The Amateur Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

Posted on 13/06/2025 by Golf Bible

Saturday 21st June 2025

Ethan FANG (USA), 20, won the 130th Amateur Championship at Royal St. George’s G.C. He is the 23rd champion from the United States and the first since Drew Weaver in 2007.

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

He beat Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) by 1 Hole in the 36 hole Final. After the County Louth man had birdied the 16th and 17th holes on their second circuit with lengthy putts to draw back level the American played a superb approach into the 18th and converted his 4 foot birdie putt to take the title.

Both players were a little nervous at the start of the Final before setting down to play some excellent golf in the opening 18 holes. Tiernan took a 1Up lead into the lunch break helped by winning birdies on the 12th and 16th holes.

Fang, playing links golf for the first time this week, made the fewer mistakes in the afternoon and in the end deserved his narrow win. “It’s probably the most consistent golf I’ve played in my life. It’s a super long tournament and it just feels really good to finally get it done” the champion said afterwards.

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

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

Fang will receive the Championship Trophy and a Gold Medal. On the basis he remains an amateur, he can now look forward to exemptions into the 2025 Open Championship, the 2026 Masters Tournament, the 2026 U.S. Open Championship and the 2025 Betfred British Masters Hosted By Sir Nick Faldo on the DP World Tour.

Runner-Up Tiernan, on the basis he stays amateur, will receive an invitation to compete in a future Challenge Tour event and will also be exempt into Final Qualifying for the 2025 Open Championship.

Reflecting on his defeat the East Tennessee State golfer said “I’m disappointed. It was touch and go the whole time. I made a couple of silly mistakes around the middle part of the back-nine, and that really cost me. But he hit a fantastic shot in on 18. Just a great birdie. Fair play to him.”

It will be interesting to see how GB&I captain Dean Robertson assesses the Irishman’s performance this week. Tiernan, not even close to being selected before this week, would have earned an automatic selection for both the GB&I St. Andrews Trophy and Walker Cup teams with victory but now his fate is out of his hands.

The 131st Amateur Championship will be played at Royal Liverpool G.C. from 15-20 June 2026.

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Friday 20th June 2025

Match Play Semi-Finals (PM)

Ethan FANG (USA) secured his place in the Championship Match with a convincing 5&4 victory over Veikka VISKARI (FIN). Fang took the lead on the 3rd and impressively built on it after not being punished for a few early errors. It is so hard to deliver two quality rounds in one day under the pressure of the Amateur Championship and Viskari simply struggled to get going after looking so assured in his Quarter Final.

E. Fang v. V. Viskari Semi-Final Scorboard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

As in the first semi-final Riccardo FANTINELLI (ITA) just seemed to hit the wall this afternoon – seven rounds in five days does that to you – and pleasingly Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) was good enough to take advantage. Tiernan’s solid golf saw him take a 4&3 victory on the 15th green.

R. Fantinelli v. G Tiernan Semi-Final Scorboard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The two losing semi-finalists receive a Bronze Medal. They also earned invitations to compete in a Challenge Tour event and will be exempt into Final Qualifying for the 2025 Open Championship.

Match Play Quarter Finals (AM)

Ethan FANG (USA), 20, beat Callixte ALZAS (FRA), 16, by 2 Holes in the opening Quarter Final match at Royal St. George’s G.C. In a competitive match Fang’s three consecutive birdies on the back nine proved decisive.

Fang was understandably delighted to reach the Final: “Yeah, it feels great. It’s just been a long week, and we’ve got another 36 to go. I’m ready to get some rest after this. I try to stay pretty calm when I play. The tournament is not over, so I think after tomorrow we’ll celebrate either way because it’s been a good week.”

E. Fang v. C. Alzas Quarter Final Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

In a high quality encounter Veikka VISKARI (FIN) fought back well from losing the three opening holes to birdies to take out the experienced Frenchman Matthis LEFEVRE. Viskari played error free golf and slotted home four birdies, the key one coming on the par 3 16th, to ultimately secure a narrow 1 Hole win.

M. Lefevre v. V. Viskari Quarter Final Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

In Game 3 Riccardo FANTINELLI (ITA) proved to be too good for Billy DOWLING (AUS) who was unable to repeat his low scoring of yesterday. Three bogeys in the opening six holes set the Australian back and when Fantinelli, the 2024 and 2025 Ivy League Player of the Year, eagled the 7th and birdied the 8th to go 4Up there was unlikely to be a way back for him.

B. Dowling v. R Fantinelli Quarter Final Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Not for the first time this week Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) finished his round at Royal St. George’s strongly to take a narrow 1 Hole win against Richard TEDER (EST). The East Tennessee State student, who let’s not forget came through Pre-Qualifying last Friday, birdied 14 and 16 before a delivering a no stress par on 18 to take the lead for the first time.

Talking to The R&A after his semi-final win Tiernan said “If you’d told me at the start of the week I’d be in the final, I would have been over the moon. I’m just really enjoying it, taking it one shot at a time, and just having fun out there. That’s all I’m trying to do”. ‘(The WAGR difference) doesn’t really mean much to me, to be honest. In my head, I’m the best player here. Might not be the truth, but that’s what I believe. It doesn’t really matter who I’m playing against. Really I’m just playing against the golf course. Playing against myself really.”

R Teder v. G Tiernan Quarter Final Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The losing Quarter Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, receive exemptions into Final Qualifying for next month’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

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Thursday 19th June 2025

Match Play Round of 16 (PM)

Milan REED (ENG) couldn’t re-produce his form from this morning in Round 3 and when Ethan FANG (USA), 20, now the top WAGR-ranked player in the field, recorded five birdies in eight holes the match quickly came to an end and we had our first quarter finalist.

Ethan Fang v. Milan Reed Last 16 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

French pair Callixte ALZAS, 16, and Matthis LEFEVRE, 24, quickly ensured that France would be the best represented country in the Quarter Finals with comfortable 4&3 wins in Games 2 and 3.

Finland’s Veikka VISKARI made up for compatriot’s Sakke SILTALA earlier loss to Alzas in Game 4 by beating Rintaro NAKANO (JAP). The Fin took the lead on the 2nd hole and held onto it with relative comfort for the remainder of the match.

Billy DOWLING (AUS), 20, again impressed recording an eagle and four birdies in his 3&2 win against Filippo PONZANO (ITA).

Riccardo FANTINELLI (ITA) kept Italian hopes alive with a 3&1 win against Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER). Fantinelli, a rising senior at Princeton University, may prove to be a danger man in the later stages. He is clearly playing well and is very comfortable in the South East of England. He was educated at Reeds School in Surrey and was runner-up to Jack Bigham in the 2021 Boys’ Amateur played at Royal Cinque Ports G.C.

It was probably ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ for Ben GREGG (USA) this afternoon having disposed of Tommy Morrison in the round of 32. Having fallen 6Down after six holes to Richard TEDER (EST), 20, who reached the Quarter finals in 2023 before losing to the eventual champion Christo Lmaprecht, he fought back bravely but eventually lost by 3&2.

Having started with 89 players in the Stroke Play Qualifying and then 17 in the Match Play Round of 64 GB&I are now left with just Gavin TIERNAN (IRL), 19, to carry our hopes into the latter stages. Tiernan produced a steady performance this afternoon to dispose of Gaspar GLAUDAS (FRA) 3&2. The Frenchman hadn’t played particularly well this morning in beating Eliot Baker and was unable to gain any momentum in his second game of the day.

Gavin Tiernan v. Gaspar Glaudus Round of 16 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Here are the full Last 16 match results: –

The Amateur Championship Last 16 Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Match Play Round of 32 (AM)

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) enjoyed a dream start against WAGR #7 Ethan FANG (USA), going 3Up after four holes simply by playing par golf. Having then lost this lead around the turn he regained it, moving into a 2Up lead with a birdie on the 14th. However, Fang would have the last word. He birdied 17 and 18 to tie the game before completing a memorable comeback with an another birdie on the 20th Hole.

Like last year medalist Graham again lost in the second round of Match Play.

Connor Graham v. Ethan Fang Round of 32 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Milan REED (ENG) produced a battling display to stay in touch with Alvaro PASTOR ROMAN (ESP) before pulling away for a 1 Hole win thanks to three late birdies over the final six holes.

Alvaro Pastor Roman v. Milan Reed Round of 32 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Kris KIM (ENG) fell away badly on the back nine of his match against an equally out of sorts Matthis LEFEVRE (FRA) seemingly, if the scoreboard can be believed, throwing away a 2Up lead with six holes to play.

Matthis Lefevre v. Kris Kim Round of 32 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Having suggested over the first three days of the Championship that he may be about to break his run of poor form in 2025 Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) was disappointingly beaten 3&2 by the more consistent Rintaro NAKANO (JAP).

Rintaro Nakano v. Dominic Clemons Round of 32 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Harley SMITH (ENG) came out on the wrong side of a tight game against Italy’s Filippo PONZANO where neither player led by more than one hole throughout. Ponzano birdied the par 3 3rd hole for the second time to take a narrow 1 Hole win.

Filippo Ponzano v. Harley Smith Round of 32 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) edged a close match with Jarno TOLLENAIRE (BEL). Five birdies, admittedly in a rollercoaster back nine, pushed the County Louth golfer into the Last 16.

Gavin Tiernan v. Jarno Tollenaire Round of 32 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

An error strewn performance from Eliot BAKER (ENG) means the Devonian can have few complaints about being knocked out in the Round of 32 by France’s Gaspar GLAUDAS who was also off his game for a lot of this encounter.

Eliot Baker v. Gaspar Glaudas Round of 32 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Callixte ALZAS (FRA), Sakke SILTALA (FIN), Daniel BENNETT (RSA), Veikka VISKARI (FIN), Billy DOWLING (AUS), Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER), Riccardo FANTINELLI (ITA), Richard TEDER (EST) and Ben GREGG (USA) were the other Round of 32 winners.

Dowling, an eagle, four birdies and no bogeys in 15 holes played, Wiedemeyer, five birdies and no bogeys in 13 holes played and Gregg, six birdies in 15 holes played produced the best golf at Royal St. George’s in the morning round.

The Amateur Championship Match Play Round of 32 Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

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Wednesday 18th June 2025

Match Play Round of 64

Medalist Connor GRAHAM (SCO) required three extra holes to overcome Mads Viemose LARSEN (DEN), who had earlier come through this morning’s play-off. The 18 year old Texas Tech rising sophomore birdied the 198-yard par-3 3rd hole to end the Dane’s resistance.

Milan REED (ENG), Kris KIM (ENG) and last year’s runner-up Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) were the other GB&I player’s to successfully negotiate the opening Match Play hurdle in the Upper Half of the draw.

Kim’s win over Oscar COUILLEAU, WAGR ranked #202, was noteworthy as the left-handed Frenchman is one of Europe’s stronger prospects and has been in relatively good form this season.

Like Graham, 4th seed Matthis LEFEVRE (FRA) required extra time to get the job done against Gaven LANE (USA); only securing his place in the Round of 32 on the 19th.

The Amateur Championship Match Play Round of 64 Upper Half Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Harley SMITH (ENG) was too good for Jack BEAUCHAMP (USA), taking the lead early on in their game and holding it with some comfort.

3rd seed Ugo MALCOR (FRA) showed no signs of letting up on the Kent coast with an impressive 6&4 win over Stijn EGGING (NED).

The All-American game between Tommy MORRISON and last year’s semi-finalist Luke SAMPLE proved to be one of the best and certainly the longest of the day. In a tight match where both players led at different times Sample won both 16 and 17 before holing a lengthy putt on 18 to force extra holes. Morrison finally came through on the 23rd hole (5th) with a par.

6th seed Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) maintained Irish interest in this year’s Championship after his compatriots Stuart GREHAN and Joshua HILL had both been beaten earlier in the day. Timing his comeback to perfection to pip Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) on the 18th hole of a match he had trailed in from the start.

Scottish Men’s Open champion Eliot BAKER (ENG) also fought back well in his match against Emil RIEGGER (USA) who got off to a strong start before fading on the back nine.

2 players from England, 8 from USA, 7 from France, 4 from Germany & Italy, 3 from Australia, Ireland & Netherlands, 2 from Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Scotland, Spain & Sweden and 1 each from Canada, Denmark, Iceland, India, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland & South Africa qualified for the Match Play Stage.

Unluckily the four Italians who qualified drew each other in the opening round. Fillipo PONZANO and Riccardo FANTINELLI knocked out 2nd seed Matteo CRISTONI and Giovanni BINAGHI respectively.

Seven GB&I players survived Round 1, namely, Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Milan REED (ENG), Kris KIM (ENG), Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), Harley SMITH (ENG), Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) and Eliot BAKER (ENG). A disappointing return from the 17 who teed off today.

The Amateur Championship Match Play Round of 64 Lower Half Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Play-Off

A 24-for-5 sudden death play-off, played in four groups of six, commenced at 7.00am utilising the 1st and 18th holes at Royal St. George’s G.C. Each participant drew a token to establish their starting position in the contest.

Rintaro NAKANO (JAP) #60, Gaven LANE (USA) #61, Stijn EGGING (NED) #62, Filippo PONZANO (ITA) #63 and Mads Viemose LARSEN (DEN) #64 earned their places in the Match Play Round of 64.

GB&I players Sebastian DESOISA (GIB), Keith EGAN (IRL), Freddie TURNELL (ENG), Jake WALLIS (ENG), Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG) and Zach LITTLE (ENG) all missed out.

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Tuesday 17th June 2025

Stroke Play Qualifying Round 2

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) produced a bogey free 6-under 64 at Royal St. George’s to claim medalist honours at The Amateur Championship. His 133 (-9) total was one better than Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) and Ugo MALCOR (FRA).

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

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

Connor Graham’s Stroke Play Qualifying Score Card (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Matthis LEFEVRE (FRA), one of four Frenchmen to finish in the top 10, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) and Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) secured the 4th, 5th and 6th seeds. Lefevre and Forster enjoyed good rounds at Royal St. George’s whilst Tiernan did well at Royal Cinque Ports.

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

Amongst them was Tom HARBERER (GER) who shot a 7-under 63 at Royal St. George’s – 14 shots lower than he managed at Royal Cinque Ports on Day 1 – to rise 204 places on the leaderboard and make the Match Play cut on 140 (-2).

Tom Harberer’s Stroke Play Qualifying Score Card (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

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

A sizeable 24-for-5 sudden death play-off will be required to sort out which of the players who finished on 141 (-1), 60th to 83rd below, will advance.

The Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The average Round 2 score at Royal St. George’s was 71.57 (+1.57) whilst at Royal Cinque Ports it was 74.17 (+2.17).

Whilst far from straight-forward, as players mindsets change after their first rounds, based on the average scores on both days a Day 1 Royal Cinque Ports and Day 2 Royal St. George’s draw appears to have been preferable.

Josh HILL (ENG) Ev, Charlie RUSBRIDGE (ENG) Ev, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) +1, Luke POULTER (ENG) +2, Cameron ADAM (SCO) +2, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) +2, Christiaan MAAS (RSA) +4, Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) +5, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) +6, Seb CAVE (ENG) +6 and Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +8 were amongst the players to miss the Match Play cut.

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

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Monday 16th June 2025

Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1

Each of the 288 competitors will play 18 holes at Royal St. George’s G.C. (RSG / par 70) and Royal Cinque Ports G.C. (RCP / par 72) during the Stroke Play Qualifying Stage of the Amateur Championship.

Ugo MALCOR (FRA) -6 RCP, Kris KIM (ENG) -6 RSG and Emil RIEGGER (USA) -6 RSG share the Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 lead at The Amateur Championship. Riegger (7.51am) and Kim (8.13am) were early starters whilst Malcor started his opening round at 11.30am.

Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) RSG, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) RCP, Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) RCP, Max HOPKINS (ENG) RCP and Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) -5 RCP are all one shot further back on -5.

Other GB&I players to lay strong foundations in Round 1 were Drew SYKES (ENG) -4 RSG, Stuart GREHAN (IRL) -4 RCP, Joshua HILL (IRL) -3 RSG, James WOOD (SCO) -3 RSG, Gavin O’NEILL (IRL) -3 RSG, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) -3 RCP, Ben BOLTON (ENG) -3 RSG and Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) -3 RCP.

The Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

In near perfect conditions the average Round 1 score at Royal St. George’s was 72.18 (+2.18) whilst at Royal Cinque Ports it was 70.84 (+0.84).

90 players finished the opening day under par, 56 of these rounds coming at Cinque Ports and 34 at Royal St. George’s.

Top 20 players Kim RSG, Riegger RSG and Tiernan RSG all enjoyed eight eagles or birdies in their rounds whilst Cristoni RCP, Forster RCP, Wilhelm RYDING (SWE) RCP and Drew SYKES (ENG) RSG were all bogey free on Day 1.

Based on the above and given little change in the weather forecast for tomorrow it seems likely that the Match Play Stage cut will fall at 140 (-2) after tomorrow’s round.

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) +4 RCP, Luke POULTER (ENG) +4 RCP, Seb CAVE (ENG) +4 RCP, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +6 RSG and Tomi BOWEN (WAL) +7 RCP were amongst the notable players who have seemingly played themselves out of the Championship on Day 1.

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Sunday 15th June 2025

Field Update

Sunday saw a further three withdrawals from the field.

Thom LINSSEN (NED), originally Pre-Qualifying Reserve 3, went home thus foregoing his place.

Reserves 4, 5 and 6, Thaddeus Matteo HUAINIGG (AUT), Oliver LEWIS-PERKINS (ENG) and Cormac SHARPE (SCO), were therefore called up today.

This now means that 31 players have advanced from the 72 who contested Friday’s pre-Qualifying event.

89 players (31%) from GB&I will tee off in this year’s Championship.

Based on the final field the DRVN.GOLF Estimator is estimating the Championship’s WAGR Power Number as 881.4290*. Last year at Ballyliffin the Power was 863.9463 and in 2023 at Hillside it was 886.8413.

*WAGR allocated an official Event Power Number of 898.7192.

Caolan BURFORD (WAL), who was Reserve 7 and next in line, ultimately missed out as there were no further withdrawals.

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Saturday 14th June 2025

Field Update

Following two withdrawals from the original field today Tom HUGHES (ENG) and Ken-Marten SOO (EST), Reserves 1 and 2 from yesterday’s Pre-Qualifying event, have been called up.

Thom LINSSEN (NED), Reserve 3, is now the next in line.

Stroke Play Qualifying Tee Times

The draw for the Stroke Play Qualifying has been completed by The R&A today.

Play will commence at 6.45am at Royal St. George’s G.C. and Royal Cinque Ports G.C. on both Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th with the final groups heading out at 3.37pm on both days.

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Friday 13th June 2025

Pre-Qualifying (PQ)

72 players contested an 18 hole pre-qualifying competition at Royal Cinque Ports G.C. to finalise the field for the 2025 Amateur Championship.

After additional withdrawals from the main field 26 spots were available.

Milan REED (ENG) and Max HOPKINS (ENG) both shot 8-under 64’s to qualify in style. Perhaps an indication of how easily the links are playing after the extended period of dry weather in the UK.

With exactly 26 players finishing on 71 (-1) or lower there was no need for a play-off.

Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) -5, Morgan BLYTHE (ENG) -5, George SAUNDERS (ENG) -2, Oscar CRAIG (ENG) -1, Stuart GREHAN (IRL) -1, Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) -1 and David HOWARD (IRL) -1 were amongst those to advance.

Tom HUGHES (ENG), who finished 27th, is Reserve #1 so will have his fingers crossed for a further withdrawal over the weekend. The other players who shot 72 (Ev) are shown below in the order in which they are now Reserves.

The Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

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

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13th June 2025

Preview

The 130th Amateur Championship will be played at Royal St. George’s G.C. and Royal Cinque Ports G.C. in Kent, England on 16th-21st June 2025.

Ahead of the main Championship an 18 hole Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event is being played on 13th June 2025 at Royal Cinque Ports G.C.

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

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

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

Format

Stroke Play Qualifying

Two rounds of stroke play will be completed on Monday 16th June and Tuesday 17th June to determine a top 64 match play field.

Each contestant will play 18 holes around Royal St. George’s G.C. and Royal Cinque Ports G.C. with three-ball tee times between 6.45am and 3.37pm on both days.

For the second year a sudden death play-off will be used to break ties for the last qualifying place. The play-off will be held on the 1st and 18th holes at Royal St. George’s G.C. Previous year’s have more often than not seen all ties advance to the match play stage with a Preliminary Round then having to be played.

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

Match Play Stage

The Match Play stage will be contested between Wednesday 18th and Saturday 21st June solely at Royal St. George’s G.C.

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

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

Royal St. George’s G.C.

Field

288 male amateur golfers from 42 countries will contest the Championship.

This year saw The R&A receive a record 612 entries, 27 more than the previous record in 2022.

278 competitors were offered places in the Championship when entries closed on 25th May 2023. These players were drawn from 1) a number of exempt categories covering previous Championship performances and representative team selections and 2) allocated to those highest ranked players 1st-2,000th in the WAGR as at Week 20 2025 (i.e. the Wednesday 15th May release), and then via WHS Handicap index at the date of entry.

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

Click here to view the full – 2025 Amateur Championship Terms of Competition

Pre-Qualifying (PQ)

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

72 players will contest this 18 hole event at Royal Cinque Ports G.C. on 13th June 2025.

This field was made up of the 15 highest ranked WAGR players (who sit between 1,173rd – 1,379th) not originally accepted into the Championship field followed by a lowest handicap ballot for the remainder.

The final number of spots available rose from the guaranteed 5 to 26. This is because 10 spaces in the field were ultimately left open after the close of entries and 16 players subsequently withdrew from the Championship before PQ started.

Amongst the 16 were Justin HASTINGS (CAY) and Tyler WEAVER (ENG) #440 who both qualified for the U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont C.C.

Royal Cinque Ports G.C.

Leading Players

Christiaan MAAS (RSA), WAGR #4, is the lowest ranked player in the Championship.

Tommy MORRISON (USA) #5, Ethan FANG (USA) #7, Gunnlaugur ÁRNI SVEINSSON (ICE) #20, Luke POTTER (USA) #28, Cameron ADAM (SCO) #35, Eric LEE (USA) #37, Daniel BENNETT (RSA) #39, Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) #44, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #47 and Daniel SVÄRD (SWE) #49 are the other players in the WAGR top 50.

The other leading home players competing this year are Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #52, Luke POULTER (ENG) #54, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) #75, Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG) #98, Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) #119, Harley SMITH (ENG) #127 and Seb CAVE (ENG) #133.

Host Courses

Royal St. George’s G.C.

Royal St. George’s was founded in 1887 and is a renowned links course situated in Sandwich on the south east coast of England.

The club has hosted 15 Open Championships and 14 Amateur Championships as well as the Walker Cup, twice, and a Curtis Cup. Only Royal Liverpool (18) and St Andrews (16) have hosted the Amateur on more occasions.

Harry ELLIS (ENG) won the Amateur in 2017, the last time it was staged at Kent’s premier course.

It has also hosted the European Men’s Amateur Team Championship twice, in 1965 and 2022.

Whilst the course can be stretched further The R&A have decided to play it at 7,046 yards with a par of 70.

Royal St. George’s G.C. Amateur Championship Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A)

Royal Cinque Ports G.C.

Founded in 1892 Cinque Ports is located in Deal immediately to the south of the Royal St. George’s course.

It hosted The Open Championship in 1909 and 1920 and The Amateur Championship in 1923, 1982 and 2013.

During the Championship Cinque Ports will play to 7,191 yards and a par of 72.

Royal Cinque Ports G.C. Amateur Championship Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A)

Schedule

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

2025 Amateur Championship Schedule (Graphic: The R&A)

Weather Forecast

The Championship is set to be played in near perfect conditions. Sunny every day with light breezes expected. As a result we can expect scoring to be relatively low.

Click here to view the – Latest BBC Weather Forecast for Sandwich, Kent

With tee times between 6.45am and 3.37pm over the opening two days mean even modest changes in the weather can impact on the stroke play qualifying competition.

Prizes / Exemptions

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

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

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

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

a) the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush G.C., Northern Ireland on 17-20 July 2025;

b) the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C., Georgia on 9-12 April 2026;

c) the 2026 U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills G.C., New York on 18-21 June 2026; and

d) a DP World Tour event (this year it’s The Betfred British Masters Hosted By Sir Nick Faldo).

The Runner-Up and two losing Semi-Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will receive an invitation to compete in a Challenge Tour event and will be exempt into Final Qualifying for the 2025 Open Championship.

The losing Quarter Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will also receive exemptions into Final Qualifying for The Open.

The Open Championship Amateur Series Winner

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

The player who gains the most WAGR points in the 2024 St. Andrews Links Trophy (6-8 June), Amateur Championship (16-21 June) and European Amateur Championship (25-28 June) will earn an exemption into the forthcoming Open at Royal Troon G.C.

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

2025 St. Andrews Trophy and Walker Cup GB&I Team Selection

Should a Great Britain & Ireland player win the Amateur Championship they are guaranteed a place on the GB&I St. Andrews Trophy and Walker Cup teams for the match against Continent of Europe and USA later this summer.

More Information

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

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

2024 Amateur Championship

Match Play Stage

Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN), who was 25 at the time and WAGR ranked #88, won the 129th Amateur Championship on the Glashedy Course at Ballyliffin. He beat Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), 22, WAGR #310, by 4&3 in the 36 hole Final. Olesen was the first Dane to win this prestigious title.

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Jacob Skov Olesen (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Clemons, got the better of his English compatriot Jack BIGHAM and Olesen beat Luke SAMPLE (USA) in the Semi-Finals.

Click here to view the – 2024 Amateur Championship Match Play Results

Stroke Play Qualifying

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) earned medalist honours with a 136 (-7) total score. A 1-under 71 on the Glashedy Course followed a 65 on The Old Links.

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Connor Graham with The R&A’s John Miller (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Michael MJAASETH (DEN) -4 earned the 2nd seeding with Ben VAN WYK (RSA), the 2023 medalist, taking 3rd place on -3.

Just 10 players out of the 288 starters finished the Stroke Play Qualifying competition with an under par score. Amongst these were GB&I’s Oscar LENT (ENG) -2, Eliot BAKER (ENG) -1, Freddie TURNELL (ENG) -1, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -1, Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) -1, James ASHFIELD (WAL) -1 and Tom OSBORNE (ENG) -1. Max KENNEDY Ev and Seán KEELING +2 were the only home players to advance out of the 28 Irish starters.

Click here to view the – 2024 Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Results

Pre-Qualifying (PQ)

PQ Results

Keith EGAN (IRL) earned medalist honours at the PQ event with a 69 (-2) score around The Old Links at Ballyliffin.

Sam MUKHERJEE (SCO) -1 was the only other player in the field of 72 players to break par.

With 38 spots available a 13-for-3 sudden death play off was required to finalise the Championship’s 288 player field. These 13 men all finished with 75 ‘s (+4). Charlie DAUGHTREY (ENG), Cian O’CONNOR (IRL) and Kipp POPERT (ENG) were the three successful players.

Click here to view the – 2024 Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying Results

For more information on last year’s Championship please click here – The Amateur Championship – 2024 Preview & Results Article

A Short History of The Amateur

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

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

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

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

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

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

Past Winners

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

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

Prior to Jacob Skov OLESEN‘s (DEN) win in 2024 the previous 10 winners of The Amateur Championship were: –

2023 Christo Lamprecht (RSA) – Hillside G.C.
2022 Aldrich Potgieter (RSA) – Royal Lytham and St. Annes G.C.
2021 Laird Shepherd (ENG) – Nairn G.C.
2020 Joe Long (ENG) – Royal Birkdale G.C.
2019 James Sugrue (IRL) – Portmarnock G.C.
2018 Jovan Rebula (RSA) – Royal Aberdeen G.C.
2017 Harry Ellis (ENG) – Royal St. George’s G.C.
2016 Scott Gregory (ENG) – Royal Porthcawl G.C.
2015 Romain Langasque (FRA) – Carnoustie G.C.
2014 Bradley Neil (SCO) – Royal Portrush G.C.

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

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

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

ME.

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2025 Preview & Results

Posted on 03/06/2025 by Golf Bible

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.

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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.

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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.

The Amateur Championship – 2024 Preview & Results

Posted on 08/06/2024 by Golf Bible

Saturday 22nd June 2024

Match Play – Final

Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN), 25, WAGR #88, has won the 129th Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin.

Talking to The R&A afterwards Olesen said “It’s an honour, and I’m really proud to be the first Danish winner. I guess that’s something I’ll have forever, which is super cool.”

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Jacob Skov Olesen (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

He beat Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), 22, WAGR #310, by 4&3 in the 36 hole Final staged on the Glashedy Course in dry but windy conditions.

Oleson, assisted on the bag by fellow Danish international Jamie Tofte Nielsen, played very steadily this morning finishing the morning session 2Up against the more inconsistent Clemons.

The critical period in the Final came early on in the afternoon round when Olesen won four holes in a row, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th. 6Up with 13 holes to play was always likely to prove too big a margin to recover for Clemons and this proved to be the case.

The experienced Olesen made few mistakes in the remaining holes and whilst there were moments of brilliance from the Englishman, most notably when he drove the 10th green and holed for eagle, the match came to a close on the 15th green.

“I usually pride myself on playing my best golf when it matters and when the pressure is on, and I didn’t do that today. I didn’t play well enough to win, simple as that.” said a disappointed Clemons.

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Match Play Final – Clemons v. Olesen (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Click here to view the – 2024 Amateur Championship MP Scores

Oleson, on the basis he remains an amateur, has earned exemptions / invitations into the 2024 Open Championship, 2025 Masters Tournament, 2025 U.S. Open Championship and a 2025 DP World Tour event. Having completed his U.S. college education it will be interesting to see whether he maintains his amateur status long enough to take up his U.S. Open invite next June.

Clemons will receive an invitation to compete in a future Challenge Tour event and will be exempt into Final Qualifying for the 2024 Open Championship.

ME.

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Friday 21st June 2024 – Afternoon

Match Play – Semi-Finals (2 games)

Dominic CLEMONS, who has recently transferred from Stetson to Alabama on the U.S. College circuit, got the better of his English compatriot Jack BIGHAM by 1 Hole in a competitive opening Semi-Final.

After a nervy start in difficult windy conditions both players only really settled over the closing six holes, producing some really impressive golf. They each had chances over these holes but with neither able to get their putts to drop it was Clemons who came out on top after refusing to make any mistakes.

Bigham was a tad unfortunate late on; his approach to the 15th hit the flag stick and spun back to 20 feet away when it had appeared it may have ended up in close proximity (a par save becoming a critical bogey) and then on 18 when his birdie putt lipped out.

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Match Play Semi-Finals – Clemons v. Bigham (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

In the Semi-Final between the two Championship debutants Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN) deservedly beat Luke SAMPLE (USA) to become the first Danish player to reach the Final of The Amateur.

The left handed Dane, who has played for Texas Christian University and in his final year of eligibility for Arkansas in the States, was better able to control his ball in the strong winds playing some great irons down the stretch. Whilst he made a number of putts he also missed a few chances which could have brought the game to an earlier close.

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Match Play Semi-Finals – Olesen v. Sample (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The two losing Semi-Finalists, Jack Bigham and Luke Sample, assuming they stay amateur, will receive an invitation to compete in a Challenge Tour event next season and will now be exempt into Final Qualifying for the 2024 Open Championship.

ME.

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Friday 21st June 2024 – Morning

Match Play – Quarter Finals (4 games)

All four Quarter Finals proved to be a real battle as they were played in strong winds and occasional squally showers at Ballyliffin G.C. All of the games required the full 18 holes and in the opening one two more.

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), WAGR #310, got off to a great start with two opening birdies and could have gone 3Up on the 4th save for a poor three putt from 20 feet. However, Laurenz SCHIERGEN (GER), WAGR #2,054, fought back well and eventually took the lead on the 16th as Clemons struggled to get to grips with the conditions. After the 17th was halved Schiergen had a 2 foot putt for a par and a match win on the 18th. He sadly missed and Clemons seized on his good fortune after some good play over the two extra holes.

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Match Play Quarter Final – Schiergen v. Clemons Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Jack BIGHAM (ENG), WAGR #69, always looked to be one step ahead of his less experienced opponent Marcel FONSECA (ESP), WAGR #682, but found it hard to pull away from him. A clutch birdie putt on 17 brought the Spaniard level but problems on 18 saw him concede the match to the Englishman before he needed to putt.

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Match Play Quarter Final – Bigham v. Fonseca Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Calum SCOTT (SCO), WAGR #28, will be disappointed to have lost his match against Denmark’s Jacob Skov OLESEN, WAGR #88, having been 2Up with four holes to play. Unfortunately the Nairn man lost is form badly over the last four holes opening the door for the Dane to walk through without having to do too much.

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Match Play Quarter Final – Scott v. Olesen Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG), WAGR #211, came out on the wrong side of a competitive match against Luke SAMPLE (USA), WAGR #121. Dodd-Berry missed a short putt on the 17th which handed the initiative to the American who was then good enough to see the game out down the last.

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Match Play Quarter Final – Schiergen v. Clemons Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The four losing Quarter Finalists, on the basis they remain amateur, will have the consolation of earning exemptions into Final Qualifying for The 2024 Open.

ME.

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Thursday 20th June 2024 – Afternoon

Match Play – Round 3 (8 games)

Laurenz SCHIERGEN (GER) parred his way to victory against an up and down Charlie FORSTER (ENG) in a tight opening Last 16 game.

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) earned a statement 4&3 win against James ASHFIELD (WAL). Three birdies in the opening six holes gave him a platform and with the Welshman clearly a little off his game this afternoon he was never put under any pressure as the bank nine unwound.

20 year old Jack BIGHAM (ENG) built a 4Up lead after nine holes with some of his best golf of the Championship against Lev GRINBERG (UKR) and whilst there were a couple of missteps on the back nine I am sure he will be delighted with an energy conserving 5&4 victory.

Marcel FONSECA (ESP), 19, made hard work of beating Gunnlauger Árni SVEINSSON (ISL); 3Up after 12 holes he stumbled a little before closing with three matched pars for a 1 Hole win.

Calum SCOTT (SCO), with Gregor Graham on the bag, proved too strong for Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG) down the stretch. Three consecutive hole wins on 13, 14 and 15, the latter two by way of birdies, saw him take a 3&2 win.

In a topsy-turvy Game 6, where neither player could gain any more than a one hole advantage it was left handed Jacob Skov OLESON (DEN) who overturned a 1Down with two to play margin to overcome Tom OSBORNE (ENG). Oleson birdied the 17th before Osborne conceded the match on the 20th hole.

Matty DODD-BERRY‘s (ENG) consistency enabled him to get the better of giant American Tommy MORRISON (USA), who for the second year running lost in the Last 16. In a match he was never behind in the Cheshire star ultimately required a bogey from his opponent on the last to get over the line. Morrison recorded an eagle, three birdies but most importantly four bogeys in his round compared with Dodd-Berry’s four birdies and just a single bogey.

Luke SAMPLE (USA) played 31 holes on the treacherous Glashedy Course today and had just two bogeys. Harry CROCKETT (ENG) simply couldn’t match this level of play this afternoon and fell to a 4&3 loss. Playing very tidily at the bottom of the draw the 121st WAGR-ranked American could well prove to be the surprise package at this year’s Championship.

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Match Play Last 16 Result (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

ME.

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Thursday 20th June 2024 – Morning

Match Play – Round 2 (16 games)

Nine GB&I players, including six from England, were successful in the Round of 32.

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Match Play Round 2 – Upper Half Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Laurenz SCHIERGEN (GER) ended the hopes of medalist Connor GRAHAM (SCO) helped by winning birdies on the 4th, 6th, 11th and 12th holes. Laurenz has his Irish Kansas State University teammate Luke O’Neill, who missed the cut, on the bag.

Four birdies from Charlie FORSTER (ENG), who didn’t drop a shot in the round, saw him easily close out the remaining home player Max KENNEDY (IRL) by 5&4.

In Game 3 Scottish Amateur Open champion Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) dropped two early shots to fall 2Down to Kent HSIAO (CTP) after five holes. However, a bogey from Hsiao on the 8th and a birdie from the Cambridgeshire player on the 9th turned the momentum around and set him on the path to a 2&1 win with par golf on the back nine.

After both players made a fast start to this encounter it was the more experienced James ASHFIELD (WAL) who maintained his form to eventually pull away from Josh HILL (ENG).

Oscar LENT (ENG) will be wondering how he managed to lose Game 5 against Lev GRINBERG (UKR). Birdies on 1 and 5 saw the Walton Heath member initially move into a 3Up lead. Some sloppy play from both players around the turn then saw this lead extended to 4Up with six holes to play. At this point Grinberg settled whilst Lent was unable to turn his game around. A bogey on 18 and a concession on the 19th Hole disappointingly handed the game to the Ukrainian.

Jack BIGHAM (ENG) was 3Down after nine holes in his match against South Africa’s Jordan BURNAND, having bogeyed four of them. Given the season he’s had at Florida State few would have blamed him for wanting to go home but he showed real character to bounce back with birdies on 10, 11, 13 and 15 to completely turn his match around and win by 3&1.

Marcel FONSECA (ESP) beat Markus VARJUN (FIN) 2&1 in a high quality encounter which saw the two players share seven birdies and make few mistakes.

In the Upper Half of the draw’s final game Gunnlauger Árni SVEINSSON (ISL), who yesterday signed for the LSU Men’s Golf team, got the better of Tim WIEDEMEYER with a 1 Hole victory after the German bogeyed both the 16th and 18th to throw away a 1Up lead with three holes to play.

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Match Play Round 2 – Lower Half Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

A competitive match between Michael Alexander MJAASETH (DEN) and Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG) finally went the way of the Englishman after he birdied their 2nd extra hole.

After both players bogeyed the opening two holes it was Calum SCOTT (SCO) who pulled away from Seb CAVE (ENG) for a 5&4 win helped by par golf and birdies on the 4th, 6th and 10th holes.

