Men’s European Nations Championship – 2019 Preview & Results

Posted on 26/03/2019 by Golf Bible

13th April 2019

Defending champions ENGLAND (+14) retained the European Nations Championship in Spain. Their 878 total was 8 shots better than The Netherlands (+22).

Gareth Jenkins (Manager), Tom Plumb, Tom Sloman, Bailey Gill and Ben Jones
(Photos: @EnglandGolf)

IRELAND (+23) were third and WALES (+29), who recorded the lowest final day score (213), were an encouraging 4th. SCOTLAND (+37) had a poor final day and fell to 8th.

Click here to view the – 2019 ENC Men’s Team Results

Tom SLOMAN (ENG) won the Individual competition with a 294 (+6) total. His final round 77 looked like it would cost him the title but an eagle on 14 and three closing pars ended up being sufficient as other faltered on the challenging Sotogrande course.

Tom Sloman (Photos: @Golfing4Life_)

Caolan RAFFERTY (IRE) +8 finished 4th, Euan WALKER (SCO) and Ben CHAMBERLAIN (WAL) +9 tied 5th and Tom PLUMB (ENG), Jake HAPGOOD (WAL), Bailey GILL (ENG) and Conor PURCELL (IRE) +10 tied 11th.

Young Archie DAVIES (WAL) became the first player to shoot in the 60’s during the Championship. His final day 69 (-3) included six birdies.

Click here to view the – 2019 ENC Men’s Individual Results

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8th April 2019

The Men’s European Nations Championship (ENC) starts on Wednesday 10th April at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande in Southern Spain.

RCG Sotogrande is the permanent home of the ENC and this will be the 13th playing of the event.

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

Field
This year 15 four-man teams (60) will play for a Team prize whilst a total of 69 players will contest the Individual competition. 9 players have been invited by RCG Sotogrande and the Spanish Golf Federation to complete the field.

This year the following players have been selected to represent the four competing home nations: –

England – Bailey GILL, Ben JONES, Tom PLUMB, Tom SLOMAN

Ireland – Mark POWER, Conor PURCELL, Caolan RAFFERTY, Rob BRAZILL*

*A late replacement for James SUGRUE who was injured in practice.

Scotland – Kieran CANTLEY, Jim JOHNSTON, Euan MCINTOSH, Euan WALKER

Wales – Ben CHAMBERLAIN, Archie DAVIES, Jake HAPGOOD, Matt ROBERTS

Of these just Ben Chamberlain, Jake Hapgood and Caolan Rafferty played in the event in 2018.

A Women’s ENC also takes place alongside the Men’s competition. Three women teams from England and Scotland are both competing.

Scores

Click here to view the – 2019 ENC Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2019 ENC Men’s Individual Scores

Click here to view the – 2019 ENC Men’s Team Scores

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

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

In the case of a tie for 1st place a team member will be nominated and a sudden death play-off will be contested on the 9th hole. Other ties will be determined by a count back of the team score for the last 18, 27, 36, etc. holes.

The Individual prize is awarded to the lowest scoring player. Ties will be broken in line with the Team approach outlined above.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weather Forecast
The forecast looks good albeit as always the winds will be a factor, particularly in the afternoon. This can cause problems given the numerous water hazards on the course.

Wednesday 10th – Sunny Max. 19°C / Min. 10°C; W 16mph
Thursday 11th – Sunny Max. 20°C / Min. 11°C; W 16mph
Friday 12th – Sunny Max. 21°C / Min. 11°C; W 11mph
Saturday 13th – Sunny Max. 23°C / Min. 12°C; SW 10mph

Past ENC Winners / 2018 Results

Team Competition

The home nations have an excellent record in the Men’s Team event.

2018 England 2018 ENC Team Results

The England Team, consisting of Todd Clements, David Hague, Matthew Jordan and Gian-Marco Petrozzi, won the Team competition by an impressive 20 shots with a 853 -11 total.

