) 

Highlighting the international field that has gathered on the Fylde Coast Alvaro PASTOR ROMAN (ESP), Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) and Sarno TOLLENAIRE (BEL) are all 1-shot further back after they opened their tournaments with 68’s.

Looking at the other GB&I players to make good starts Henry FEATHERSTONE (ENG) & Daniel HAYES (ENG) -1 are tied 6th and Jack MCDONALD (SCO), Will COXON (ENG), Will HOPKINS (ENG), Josef HACKER (JER), Matt ROBERTS (WAL), Max WEAVER (WAL), Paul HOWARD (ENG) and Matthew WILSON (SCO) Even are all tied 10th.

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Round 1 Leaderboard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

The average score in Round 1 was 74.38 (+4.38) with 24 players recording a score of par (70) or better.

Tim SHIN (ENG) made a great start to his round, birdieing the 4th hole before having a hole-in-one on the 5th. However, he ultimately had to settle for a 73 (+3).

ME.

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25th April 2024 (Updated 1st May 2024)

The 2024 Lytham Trophy will be played between 3rd and 5th May at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England.

Traditionally viewed as the first major event in the Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) men’s amateur golf season it is always a privilege for the players to compete on this magnificent championship course.

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Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C. (Photo: Golf Bible)

Format and Tee Times

144 scratch golfers from 21 different countries will tee off in what will be the 58th playing of this prestigious competition.

The Lytham Trophy is a 72-hole stroke play event. 18 holes are played on the first two days before a top 40 and ties cut is made. 36-holes are then played on the final day by the leading competitors.

In the event of a tie for the lowest score there will be a 3-hole stroke play play-off on holes 1, 2 and 18. If a winner still hasn’t been determined then the play-off moves to sudden death over the same holes.

Click here to view the – 2024 Lytham Trophy Tee Times (use filter for each round)

Players

Whilst most of GB&I’s leading home-based amateurs will be competing the field strength sadly continues to decline.

This is primarily due to the growing popularity of U.S. college golf where the academic year and NCAA playing season only come to a close in late May.

In 2022 the WAGR Event Power Number for this event was 661.0000 and in 2023 it was 566.2711.

This year only 14 players in the field are ranked in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) Top 250 and just 29 are in the Top 500. Over 88 of the competitors are ranked higher than 1,000th in the world.

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #238, Jose Antonio SINTES (ESP) #329  and Jerry JI (NED) #373 have both withdrawn since the original draw was made.

Here are the 14 leading players based on the WAGR rankings (01/05/24 release): –

Luis MASAVEU (ESP) #32
James ASHFIELD (WAL) #62
Albert HANSSON (SWE) #77
Lars VAN DER VIGHT (NED) #79
Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL) #80
Richard TEDER (EST) #108
Andrey BORGES XAVIER (BRA) #125
Will HOPKINS (ENG) #147
Jack INGHAM (NED) #169
Matheus BALESTRIN (BRA) #180
James CLARIDGE (ENG) #185
Caolan RAFFERTY (ENG) #191
Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) #211
Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) #228

Lytham Trophies

The Lytham Trophy and the Winner’s Replica (Photo: Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C.)

Course

The famous Royal Lytham links course certainly presents a stern test. Playing off the blue championship tees competitors have to meet a 7,091 yard par 70 challenge; the front nine being 3,427 yards, a par 34, and the back nine being 3,664 yards, a par 36 this week.

Players will tee off between 7.30am and 3.30pm on the Friday and Saturday so changes in the weather and wind speeds throughout the first two days can play a big part in scoring.

Weather Forecast

Showers and drizzle seems to be the over-riding weather forecast for this year’s event (as at Wednesday 1st May).

Friday 3rd May – Light Rain / Wind 10 mph W / Temp. Min. 10°C, Max. 14°C.
Saturday 4th May – Light Rain / Wind 8 mph SW / Temp. Min. 8°C, Max. 14°C.
Sunday 5th May – Drizzle / Wind 9 mph S / Temp. Min. 10°C, Max. 16°C.

The 2023 Lytham Trophy

Frank KENNEDY (ENG), who had Fanny Sunesson on his bag, won last year’s Lytham Trophy with rounds of 70, 68, 68 and 72 for a 278 (-2) total.

Frank was the only competitor out of a starting field of 144 players to finish under par despite the playing conditions being generally very good, mainly dry with only a modest breeze, for all three days.