Jacob Skov OLESON (DEN) beat Tomi BOWEN (WAL) by 3&2 in a poor quality match littered with bogeys.

Tom OSBORNE (ENG) and Nevill RUITER (NED) both started Game 12 nervously. Thankfully Osborne, who is enjoying a breakout season, birdied four of the holes on the back nine as play settled down to eventually take a 2&1 win.

England’s Matty DODD-BERRY got off to a dream start with three birdies in his opening four holes to quickly move 3Up against last year’s Quarter-Finalist Richard TEDER (EST). Whilst Teder fought back well on the back nine to get to 1Down with four to play the Royal Liverpool man had enough in the tank to secure a 2&1 win.

Tommy MORRISON (USA) blew Kristian HJORT BRESSUM (DEN) away with eight birdies in the 15 holes they played on the Glashedy Course.

English pair Freddie TURNELL and Harry CROCKETT surprisingly only managed three pars between them in the opening six holes of Game 15. They made up for it afterwards with nine birdies seen in the remaining regulation holes, the most important one coming from Somerset’s Turnell who birdied the 18th to take the contest into extras. Crockett birdied the 3rd to take the win on the 21st Hole.

Luke SAMPLE (USA), a rising senior at Duke who is playing links golf for the first time this week, continues to go from strength to strength. A great performance and a 3&2 win against Conor GOUGH (ENG) means he enters the Last 16 no longer under the radar.

ME.

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Wednesday 19th June 2024

Match Play – Round 1 (32 games)

Play got under way on Ballyliffin’s Glashedy Course at 8.30am. The final game in Round 1 teed off at 1.19pm.

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) fought back on the back nine, holing a 25 foot birdie putt on the home hole, to avoid the ‘curse of the medalist’ and secure a narrow 1 Hole victory over Mark STOCKDALE (ENG).

22 year old Max KENNEDY (IRL) kept the home fires burning with a solid 3&2 win over France’s Oscar COUILLEAU.

England’s Charlie FORSTER and Dominic CLEMONS required extra holes to beat Jose BALLESTER (ESP) and Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) respectively. Clemons holed lengthy putts on 17 and 18 to keep his game alive before seizing the initiative when they returned to the 1st Hole.

James ASHFIELD (WAL) earned an impressive 6&4 win against in form Harley SMITH (ENG) in their Battle of Britain encounter.

Three more Englishmen, Josh HILL, Oscar LENT and Jack BIGHAM, were successful in the Upper Half of the draw. Hill enjoyed a narrow win over Nicklaus MASON (USA), Lent surprised the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Jasper STUBBS (AUS) 6&4 and Bigham took out young Scotsman Sam MUKHERJEE by 3&1.

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Match Play Round 1 – Upper Half Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

In the Lower Half of the draw there were good wins for Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), Calum SCOTT (SCO), last week’s St. Andrews Links Trophy winner Seb CAVE (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Tom OSBORNE (ENG), Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG), Freddie TURNELL (ENG), Harry CROCKETT (ENG) and Conor GOUGH (ENG).

Cave’s 1 Hole win against Albert HANSSON (SWE), who won the 2022 Boys’ Amateur Championship, Dodd-Berry’s 2&1 victory over South African Ben VAN WYK and Turnell’s 3&1 win against Daniel SVARD (SWE) were the most noteworthy, their three opponents all being ranked within the WAGR top 100.

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Match Play Round 1 – Lower Half Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The template for a 64 player Match Play draw is as follows: –

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ME.

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Tuesday 18th June 2024

Stroke Play Qualifying Sudden Death Play-Off

All of the players were advised on their 1st tees today that should a Stroke Play Qualifying (SPQ) Play-Off be required to finalise the Match Play (MP) field it would be played tonight. The original Championship Schedule had indicated that it would take place on Wednesday morning before MP Round 1 but it now appears this was changed earlier this week, albeit The R&A were optimistically expecting to get any extra holes underway at 8.00pm.

The 19-for-18 spots sudden death play-off eventually commenced at 9.10pm. Three groups of 5 players and one group of 4 were asked to play the 1st on The Old Links and the 9th on the Glashedy Links, in rotation, to bring the SPQ to a conclusion.

Thankfully matters were resolved after just one hole had been completed and before the light had gone.

Bob VAN DER VOORT (NED), who went out in the first five ball, made life a little easier for everyone else by taking a 3-over 7 on The Old Links’ par 4 1st hole. With this news quickly filtering back to the tee the rest of the field were able to manage their play accordingly and the Dutchman was sent packing just after 10.00pm.

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Play-Off Results (Photo: The R&A)

ME.

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Tuesday 18th June 2024

Stroke Play Qualifying

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Connor Graham with The R&A’s John Miller (Photo: Oisin Keniry / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Round 2

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) earned medalist honours at the 129th Amateur Championship with a 136 (-7) total score. A 1-under 71 on the Glashedy Course, which included four birdies, was a good follow up to his positive start on The Old Links yesterday.

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Connor Graham’s SPQ Scorecard – Old Links (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Michael MJAASETH (DEN) -4 earned the 2nd seeding with Ben VAN WYK (RSA), last year’s medalist, taking 3rd place on -3.

Van Wyk produced the low round on the Glashedy Links on Day 2; after bogeying the 1st hole he produced an eagle and four birdies to post a 5-under 67.

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Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) bounced back well from a disappointing opening round to record the lowest score on The Old Links in Round 2. His 5-under 66 included six birdies and helped him comfortably make the match play cut.

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On a cold and windy day in north west Ireland just 10 players out of the 288 starters finished the Stroke Play Qualifying competition with an under par score.

Pleasingly amongst these were GB&I’s Oscar LENT (ENG) -2, Eliot BAKER (ENG) -1, Freddie TURNELL (ENG) -1, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -1, Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) -1, James ASHFIELD (WAL) -1 and Tom OSBORNE (ENG) -1.

To the disappointment of the home crowd Max KENNEDY Ev and Seán KEELING +2 were the only Irish players to advance out of their 28 starters.

The average score in Round 2 on the Glashedy Course was 77.45 (+5.45) (Rd 1: 77.17) whilst on The Old Links it was 74.92 (+3.92) (Rd 1: 73.01).

65 players finished on 146 (+3) or better, 19 of these on the +3 score itself. With 64 competitors required for the Match Play Stage a 19-for-18 spots sudden death play-off was required (see above).

One of the 19 players required to stay on for the night shift was Jose BALLESTER (ESP) who started the day in 2nd place. Amazingly he birdied his final three holes to post an 8-over 80 on the Glashedy Course, eventually scrapping in on the +3 mark.

Here are the Stroke Play Qualifying results (leading players only): –

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

Notable players to miss out on Match Play were Christiaan MAAS (RSA) +4, Hugh FOLEY (IRL) +5, Kris KIM (ENG) +5, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) +6, Luis MASAVEU (ESP) +6, Cameron ADAM (SCO) +6, Liam NOLAN (IRL) +6, Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) +6, Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) +8, Tyler WEAVER (ENG) +8, Gregor TAIT (SCO) +10 and Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +13.

Click here to view the – 2024 Amateur Championship SPQ Results

ME.

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Monday 17th June 2024

Stroke Play Qualifying

Round 1

Connor GRAHAM (SCO), who teed off at 7.51am, leads the Stroke Play Qualifying Stage of the 2024 Amateur Championship after he produced a 6-under 65 on Ballyliffin’s The Old Links course (OL).

Five birdies in the closing six holes of his front nine set up his round. His great score will have done the 17 year old Scotsman’s confidence the world of good as has missed most of the 2024 season due to a stress fracture in his hand.

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Connor Graham’s Round 1 Scorecard – Old Links (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Overseas entrants Jose BALLESTER (ESP), -5 OL, is 2nd and Michael MJAASETH (DEN) & Sergio JIMENEZ (ESP), both -4 OL, tied 3rd.

GB&I’s Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Harry CROCKETT (ENG), Harley SMITH (ENG) and James ASHFIELD (WAL), all -3 OL, and Cameron ADAM (SCO), -2 OL, joined Graham in the top 10 after the opening round. Max KENNEDY and Seán KEELING, -1 OL, are the best placed Irish players.

33 players finished the opening day under par with all but three of those rounds taking place on the easier Old Links Course.

Bob VAN DER VOORT (NED), who teed off in one of the opening groups at 6.45am, recorded the lowest score on the Glashedy Course (G). His 2-under 70 included an eagle and two birdies.

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Bob Van Der Voort’s Round 1 Scorecard – Glashedy (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

South African’s Jack BUCHANAN and Jordan BURNAND were the only other players to break par around the Glashedy. They both finished with 1-under 70’s.

Cooper SCHULTZ (USA) didn’t get off to the best of starts on the Glashedy Course (+5) but at least had the consolation of recording a hole-in-one on the 168 yard par 3 7th.

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Cooper Schultz’s Round 1 Scorecard – Glashedy (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

The average score in Round 1 on the Glashedy Course was 77.17 (+5.17) whilst on The Old Links it was 73.01 (+2.01). In other words there is still a lot of golf to be played in this Qualifying Stage, particularly for those players down the leaderboard but now moving over to The Old Links course.

Here are the leading Stroke Play Qualifying scores at the end of Round 1: –

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Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Reserves Patrick KEELING (IRL) 1st, Conor BYRNE (IRL) 2nd and Ben BROOKES (ENG) 3rd were called up to the field following the late withdrawals of Jye HALLS (AUS), Attieh KHALED (KSA) and Nels SURTANI (USA) over the weekend. Therefore 41 players who competed in Friday’s 72-man Pre-Qualifying event made the final Championship field.

ME.

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Friday 14th June 2024

Pre-Qualifying (PQ)

PQ Results

Keith EGAN (IRL) earned medalist honours at the PQ event with a 69 (-2) score around The Old Links at Ballyliffin.

Sam MUKHERJEE (SCO) -1 was the only other player in the field of 72 players to break par.

It is worth remembering that any further withdrawals before the Championship commences next Monday will see the highest finishing PQ players on a card count back basis rather than by reference to the play-off results called upon. This means that Patrick KEELING (IRL) is now 1st Reserve, Conor BYRNE (IRL) 2nd Reserve, Ben BROOKES (ENG) 3rd Reserve and Max SHIRVELL (ENG) 4th Reserve.

Here are the full Pre-Qualifying Results: –

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

(Q) = Qualified

Red Box = Players involved in the 13-for-3 play-off.

Click here to view the – 2024 Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying Results

PQ Background

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

The R&A again limited the PQ field to 72 players with the event played over 18 holes of stroke play on The Old Links course at Ballyliffin.

This field was made up of the 15 highest ranked WAGR players (who sit between 1,500th – 1,796th) not originally accepted into the Championship field followed by a lowest handicap ballot for the remainder.

The number of spots available rose from the guaranteed 10 to 38. This is because 28 players withdrew from the original Championship line-up before the PQ had been played (288-278+28).

Amongst this 28 were (in alphabetical order with entry WAGRs) Paul BEAUVY (FRA) #440, Ben BROWN (ENG) #1044, Luke CLANTON (USA) #8, James CLARIDGE (ENG) #199, Paul CONROY (IRL) #293, Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) #135, Wenyi DING (CHN) #6, Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) #236, James NASH (WAL) #940, Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #1201, Luke POULTER (ENG) #394, Luke POTTER (USA) #61, Carl SIEMENS (GER) #502, Hiroshi TAI (SNP) #70 and Keaton VE (USA) #209.

ME.

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8th June 2024 (Updated 13th June 2024)

Championship Preview

The 129th Amateur Championship will be played at Ballyliffin G.C. in County Donegal, Ireland on 17th-22nd June 2024.

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

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

Championship Format

Stroke Play Qualifying

Two rounds of stroke play will be completed on Monday 17th June and Tuesday 18th June to determine a match play field.

Each contestant will play 18 holes around Ballyliffin’s Glashedy Links and The Old Links courses with three-ball tee times between 6.45am and 3.37pm on both days.

The 64 lowest scores will advance to the match play stage.

In a decision that I applaud The R&A are going to use a sudden death play-off this year to break ties for the last qualifying place. Previous year’s have generally seen all ties advance to the match play stage with a Preliminary Round then having to be played.

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

Match Play Stage

The Match Play stage will be contested between Wednesday 19th and Saturday 22nd June solely on the Glashedy Links course.

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

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Field

NB. All WAGR’s quoted below were at the close of entries on 23rd May 2024

288 male amateur golfers from 42 countries will contest the Championship.

278 competitors were offered places in the Championship when entries closed on 25th May 2023. These players were drawn from 1) a number of exempt categories covering various historic Championship performances and representative team selections and 2) allocated to those highest ranked players 1st-2,000th in the WAGR as at Week 20 2023 (i.e. the Wednesday 17th May release), and then via WHS Handicap index at the date of entry.

At entry players were offered the opportunity to play in a Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event, should they not make the initial line-up, for which the remaining 10 spots were originally allocated. This will be played on 14th June 2024 (see above).

There are 5 players from the WAGR top 50, 19 from the top 100, 46 from the top 250, 89 from the top 500 and 184 from the top 1000 competing this year.

The 2023 champion Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) turned pro in early June, surprisingly foregoing his exemption into the 2024 U.S. Open Championship being played at Pinehurst Golf Resort.

Click here to view the full – 2024 Amateur Championship Terms of Competition

Leading Players

From the home players I expect James ASHFIELD (WAL) #48, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #78, Seb CAVE (ENG) #974, Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) #469, Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) #135, Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG) #235, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) #404, Will HOPKINS (ENG) #101, Max KENNEDY (IRL) #77, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) #76, Liam NOLAN (IRL) #109, Tom OSBORNE (ENG) #700, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) #447, Calum SCOTT (SCO) #39 and Tyler WEAVER (ENG) #126 to do well.

The leading overseas entries include Jose BALLESTER (ESP) #24, Albert HANSSON (SWE), Tobias JONSSON (SWE) #52, Algot KLEEN (SWE) #83, Christiaan MAAS (RSA) #16, Luis MASAVEU (ESP) #51, Tommy MORRISON (USA) #66 and Ben VAN WYK (RSA) #47.

Host Courses

Ballyliffin, located on the Inishowen Peninsula, was established in 1947 and is Ireland’s most northerly golf club.

It is the first time that the club has hosted the Amateur Championship. It becomes the 23rd to do so.

Ballyliffin – Glashedy Links

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7,314 yards (Amateur) / Par 72 / Slope Rating 136 (Black) / Course Rating 77.4 (Black)

The Glashedy Course, named after the nearby Glashedy Rock, was designed by Tom Craddock & Pat Ruddy and opened for play in 1995.

The course sits in magnificent sand dunes. The fairways were flattened out to make them fairer but the deep revetted bunkers and large and undulating greens are challenging.

The course has previously staged the 2016 Boys’ Home Internationals, the 2018 Irish Open Championship, which was won by Scotland’s Russell Knox, and the 2022 R&A Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals.

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Ballyliffin G.C. Course Map (Graphic: The R&A)

Ballyliffin – The Old Links

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6,910 yards (Blue) / Par 71 / Slope Rating 130 / Course Rating 73.7

The Old Links course was originally designed by Eddie Hackett, Charles Lawrie and Frank Pennink and opened for play in 1973. Pat Ruddy made some improvements, including building a new 7th, 8th, 13th and 15th holes, when he was on site with the Glashedy. Nick Faldo Design added new revetted bunkers and back tees to the course in 2004.

Being the original course on this large site means it has the benefit of taking in the picturesque coastal land for four of its closing holes.

Schedule

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

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2024 Amateur Championship Schedule (Graphic: The R&A)

Weather Forecast

Cool and showery weather is forecast with winds gusting to 25mph at times.

Click here to view the – Latest MET Éireann Weather Forecast for Ballyliffin

Tee times between 7.00am and 3.52pm mean that any changes in the weather during the opening two days can have a material impact on the stroke play qualifying competition.

Prizes / Exemptions

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

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

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

a) the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon G.C., Scotland on 18-21 July 2024;

b) the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C., Georgia on 10-13 April 2025;

c) the 2025 U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont C.C., Pennsylvania on 12-15 June 2025; and

d) a DP World Tour event.

The losing Quarter Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will also receive exemptions into Final Qualifying for The Open.

The Open Championship Amateur Series Winner

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

The player who gains the most WAGR points in the 2024 St. Andrews Links Trophy (won by England’s Seb Cave), Amateur Championship and European Amateur Championship will earn an exemption into the forthcoming Open at Royal Troon G.C.

2024 St. Andrews Trophy

Should a Great Britain & Ireland player win the Amateur Championship they are guaranteed a place on the GB&I St. Andrews Trophy team for the match against Continent of Europe being played on 24th-225th July at Royal Porthcawl G.C.

More Information

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

The latter stages of the match play will be live streamed on The R&A You Tube channel.

2023 Amateur Championship

Match Play Stage

Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), who was 22 at the time, won the 128th Amateur Championship at a sun-drenched Hillside G.C., beating Ronan KLEU (SUI), 23, 3&2 in the 36 hole Final.

Ronan Kleu and Christo Lamprecht (Photo: Octavio Passos / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Fellow South African player Christiaan Maas achieved a notable double too. Last year he missed the Match Play Stage cut and caddied for the eventual champion Aldrich Potgieter. This year the same thing happened and he picked up Lamprecht’s bag and ended up again helping a teammate to victory.

Lamprecht was the third South African winner in the last 6 years; Jovan Rebula also won at Royal Aberdeen in 2018.

Click here to view the – 2023 Amateur Championship Match Play Results

Stroke Play Qualifying

The 2023 Stroke Play Qualifying competition was played over 36 holes at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. (S&A).

Medalist honours went to Ben VAN WYK (RSA) who recorded a total score of 132 (-11).

Following Jonathan Broomhead’s success in 2022 it is the second year running that a South African has won the Stroke Play Qualifying at The Amateur Championship. Wilco Nienaber in 2018 is the only other South African medalist since this stage was introduced in 1983.

Richard TEDER (EST) -10 secured the 2nd seed, Eliot BAKER (ENG), GB&I’s leading qualifier, finished in 3rd, Ronan KLEU (SUI) -10 4th place and Joshua GREER (AUS) -9 5th.

85 players made the top 64 and ties cut, finishing on -2 or better, to progress to the Match Play Stage. 26 of these were from GB&I, albeit 15 of this number will be starting their journey’s in the Preliminary Round 1.

Click here to view the full – 2023 Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Results

Pre-Qualifying

The 18 hole Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying event was played at Southport & Ainsdale G.C.

Whilst 10 spots were originally on offer from Pre-Qualifying 23 withdrawals from the Championship field since entries closed on 25th May meant a total of 33 players (46% of the 72 starters) had the opportunity to advance to the main event.

Kristoffer MAX (DEN), George HOLLAND (ENG) and Matthew LEVER (ENG), who all shot 4-under 67’s, were the leading qualifiers.

Click here to view the – 2023 Pre-Qualifying Results

For more information on last year’s Championship please click here – The Amateur Championship – 2023 Preview & Results Article

A Short History of The Amateur

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

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

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

Save for exceptional cases like Gary Wolstenholme (ENG) all continuity has been lost over the last 30 years and most of the young golfing stars of today rarely play any more than 2 or 3 Amateurs before being lured into the pro ranks by the potentially huge rewards on offer.