Of the other competing home nations Ireland finished second on 873 (+9) and Wales 11th on 910 +46. Scotland didn’t play in 2018.

England – l-r Gareth Jenkins (Manager), David Hague, Gian-Marco Petrozzi, Todd Clements, Graham Walker (Coach) and Matthew Jordan (Photo: Graham Walker)

2017 Wales 2017 ENC Team Results

Wales – l-r Josh Davies, David Boote, Jack Davidson and Owen Edwards (Photo: GUW)

2016 Ireland 2016 ENC Team Results

Ireland European Nations Cup 2016

Ireland – l-r Stuart Grehan, Alex Gleeson, Jack Hume and Dermot McElroy (Photo: GUI)

2015 England
2014 Scotland
2013 England
2012 France
2011 England
2010 England
2009 England
2008 Scotland
2007 Denmark

Past Sherry Cup Team Winners (started 1998)

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

Individual Competition

2018 Todd CLEMENTS (England) 2018 ENC Individual Results
Todd secured the Individual title with rounds of 69 73 71 and 70 for a 283 total (-5).

Five shots back Ireland’s Alex Gleeson (76 74 69 69 / Ev), Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (72 75 72 69 / Ev) and Gian-Marco Petrozzi (69 71 76 72 / Ev) all tied for second place. Matthew Jordan (71 76 76 68 / +3) finished tied 5th and David Hague (79 73 74 68 / +6) 11th. Ireland’s Caolan Rafferty (72 79 74 71 / +8) was tied 12th and compatriot Jonathan Yates (77 74 72 75 / +10) tied 20th.

2017 Jack DAVIDSON (Wales) 2017 ENC Individual Results
Jack Davidson won the Individual European Nations Cup title by 4-shots last year. Rounds of 70, 70, 70 and 73 (-5), which included 20 birdies and 2 eagles, gave him his second major title in less than a month. He had won the Spanish International Amateur a few weeks before.

2016 Jack HUME (Ireland) 2016 ENC Individual Results
In winning the Individual Jack Hume played one of the best rounds of amateur golf in the world in 2016 at La Reserva. His 64 in Round 2 was an astonishing 8 shots better than any other player in the field.

2015 Mario Galliano (Spain)
2014 Guido Migliori (Italy)
2013 Adrien Saddier (France)
2012 Robin Kind (The Netherlands)
2011 Julien Brun (France)
2010 Nino Bertasio (Italy)
2009 Sam Hutsby (England)
2008 Shane Lowry (Ireland)
2007 Rory McIlroy (Ireland)

Rory McIlroy (Photo: RCG Sotogrande)

Past Sherry Cup Individual Winners

2006 Nigel Edwards (Wales)
2005 Gary Wolstenholme (England)
2004 Francesco Molinari (Italy)
2003 Gary Wolstenholme (England)
2002 Lee Harpin (Wales)
2001 Gary Wolstenholme (England)
2000 Gary Wolstenholme (England)
1999 Marcel Siem (Germany)
1998 Sergio Garcia (Spain)
1997 Sergio Garcia (Spain)

Sergio Gracia (Photo: RCG Sotogrande)

1996 Alvaro Salto (Spain)
1995 José María Zamora (Spain)
1994 Francisco Cea (Spain)
1993 Francisco Valera (Spain)
1992 Frederic Cupillar (France)
1991 Padraig Harrington (Ireland)
1990 Alvaro Prat (Spain)
1989 Diego Borrego (Spain)
1988 Yago Beamonte (Spain)
1987 Yago Beamonte (Spain)
1986 Borja Queipo de Llano (Spain)
1985 José L. Padila (Spain)
1984 John Marks (England)
1983 José L. de Bernardo (Spain)
1982 Borja Queipo de Llano (Spain)
1981 Veit Pagel (Germany)
1980 Jesús López (Spain)
1979 Veit Pagel (Germany)
1978 José L. de Bernardo (Spain)
1977 F. Jiménez (Spain)
1976 Alberto Croze (Italy)
1975 Veit Pagel (Germany)
1974 Veit Pagel (Germany)
1973 Alberto Croze (Italy)
1972 E. de la Riva and J. Gancedo (Spain)
1971 Alberto Croze (Italy)
1970 Henric Adam (England)

ME.