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Frank Kennedy and Fanny Sunesson (Photo: Golf Bible)

James ASHFIELD (WAL) and Luis MASAVEU (ESP) finished tied 2nd on 280 (Ev) and Hugh FOLEY (IRL) and Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) tied 4th on 282 (+2).

Here are the final results: –

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Final Results (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2023 Lytham Trophy Final Results

History, Past Winners and Records

The competition was first played in 1965 after the Club identified a need for a new top class amateur competition and one that could be played in the North of England.

A date on the first weekend in May was established and a 72 hole stroke play format adopted.

Member’s subscribed to purchase the unique sputnik trophy. This remains at Royal Lytham with a smaller replica handed out annually to the winner.

The event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

As one would expect the list of past winner’s is a who’s who of GB&I and more recently world amateur golf.

Of the older winners the most notable are: –

Michael BONALLACK – 1965 (s), 1972
Rodney FOSTER – 1967, 1968
Geoffrey MARKS – 1970 (s)
Charles GREEN – 1970 (s), 1974
Michael KING – 1973
George MACGREGOR – 1975
Peter MCEVOY – 1978
Ian HUTCHEON – 1980
Roger CHAPMAN – 1981
John HAWKSWORTH – 1984
Paul BROADHURST – 1988
Gary EVANS – 1990, 1991
Stephen GALLACHER – 1995
Graham RANKIN – 1997
Stuart WILSON – 2003
(s) = shared

In 2004 21 year old James HEATH won with a record score of 266 (-18), recording rounds of 67, 68, 66, and 65. Garth McGimpsey, the then Walker Cup captain, described Heath’s performance as ‘the best amateur golf I’ve ever seen’.

No one else has ever come close to this low scoring mark before or after. The next best scores being Matthew JORDAN‘s 272 (-12) in 2018 and Daan HUIZING’s 273 (-11) in 2013.

In 1999 the Lytham Trophy was won by German Tino SCHUSTER, the first time a non-GB&I player had been successful.

The following list of the last 10 winners shows just how international the amateur game has become. However, after a spell of overseas winners the last six have all come from England: –

Daan HUIZING – 2012 (The Netherlands)
Albert ECKHARDT – 2013 (Finland)
Thriston LAWRENCE – 2014 (South African
Marcus KINHULT – 2015 (Sweden)
Alfie PLANT – 2016 (England)
Jack SINGH BRAR – 2017 (England)
Matthew JORDAN – 2018 (England)
Josh MCMAHON – 2019 (England)
John GOUGH – 2022 (England)
Frank KENNEDY – 2023 (England)

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Lytham Trophy Honours Board (Photo: GolfBible)

Click here to view the complete list of – Lytham Trophy Past Winners

ME.

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

R&A Men’s Home Internationals – 2023 Preview & Results

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11th August 2023

England bounced back from their disappointing defeat against Wales yesterday to beat Ireland on the final day.

The three point margin of victory was also just enough – by 0.5 points – to lift the English in to top spot and therefore against the odds at the start of the day retain the title they won last year at Ballyliffin.

Despite losing to Scotland on the final day Wales finished 3rd. Scotland missed out by 0.5 points and had to settle for 4th place as the final table below shows. 

Screenshot 2023-08-11 at 20.16.51

2023 Men’s Home Internationals Final Table (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

Here is my assessment of the individual player contributions to the four teams with the star performers for each country highlighted in yellow: –

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GolfBible Individual Player Performance Analysis 

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DAY 3 

WALES v. SCOTLAND

It was perhaps ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ for the Welsh today at Machynys where the Scottish team were determined to finish off the competition with a win.

After sharing the foursomes the Scots ran away with the singles picking up five of the eight points on offer.

Andrew DAVIDSON, who was unbeaten in singles all week, finished off his competition with a big 7&5 win against Tom MATTHEWS.

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Wales v. Scotland (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

IRELAND v. ENGLAND

England bounced back from yesterday’s poor loss to Wales with a resounding tournament winning victory against the Irish.

A 3-1 morning foursomes series win laid the foundation with Charlie CROCKETT and James CLARIDGE securing an important win on the 18th hole with an eagle. It was the pairing’s third win in the format.

Arron EDWARDS-HILL, Matty DODD-BERRY and Zach CHEGWIDDEN secured early singles wins to ensure the match would be won. It was then just a question of whether the team could garner sufficient points to also take the overall win.

Ultimately the responsibility fell to Charlie Crockett who delivered the critical final point, beating Caolan RAFFERTY by 1 Hole, which secured the title.

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Ireland v. England (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

Click here to view the – Golfbox R&A Men’s Home Internationals Results

ME.