Past Winners

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

Prior to Christo Lamprecht’s win in 2023 the previous 10 winners of The Amateur Championship were: –

2022 Aldrich Potgieter (RSA) – Royal Lytham and St. Annes G.C.
2021 Laird Shepherd (ENG) – Nairn G.C.
2020 Joe Long (ENG) – Royal Birkdale G.C.
2019 James Sugrue (IRL) – Portmarnock G.C.
2018 Jovan Rebula (RSA) – Royal Aberdeen G.C.
2017 Harry Ellis (ENG) – Royal St. George’s G.C.
2016 Scott Gregory (ENG) – Royal Porthcawl G.C.
2015 Romain Langasque (FRA) – Carnoustie G.C.
2014 Bradley Neil (SCO) – Royal Portrush G.C.
2013 Garrick Porteous (ENG) – Royal Cinque Ports G.C.

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

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

ME.

The Amateur Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 14/06/2023 by Golf Bible

Saturday 24th June 2023

Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), who is 22, won the 128th Amateur Championship at a sun-drenched Hillside G.C., beating Ronan KLEU (SUI), 23, 3&2 in the 36 hole Final.

As the lowest WAGR-ranked player in the field of 288 players and one of the obvious pre-Championship favourites Lamprecht (#6) did remarkably well to finish top of the pile.

Kleu, who is ranked 376th, will be disappointed not to have played a little better in the Final but a runner-up result and a third place seeding after the Stroke Play Qualifying represents an excellent week’s work for him and a real boost for golf in Switzerland.

Ronan Kleu and Christo Lamprecht (Photo: Octavio Passos / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Four birdies in the opening nine holes helped Kleu take an early 2Up lead but Lamprecht fought back strongly with a string of birdies to close out the opening 18 holes and turn the match around.

Heading into the afternoon session with a 2Up lead the giant South African never really looked like he would be caught as he continued to overpower the course with his driver off the tee.

To Kleu’s credit he finally started to apply some pressure when all seemed to be lost, producing some world class recoveries and finally holing a few putts.

However, the Georgia Tech student wasn’t to be denied and with a great pitch on 15 for birdie and solid long two putt for par on 16 the title was his.

It was the third South African winner in the last 6 years; Jovan Rebula also won at Royal Aberdeen in 2018.

Talking to The R&A afterwards he said “I’m over the moon. I haven’t won something big in a long time and it’s one to definitely win for sure. I’m ecstatic. I cannot kind of comprehend my feelings right now. I’m guessing South Africans like playing links golf. We kind of like being creative so I guessed that flowed over into this Championship. It’s always nice to be part of history with South Africa and enrich it.”

Christo Lamprecht v. Ronan Kleu Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

With his win Lamprecht secured exemptions into The 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool G.C., the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C. and the 2024 U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst No.2.

The 129th Amateur Championship will be played at Ballyliffin G.C. in County Donegal, Ireland on 17th-22nd June 2024.

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

ME.

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Friday 23rd June 2023

Match Play Stage – Semi-Finals (4)

Perhaps unsurprisingly after his superb scoring and putting this morning TK CHANTANANUWAT (THA) was a bit flat this afternoon and certainly not as effective on the greens. Ronan KLEU (SUI) took advantage with an outstanding performance which included five birdies in the 12 holes completed at Hillside G.C.

In a long week of golf Kleu will be pleased to get through today playing just 26 holes. He will now be hoping that the second semi-final becomes a drawn out affair.

TK Chantananuwat v. Ronan Kleu Semi-Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

In a remarkable comeback Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) fought back from 2Down with three holes to play to beat Frank KENNEDY (ENG) by 1 Hole on the 18th. It was hard on the Englishman who had played beautifully for most of the round and who has enjoyed great Championship. The Florida-based Kennedy will rue a clumsy putt from off the 16th green when he appeared to be on the verge of victory and a poor approach on the 18th which left him short-sided in a green side bunker. However, Lamprecht applied pressure just at the right time, finishing the round magnificently with a great up and down on 16, an eagle on 17 and a tap in par on the home hole.

Frank Kennedy v. Christo Lamprecht Semi-Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

Match Play Stage – Quarter Finals (8)

You could have got very good odds on Switzerland being the most represented nation in the Quarter Finals at the start of this week. Well done to Max SCHLIESING and Ronan KLEU for flying the Swiss flag so proudly at The Amateur Championship.

Max SCHLIESING performed very well in the opening Quarter Final but despite dropping no shots and recording six birdies fell to an inspired TK CHANTANANUWAT. Nine birdies including three over the closing three holes at Hillside G.C. represented a superb effort, under pressure, from the Thai star.

Max Schliesing v. TK Chantananuwat Quarter Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Schliesing’s compatriot Ronan KLEU fared better in his game against Tobias JONSSON (SWE). Kleu started well but it was Jonsson’s collapse on the back nine that ultimately handed him a comfortable victory.

Ronan Kleu v. Tobias Jonsson Quarter Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

The clash between two of our most in form players, Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG), was the highlight of the Quarter Finals from a GB&I perspective. Frank KENNEDY (ENG) won the game 3&2 with his steadier play. Given the performances and victories that Maguire has delivered in recent weeks it is perhaps no surprise that he tired a little coming down the stretch this morning.

Alex Maguire v. Frank Kennedy Quarter Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) went on his own birdie blitz to steam roller Richard TEDER (EST) who made few mistakes but simply couldn’t live with Lamprecht’s consistency and quality. Christiaan Maas, who caddied for last year’s champion Aldrich Potgieter, remains on course for a unique double having picked up Christo’s bag since his surprise early exit at the Stroke Play Qualifying stage.

Christo Lamprecht v. Richard Seder Quarter Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

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Thursday 22nd June 2023

Match Play Stage – Round 4 (16)

The R&A start to provide hole-by-hole scoring from the Last 16 onwards which obviously helps us to better understand all of the games that are played.

Caolan BURFORD (WAL) struggled to get going this afternoon and as a result Max SCHLIESING (SUI) was able to see out a comfortable victory.

Caolan Burford v. Max Schliesing Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

TH CHANTANANUWAT (THA) looks to have played a superb 16 holes of golf to see off Will HOPKINS by 3&2 after the Englishman had shocked him with a birdie-birdie start to go 2Up after two holes.

TK Chantananuwat v. Will Hopkins Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Ronan KLEU (SUI), who by way of reminder, shot the low round (64 -8) at Hillside in the Stroke Play Qualifying, continues to excel although Clément CHARMASSON (FRA) handed him the initiative this afternoon with some loose play on the opening nine.

Ronan Kleu v. Clément Charmasson Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

After a slow start Tobias JONSSON (SWE) quickly found his form and after three late birdies got the better of Australia’s Josh GREER in a tight game.

Joshua Greer v. Tobias Jonsson Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Ireland’s Alex MAGUIRE must surely have secured his GB&I Walker Cup team selection with this dramatic victory over Daniel RODRIGUES (POR). 1Down with two holes to play he birdied the par 5 17th hole to take the match in to overtime. Two more birdies on par 5’s saw Maguire secure victory on the 5th extra hole.

Alex Maguire v. Daniel Rodrigues Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Marc BOUCHER (IRL) and Frank KENNEDY enjoyed an exciting rollercoaster of a match which the Englishman, winner of the Lytham Trophy earlier this year, came out on top in despite some nervous play from both players down the 18th.

Marc Boucher v. Frank Kennedy Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

South Africa’s Christo LAMPRECHT was made to play his best golf to overcome Adam WALLIN (SWE), who clearly did very little wrong in the 17 holes that were played.

Adam Wallin v. Christo Lamprecht Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Richard TEDER (EST) and Tommy MORRISON (USA) played out a high quality encounter at the back of the Last 16 field with three of the opening eleven holes halved in birdie 4’s. The Estonian finally picked up the win with a par on the first hole as they started out again.

Tommy Morrison v. Richard Teder Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

Match Play Stage – Round 3 (32)

10 became 5 after a mixed morning for the GB&I players who had made it through to Match Play Round 3 at Hillside G.C. in the Amateur Championship.

Caolan BURFORD (WAL), Will HOPKINS (ENG), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), Marc BOUCHER (IRL) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) were all victorious.

Richard TEDER (EST), largely unknown on these shores, continues to shock and surprise us. In Round 3 he beat GB&I No. 1 John GOUGH (ENG) on the 18th hole.

From the overseas players TK CHANTANAUWAT (THA), Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) and Tommy MORRISON (USA) all ominously advanced after good wins.

Here are the Round 3 results: –

Round 3 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

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Wednesday 21st June 2023

Match Play Stage – Round 2 (64)

Ben VAN WYK (RSA) suffered the infamous ‘curse of the medalist’ in his first match play game at this year’s Championship. Van Wyk is now the third medalist in the last four years to fall at the first match play hurdle. He lost by 2 Holes to Caolan BUFORD (WAL) who enjoyed his second win of the day on the 18th hole.

Dundalk’s Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) enjoyed an impressive 4&3 win over Thom LINSSEN (NED) and continues to go from strength-to-strength.

Will HOPKINS (ENG) and Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) overcame Markus VARJUN (EST) and Jakob MELIN (SWE) respectively in tight 1 Hole contests which will hopefully have got them both fully battle ready. Maguire , who reached the semi-finals last year at Royal Lytham fought back from 3Down after 9 holes.

Arguably the best performance of the round came from James CLARIDGE (ENG) who thrashed the highly rated reigning Boys’ Amateur champion Albert HANSSON (SWE) by 5&4.

Marc BOUCHER (IRL) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) were made to work hard for their wins over the front nines before pulling away nicely later on.

Eliot BAKER (ENG) continues to enjoy himself in Lancashire. After his strong qualification he claimed the scalp of Welsh Walker Cup hopeful James ASHFIELD by 3&2 this afternoon.

Mats EGE (NOR) finally got the better of Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) in a match that required 9 extra holes.

Jon HOPKINS (ENG) also required extra time beating Frenchman Paul BEAUVY on the 20th hole.

The highest ranked player in the field 22 year old Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), now ranked 6th in WAGR, ominously remains ‘alive’ in the bottom half of the draw after getting past two strong players today.

24 year old John GOUGH (ENG) overcame 17 year old Ollie MUKHERJEE (SCO) after a slow start to secure game against stroke play runner-up Richard TEDER (EST). Mukherjee will hopefully be able to put the experience to good use as he continues to trend upwards.

Thailand’s TK CHANTANAUWAT and USA’s Tommy MORRISON also made it though the last 32 and will be difficult opponents as we now enter the business end of the Championship. Morrison, who is from Texas, said after his round “It’s my first time out of the country and my first time in England. I’ve enjoyed playing the bump and runs and am enjoying links golf short game.”

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

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

Match Play Stage – Preliminary Round 1

With 85 players progressing from the Stroke Play Qualifying a Preliminary Round 1 was required.

To ensure 64 players could contest Round 2 the lowest finishing 42 players in Qualifying were needed to participate in this Round. The 24 players who finished on -2 were joined by 18 from the 22 who finished on -3 to create the necessary field.

In a potentially long week the fact that 42 of the 85 players who qualified are having to play an extra game seems a little unfair to me but then I am a long time advocate of the play-off option at this point in proceedings. Of course the winners of these early games do have the advantage of having played and seen the course ahead of their Round 2 games which immediately follow on.

A 24 players-for-3 spots play-off at Hillside would have added an exciting and interesting spectacle to the middle of the Championship.

For reasons I don’t fully understand The R&A don’t seed the Preliminary Round draw either. This means that the 18 players on -3 that are involved in the Preliminary Round will all be playing each other, which hardly seems equitable, and at the other end of the spectrum the two players seeded 84th and 85th will are drawn together.

GB&I players Caolan BURFORD (WAL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), who beat young KRIS KIM (ENG) by 2&1, James CLARIDGE (ENG), who required 20 holes in his game, Marc BOUCHER (IRL), who got the better of Jack BIGHAM (ENG), James ASHFILED (WAL), Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) were our morning success stories.

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

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

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Tuesday 20th June 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

Round 2 of The Amateur Championship’s Stroke Play Qualifying competition again started at 7.00am with the final three-balls heading out at 3.52pm. Each competitor moved across to the other qualifying course for their second round, i.e. if they played at Hillside G.C. yesterday they would face the challenge of Southport & Ainsdale G.C. (S&A) today and vice versa.

The forecast rain arrived at 8.15am and whilst it was heavy until 10.15am thankfully abated earlier than expected, giving way to sunny intervals for the rest of the day.

Medalist honours 132 (-11) went to Ben VAN WYK (RSA), who teed off at S&A at 7.33am and therefore had to play through all of the heavy rain. He backed up his great first round with a very creditable 68, holding on to his card through the bad weather before finishing strongly when the sun came out.

Following Jonathan Broomhead’s success last year it is the second year running that a South African has won the Stroke Play Qualifying at The Amateur Championship. Wilcon Nienaber in 2018 is the only other South African medalist since this stage was introduced in 1983.

Ben Van Wyk’s Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Richard TEDER (EST) also maintained his form into Round 2. Helped by his late 2.46pm tee time at Hillside his 69 took him on to -10 and secured the 2nd seed, which is where he had started the day.

Eliott BAKER (ENG), who fired eight birdies in his 64 at S&A today, was GB&I’s leading qualifier in 3rd place. His 64 was the joint best round at S&A, matched only by Teder’s Round 1 effort. Baker finished on 133 (-10), like Teder one shot back of Van Wyk.

Eliot Baker’s Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Ronan KLEU (SUI) moved into 4th place, also on on -10, after he recorded an unblemished 64 (-8) at Hillside, the best round in Stroke Play Qualifying at this course.

Ronan Kleu’s Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), despite his limited playing schedule in 2023, continues to put his best foot forward in the race for a spot in GB&I’s Walker Cup team. One bogey in 36 holes around these two championship links courses and an 8th place seeding certainly won’t have gone unnoticed by the selectors.

Caolan Rafferty’s Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Ollie LEWIS-PERKINS (ENG) -6 16th, Jon HOPKINS (ENG) -6 18th, Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG) -5 23rd, Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) -5 30th, John GOUGH (ENG) -4 31st, Oliver MUCKHERJEE (SCO) -4 34th and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) -4 35th.

Will HOPKINS (ENG) bounced back well with a Round 2 65 at S&A to finish on -3 and 41st. His round included eight birdies including three in his closing three holes.

The average Round 2 score at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. was 72.23 (+0.23), almost identical to yesterday’s 72.26 (+0.26).

The average Round 2 score at Southport & Ainsdale G.C. was 72.10 (+1.10), just a little lower than Round 1’s 72.19 (+1.19).

The standard of play remained high with 122 under par rounds produced today from the field of 288 competitors.

85 players made the top 64 and ties cut, finishing on -2 or better, to progress to the Match Play Stage. 26 of these are from GB&I, albeit 15 of this number will be starting their journey’s in the Preliminary Round 1.

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

Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) and James ASHFIELD (WAL), who holed a 35 foot putt having driven on to the front of the green, both eagled S&A’s 352 yard par 4 18th hole to finish on -2 and jump into the Match Play stage in style.

However, perhaps the best finish in the Stroke Play Qualifying belonged to Alex MAGUIRE (IRL). The recent East of Ireland Amateur and St. Andrews Links Trophy champion stood on the 15th tee on +1, 3-shots adrift of the anticipated -2 cut mark. He then completed his round with a birdie, eagle, par, birdie to finish tied 40th and claim the 43rd seed. Little did he know at the time that this finish would also make him the lowest seeded player to avoid the Preliminary Round 1 – which may prove to be a big bonus.

Here is the Stroke Play Qualifying leaderboard (upper half): –

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

Paul CONROY (IRL) -1, Harrison CROWE (AUS) -1, Max KENNEDY (IRL) Ev, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) Ev, Sean KEELING (IRL) Ev, Hugh FOLEY (IRL) Ev, Gregor TAIT (SCO) +1, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +1, Christiaan MAAS (RSA) +1, Archie DAVIES (WAL) +2, Robert MORAN (IRL) +2 and Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL) +2, were amongst the more notable players to miss the match play cut.

Click here to view the – Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard

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Monday 19th June 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

It was a lovely day in Southport on Monday with the sun shining brightly for most of it and only light winds being seen.

The 288 players were allocated to either Hillside G.C. or Southport & Ainsdale G.C. for their opening rounds, 144 playing each.

Ben VAN WYK (RSA) leads the Stroke Play Qualifying after shooting an impressive 64 (-8) opening round at the par 72 Hillside G.C. Only in his wildest dreams could he have imagined firing seven birdies in his opening nine holes of The Amateur.

Ben Van Wyk’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

However, arguably the best round of the day came from 2nd placed Richard TEDER (EST) who posted a flawless 64 (-7) at the par 71 Southport & Ainsdale G.C. Five 3’s in his last six holes certainly tidies your card up.

Richard Teder’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Calum SCOTT (SCO) -6 tied 3rd, Ben BROWN (ENG) -5 tied 5th, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) -5 tied 5th, John GOUGH (ENG) -4 tied 10th, Paul CONROY (IRL) -4 tied 10th, Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) -4 tied 10th and Thomas CRAIG (SCO) -4 tied 10th were GB&I’s best Day 1 scorers at Hillside.

Liam NOLAN (IRL) -3 tied 19th, Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG) -3 tied 19th, Jack MURPHY (IRL) -3 tied 19th, Jon HOPKINS (ENG) -2 tied 43rd, Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) -2 tied 43rd and LUKE O’NEILL (IRL) -2 tied 43rd were GB&I’s best Day 1 scorers at the slightly tougher Southport & Ainsdale.

The average Round 1 score at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. was 72.26 (+0.26) and 72.19 (+1.19) respectively.

On a great day for scoring the standard of play was high. 99 players out of the 288 starters broke par with a further 39 achieving it.

If the top 64 and ties cut was made after Day 1 68 players would progress on -2 or better. Here is the Round 1 leaderboard showing the players in prime position:-

Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Amongst the more notable players Aaron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) +1 (SA), Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) +1 (SA), Connor GRAHAM (SCO) +2 (H), Robert MORAN (IRL) +2 (SA), Sean KEELING (IRL) +2 (H), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) +2 (H), Hugh FOLEY (IRL) +2 (SA), Will HOPKINS (ENG) +3 (H), Archie DAVIES (WAL) +3 (H), Max KENNEDY (IRL) +3 (H), Christiaan MAAS (RSA) +3 (H) and Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +6 (H) will all need a spectacular Round 2 to continue their Championships into the Match Play Stage.

Click here to view the – Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard

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Saturday 17th June 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying

288 competitors from 39 different countries will start the event. England are the best represented country with 62 players in the field. Ireland have 22 and Scotland 20.

Scotland’s number was boosted today by the inclusion of First Reserve Thomas CRAIG. This increases the number of players in the Championship field to 34 that contested Pre-Qualifying on Friday.

The R&A have this afternoon released the draw for the Stroke Play Qualifying Stage of The 128th Amateur Championship.

Click here to view the – Stroke Play Qualifying Tee Times

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Friday 16th June 2023

Pre-Qualifying

The 18 hole Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying event was played today at a sunny Southport & Ainsdale G.C.