Men’s Home Internationals – 2018 Preview, Reports & Results

Posted on 09/09/2018 by Golf Bible

14th September 2018

ENGLAND won the 2018 Men’s Home Internationals beating IRELAND 9 – 6 in today’s championship match.

England celebrate with the Raymond Trophy (Photo: Wales Golf)

Here is a summary of the final results from this year’s tournament: –

Final Results – 2018 Men’s Home Internationals (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox)

In the ENGLAND v. IRELAND match today the foursomes were shared 2.5 – 2.5 but in the afternoon England pulled away with some impressive singles victories.

The highlights were Andrew WILSON’s 7&6 win over the previously unbeaten Conor PURCELL and Mitch WAITE’s 2 Holes win over Robin DAWSON, both of which set the foundation for their team to build on.

Ireland v. England Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)

David HAGUE (ENG) and Tiarnan MCLARNON (IRE) both finished the tournament with 100% records, winning all 6 of their games. Tom PLUMB (ENG) was also unbeaten, winning four of his games and halving two of his foursomes.

Screen Shot 2018-09-14 at 19.27.37

Host nation WALES once again fell the wrong side of the thin line that sometimes separates winning and losing. Today Scotland edged them out 8 – 7.

Scotland won the foursomes 4 -1 in the morning but were made to work hard for the additional four single wins they needed in the afternoon.

Scotland v. Wales Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)

Whilst it was tough going for SCOTLAND and WALES for most of the week it was possible for some of their individuals to shine.

Euan WALKER was outstanding for Scotland winning five of his six games.

Likewise Paddy MULLINS did well for Wales and can be particularly pleased with his two singles wins.

Screen Shot 2018-09-14 at 18.15.24

Click here to view the full – 2018 Men’s Home Internationals Results
– click the match score to see the individual games and the game score to view the hole by hole scores.

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13th September 2018

IRELAND beat WALES 11.5 – 5.5 on Day 2 of the Men’s Home Internationals at Conwy Golf Club.

The morning foursomes went the way of the Irish 3.5 – 1.5 albeit the Robbie CANNON / JAMES SUGRUE pairing needed a birdie on the 18th to secure a half in their match so the overall series scoreline could have been closer.

Ireland won the singles 6 – 4 with Conor PURCELL, Caolan RAFFERTY and Peter O’KEEFFE (all 4&3) enjoying their biggest wins.

However, the best performance of this match arguably fell to Welshman Jake HAPGOOD. He beat in form Robin DAWSON 4&3 with both players blitzing Conwy’s back nine. Jake recorded four birdies and two eagles between the 7th and 15th holes to unsurprisingly take the game.

Ireland v. Wales Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)

In the second match of Day 2 ENGLAND narrowly beat SCOTLAND 8 – 7.

After the morning foursomes, which England won 4 – 1, it appeared the Scots could be in for another heavy defeat.

However, Scotland showed great heart to run out 6 – 4 winners of the singles series. Ryan LUMSDEN, Euan WALKER, Kieran CANTLEY, Stephen RODGER, Jeff WRIGHT and James WILSON were all victorious in the afternoon.

At the end of the day England won the match and that’s all that matters – unless like last year the two leading nations draw again ! The four single wins they enjoyed were all comprehensive and as such after their dominant foursomes performance there was never really a feeing that an upset might be in the air.

Scotland v. England Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)

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12th September 2018

IRELAND beat SCOTLAND 11.5 – 3.5 in the opening game of the 2018 Men’s Home Internationals at Conwy Golf Club.