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10th August 2023

DAY 2 

ENGLAND v. WALES

Wales shocked England by winning six of the eight afternoon singles and coming from behind to claim a memorable 7-5 victory.

England went into the singles with a 3-1 lead after coming out on the right side of four tight foursomes games.

James ASHFIELD boosted his Walker Cup chances and set the tone with a good 2&1 win against Jack BIGHAM. 

Tomi BOWEN, Matt ROBERTS, Tom BASTOW, James NASH and Tom MATTHEWS then added their names to the Welsh roll of honour which left England’s title hopes in tatters.

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England v. Wales (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

SCOTLAND v. IRELAND

Ireland won the morning foursomes 2.5-1.5 and the afternoon singles 5.0-3.0 to complete a deserved win over Scotland.

With England losing to Wales the Irish are now in the box seat for the 2023 title.

Marc BOUCHER and Robert MORAN led the way for the Irish with two wins in the match.

Connor GRAHAM starred for Scotland with an impressive foursomes win alongside Gregor TAIT and a notable singles win against Liam Nolan.

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Scotland v. Ireland (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

Click here to view the – Golfbox R&A Men’s Home Internationals Results

ME.

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9th August 2023

DAY 1 

ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND

England took control of the opening match of this year’s Men’s Home Internationals with a 3-1 victory in the morning foursomes.

They also won the singles 5-3 but these were clearly hard fought with six of the eight games requiring all 18 holes to be played.

Jack BIGHAM, Zach CHEGWIDDEN and James CLARIDGE won both of their games on Day 1 for England whilst Tyler WEAVER won his foursomes and tied his singles.

Andrew DAVIDSON was the best of the Scots winning his foursomes alongside Gregor Graham  before securing a 0.5 point in his singles against Matt Dodd-Berry. Jack MCDONALD and Niall SHEILS DONEGAN won their two singles beating English Walker Cup hopefuls Arron-Edwards-Hill and Charlie Crockett respectively.

Screenshot 2023-08-09 at 20.53.29Screenshot 2023-08-09 at 20.53.08

England v. Scotland (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

IRELAND v. WALES

Ireland won the foursomes 3-1 and the singles 5-3 to also record an 8-4 victory in their opening game.

Marc BOUCHER, Liam NOLAN and Caolan RAFFERTY all finished Wednesday with two wins to their name for the Irish.

James ASHFIELD, Tomi BOWEN, Caolan BURFORD and James NASH were all unbeaten on Day 1 for the Welsh who look like they will be competitive this year. 

Screenshot 2023-08-09 at 20.53.58

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Ireland v. Wales (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

Click here to view the – Golfbox R&A Men’s Home Internationals Results

ME.

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4th August 2023 (Updated 7th August)

This year’s R&A Men’s Home Internationals will be played at Machynys Peninsula G.C. in Wales on 9th-11th August 2023.

ENGLAND will be defending the Raymond Trophy which they won at Balllyliffin G.C. in Ireland last year.

With the selection of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team expected to take place in the next few weeks this event will be the final opportunity for the players competing to impress.  

This article will focus on the Men’s Home Internationals and will be updated with further information once the Championship starts.

Combined Event

In 2022 The R&A and four Home Golf Unions decided to combine the women’s and men’s home internationals into one event.

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

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

Whilst I am all for shared venues, which ease administration and add to the overall spectacle, I remain unconvinced about the merits of mixed individual and team events and as such have never been supportive of this change.

In my opinion the separate men’s and women’s competitions, which have a lot of history and tradition, should have remained the priority and if it was felt a combined trophy was necessary this should have been the secondary add-on.

Last year The R&A failed to provides any (public) scoring for the men’s and women’s competitions but I am pleased to report that this year they are intending to do so.

Match Format

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

Each country plays every other team over the three competition days. Each match starts with a mens game and alternates with a womens game thereafter. 

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

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

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

The winning team receives the Raymond Trophy.  

The Raymond Trophy

Historically the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh Golf Unions took it in turns to host and run the home internationals. In 2021 The R&A took over responsibility for it with the hosting rota continuing.

The men’s home internationals were first played in 1932 and this year’s ‘staging’ will be the 82nd playing of this prestigious event.

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

In the 81 competitions played to date England have won 39, Scotland 21, Ireland 13 and Wales 1. The remaining 7 were tied before it was decided that ties would be resolved by using game points.

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The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2023 Men’s Players

The four national golf unions have selected the following male players to represent their countries this year. I have added their World Amateur Golf Rankings as at 2nd August 2023 in brackets.