A field of 72 players teed off between 8.00am and 12.46pm.

Whilst 10 spots were originally on offer from Pre-Qualifying 23 withdrawals from the Championship field since entries closed on 25th May meant a total of 33 players (46% of the starters) had the opportunity to advance to the main event.

Kristoffer MAX (DEN), George HOLLAND (ENG) and Matthew LEVER (ENG), who all shot 4-under 67’s, were the leading qualifiers.

In form pair Andrew HASWELL (ENG) -2 and Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -1 also finished in the top 10.

Liam GOBIN (ENG), Henry DALY (ENG), Kipp POPERT (ENG) and Ben QUICK (ENG) came through a 9-for-4 sudden death play-off to finalise the 33 qualifiers.

Further withdrawals from the existing Championship field over the weekend may also open the door to one or two of the reserves (determined by count back rather than play-off) that are shown in the second graphic below. Thomas CRAIG (SCO) Res 1, Harry WATKINS (WAL) Res 2 and Harry UZZELL (ENG) Res 3 will certainly be hoping this comes to pass.

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

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

Click here to view the – Pre-Qualifying Results

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14th June 2023 (last updated 17th June 2023)

The 128th Amateur Championship will be played at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. in England between Monday 19th and Saturday 24th June 2022.

The Amateur is the most prestigious amateur golf event played outside of the United States and without question the highlight of the Great British and Irish (GB&I) amateur season.

I will be updating this article as more information comes to hand and providing daily reports throughout the Championship.

Championship Format

Stroke Play Qualifying

Two rounds of stroke play will be completed on Monday 19th June and Tuesday 20th June to determine the match play field.

Each contestant will play 18 holes at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. with three-ball tee times between 7.00am and 3.52pm on both days.

The 64 lowest scores and ties for 64th place will advance to the match play stage.

Match Play Stage

The Match Play stage will be played between Wednesday 21st and Saturday 24th June and held exclusively at Hillside G.C.

The decision to again take all ties through to match play will almost certainly necessitate a Preliminary Round 1 so that a proper 64 player Round 2 can take place.

I believe a play-off, as used in the U.S. Amateur Championship, to determine a clean 64 for Round 1 would be a more efficient solution.

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

Field

288 male amateur golfers will contest the Championship.

An international field will gather in Lancashire with competitors coming from 39 different countries. As at 17th June 2023 the countries represented are England (62), Ireland (22), Scotland (20), Spain (17), France (16), Australia & Sweden (14), USA (13), Netherland & Norway (11), South Africa (10), Germany (9), Wales (7), Italy & Switzerland (6), Estonia (5), Belgium, Finland, Iceland & Japan (4), Argentina, Austria & India (3), Denmark, New Zealand, Portugal & Turkey (2) and Bahamas, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Slovenia & Thailand (1).

278 competitors were offered places in the Championship when entries closed on 25th May 2023. These were drawn from 1) a number of exempt categories covering various historic Championship performances and representative team selections and 2) allocated to those highest ranked players 1st-2,000th in the WAGR as at Week 20 2023 (i.e. the Wednesday 17th May release), and then via WHS Handicap index at the date of entry.

Players that didn’t make the original line-up were offered the opportunity to play in a Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event (see below) for which the remaining 10 spots were allocated. Additional places in the Championship also become available as players withdraw before and after the PQ event has been played.

The WAGR split (based on the 14th June 2023 release) for the 288 competitors is as follows – 9 players from the top 50, 21 from the top 100, 54 from the top 250, 103 from the top 500, 145 from the top 750, 194 from the top 1,000, 235 from the top 1,250, 256 in the top 1,500 and 279 in the top 4,000. 9 players do not have a WAGR ranking.

The defending champion Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) is unable to compete as he is playing in the conflicting U.S. Open Championship using his exemption from his win at Royal Lytham & St. Annes last year.

Pre-Qualifying

For the second time The R&A ran a Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event to offer some of the players not allocated an original place in the field an opportunity to earn one.

Whilst many more players are interested The R&A limits the PQ field to 72. The event was played over 18 holes of stroke play at Southport & Ainsdale G.C. on Friday 16th June. This field is made up of the 15 highest ranked WAGR players (1,347th – 1,661st) not originally accepted into the Championship field followed by a lowest handicap ballot for the remainder (cut off +3.8).

Whilst 10 places are guaranteed from PQ significantly more players ultimately advance. By the 16th June when the PQ was played there had already been 23 withdrawals from the original Championship field since the close of entries. This meant that 33 spots need to be filled. The final 2022 Amateur Championship field ultimately included 38 players who had competed in the prior PQ competition so I assume come next Monday we will be well into the 30’s this year too.

Ties for the last qualifying place from PQ are resolved via a sudden death play-off.

However, withdrawals following PQ and before the Championship commences will be handed to players on a card count back rather than via the play-off results.

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

Leading Players

The home GB&I players that I will be keeping a close eye on are James ASHFIELD (WAL), Jack BIGHAM (ENG), James CLARIDGE (ENG), Charlie CROCKETT (ENG), Archie DAVIES (WAL), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), John GOUGH (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Sean KEELING (IRL), Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Max KENNEDY (IRL), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL), Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), Matt ROBERTS (WAL) Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Gregor TAIT (SCO).

Local Lancashire players Jack BROOKS (ENG / Mere), Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG / Royal Liverpool) Jack MCPHAIL (ENG / S&A) and James NASH (WAL / Ormskirk) will all have familiarity on their side. We may also be able to add in-form Andrew HASWELL (ENG / Ormskirk) to this list if (when) he comes through Pre-Qualifying on Friday.

The overseas entries that I fancy to do well include Jose BALLESTER (ESP), Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI), Albert HANSSON (SWE), Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), Christiaan MAAS (RSA) and Luis MASAVEU (ESP).

6ft 9″ tall Tommy MORRISON from Texas is the standout entry from the United States along with Matthew KRESS who was part of Florida’s NCAA Division I Championship winning team just a few weeks ago.

Host Courses

The two courses are situated in Southport on ‘England’s Golf Coast’.

It is the first time that these two courses have been combined by The R&A to co-host the Amateur Championship.

Hillside G.C.

7,091 yards (Black) / Par 72 / Slope Rating 138 / Course Rating 75.2

The 18 hole championship links course was built in 1923/24. It was fully renovated in the 1960’s by Fred Hawtree and in recent years the front nine has been transformed by Martin Ebert.

The front nine covers level ground before the back nine enjoys the hillier dune land for which the course is renowned.

Hillside has previously hosted the Amateur Championship in 1979, 1989 and 2011. It was the primary course in 1979 and 2011, when Jay Siegel (USA) and Greg Eason (ENG) won, and supported Royal Birkdale in 1989 when Stephen Dodd (WAL) came out on top.

The club has also recently hosted The British Masters (2019) and The Cazoo Classic (2022) on the DP World Tour.

Hillside’s club house is circled in yellow and S&A’s in red. Hillside sits to the west of the railway line, with Royal Birkdale located adjacent to it’s north, and S&A to the east of the track.

Southport & Ainsdale G.C.

6,912 yards (Black) / Par 71 / Slope Rating 145 / Course Rating 75.6

Founded in 1906, Southport & Ainsdale (S&A) is another excellent links course on England’s north west coast. It is a challenging course with heather, gorse and superb bunkering all featuring highly.

S&A supported Formby G.C. and Royal Birkdale G.C. in hosting the Amateur Championship’s stroke play qualifying in 1984 and 2005. Jose Maria Olazabel (ESP) and Brian McElhinney (IRL) were the winners in these years.

The club has famously hosted two Ryder Cup matches in 1933 and 1937.

Schedule

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

2023 Amateur Championship Schedule (Graphic: The R&A)

Weather Forecast (as at Friday 16th June)

The weather forecast is good with largely dry conditions and light breezes expected: –

Fri 16th – Sunny. Wind 6mph SE. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 25°C.
Mon 19th – Sunny Intervals. Wind 9mph SW. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 24°C.
Tues 20th – Showers. Wind 9mph SW. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 23°C.
Wed 21st – Sunny Intervals. Wind 8mph SW. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 23°C.
Thu 22nd – Sunny. Wind 9mph W. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 24°C.
Fri 23rd – Sunny Intervals. Wind 7mph W. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 25°C.
Sat 24th – Sunny Intervals. Wind 8mph W. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 24°C.

Click here to view the – Latest BBC Weather Forecast For Southport

Tee times between 7.00am and 3.52pm mean changes in the weather during the opening two days can have a material impact on the stroke play qualifying competition.

Prizes / Exemptions

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

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

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

a) the 151st Open Championship being staged a few miles south of Hillside and S&A at Royal Liverpool G.C., England in July 2023;

b) the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C.;

c) the 2024 U.S. Open Championship which will be held at Pinehurst No.2, North Carolina; and

d) a DP World Tour event to be determined.

The Runner-Up and two losing Semi-Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will receive an invitation to compete in a Challenge Tour event to be determined and will be exempt into the Final Qualifying for the 2023 Open Championship.

The losing Quarter Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will also receive exemptions into Final Qualifying for The Open.

The Open Championship Amateur Series Winner

In a further boost to this year’s Amateur Championship The R&A announced a new exemption category for the 2023 Open Championship back in February.

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 Liverpool G.C.

2023 Walker Cup

Should a Great Britain & Ireland player win the Amateur Championship they are guaranteed a place on this year’s GB&I Walker Cup team.

More Information

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

2022 Amateur Championship

Match Play Stage

Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) won the 127th Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C., beating Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) 3&2 in the 36 hole Final.

Potgieter became the third South African winner after Bobby Cole at Carnoustie in 1966 and Jovan Rebula at Royal Aberdeen in 2018. He was also the second youngest winner in history after Matteo Manassero’s win at Formby in 2009 when he was just 16.

Aldrich Potgieter (Photo: The R&A / Getty Images)

The 17 year old South African built a 7Up lead in the morning round with a near flawless display of golf and despite not playing as well in the afternoon was sufficiently composed to see out the match. On the few occasions he got out of position his short game and putting quickly got him back on track.

Bairstow v. Potgieter Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Please click here to view the – Golfbox Match Play Results

Stroke Play Qualifying

Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA) earned medalist honours at the 2022 Amateur Championship with a 36 hole score of 135 (-7).

Jonathan Broomhead’s Stroke Play Qualifying Scorecard

Barclay BROWN (ENG) finished on the same score after a 65 (-7) at St. Annes Old Links, taking second place on count back. After their last nine holes on both courses were the same (aggregate 69) it came down to the last six holes. Broomhead recorded a total score of 46, two better than Brown’s 48.

79 players on 143 (+1) or better made the 64 lowest scores and ties cut to advance to the match play stage.

The lowest 30 players, i.e. those finishing in 50th to 79th place, were required to play in a Preliminary Round 1. The 15 winners of this Preliminary Round 1 then joined the highest finishers, i.e. those finishing in 1st to 49th place, in Round 2.

Here is the 2022 Stroke Play Qualifying leaderboard: –

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

Please click here to view the – Golfbox Stroke Play Qualifying Results

Pre-Qualifying

Gregor TAIT (SCO) won the inaugural 18 hole Pre-Qualifying (PQ) competition which was played at St. Annes Old Links. His 67 (-5) included eight birdies and three bogeys.

A minimum of 10 places were originally allocated to PQ by The R&A. However, as there had been 20 withdrawals from the main field, after the close of entries and prior to PQ starting, this number increased to 30 on the day of PQ.

31 players ultimately finished on 73 (+1) or better. As eight of them were on +1 there was an 8-for-7 play-off to determine which player missed out.

Following further withdrawals prior to the Championship starting an additional eight players were called up from the Reserve List. So in the end the final field included 38 players who had competed in the PQ event.

Here is the 2022 Pre-Qualifying competition leaderboard: –

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

For more information on this championship please click here – The Amateur Championship – 2022 Preview & Results Article

A Short History of The Amateur

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

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

Past Winners

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

Prior to Aldrich Pogieter’s win in 2022 the previous 10 winners of The Amateur Championship were: –

2021 Laird Shepherd (ENG) – Nairn G.C.
2020 Joe Long (ENG) – Royal Birkdale G.C.
2019 James Sugrue (IRL) – Portmarnock G.C.
2018 Jovan Rebula (RSA) – Royal Aberdeen G.C.
2017 Harry Ellis (ENG) – Royal St. George’s G.C.
2016 Scott Gregory (ENG) – Royal Porthcawl G.C.
2015 Romain Langasque (FRA) – Carnoustie G.L.
2014 Bradley Neil (SCO) – Royal Portrush G.C.
2013 Garrick Porteous (ENG) – Royal Cinque Ports G.C.
2012 Alan Dunbar (IRL) – Royal Troon G.C.

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

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

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The Amateur Championship – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 08/06/2022 by Golf Bible

Saturday 18th June 2022

Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) won the 127th Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C., beating Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) 3&2 in the 36 hole Final.

Potgieter is the third South African winner after Bobby Cole at Carnoustie in 1966 and Jovan Rebula at Royal Aberdeen in 2018. He is also the second youngest winner in history after Matteo Manassero’s win at Formby in 2009 when he was just 16.

Talking to The R&A afterwards the new champion said “It’s really amazing. I can’t really find the words, there’s no feeling like it and I haven’t felt this good before. The words can’t even come out of my mind. On this golf course, going bogey-free on the first 18 holes was incredible for me. I played really well and everything worked out well. I knew Sam was going to do better than he did this morning. He didn’t play too well, but I knew he was going to come out strong. He wasn’t going to give up. I just had to play steady and keep my lead.”

Aldrich Potgieter (Photo: The R&A / Getty Images)

Bairstow was far from his best in the morning but with nothing to lose in the afternoon mounted a comeback. Having got himself to 2 Down with four holes to play it looked like he had a chance but problems off the tee on the 15th soon put an end to the feint hopes of the home supporters.

Potgieter was the deserved winner on the day and can now look forward to playing in The Open Championship next month and The Masters and the US Open Championship in 2023.

Bairstow v. Potgieter Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Please click here to watch the – R&A Live YouTube Coverage – Final

Please click here to view the – R&A Amateur Championship Website

Please click here to view the – Golfbox Match Play Results

The 2023 Amateur Championship will be played just down England’s west coast at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C.

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Friday 17th June 2022

Semi-Finals

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) completed a memorable day’s work backing up his morning victory against Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE) with a dominant performance against England teammate and in-form player John GOUGH (ENG). Gough surprisingly struggled down wind on the way out and being 6 Down turning for home meant it was just a matter of time before the two players would be shaking hands.

Bairstow v. Gough Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) beat Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) in the second Semi-Final. Maguire started with a string of bogeys which gave the young South African a buffer to work with for the rest of the match. With the recent Brabazon Trophy winner Christiaan Maas on his bag Potgieter played cautiously to eventually see out the match on the 17th green.

Maguire v. Potgieter Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

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Quarter Finals

Neither Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) or Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE) were at their very best this morning but served up what proved to be an exciting match play contest. Having lost a 3Up lead after 12 holes Bairstow showed his class by holing two lengthy putts on 17 and 18 to firmly close the door on his opponent.

Bairstow v. Ludvig Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL) got off to a good start against England’s John GOUGH but handed the initiative back to his opponent around the turn where he lost four holes in a row. It appeared for a while as if Gough would run away with the match but O’Keeffe refused to be beaten and through superb putting kept the deficit down to manageable levels. Gough eventually birdied 16 after a good drive and then holed from off the green on 17, following in O’Keeffe who had birdied from 25 feet just moments earlier, to close out the game.

O’Keeffe v. Gough Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Ireland’s Alex MAGUIRE made the semi-finals after edging a tight match with Max CHARLES (AUS) by 2&1. The Irishman’s greater composure coming down Royal Lytham’s strong finish ultimately proved to be the difference in what was largely a scrappy affair.

Charles v. Maguire Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

One could argue from looking at the scores that Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) played the steadiest golf of all this morning’s Quarter Finalists. At a course of Royal Lytham’s difficulty par will more often than not get the job done and that proved to be the case as Potgieter dealt with the breezy conditions much better than the more experienced Laurenz SCHIERGEN (GER). Whilst the German fought to the end he had simply given himself too much work to do having drifted to 5 Down after 12 holes.

Aldrich v. Schiergen Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Please click here to watch the – R&A Live YouTube Coverage – Quarter Finals & Semi-Finals

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Thursday 16th June 2022

Round 4

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) played a very solid round of golf to secure the first place in tomorrow’s Quarter Finals. Unfortunately for Ireland’s Jack HEARN Round 4 proved to be a game too far with a few unforced errors making life relatively easy for the Sheffield man.

Bairstow v. Hearn Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE) got off to a dream start with two opening birdies and whilst he stumbled a little down the home straight Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) had given him too much of a head start to seriously threaten a comeback.

Åberg v. McClean Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

All that fitness work is clearly paying off for Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL) who held his nerve and produced some great golf down the stretch to reel in Frenchman Nathan LEGRANDE.

Lengendre v. O’Keeffe Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

John GOUGH (ENG) prevailed against James ASHFIELD (WAL) in what was clearly the outstanding match of the afternoon session. Despite Gough throwing everything he had at him Ashfield showed real grit and refused to lie down. A 15 foot birdie putt on the 18th seems an appropriate way for such a competitive match to end.

Ashfield v. Gough Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Perhaps it’s time to give the unheralded Australian Max CHARLES some respect and praise. What a week he is having on the Fylde Coast. Whilst Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) clearly struggled this afternoon Charles played well to secure a notable win against the 2019 Walker Cup man.

Charles v. Rafferty Hole-bHole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) built up a strong lead over the opening nine holes against Jamie ROBERTS (SCO) and whilst the Scotsman fought back well he was able to see the match out with a par down the difficult 18th.

Roberts v. Maguire Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Kyle DE BEER (RSA) holed a 20 foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to take his match against compatriot Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) to extra holes but his celebration was short-lived, as Potgieter, who had enjoyed a 3Up lead after 5 holes, took the match on the 19th with a par 3. There were ten South African’s in the starting line up and if you had asked me to list them in order of likely performance at the outset Aldrich, despite some noteworthy performances in 2022, would have been 9th. Golf never ceases to surprise.

Potgieter v. De Beer Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

A rising Sophomore at Kansas State, where he plays alongside Will Hopkins and Luke O’Neill who both also made match play, and winner of the 2018 Sir Henry Cooper Masters by 10-shots Laurenz SCHIERGEN (GER) is moving through the match play stage nicely. His win against Nevill RUITER (NED) this afternoon and the 2021 British Boy’s Amateur champion Jack Bigham this morning suggests he shouldn’t be under-estimated.

Ruiter v. Schiergen Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

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Round 3

English pair Sam BAIRSTOW and John GOUGH delivered the two biggest wins in Round 3. Bairstow took out medalist Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA) 6&4 whilst Gough carried on where he left off yesterday by thrashing former GB&I Walker Cupper Sandy SCOTT (SCO) 7&6.

Favourite Ludvig ÅBERG was made to work hard by his Swedish teammate Henrik LILJA only seeing him off with a 20 foot birdie on the 19th hole.

Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), who has two time Irish Amateur open champion Colm Campbell on his bag, beat Archie DAVIES (WAL) by 3&2.

In the all Irish match Alex MAGUIRE beat Mark POWER by 2&1.

Nine of the Last 16 players will come from Great Britain and Ireland – and five from Ireland alone – after Jack HEARN (IRL), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL), James ASHFIELD (WAL), a semi-finalist last year, and Jamie ROBERTS (IRL) all beat overseas opponents in the morning series.

O’Keeffe is the only player remaining in the field who played in the Preliminary Round 1, i.e. he has played an additional 18 holes to everyone else he will now come up against.

Match Play Round 3 Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

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Wednesday 15th June 2022

Day 3 of the Amateur Championship saw near perfect weather conditions again and as a result there was some excellent play on show across the Royal Lytham links throughout the day.

Round 2

Medalist Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA) overcame home favourite Callan BARROW (ENG) with a narrow 1 Hole victory. Broomhead said afterwards “I’m very happy with the win. There is a bit of past history with the number one seed getting knocked out in this round. I played very nicely today but I did let a few things go towards the end and Callan made some good putts coming down the stretch. There were a lot of people walking with us and I know most of them were supporting Callan.”

Barclay BROWN (ENG), who had qualified in second place, didn’t fare so well. He was surprisingly brushed aside by Gustav FRIMODT (DEN) 4&3.

It was a good afternoon for the Irish with six of their representatives progressing to the Round of 32. Jack HEARN and Mark POWER perhaps had the pick of the wins given their opponents but Matt MCCLEAN, Peter O’KEEFFE, Caolan RAFFERTY and Alex MAGUIRE certainly made sure they did what was required to progress.

The Welsh contingent of James ASHFIELD, Luke HARRIES and Archie DAVIES all won their games. The highlight was Davies’ battling win against Denmark’s Kristian HJORT BRESSUM. Davies won the 18th to tie the match before scrambling his way to victory on the fourth extra hole after ‘dodging a number of bullets’ from his opponent who had already played 20 holes in his morning Preliminary Round 1 and was perhaps becoming fatigued.

John GOUGH (ENG) enjoyed the biggest win of the Round, destroying the highly ranked Frederik BIRKELUND (DEN) by 8&7.

However, it was generally not a good afternoon for the English who saw seven of their players lose. In addition to Gough their only other wins came from Sam BAIRSTOW, who secured a 1 Hole win when his opponent missed a short put on the 18th green, Joe HARVEY who overcame experienced Dutchman Jerry JI and Will HOPKINS who outstayed the largely unknown American Jack GNAM.

Scotland will have Sandy SCOTT and Jamie ROBERTS in the last 32. It was good to see Sandy back fully fit and producing some of the great golf we know he is capable of.

Of the overseas players Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE), Christian BANKE (USA), Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA), Kyle DE BEER (RSA) and Hugo TOWNSEND (SWE) look the most threatening after another day on the links.

Of the 15 players who came through the morning Preliminary Round 1 just four were able to win again in the afternoon. They were Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL), Matteo CRISTONI (ITA), Kiet VAN DER WEELE (NED) and Gustav FRIMODT (DEN).

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

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Preliminary Round 1

With 79 players progressing from the Stroke Play Qualifying the lowest 30 players, i.e. those finishing in 50th to 79th place, were required to play in a Preliminary Round 1.

The 15 winners of Preliminary Round 1 then joine the highest finishers, i.e. those finishing in 1st to 49th place, in Round 2.

Royal Lytham member Callan BARROW (ENG) overcame Samuel SLATER (AUS) in the opening match of Preliminary Round 1 to provide medalist Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA) were perhaps a tough assignment than he may have been expecting.

Last week’s St. Andrews links Trophy winner Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) saw his hopes of a famous double disappear when he lost a tight match with Jonas BAUMGARTNER (GER).

I would still prefer to see a play-off to resolve the 64th position and ties where the use of a Preliminary Round means a number of players are required to play another round and the Day 1 draw becomes convoluted for spectators as two rounds are played simultaneously.

Match Play Preliminary Round 1 Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

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Tuesday 14th June 2022

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA) earned medalist honours at The Amateur Championship with a 36 hole score of 135 (-7).

Jonathan Broomhead’s Stroke Play Qualifying Scorecard

Barclay BROWN (ENG) finished on the same score after a 65 (-7) at St. Annes Old Links, taking second place on count back.

After their last nine holes on both courses were the same (aggregate 69) it came down to the last six holes. Broomhead recorded a total score of 46, two better than Brown’s 48.

Barclay Brown’s Stroke Play Qualifying Scorecard

Third place went to Ireland’s Mark POWER (IRL) on 136 (-6) who matched the low score at St. Anne’s Old with his own 65 today.

Mark Power’s Stroke Play Qualifying Scorecard

Welshmen Archie DAVIES and Luke HARRIES both qualified strongly on -5. Harries should enter the match play stage with confidence after his 67 (-3) in Round 2 at Royal Lytham.

Luke Harries’ Stroke Play Qualifying Scorecard

Sitting alongside the two Welshman on 137 (-5) were Nathan LEGRANDE (FRA), who rose 70 places on the leaderboard today with a 66 at St. Annes, and Hugo TOWNSEND (SWE), who held steady with a solid even par 70 at Royal Lytham.

Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE), the Round 1 leader, found the going a little tougher at Royal Lytham. His 73 saw him finish in 8th place on -4.

Olly HUGGINS (ENG) and John GOUGH (ENG) were the leading English qualifiers, both finishing on 139 (+3), taking the 10th and 12th seeds respectively.

Christian BANKE (USA) finished 9th moving up 122 places after he posted the third 65 of the day, and the fourth in overall Qualifying, at St. Annes Old Links. Christian’s father Danke has travelled over with his son. Danke himself played in the Amateur Championship four times between 1982-1985 and was Stroke Play Qualifying medalist in both 1985 and 1986, the latter played at the same venues as this year.

Day 2 saw average scores of 73.88 (+3.88) at Royal Lytham [Round 1 75.40 (+5.40)] and 72.30 at St. Annes Old [Round 1 73.77 (+1.77)].

It was a perfect day for golf by the coast – the sun shone and a light breeze took the edge off the rising temperatures.

At the end of play 79 players on 143 (+1) or better made the 64 lowest scores and ties cut to advance to the match play stage.

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

Please click here to view the – R&A Amateur Championship Website

Please click here to view the – Golfbox Stroke Play Qualifying Results

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Monday 13th June 2022

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE) lived up to his billing as the highest ranked player in the field shooting a blemish free 65 (-7) at St. Annes Old Links (par 72).

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Ludvig Åberg’s Round 1 Scorecard

However, Jamie ROBERTS (SCO) arguably posted the best round of the day with a superb 66 (-4) at Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C. (par 70) which included an eagle 2 on the par 4 13th and five other birdies.

Jamie Roberts’ Round 1 Scorecard

Day 1 saw average scores of 75.40 (+5.40) at Royal Lytham and 73.77 (+1.77) at St. Annes Old, a 3.63 differential against par. Just three players in the current top 30 played their opening 18 holes at Royal Lytham.

Whilst it was dry, the winds were strong all day only abating late in the afternoon, thus giving the late starters an advantage.

Åberg leads Mathias LORENTZEN (DEN) -6 and Hugo TOWNSEND (SWE) -5 after they shot a 66 and 67 at St. Annes Old.

Irish players enjoyed a good opening day at St. Annes Old with Paul COUGHLAN -4, Matt MCCLEAN -4, Jack HEARN -4 and Luke O’NEILL -3 all high up the leaderboard. Robert MORAN‘s 68 -2 at Royal Lytham was noteworthy too.

Åberg’s Texas Tech University teammates Sandy SCOTT and Calum SCOTT, the Scottish brothers, both shot 70’s (-2) at St. Annes Old Links.

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Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Leading Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

As is always the case a number of competitors played themselves out of the Championship on the opening day, either doing too much damage at Royal Lytham or not giving themselves enough of a buffer from St. Annes Old.

Field Update

Following further withdrawals over the weekend eight additional players were called up from the Reserve List, set after Pre-Qualifying had finished. Kipp POPERT (ENG), who lost the 8-for-7 73 (+1) play-off and thus finished 31st, Matthew GAUNTLETT (ENG) 74 (+2) 32nd, Adam CHARLTON (ENG) 74 33rd, Taylor PAUL (ENG) 74 34th, Dominic BARRON HOLDEN (ENG) 74 35th, Timothy CHAN (HKG) 74 36th, James NASH (ENG) 74 38th and Carl BANNER (ENG) 75 (+3) 39th are all now in the starting field. Oscar DORAN (ENG) 73, who finished 37th must have declined his place.

Popert, who lives with a form of Cerebal Palsy, is understood to be the first golfer with a disability to compete in the Amateur Championship.

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Friday 10th June 2022

Pre-Qualifier

Gregor TAIT (SCO) won the 18 hole Pre-Qualifying (PQ) competition which was played today at St. Annes Old Links. His 67 (-5) included eight birdies and three bogeys.

Ireland’s Charlie DENVIR finished second with a 68 (-4) and Jake BENSON (ENG) and Hannes HILBURGER (GER) tied third on -3.

Louis TALARCZYK (ENG) 71 -1 and Jamie VAN WYK (ENG) 72 Ev, both members of Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C., were amongst the players to progress.

72 players were competing for 30 spaces in the Amateur Championship which starts on Monday. It was a windy day on the Fylde Coast so the scoring was particularly good.

31 players ultimately finished on 73 (+1) or better. As eight of them were on +1 there was an 8-for-7 play-off to determine which player missed out.

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

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Wednesday 8th June 2022

The 127th Amateur Championship will be played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C. and St. Annes Old Links in England between Monday 13th and Saturday 18th June 2022.

For the first time a Pre-Qualifying competition will also be staged. This will take place at St. Annes Old Links on Friday 10th June 2022.

The Amateur is the most prestigious amateur golf event played outside of the United States and without question the highlight of the Great British and Irish (GB&I) amateur season.

Championship Format

Stroke Play Qualifying

Two rounds of stroke play will be completed on Monday 13th June and Tuesday 14th June to determine the match play field.

Each contestant will play 18 holes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C. and St. Annes Old Links with three-ball tee times between 7.00am and 3.52pm on both days.

The 64 lowest scores and ties for 64th place will advance to the match play stage. This is a change on last year’s format where a Round 2 card count back was used to break ties for 64th place.

Match Play Stage

The Match Play stage will be played between Wednesday 15th and Saturday 18th June and held solely at Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C.

The decision to again take all ties through to match play will almost certainly necessitate a Preliminary Round 1 so that a proper 64 player Round 2 can take place. I believe a play-off, as used in the U.S. Amateur Championship, to determine a clean 64 for Round 1 would be a more efficient solution.

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

Pre-Qualifying

In a welcome change The R&A have this year introduced a Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event to offer some of the players not allocated an automatic place in the field an opportunity to earn one.

72 players will play 18 holes of stroke play at St. Annes Old Links on Friday 10th June. This field was made up of the 15 highest ranked WAGR players (cut off 1,478th) followed by a lowest handicap ballot for the remainder (cut off +3.6).

A minimum of 10 places are to be made available from PQ. However, additional spaces will become available if there are any withdrawals from the main field after the close of entries and prior to PQ starting.

Ties for the last qualifying place from PQ will be resolved via sudden death play-off.

Withdrawals following PQ and before the Championship commences will be handed to players on a card count back from PQ rather than any play-off results.

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

Field

288 male amateur golfers will contest the Championship. With competitors coming from 42 different countries the 2022 Amateur will see a full international field return.

It is worth noting that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic only 120 and 144 competitors could be accommodated by The R&A in 2020 and 2021.

There were originally 585 entries, a record for the Championship.

278 competitiors were originally drawn from 1) a number of exempt categories covering various historic Championship performances and representative team selections and 2) allocated to those highest ranked players 1st-2,000th in the WAGR as at Week 19 2022, i.e. the Wednesday 18th May release, and then via WHS Handicap index at the date of entry.

The remaining 10 players plus any players to cover for early Withdrawals and to create a Reserve List will be drawn from the Pre-Qualifying event discussed above. Current information suggests a total of 29 players may now come through the Qualifier into the starting line-up.

The defending champion Laird SHEPHERD (ENG) is playing in the U.S. Open Championship, using his exemption from Nairn, and turning pro immediately afterwards. He will be debuting in the BMW International Open in Germany on 23rd June.

Leading Players

Whilst is is never easy to predict anything in golf here are 20 players that I think could feature in the latter stages of the Championship and are worth watching as the week unfolds: –

Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE), Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG), Paul BEAUVY (FRA), Kyle DE BEER (RSA), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), Rory FRANSSEN (SCO), John GOUGH (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Olly HUGGINS (ENG), Casey JARVIS (RSA), Christiaan MAAS (RSA), Connor MCKINNEY (AUS), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) Bård SKOGEN (NOR), Hugo TOWNSEND (SWE) and Kiet VAN DER WEELE (NED).

Having won the Lytham Trophy last month John Gough will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Sir Michael Bonallack by completing the double by winning the Amateur in the same year. He arrives with a 21 game unbeaten match play record so he will certainly start as a favourite.

Thailand’s highly ranked Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat was invited to play in the LIV Golf Series and is warming up by playing in the Centurian event near London this week.

Host Courses

Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C.

7,060 yards / Par 70 / Slope Rating 147 / Course Rating 74.3

Founded in 1886, Royal Lytham & St Annes is one of the premier links courses in the world, renowned for it’s superb bunkering.

It has hosted The Open on 11 occasions, the last one being in 2012, and The Ryder Cup twice in 1961 and 1977.

This will be the fifth Amateur Championship that the Club has staged. Previous champions at Lytham include Lawson Little (USA) in 1935, Joe Conrad (USA) in 1955, David Curry (WAL) in 1986 and Drew Weaver (USA) in 2007.

It has also hosted the prestigious Lytham Trophy since 1965, most recently won by England’s John GOUGH in May 2022, and memorably the 2015 Walker Cup match won by the GB&I Team.

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

St. Annes Old Links G.C.

6,875 yards / Par 72 / Slope Rating 143 / Course Rating 74.5

Founded in 1901, St Anne’s Old Links is one of many fine championship links courses on England’s north west coast.

It has been used by The R&A as a Final Qualifying course for The Open on a number of occasions and is currently on the 2019-2022 rota.

Amongst numerous amateur Championships it staged the Boys’ Home Internationals in August 2017 which some of this year’s Amateur competitors will have played in.

Weather Forecast (as at Friday 10th June)

The weather forecast is very good for the Championship with largely dry conditions and moderate breezes expected: –

Fri 10th – Sunny. Wind 21mph SW. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 19°C.
Mon 13th – Sunny Intervals. Wind 14mph W. Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 16°C.
Tues 14th – Sunny Intervals. Wind 10 mph SW. Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 17°C.
Wed 15th – Light Cloud. Wind 10 mph SW. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 19°C.
Thu 16th – Light Cloud. Wind 13 mph SW. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 19°C.
Fri 17th – Sunny Intervals. Wind 14 mph SW. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 19°C.
Sat 18th – Sunny Intervals. Wind 14 mph W. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 19°C.

Click here to view the – Latest BBC Weather Forecast For Lytham St. Annes

Tee times between 7.00am and 3.52pm mean changes in the weather during the opening two days can have a material impact on the stroke play qualifying competition.

Prizes / Exemptions

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

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

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

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

a) the 150th Open Championship being staged on the Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland in July 2022;

b) the 2023 U.S. Open Championship which will be held at The Los Angeles Country Club in California, venue of the 2017 Walker Cup match;

c) the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C.; and

d) a DP World Tour event to be determined.

The other Semi-Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will receive an invitation to compete in a Challenge Tour event to be determined.

The other Quarter Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will receive exemptions into Final Qualifying for The 150th Open Championship.

More Information

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

2021 Amateur Championship

23 year old Laird SHEPHERD (ENG) won the 2021 Amateur Championship at Nairn G.C. to become the 52nd Englishman to lift the famous silver trophy.

Laird Shepherd (Photo: The Nairn G.C.)

In a second consecutive all-English Final Shepherd, a graduate of Stirling University and now a St. Andrews resident, beat Monty SCOWSILL (ENG) on the 38th Hole. Shepherd was 8-Down on the 18th tee in the morning round and 4-Down with four holes to play before completing an astonishing comeback.

Monty Scowsill v. Laird Shepherd – Hole-By-Hole Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

In the earlier Semi-Finals Shepherd beat Jack DYER (ENG) by 1-Hole and Scowsill overcame James ASHFIELD (WAL) by 2-Holes.

The losing Quarter Finalists were John PATERSON (SCO), Calum SCOTT (SCO), Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) and Olly HUGGINS (ENG).

Click here to view the – 2021 Amateur Championship Match Play Results

Experienced Scottish International Matthew CLARK secured medalist honours in the Stroke Play Qualifying competition. The highlight being his bogey free course record 62 (-9) in Round 2.

Matthew Clark’s Stroke Play Qualifying Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

As is the way of the golfing gods Clark inevitability slipped to a 5&4 defeat to Mason ESSAM (ENG) in Round 1 of the Match Play Stage.

A Round 2 card count back was used by The R&A for the first time to ensure a clean 64 player match play draw could be made. The cut came on 148 (+6). 16 players achieved this score with nine of them missing out due to the new rule.

Click here to view the – 2021 Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Results

The 2021 Championship was originally due to be co-hosted by The Nairn G.C. and Nairn Dunbar G.C. but due to the continuing impact of COVID-19 the R&A took the decision, as they did in 2019, to play the Championship solely at Nairn with a reduced field. With the Walker Cup having also been played prior to the event in May 2021 this was possibly the weakest field ever assembled for the Championship.

For more information on this championship please click here – The Amateur Championship – 2021 Preview & Results Article

A Short History of The Amateur

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

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

Past Winners

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

Prior to Laird Shepherd’s win in 2021 the previous 10 winners of The Amateur Championship were: –

2020 Joe Long (ENG) – Royal Birkdale G.C.
2019 James Sugrue (IRL) – Portmarnock G.C.
2018 Jovan Rebula (RSA) – Royal Aberdeen G.C.
2017 Harry Ellis (ENG) – Royal St. George’s G.C.
2016 Scott Gregory (ENG) – Royal Porthcawl G.C.
2015 Romain Langasque (FRA) – Carnoustie G.L.
2014 Bradley Neil (SCO) – Royal Portrush G.C.
2013 Garrick Porteous (ENG) – Royal Cinque Ports G.C.
2012 Alan Dunbar (IRL) – Royal Troon G.C.
2011 Bryden Macpherson (AUS) – Hillside G.C.

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

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

ME.

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 31/05/2022 by Golf Bible

5th June 2022

Reigning Australian Amateur champion Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) won the 2022 St. Andrews Links Trophy, firing a 7-under 65 in the final round to secure a two shot victory over compatriot Adam BRADY.

McKinney produced 23 birdies and just seven bogeys in his 72 holes around the Jubilee and Old Courses.

“The Aus Am was pretty special but to win at the home of golf you can’t ask for much more. Yes, it’s pretty cool” McKinney told the organisers after he was presented with the trophy.