Ireland won the morning foursomes 4 – 1. Most of the matches tipping their way due to some exceptional play on the back nine by their four final pairings. Scotland’s Euan MCINTOSH and Ryan LUMSDEN provided the only resistance in game 1.

The Irish carried their momentum into the afternoon series too winning the singles 7.5 – 2.5. Robin DAWSON (5&3), Jonathan YATES (5&4) and Tiarnon MCLARNON (4&3) enjoyed the biggest wins.

Ireland v. Scotland Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)

ENGLAND overcame a stubborn WALES 11.5 – 3.5 in the second match on Day 1. As you can see below the games were generally closer than in match 1 and the margin of victory somewhat flatters England who were made to work hard for many of their points.

The morning foursomes were halved 2.5 – 2.5 with Welsh pairing Matt ROBERTS and Paddy MULLINS enjoying the biggest victory of the series, 5&3.

ENGLAND composed themselves in the afternoon and in the end won nine of the ten singles. Ben JONES won his match 4&3 but otherwise the games were tight affairs. Paddy MULLINS maintained his unbeaten personal record by recording the sole singles win for the hosts.

England v. Wales Results (Photo: Wales Golf / Golfbox Scoring)

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9th September 2018

The 2018 Men’s Home Internationals will be contested at Conwy Golf Club in Wales between 12th and 14th September.

IRELAND will travel to North Wales hoping to win the Raymond Trophy for a fifth consecutive year.

The Competition

11-man teams from ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND and WALES play against each other annually, taking it in turns to the host the event.

Over three days all of the countries play each other once. There are five foursomes and ten singles match play games in each series.

The winner is the country with the highest number of match points. 1 point is awarded for a win, 0.5 for a half and 0 for a loss. Ties are resolved by considering the number of individual game points secured in the three matches played.

2018 Players

The four national golf unions have selected the following players to represent their countries this year.

I have also included the current Team (total) and Individual Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings (SPWAR) below.

ENGLAND – Team SPWAR 1,432
Jack BURNAGE (93)
Bailey GILL (176)
David HAGUE (99)
Ben JONES (105)
David LANGLEY (169)
Joe LONG (201)
Tom PLUMB (147)
Nick POPPLETON (190)
Tom SLOMAN (64)
Mitch WAITE (40)
Andrew WILSON (148)

IRELAND – Team SPWAR = 3,300
Robbie CANNON (908)
Robin DAWSON (14)
Alex GLEESON (122)
Tiarnan MCLARNON (406)
Ronan MULLARNEY (265)
Peter O’KEEFFE (354)
Mark POWER (240)
Conor PURCELL (37)
Colin RAFFERTY (82)
James SUGRUE (374)
Jonathan YATES (498)

The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

SCOTLAND – Team SPWAR = 3,620
Kieran CANTLEY (448)
Matthew CLARK (483)
Stuart EASTON (187)
Calum FYFE (259)
Jim JOHNSTON (562)
Ryan LUMSDEN (80)
Euan MCKINTOSH (156)
Stephen ROGER (406)
Euan WALKER (113)
James WILSON (227)
Jeff WRIGHT (699)

WALES – Team SPWAR = 13,944
Oliver BROWN (2,041)
Ben CHAMBERLAIN (976)
Archie DAVIES (981)
Jacob DAVIES (1,438)
Jake HAPGOOD (395)
Kieron HARMAN (1,698)
Paddy MULLINS (1,572)
Matt ROBERTS (797)
Lewys SANGES (1,095)
Gaelan TREW (2,217)
Tom WILLIAMS (734)

Just 14 of the 44 players competed last year at Moortown. England have 8 new players in their 2018 line up, Ireland 6, Scotland 9 and Wales 7.

I think ENGLAND have got to start as slight favourites this year but I certainly wouldn’t bet against IRELAND making it five in a row.

Venue – Conwy Golf Club

Founded in 1890 the Conwy (Caernarvonshire) Golf Club is the third oldest club in Wales.