ENGLAND  
Jack BIGHAM – Harpenden (95)
Zach CHEGWIDDEN – Ingrebourne Links (760)
James CLARIDGE – Enville (166)
Charlie CROCKETT – Addington Palace (131)
Matthew DODD-BERRY – Royal Liverpool (262)
Arron EDWARDS-HILL – Chelmsford (147)
Will HOPKINS – Belton Park (227)
Dylan SHAW-RADFORD – Huddersfield (345)
Tyler WEAVER – Bury St. Edmunds (341)

Barclay Brown (25) and John Gough (14) are unavailable as they are competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship (14-20 August 2023). 

IRELAND 
Marc BOUCHER – Carton House (834)
Colm CAMPBELL – Warrenpoint (510)
Paul CONROY – Enniscorthy (405)
Max KENNEDY – Royal Dublin (85)
Alex MAGUIRE – Layton & Bettystown (169)
Robert MORAN – Castle (215)
Liam NOLAN – Galway (156)
Caolan RAFFERTY – Dundalk (65)
David SHIEL – Enniscrone (2,276)

Hugh Foley (133), Matthew McClean (62) and Mark Power (93) are unavailable as they are competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.   

SCOTLAND 
Angus CARRICK – Cragielaw (702)
Andrew DAVIDSON – Crail (427)
Connor GRAHAM – Blairgowrie (192)
Gregor GRAHAM – Blairgowrie (485)
Jack MCDONALD – Roxburghe (953)
Oliver MUKHERJEE – Loretto School (470)
Niall SHEILS DONEGAN – Mill Valley (859)
Gregor TAIT – Aldeburgh (270)
Matthew WILSON – Forres (566)

Calum Scott (34) is unavailable as he is competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.  

WALES
James ASHFIELD – Delamere Forest (83)
Theo BAKER – Celtic Manor (3,552)
Tom BASTOW – Isle of Purbeck (1,586)
Tomi BOWEN – Welshpool (335)
Caolan BURFORD – Rhuddlan (455)
Archie DAVIES – Carlisle (113)
Tom MATTHEWS – Aldersley Green (2,349)
James NASH – Ormskirk (498)
Matt ROBERTS – Royal Porthcawl (387)

Jonathan Bale (707) is unavailable as he is competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.

Since the team selections were announced the English, Scottish and Welsh Closed Amateur Championships have been played. Interestingly the three champions, Ben Brown, Cameron Adam and Max Weaver respectively, are all conspicuous by their absence.  

Venue – Machynys

The Monk’s Island course at Machynys opened in 2005 and is located west of Swansea, near Llanelli.

It is a Nicklaus (Gary rather than Jack) designed 7,121 championship links, albeit the front nine has more of a parkland feel.

It plays to a traditional par of 72; two 36’s with two par 3’s and par 5’s on each side.

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R&A Home International Websites

R&A Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals

Golfbox R&A Men’s Home Internationals Results

Golfbox R&A Women’s Home Internationals Results

Golfbox R&A Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals Results

2023 Weather Forecast (as at 7th August 2023)

The forecast is looking reasonably good for the opening two days but a little challenging for the decisive final day: –

Wed. 9th Aug. – Cloudy / Wind 11 mph SW / Temp. Min 15º, Max 20º
Thurs. 10th Aug. – Sunny / Wind 15 mph SE / Temp. Min 16º, Max 23º
Fri. 11th Aug. – Light Rain / Wind 22 mph SW / Temp. Min 15º, Max 18º

2022 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

ENGLAND won the Men’s Raymond Trophy last year at Ballyliffin G.C. in Ireland.

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England’s Men’s Team (Photo: England Golf)

Day 1 Results
England 9.0 – Wales 3.0
Scotland 3.0 – Ireland 9.0

Day 2 Results
England 7.5 – Scotland 4.5
Wales 3.0 – Ireland 9.0

Day 3 Results
Scotland 7.5 v. Wales 4.5
Ireland 5.5 v. England 6.5

Here’s the final Men’s Home Internationals Results Table.

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.41.48

Here is my Men’s Individual Performance table which confirms that England’s Arron EDWARDS-HILL was the most successful player in the 2022 Raymond Trophy contest.

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Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.41.35

ENGLAND also won the inaugural R&A Trophy for the combined Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals match.

IRELAND won the Women’s International Shield.

Click here to view the full – R&A Womens & Mens Home Internationals Results 

Historic Results

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

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2023, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.