The 19 year old, who now lives in Perth, Western Australia, is the first Australian winner since Stuart Bouvier in 1990.

McKinney, who was born in Scotland and represented them in both the 2019 Boys and Men’s Home Internationals and also played for GB&I in the 2019 Jacques Léglise Trophy match, transferred his golfing allegiance to his adopted country earlier this year.

Connor McKinney (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

Round 4

Eight birdies in the opening 14 holes of his final round took Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) back to the top of the leaderboard where he had spent most of the tournament. From here he closed out the round in a very composed manner.

The low scoring Australian started with a 64 on the Jubilee on Friday and finished with a 65 on the Old today. His total of 272 (-16) reflected his excellent play throughout and it is to his credit he was able to recover the three shot lead Brady had over him heading into Round 4.

Connor McKinney’s Scorecard (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / OCS Sport)

Second placed Adam BRADY (AUS) looked as if he may be able to apply some late pressure but a bogey on 13 and a double bogey on the 16th, which to be fair he partially rectified with a birdie on the Road Hole 17th, took the wind out of his sails.

Robert MORAN (IRL) and Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) finished third and fourth on countback, both completing their scoring with 69’s. Moran looked like he was on course to set a challenging clubhouse target but after a day of birdies a bogey on 15 and a double on 17 saw him eventually having to settle for a 275 (-13) score. Edwards-Hill, who was the only player in the field to shoot in the 60’s in every round, recorded just four bogeys during the tournament but just couldn’t get enough birdie putts to drop.

Frenchman Paul BEAUVY followed the example of Moran and Edwards-Hill by shooting rounds of 67 and 69 on the final day to claim a top 5 finish.

Conor GRAHAM (SCO) -9 was the only other British player to finish in the top 10, albeit to their credit Charlie CROCKETT (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), both -6, and Matt GAUNTLETT (ENG) -5 were not too far behind.

Final Results (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / OCS Sport)

Click here to view the – 2022 St Andrews Links Trophy Results

Round 3

The event was nicely opened up in the morning round on the Old Course when the overnight leaders George BURNS (SCO) and Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) posted scores of 77 (+5) and 71 (-1) respectively.

Adam BRADY (AUS) walked through the open door with a 67 (-5) which included six birdies to take the 54 hole lead.

Robert MORAN (IRL) and Joshua BERRY (ENG) recorded the lowest scores in Round 3 with 66’s.

Arron EDWARDS-HILL‘s(ENG) 68 saw him join Moran on -10 two shots behind Brady.

Other players to impress in Round 3 were Paul BEAUVY (FRA) 67, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) 69, Andre LAUTEE (AUS) 69, Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL) 67, Christiaan MAAS (RSA) 68, Angus CARRICK (SCO) 67, Lewis IRVINE (SCO) 69 and Elias HAAVISTO (FIN) 69.

Leading Round 3 Scores (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / OCS Sport)

ME.

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4th June 2022

Round 2

George BURNS (SCO) delivered a 67, which included two eagles and three birdies, on Day 2 to move into a tie with Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) for the 36 hole lead on 136 -8.

McKinney looked like he may pull away after two birdies on the 11th and 12th took him to -10 but bogeys on his final two holes saw him having to sign for an even par 72 and drop back towards the chasing pack.

George Burn’s Scorecard (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / OCS Sport)

On a good day for home players the best two rounds came from Rory FRANSSEN and John PATERSON who posted 66’s to move into the top 15.

Frannsen is tied third with Adam BRADY (AUS) on -7 heading onto the final day with Liam NOLAN (IRL), Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA), Jake HIBBERT (ENG) and Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) one shot further back.

51 players made the top 40 and ties cut which eventually fell at 144 (Ev) having flirted with 143 (-1) for most of the afternoon.

With 36 holes to play on the Old Course tomorrow and only eight shots separating the remaining field any one of the players who have qualified could clearly still win the tournament.

Leading Round 2 Scores (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / OCS Sport)

ME.

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3rd June 2022

Round 1

Scottish-born Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) shot a superb 64 (-8) on the Jubilee Course to take the lead in the St. Andrews Links Trophy. His round which started at 1.00pm included nine birdies, including five in succession on his front nine.

Connor McKinney’s Scorecard (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / OCS Sport)

Will HOPKINS (ENG), back in the UK after his senior year with Kansas State University, is two shots back after a 66 which included an eagle on the 6th and six birdies.

Malcor UGO (FRA), Charlie CROCKETT (ENG), Jack BUCHANAN (AUS), Liam NOLAN (IRL) and Dillon WEST (ENG) are all tied 3rd on -5.

Any early highlight on Day 1 came when England’s Jack BROOKS, who teed off at 7.10am in the second group out, recorded a hole-in-one on the 5th hole.

At the end of Round 1 51 players are on even par or better which suggests the top 40 36 hole cut will fall at -1 tomorrow.

Leading Round 1 Scores (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust / OCS Sport)

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31st May 2022

144 golfers will tee off on Friday 3rd June in the 33rd St. Andrews Links Trophy.

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

Competition Format

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

The field is primarily determined by reference to the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) as at 27th April 2022 and finished off with various National Golf Union and St. Andrews Links Trust nominations.

This year Rounds 1 and 2 will be played on the Jubilee Course. In previous years the New Course and Old Course have been used in these opening rounds but as The Open Championship is being played on the Old in six weeks time I assume this course is being protected as much as possible.

The Jubilee Course plays 6,847 yards to a par of 72. The front nine is 3,257 yards long with a par of 36 whilst the tougher back nine is 333 yards longer but to the same par.

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 Old Course has been set up at 7,201 yards for the event and has a par of 72. Both nines have a par of 36 and have similar yardages – the front is 3,555 yards long whilst the back is a little longer at 3,646 yards.

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 other places will be decided by the lowest score for the last 18 holes or the last 9 or 6 or 3 or 2 or 1 hole if necessary.

Click here to view the – St. Andrews Links Trophy Tournament Website

The Field

Players from 23 countries will be competing at St. Andrews in 2022.

35 players who are ranked in the top 250 of the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking have entered the tournament.

They are Christiaan MAAS (RSA) #4, Casey JARVIS (RSA) #7, Yurav PREMLALL (RSA) #15, John GOUGH (ENG) #21, Kyle DE BEER (RSA) #23, Christiaan BURKE (RSA) #25, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) #32, Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA) #52, Sam SIMPSON (RSA) #69, Harrison CROWE (AUS) #73, Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) #80, Jordan DUMINY (RSA) #88, Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) #96, Rory FRANSSEN (SCO) #99, Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) #101, Hugh FOLEY (IRL) #104, Robert MORAN (IRL) #119, Frederik BIRKELUND (DEN) #128, Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL) #129, James HYDES (NZL) #130, Olly HUGGINS (ENG) #135, Jack BUCHANAN (AUS) #145, Charlie THORNTON (ENG) #148, Jack BROOKS (ENG) #151, Josh GREER (AUS) #154, Andre LAUTEE (AUS) #181, Harley SMITH (ENG) #189, Liam NOLAN (IRL) #205, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #206, Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) #214, Elias HAAVISTO (FIN) #218, Vicente MARZILIO (ARG) #219, Callum BRUCE (SCO) #241, Paul BEAUVY (FRA) #244 and Ugo MALCOR (FRA) #245.

From within this group Christiaan Maas won the Brabazon Trophy at Saunton and Charlie Thornton the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Cruden Bay in recent weeks.

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 31st May)

The current weather forecast looks good with a dry competition currently expected.

Friday 3rd June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 16 mph E. Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 12°C.
Saturday 4th June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 16 mph SE. Temp. Min. 9°C / Max. 13°C.
Sunday 5th June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 16 mph SE. Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 13°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, a commemorative medal and vouchers to the value of £500.

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

Reducing voucher prizes are awarded to the top 10 finishers in all.

In addition to the main prizes The Ian Forbes Memorial Cup (and £100) is awarded for the best aggregate score on the first two days of the Championship.

2021 St. Andrews Links Trophy

Jack COPE won the 2021 St Andrews Links Trophy after coming through a sudden death play-off on the Old Course’s 1st and 18th holes against Robin WILLIAMS and George BURNS.

jack cope winner_06.05.21

Jack Cope With The St Andrews Links Trophy (Photo: Cope Family)

50 players ultimately made the top 40 and ties 36-hole cut.

Click here to view the – 2021 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 three occasions – Australia’s Stuart BOVIER (1990), Daan HUIZING from The Netherlands (2012) and Federico ZUCCHETTI from Italy (2015).

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

ME.

Scottish Men’s Open Championship – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 24/05/2022 by Golf Bible

29th May 2022

23 year old Charlie THORNTON (ENG) won the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Cruden Bay G.C. with a total of 278 (-2).

Thornton is the tenth Englishman to win the title and third in consecutive stagings following in the footsteps of Jake Bolton in 2019 and Callan Barrow in 2021.

Charlie Thornton (Photo: Thornton Family)

Round 4

Charlie THORNTON (ENG) overturned a 3-shot deficit with a superb bogey-free final round of 66 to secure the biggest win of his amateur career. He finished on 278 (-2).

Charlie Thornton’s Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

John GOUGH (ENG), who finished on 279 (-1), did little wrong in defending his lead this afternoon but an even par round of 70 ultimately came up one shot short against the fast finishing Yorkshireman Thornton.

The par 3 15th where there was a 2-shot swing proved to be the decisive hole in the final round. Thornton birdied whilst Gough bogeyed.

The two Englishmen were the only players in the starting field of 144 to break par.

Ireland’s Hugh FOLEY (+4) finished 3rd after final day rounds of 71 and 68 with Scotland’s Ben MURRAY (+4) 4th on countback.

David LUNDGREN (SWE) came through the field in Round 4 to finish 5th on +5 with a best of the week 65 which included six birdies.

David Lundgren’s Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Andrew DAVIDSON (+7) 7th, John PATERSON (+7) 8th and Rory FRANSSEN (+8) 10th all finished strongly to make it four Scots in the top 10 of their national Championship.

Round 4 Scoreboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Click here to view the – 2022 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Live Scores

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Round 3

John GOUGH (ENG) produced a sparkling 67 (-3) to take control of the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Cruden Bay G.C. Three consecutive birdies and a second eagle on the short par 4 8th provided the foundation for his round, the joint best of the week.

Having played in the penultimate group Gough will have finished his lunch no doubt a little surprised to find himself with a 3-shot lead on 209 (-1).

John Gough’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

The three overnight leaders Oliver MUCKHERJEE (SCO), Tyler DUNCAN (AUS) and Casey JARVIS (RSA) all had disastrous Round 3’s appearing to drag each other down with unusually high scores and presumably some slow play.

Muckherjee got on the bogey train on the back nine as six bogeys saw him fall to a damaging 77.

Tyler Duncan recorded a six over 11 on the par 5 6th as he went on to post an 80.

The biggest surprise was Jarvis’s 79 and apparent capitulation around the turn. An eight on the 9th followed by a six on 10 and a seven on 12 saw the South African star lose an amazing nine shots in just three holes.

Charlie THORNTON (ENG) finished with two birdies in his final four holes for a battling 72 to move into 2nd place on 212 (+2).

Ben MURRAY (SCO) got himself into a nice position before bogeys on his final two holes saw him slip to 71. His 214 (+4) total will see him start the final round in 4th place.

John PATERSON (SCO) 72 and Mason ESSAM (ENG) 73 will start Round 4 tied 4th with Casey Jarvis on 215 (+5).

Round 3 Scoreboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

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28th May 2022

Round 2

Casey JARVIS (RSA) produced a second consecutive 68 which, as on Day 1, included birdies on the par 4 2nd, 8th and 12th holes.

As a serial winner in South Africa Jarvis can’t be expected to reverse into the field on the final day. Someone is probably going to have to come and take the title away from him over the final 36 holes which won’t be easy given the high winds that has generally made scoring difficult to date.

Casey Jarvis’ Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Jarvis will take a 4-shot lead over Tyler DUNCAN (AUS), round 1 co-leader Oliver MUCKHERJEE (SCO) and Charlie THORNTON (ENG) into Sunday.

The unheralded Duncan seems to be taking a liking to Cruden Bay shooting a very tidy 68 which only included one bogey on the short 11th.

Muckherjee delivered three consecutive birdies on the 6th-8th holes to get into position before falling away on the back nine with a 4-over 38. A double bogey on the 17th being particularly painful in the context of a potential run at the Championship tomorrow.

Thornton’s 69 moved him into tied 2nd place. The experienced Yorkshireman often sees through good positions so it will be interesting to see where he finishes.

In form John GOUGH (ENG) joined Mason ESSAM (ENG) in tied 5th place on -2. Gough was one of a number of players who recorded an eagle 2 on the 250 yard par 4 8th hole.

Day 2 saw good bounce backs from Harry LORD (ENG) 77-68, Jasper STUBBS (AUS) 79-67 and Kyle DE BEER (RSA) 78-71 to all make the cut.

Stubbs’ 3-under 67 was the best round of the Championship so far. When he got to 6-under after ten holes a really low one seemed possible but ultimately it wasn’t to be.

Jasper Stubbs’ Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

At the close of play 43 players made the leading 40 players plus ties cut which fell at 149 (+9).

Three pre-qualifiers made it through to the final day, namely Liam DUNCAN (SCO), Harry CARRUTHERS (SCO) and Freddie MACARTHUR (ENG).

Round 2 Scoreboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

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27th May 2022

Round 1

Casey JARVIS (RSA), Ben MURRAY (SCO) and Oliver MUCKHERJEE (SCO) share the Round 1 lead in the Scottish Men’s Open Championship after shooting 2-under 68’s around Cruden Bay G.C.

After his relatively disappointing performance in last week’s Brabazon Trophy it is no surprise to see Jarvis make a good start in Scotland. After watching his South African teammate Christiaan Maas win at Saunton he will have been motivated to bounce back quickly.

The three leaders were the only players to break par in the field of 144 competitors. The morning starters had the worse of the conditions with the weather calming down a little this afternoon.

Casey Jarvis teed off at 12 noon and got off to a dream start with two opening birdies.

Casey Jarvis’ Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Ben Murray teed off in the group behind Jarvis at 12.10pm and matched the South African’s four birdies in his round.

Ben Murray’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Young Oliver Muckherjee was in the penultimate group which teed off at 3.10pm. His round came alive on the back nine with four birdies in five holes.

Oliver Muckherjee’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Gregor TAIT (SCO), who having been in the opening three ball at 7.00am was very much the exception to the rule with his score, and Scott CRICHTON (SCO) (11.20am) are tied second after recording 70’s (Ev).

Round 1 Top 20 Scoreboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

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24th May 2022

The 55th Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship starts on Friday 27th May at Cruden Bay Golf Club in Aberdeenshire.

Format

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

18 holes will be played on both Friday 27th and Saturday 28th May.

A 36 hole cut will then take place with only the leading 40 competitors and ties qualifying for the final two rounds which will be played on Sunday 29th May.

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

Field

144 competitors will start the 2022 Championship.

The field will be made up of automatic entries based on WAGR and handicaps, of which there are 106 listed at the time of writing, and players that come through a Pre-Qualifying event (see below).

Being scheduled slightly later in May more International and U.S. college players are available which means a strong field will be at Cruden Bay.

There is a strong South African touring party which unfortunately for the rest of the field has been added to since last week’s Brabazon Trophy in Devon. Golf RSA’s benefactor Johann Rupert has a lot to answer for ! I again expect the winner to come from one of these players – Christiaan BURKE #19, Kyle DE BEER #24, Jordan DUMINY #84, Casey JARVIS #7, Christiaan MAAS #3, Aldrich POTGIETER #94, Yurav PREMLALL #21 and Sam SIMPSON #64. They all arrive with confidence on the back of successful full seasons back home and some of them will now be even better prepared after a week at Saunton.

There are a number of players from Australasia competing. Jack BUCHANAN (AUS) #172, Harrison CROWE (AUS) #70, James HYDES (NZL) #139, Andre LAUTEE (AUS) #231 and former Scottish Boys and Mens International Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) #103 are the best of them. Crowe is the most interesting – he arrives having won the Master of the Amateurs, New South Wales Amateur and Golf Challenge NSW Open, a professional event, already in 2022. McKinney is the reigning Australian Men’s Amateur champion and obviously links ready given his past visits to these shores.

From a GB&I perspective the leading entries are defending champion Callan BARROW (ENG) #293, Jack BROOKS (ENG) #163, Paul CONROY (IRL) #394 who has returned from U.S. college golf to play, Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) #80, Hugh FOLEY (IRL) #146, Rory FRANSSEN (SCO) #114, reigning English Amateur, Spanish Amateur and Lytham Trophy champion John GOUGH (ENG) #35, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #203, in form Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) #124 and Gregor TAIT (SCO) #385 who like Conroy is back home from the States.

James ASHFIELD (WAL) #297, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) #26, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #293, Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) #208, Luke HARRIES (WAL) #304, Olly HUGGINS (ENG) #130, Frank KENNEDY (ENG) #281 (playing in the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge), Rob MORAN (IRL) #116, Liam NOLAN (IRL) #199 and Harley SMITH (ENG) #187 are the leading available GB&I players who are skipping this event presumably due to it’s remote location and / or pacing themselves for the busy summer ahead. It is 630 miles and an 11 hour drive from Saunton, where many players were last week, to Cruden Bay.

*The numbers quoted above are each player’s current Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR). The SPWAR is in my opinion a more accurate ranking than the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) which I largely ignore for player assessment.

Pre-Qualifying

Given the growing number of entries being seen Scottish Golf decided to stage an 18 hole Pre-Qualifying event this year rather than simply ballot out a large number of players via WAGR and handicap.

This took place at Fraserburgh Golf Club, which is located 27 miles further up the north east coast than Cruden Bay, on Tuesday 24th May. Fraserburgh is the 7th oldest golf club in the world and the competition will be played on their championship standard Corbiehill Links.

38 players from a field of 68 progressed to the main event with others added to the Championship’s Reserve List. Cormac SHARPE (SCO) won the event with a round of 67 (-3).

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

Cruden Bay Golf Club

Cruden Bay Golf Club is located on the east coast of Scotland 23 miles north of Aberdeen.

The original course, commissioned by the Great North of Scotland Railway Company, was designed by Old Tom Morris and opened for play in 1899. In 1926 the course was redesigned to the current layout by Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler.

Cruden Bay Scorecard (Photo: Cruden Bay G.C.)

As you can see above the Championship course plays to 6,609 yards and a par of 70. It has a par of 36 going out and a par of 34 coming home with the back nine unusually featuring three par 3’s.

Cruden Bay Course Flyover (Video: Cruden Bay G.C.)

Prizes

The Winner receives the distinctive Championship Trophy and a silver gilt medal.

Silver and bronze medals are also awarded to the runner-up and third place finisher(s).

Weather Forecast (last updated Thurs 26th May, 8.00am)

The current weather forecast suggests a mostly dry week but the winds look like they will be strong throughout the event so low scoring doesn’t seem very likely.