The course was originally laid out by Jack Harris with more recent alterations completed by Frank Pennink.

One of the best links courses in Great Britain it has hosted many amateur and professional tournaments in the past. It’s next big appointment is the Curtis Cup match which it will stage in 2020.

Conwy Golf Club Scorecard (Photos: Conwy Golf Club)

The courses measures 6,936 yards from the Blue Championship tees, playing to a par of 72. It is relatively flat with it’s exposed coastal position meaning the prevailing westerly wind is always a major factor particularly as the design has holes going in all directions.

Conwy Golf Club Course Map (Photos: Conwy Golf Club)

2018 Weather Forecast (as at 9.00am Sunday 9th September)
Wed. 12th Sept. – Light Rain / Temp. Min 9º / Max 15º / Wind 11mph NW
Thurs. 13th Sept. – Sunny / Temp. Min 10º / Max 16º / Wind 11mph W
Fri 14th Sept. – Cloudy / Temp. Min 11º / Max 16º / Wind 15mph SW

2017 Men’s Home Internationals

IRELAND won the 2017 Men’s Home Internationals at Moortown Golf Club in Leeds.

They secured the Raymond Trophy after halving the deciding match with ENGLAND 7.5 – 7.5. This was good enough for the Irish to pip the home nation by a half point in total match points earned, 26.5 against 26.0.

The win was a record breaking fourth consecutive victory in the event for the men in green.

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The 2017 Ireland Team (Photo: Leaderboard Photography)

WALES beat SCOTLAND 9.5 – 5.5 on the final day to consign the Scots to the wooden spoon.

Click here to view the detailed – Men’s Home Internationals Results

Here is the final Points Table with the ‘Countback’ information at the bottom: –

img_8385-1

2017 Men’s Home Internationals Points Table (Photo: England Golf Event Microsite)

Caolan RAFFERTY (IRE) and Josh HILLEARD (ENG) delivered the best individual records during the week, both winning five of their six games.

ME.

World Amateur Team Championship – 2018 Preview, Reports & Results

Posted on 04/09/2018 by Golf Bible

8th September 2018

DENMARK won the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship at Carton House in Ireland with a record 541 (-39) team score.

Denmark With The Eisenhower Trophy (Photo: International Golf Federation)

The Danes produced a -13 team score in the final round which was played on the O’Meara Course. European Amateur champion Nicolai HOJGAARD was their star man producing a 66 (-7) right on cue.

This was Denmark’s first victory in the Championship. Their previous best result was second in Argentina in 2010.

The UNITED STATES finished 2nd paying the penalty for their poor first day. In the final analysis they found themselves coming up 1-shot short on 542 (-38) after a -11 team score today.

SPAIN were third on 544 (-36) two shots further back. Alejandro DEL RAY continued his fine play this week with a 65 (-8) to help the Spaniards finish the day with a -9 team score.

The Leading Final Team Results (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

ENGLAND recorded the second best team score of the day with a -12. This strong finish lifted them up to 8th on 549 (-31). MATTHEW JORDAN left the amateur game in style shooting a bogey-free 65 (-8), the joint low round of the day. Matthew is set to make his pro debut in the KLM Open in The Netherlands next week.

Matthew Jordan’s Round 4 Championship Scorecard (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

IRELAND finished tied 10th on 553 (-27) after a good -9 team score on the final day. John MURPHY 68 (-5) and Robin DAWSON 69 (-4) contributed the Irish scores.

SCOTLAND also finished the Championship well with a -8 team score in Round 4. Sandy SCOTT doing the main damage today with a 67 (-6). The Scottish total of 554 (-26) was good enough for tied 12th.

WALES finished on 560 (-20) for a tied 18th result. Tom WILLIAMS 69 (-4) led the Welsh to a -7 team score on the final day.

Click here to view the – 2018 Eisenhower Trophy Team Scores

Spain’s Alejandro DEL RAY was the low individual with a superb -23 final score. It was a bit harsh on Japan’s Takumi KANAYA who did little wrong today (67 -6) but ended up second best on -22.

Robin DAWSON and Gian-Marco PETROZZI (-14) both finished tied 13th to share low GB&I honours. Matthew JORDAN, Sandy SCOTT and Ryan LUMSDEN (-12) were a couple of shots further back.

Dawson and Petrozzi will both be turning Pro in the next few weeks ahead of competing in a European Tour Qualifying Stage 1 event.

The Leading Final Individual Team Results (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

Click here to view the – 2018 Eisenhower Trophy Individual Scores

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7th September 2018

NEW ZEALAND showed no nerves at all on Day 3 extending their lead over the field to 3-shots. Denzel IEREMIA showed his 66 on the Montgomerie yesterday was no fluke by following it up with a 65 (-7) today.

SPAIN, UNITED STATES and ITALY matched the leaders with a -10 team score in Round 3. With THAILAND and DENMARK still in the mix we now have five teams within 4-shots of New Zealand. A final day shoot out therefore seems assured.

The Leading Round 3 Team Scores (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

ENGLAND (-19) moved into 11th after posting their best team score of the week so far; a -7 with Gian-Marco PETROZZI once again delivering the low card. Petrozzi’s 67 today took him to -12 for the Championship. He is now the leading GB&I individual with just 18 holes to play.

Gian-Marco Petrozzi’s Championship Scorecard (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

IRELAND and SCOTLAND (-18) are now tied 12th. Ireland fell down the rankings with a disappointing +1 team score in Round 3. Conor PURCELL’S 71 (-1) was the best score they could produce. On the other hand Scotland continue to rise; Sandy SCOTT came to the party in Round 3 and his 67 (-5) helped them move up another 5 places on the leaderboard.

WALES (-13) had a steady day with Ben CHAMBERLAIN’S 70 leading them to a -2 team score. They will start the final round in tied 20th place.

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6th September 2018

A strong finish to their rounds on the Montgomerie Course by Daniel HILLIER 65 (-7) and Denzel IEREMIA 66 (-6) helped NEW ZEALAND rise to the top of the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship leaderboard on Day 2.

New Zealand’s 270 (-20) total has given them a 1-shot lead over DENMARK, IRELAND and THAILAND, who are all tied for 2nd place.

The Leading Round 2 Team Scores (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

THAILAND enjoyed a superb day on the Montgomerie Course producing a 131 (-13) score which catapulted them up into 2nd place on 271 (-19). Sadom KAEWKANJANA contributed a 65 (-7) and Witchayanon CHOTHIRUNRUNGRUENG a 66 (-6).

The Day 1 leaders, DENMARK, delivered an entirely satisfactory 137 (-8) score on the O’Meara Course but unfortunately it was a day when many of their peers were going even lower. John AXELSEN 69 (-4) again led the way with the HOJGAARD twins, Nicolai and Rasmus, both offering up 70’s (-3).

Home team IRELAND enjoyed another strong team performance in Round 2, producing a good 137 (-9) score on the O’Meara Course. Robin DAWSON, who is still to record a bogey at the Championship, shot a 68 (-5) today and he was well supported by Conor PURCELL who had a 69 (-4).

Robin Dawson’s Championship Scorecard (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

CANADA (-13 O’Meara), UNITED STATES (-13 O’Meara), SPAIN (-11 Montgomerie), ITALY (-13 O’Meara), SWEDEN (-11 Montgomerie), AUSTRIA (-10 O’Meara) and GERMANY (-12 O’Meara) all managed ‘double figure’ days to move into the Top 15 by the end of play.

Italy’s Stefano MAZZOLI had the low round of the day on the O’Meara Course with a 64 (-9). A great bounce back from a difficult day on the Montgomerie yesterday. He was 15 shots better today and amazingly -9 after 10 holes of his round.

Stefano Mazzoli’s Championship Scorecard (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

Spain’s Alejandro DEL RAY also a shot a 64 (-8) on the Montgomerie which was the best of the day on this course.