Fri 27th May – Light Showers / Wind 21 mph NW / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 12°C,
Sat 28th May – Cloudy / Wind 25 mph NNW / Temp. Min. 9°C /Max. 10°C
Sun 29th May – Light Rain / Wind 30 mph NNW / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 9°C

2021 Results

Callan BARROW (ENG) shot rounds of 63, 67, 64 and 67 for a 261 (-15) total to win the 2021 Championship at Southerness Golf Club.

Callan Barrow (Photo: Scottish Golf)

James WILSON (ENG) finished 2nd on -12, Stuart EASTON (SCO), who had taken a 1-shot lead into the final day, came in 3rd on -7 and Lewis IRVINE (SCO) and Haider HUSSAIN (ENG) tied 4th on -6.

44 players made the 36 hole cut on Saturday evening which fell at 140 (+2)

Final Results (Graphic: Scottish Golf / OCS Sport)

Click here to view the full – 2021 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Results

Past Winners

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

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

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

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Brabazon Trophy – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 09/05/2022 by Golf Bible

22nd May 2022

Christiaan MAAS (RSA) won the 2022 Brabazon Trophy shooting rounds of 65, 70, 67 and 68 for a 270 (-14) total.

18 year old Maas (pronounced “mars”), playing in the United Kingdom for the first time, arrived at Saunton as one of the clear favourites based on his performances over the last few years back home in South Africa.

He didn’t disappoint. He was simply outstanding. A strong and powerful ball striker with a delicate touch on and around the greens is always hard to beat but when you combine that with an ice cool temperament it is nigh on impossible.

He made some mistakes and played some miraculous shots to keep his score going but you wouldn’t of known which were which looking at has on course demeanour. He appeared mature beyond his years.

Maas is the third South African winner of the Brabazon Trophy following in the footsteps of Charles Schwartzel (2002, Royal Cinque Ports) and Kyle McClatchie (2017, Woodall Spa).

Maas will commence a US college golf scholarship with Texas University in August and I am looking forward to seeing him rip it up over there.

Christiaan Maas (Photo: GolfBible)

Shortly after the final results were posted the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR) was updated. Maas moved up to #3 in the world, with Sam Bairstow now #26, John Gough #35, Arron Edwards-Hill #78 and Matt McClean #126.

Round 4

It was another lovely day in North Devon. The sun shone and little more than a gentle breeze blew across the links of Saunton.

Whilst the hearts of the spectators hoped for an English winner those who had been watching Maas on the previous days knew in their heads that was probably not going to be the case.

A confident Christiaan MAAS (RSA) ended any doubts quickly, birdieing four of his opening six holes to extend his lead from one shot to six and thus take complete control of the Championship. At no point thereafter did he look likely to lose it either.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the South African as he started to push a few drives as the round progressed and hit a number of long approaches which left him scrambling. His up and down from the hay 60 yards over the 12th, where the green was running away from him, was world class and his recovery from the rough over the dog leg on 16 also noteworthy. In summary any fires were quickly extinguished with minimum fuss or histrionics.

Christiaan Maas Tees Off On The 1st Hole (Video: GolfBible)

Christiaan Maas Holes Out On The 18th Hole (Video: GolfBible)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) heading out at 12.40pm with the leader would have been hoping to apply some early pressure but four bogeys on the front nine in effect did the opposite. It was to his credit that he steadied the ship and improved considerably on the back nine. A missed short putt on the par 3 15th was the only shot he really left out there. Nevertheless a 2nd place finish at the Brabazon represents an amateur career high for the Chelmsford man.

To the disappointment of the hosts, England Golf, Sam BAIRSTOW also hit reverse at the wrong time. Sam didn’t seem to have his A-game over the weekend and whilst he battled hard and put up a stout defence of the title his putter was cold and he just couldn’t get anything to happen.

Matt MCCLEAN, a 28 year old optician from Northern Ireland, enjoyed a very good Championship, his weekend rounds of 67 and 68 matching those of Maas. The Malone player is in great form and currently seems to be featuring at the top end of every competition he enters. He currently looks a certainty for the GB&I St. Andrews Trophy team that will play the Continent of Europe in July.

Christiaan Maas’, Arron Edwards-Hill’s, Matt McClean’s and Sam Bairstow’s Scorecards (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

I don’t know what the Swiss boys had for breakfast on Sunday but it certainly worked. Maximilien STURDZA and Nicola GERHARDSEN recorded rounds of 65, the joint best of the week, and 69 respectively to move up into the top 5. Following on from his T10 finish at the recent Lytham Trophy Gerhardsen looks like a player worth following this summer.

The unheralded Australian Jasper STUBBS (-2) also came under the radar with a final round of 67 to finish 7th.

In total there were only eight under par rounds on Day 4, the firmer course conditions and some tricky pins explaining this.

Final Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Eliot BAKER (ENG) shot a final round 71 to secure the George Henriques Salver, the prize awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20.

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

Click here to view the – 2022 Brabazon Trophy Results

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21st May 2022

Round 3

Christiaan MAAS (RSA) shot a third round 67 to maintain his 1-shot lead at the Brabazon Trophy. Ominously for the rest of the field today’s round was far more comfortable for the South African with all 18 greens hit in regulation and five birdies to his name. Save for an opening hole three putt bogey there were none of the occasional mistakes seen on the opening two days.

Arron EDWARDS-HILL‘s day started well, holing his approach for an eagle on the 473 yard 1st hole. He would go on to make a further four birdies but two bogeys on the back nine ultimately kept him out of the 54 hole lead which he had looked like holding for most of the afternoon.

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) couldn’t repeat the heroics of Friday but still posted a 2-under 69. The highlight was perhaps his superb 40 yard chip in for birdie from left of the 12th green. A bogey on the final hole, where he drove into a bunker and left a 15 foot par putt in the jaws, may come back to haunt the defending champion tomorrow evening. A 3-shot head start, even on Saunton’s difficult East Course, looks like a lot to be giving the in form Maas.

Like yesterday there were 13 under par rounds in total, albeit from just 60 starters today.

The best third round score came from Kyle DE BEER (RSA), whose 66 included four birdies and 1 eagle. A late bogey on the downhill par 3 17th indicates he had the chance to go even lower too. Now in 5th place on -4 I am sure he will be one of the players hoping to set a clubhouse target to give the leaders something to think about coming down the stretch tomorrow.

James ASHFIELD (WAL) 15th, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) 4th and John GOUGH (ENG) 6th all recorded 67’s to continue their rises up the leaderboard. Ashfield was an early starter at 8.00am and really had it going. He played the 10 holes between the 6th and 15th in 7-under par. McClean was one of a number of players to eagle the 477 yard par 5 whilst Gough posted six birdies to again demonstrate how well he is playing this year.

Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -1 leads Hugh ADAMS (ENG) +3 and Eliot BAKER (ENG) +4 in the George Henriques Salver competition. This prize is awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20.

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

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20th May 2022

Round 2

Friday was a day of two halves on the North Devon coast when it came to the weather. Overnight rain subsided by 8.30am to give way to excellent scoring conditions before the winds picked up strongly in the afternoon, and with a number of squally showers added to the mix, made life much harder for the later starters.

Christiaan MAAS (RSA) moved into the lead on Day 2 with a round of 70. Again there were mistakes but these were recovered. For those that weren’t already aware his 15 birdies in 36 holes shows the huge potential the well built South African has.

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) set off in the worst of the conditions at 1.40pm and his three early bogeys were therefore not a surprise. His ability to settle down and battle back coming home to return a par score bodes well for the weekend.

English No. 1 Sam BAIRSTOW was good enough to take full advantage of his favourable draw, equalling the best round of the week with a 6-under 65. An eagle and seven birdies showed the left-handers class.

Christiaan Maas’, Arron Edwards-Hill’s and Sam Bairstow’s Scorecards (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Other players to produce good rounds today included Olly HUGGINS (ENG), who moved up into 4th after a 68, Robert MORAN (IRL) 69 T5, Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) 69 T5, Tyko TUOHIMAA (FIN) 66 T8, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) 66 T8, Angus CARRICK (SCO) 70 T12, John GOUGH 68 T14, Jake HIBBERT 70 T20, Leonardo BONO (SUI) 69 T20 and Jack BROOKS (SUI) 69 T20.

There were a total of 13 under par scores in Round 2 compared with yesterday’s 21.

The 60th and ties cut fell at 148 (+6) with exactly 60 players making it through to the weekend. An organisers dream !

Jack BIGHAM (ENG) +7 T61, Harley SMITH (ENG) +7 T6, James HYDES (NZL) +8 T71, Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) +8 T71, Callan BARROW (ENG) +10 T93, Marc BOUCHER (IRL) +11 T98 and BEN QUINNEY (ENG) +12 T104 were among the more notable casualties.

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

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19th May 2022

Round 1

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) and Christiaan MAAS (RSA) share the lead after opening with 6-under par 65’s.

Edwards-Hill teed-off at 9.00am whilst Maas started his Championship at 1.20pm which shows that good scoring was possible throughout the day.

Edwards-Hill’s round featured an eagle and five birdies with an early bogey on the 3rd the only blemish. Maas reached 6-under after 10 holes of his round but as you can see below had to work hard to keep his score intact over his final seven holes. Irrespective of how they were compiled both rounds were excellent given the stern test posed by Saunton’s East Course.

Arron Edwards-Hill’s and Christiaan Maas’ Round 1 Scorecards (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Two lesser known Englishmen, Rory BROWNE and Louis SANDERS, are tied 3rd on -4 having very much enjoyed their day on the links. Browne was a bit more up and down but accumulated seven birdies whilst Sanders was steadier, matching Edwards-Hill’s achievement of a single bogey.

21 players broke par in Round 1 which, even allowing for the near perfect conditions, is more than many commentators thought likely before play started.

There are clearly a number of players riding a wave of confidence and have so far brought their good form with them to North Devon.

Christiaan MAAS (RSA), Matthew LEVER (ENG) -2 and Craig MELDING (WAL) -2 have all enjoyed wins in the last seven days. Eliot BAKER (ENG) -1, from nearby Tiverton, also won the Devon County Championship on Saunton’s West Course last weekend whilst Charlie THORNTON (ENG) -1 won the West of England Stroke Play at the end of April on the East.

Ireland’s Matt MCCLEAN -1, Rob MORAN Ev and Marc BOUCHER Ev finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th at last weekend’s Irish Amateur Open Championship played at The Island and are certainly links-ready and battle hardened.

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

A number of leading players have work to do tomorrow to firstly make the cut and with a strong wind behind them hopefully get back in the Championship.

Jack COPE (ENG) +4, Harley SMITH (ENG) +4, Jack BROOKS (ENG) +4, John GOUGH (ENG) +4, Casey JARVIS (RSA) +4, Yurav PREMLALL (RSA) +4, Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA) +4, James HYDES (NZL) +8, Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) +8 and Callan BARROW (ENG) +10 will all be disappointed with their opening rounds.

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11th May 2022

The 76^thEnglish Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy will be played on the East Course at Saunton Golf Club between Thursday 19th and Sunday 22nd May 2022.

Three Qualifying Tournaments were played on 10th May 2022 to help England Golf complete the field (see below).

Format

The competition consists of 72 holes of stroke play golf with 18 holes being played over four days.

A 36 hole cut will take place with only the leading 60 competitors and ties progressing to the two remaining rounds.

In the event of a tie for the Championship there will be a sudden death play off. All other places will be determined by a card countback, starting with the final round and working backwards from there.

Field

144 competitors from 16 different countries will contest the 2022 Brabazon Trophy Championship.

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

There were originally 83 exempt players listed on the England Golf Website albeit some of these withdrew ahead of the Championship. They included defending champion Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG), Jack BROOKS (ENG), Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA), Jack COPE (ENG), Kyle de BEER (RSA), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), Rory FRANSSEN (SCO), John GOUGH (ENG), Olly HUGGINS (ENG), James HYDES (NZL), Casey JARVIS (RSA), Christiaan MAAS (RSA), Robert MORAN (IRL), Yurav PREMLALL (RSA) and Kiet van der WEELE (NED).

The five South African’s listed above (sadly Christiaan Burke was a late withdrawal due to visa issues), particularly Jarvis and Maas, are all world class and must start collectively as the favourites for the title.

Three regional qualifying tournaments were staged on 10th May 2022 to determine the remainder of the field with 61 spots made available.

Qualifying Events

Three 18 hole stroke play events, each with a maximum field of 120 players, were staged.

20 players automatically qualified from the Midland and Northern events whilst the Southern earned 21 spots given its larger field. A few more players have subsequently made the starting line up after being called up from the Reserve list.

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

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

MIDLAND – Stanton-on-the-Wolds G.C., Nottingham – Results
6,537 yards (White) – Par 73 – Slope Rating 138
105 players / 20 Qualifiers

Medalist – Ieuan PHILLIPS (WAL)
Qualifiers – Theo Baker (WAL), Freddie MacArthur (ENG), Adam Dorricott (ENG), Jenson Forrester (ENG), George Griffiths (ENG), Joshua Ashton (ENG), Jake Plumb (ENG), Jacob Smith (ENG), George Cordall (ENG), Alfie Robinson (ENG), Luke Yardley (ENG), James Claridge (ENG), Joe Jones (WAL), Alex Ford (ENG), Dean Reddington (ENG), Warren Bates (ENG), Nick Davies (ENG), Kyle Harmon (ENG) and Charlie Gilgenkrantz (ENG).
Reserves – Jacob Parsons (ENG)

NORTHERN – Pannal G.C., Harrogate – Results
6,404 yards (White) – Par 72 – Slope Rating 138
100 players / 20 Qualifiers

Medalist – Jack WHALEY (ENG)
Qualifiers – Luca Houlgate (ENG), Jamie Stewart (SCO), Tom Osborne (ENG), Tom North (ENG), Jake Sowden (ENG), Kieran Hogarth (ENG), Cormac Sharpe (SCO), Will Coxon (ENG), Ryan Owen (ENG), Jack McPhail (ENG), Jake Hibbert (ENG), Jack McDonald (SCO), Stuart Thurlow (SCO), Matthew Lever (ENG), Reece Goodyear (ENG), Michael Kilgallon (ENG), Dominic Barron Holden (ENG), Aamar Saleem (SCO) and Jack Williams (WAL)
Reserves – Aissa El Khadri (NED) and James Nash (ENG)

SOUTHERN – Beaconsfield G.C., Buckinghamshire – Results
6,584 yards (Black) – Par 72 – Slope Rating 136
119 players / 21 Qualifiers

Medalist – Alexander MAXWELL (AUS)
Qualifiers – Alfie Forisky (ENG), Harry Uzzell (ENG), Eliot Baker (ENG), Louis Sanders (ENG), Carl Banner (ENG), Taylor Paul (ENG), Ollie Brimfield (ENG), Jack Neill (ENG), Sam Russell (ENG), Johns Hayes (ENG), Huxley Howell (ENG), James McLaughlin (ENG), Joss Gosling (ENG), Reis Suart (ENG), Carter Rowe (ENG), Jake Antoun (ENG), George Saunders (ENG), Callum Tibbs (ENG), James Whyte (ENG) and Leyton Hardwick (ENG).
Reserves – Ben Loveard (ENG), Owain Taylor (WAL) and Rory Browne (ENG)

Prizes

The Winner receives the magnificent gold Brabazon Trophy shown below.

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

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

Two other prizes are connected to the Brabazon Trophy competition.

The George Henriques Salver is awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20.

The Philip Scruton Jug is awarded to the player returning the best aggregate scores in The Brabazon Trophy and The Berkshire Trophy (which will be played on 18-19 June).

Saunton Golf Club

Saunton G.C. is located amongst the sand dunes of Braunton Burrows in North Devon eight miles west of Barnstaple town centre.

The Club was founded in May 1897 with a 9-hole course. It was then extended to 12 holes in 1906 before a full 18 was opened in 1908. W. Herbert Fowler was employed after World War I to re-design what is now known as the East Course. C.K. Cotton completed a restoration in the early 1950s following World War II.

A West Course, designed by Frank Pennink, was opened in 1974.

Both courses are well renowned and the Club has understandably been invited to host numerous prestigious amateur events over the years by The R&A and England Golf.

This will be the fifth occasion that Saunton has staged the Brabazon Trophy. In 1967 Ronnie SHADE (SCO) won, in 1976 Peter HEDGES (ENG), in 1988 Bobby EGGO (ENG) and in 1997 David PARK (WAL).

The East is the best course in the county of Devon and normally lies inside the top 25 in most rankings for all of England.

The East Course (Blue Tees) includes eight par 4’s at 400+ yards and with only three par 3’s plays to a challenging par of 71 over 6,869 yards.

Saunton G.C. – East Course Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Weather Forecast – last updated at 12.00noon on Tuesday 17th May 2022

The long range weather forecast is looking largely dry at the moment with some sunny spells expected. Fresh breezes, which will increase throughout the day, are also expected to be a feature throughout the week.

Thur 19th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 11 mph W / Temp. Min. 9°C, Max. 18°C.
Fri 20th May – Light Rain / Wind 17 mph SW / Temp. Min. 11°C, Max. 17°C.
Sat 21st May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 13 mph W / Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 16°C.
Sun 22nd May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14 mph W / Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 17°C.

2021 Brabazon Trophy

Left hander Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) from the Hallowes G.C. in Sheffield won the 2021 Brabazon Trophy at Ganton G.C. with a 273 (-11) total. His four under par rounds of 66, 69, 69 and 69 included 18 birdies and just seven bogeys over the 72 holes.

Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) finished strongly with a best of the week 64 in the final round which included seven birdies. Having won the Berkshire Trophy back in June the Essex man secured The Philip Scruton Jug, awarded to the player returning the best aggregate scores in The Brabazon Trophy and The Berkshire Trophy, with ease.

At the close of play only 10 players were able to finish the Championship with under par scores.

Frank KENNEDY (ENG) and Josh HILL (ENG), who both finished on 285 (+1), shared The George Henriques Salver awarded to the leading GB&I player(s) in the Championship under the age of 20.

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

64 players ultimately made the top 60 and ties 36 hole cut which fell at +6.

Recent Results

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

Ganton – 2021 Brabazon Trophy Results

Sherwood Forest – 2020 Brabazon Trophy Results

Alwoodley – 2019 Brabazon Trophy Results

Frilford Heath – 2018 Brabazon Trophy Results

Woodhall Spa – 2017 Brabazon Trophy Results

History, Past Winners and Records

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

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

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

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

The first player to successfully defend the title was Ronnie WHITE who won at Birkdale in 1950 and nearby Formby in 1951.

Shortly afterwards Philip SCRUTTON won the Brabazon three times in four years (1952, ‘54 & ‘55).

Sir Michael BONALLACK has four wins to his name. The first came at Royal Cinque Ports in 1964 and the last at Hillside in 1971. At Moortown in 1969, with play-offs having been discarded at this time, he shared the title with Rodney FOSTER.

Other well known British winners of the Brabazon include Gordon BRAND Jnr, Sandy LYLE (2), Peter MCEVOY, Ronan RAFFERTY and Ronnie SHADE(3).

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

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Golf Bible

The Home of Great British & Irish Amateur Golf

Tag Archives: Christiaan Maas

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