Alejandro Del Ray’s Championship Scorecard (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

ENGLAND, one of the last group’s out on the Montgomerie Course, battled hard for a second successive -6 score. Gian-Marco PETROZZI shot a 68 (-4) to help lead the English team into tied 12th place.

WALES followed up yesterday’s good start with an even better day on the Montgomerie Course. Jake HAPGOOD’S 68 (-4) and Tom WILLIAMS’ 70 (-2) left the Principality on 279 -11 for the Championship and tied 14th.

SCOTLAND also enjoyed an excellent day. Their 136 (-10) score, thanks to Ryan LUMSDEN’S 67 (-6) and Euan WALKER’S 69 (-4) on the O’Meara moved them through the field into a respectable tied 17th.

SOUTH AFRICA’S Championship continues to go from bad to worse. Today Malcom MITCHELL, their reserve fell ill and was unable to make his tee time. Then playing in the morning, in the worst of the day’s weather, their two remaining players Matt SAULEZ and Wilco NIENABER were only able to manage a 75 and 76 on the O’Meara Course. A 151 (+5) day took them to 294 (+4) in total and a hugely disappointing 46th place.

ME.

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5th September 2018

DENMARK lead the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) at the end of Round 1.

The Leading Round 1 Team Scores (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

Rounds of 64 (-8) and 68 (-4) on the tougher Montgomerie Course from John AXELSEN and Rasmus HOJGAARD respectively helped the Danes post an impressive 132 (-12) score.

John Axelsen’s Round 1 Scorecard (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

The home nation IRELAND, who were also playing on the Montgomerie, are second on 134 (-10). Robin DAWSON shot a bogey free 65 (-7) with encouragingly both John MURPHY and Conor PURCELL backing him up with 69’s (-3).

Robin Dawson’s Round 1 Scorecard (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

INDIA and SWITZERLAND are a surprise third on 137 (-9), albeit their scores were both compiled on the O’Meara Course. India’s star man Rayhan THOMAS shot a best of the day 64 (-9) on the easier par 73 track. Switzerland’s Perry COHEN produced a 65 (-8) to underpin his country’s total score.

Rayhan Thomas’s Round 1 Scorecard (Photo: IGF / http://www.ghintpp.com)

ENGLAND, who were also on the O’Meara today, finished on 140 (-6) and are tied 7th. Gian-Marco PETROZZI 70 (-3) and Mitch WAITE 70 (-3) contributed their two scores.

WALES have made an encouraging start to the Championship too. Their 141 (-5) total on the O’Meara sees them lying in tied 12th place. Ben CHAMBERLAIN 69 (-4) and Jake HAPGOOD 72 (-1) put their scores on the board.

SCOTLAND 144 (Ev) are tied 34th. On a steady day for the Scots Ryan LUMSDEN shot 71 (-1) whilst Sandy SCOTT and Euan WALKER contributed hard fought matching 73’s (+1).

Two of this year’s favourites, the U.S.A. 140 M (-4) and AUSTRALIA 141 M (-3), have work to do from tied 19th and tied 23rd respectively at the end of Day 1. There is of course plenty of time left for both of them to catch the early leaders.

SOUTH AFRICA 143 M (-1) are tied 30th. Their day got off to a bad start when Jovan REBULA, the reigning Amateur champion, was forced to withdrawal with a back injury before play had started. He was replaced by travelling reserve Malcom MITCHELL.

All of the players and their teams will move onto the other course, i.e. the one they haven’t played today, for tomorrow’s second round.

ME.

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4th September 2018

The 31^st Men’s World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) starts tomorrow at the Carton House resort in County Kildare, Ireland.

The WATC is a biennial international amateur golf competition run by the International Golf Federation (IGF), formerly known as the World Amateur Golf Council.

The IGF comprises 151 national governing bodies of golf in 146 countries and 22 international professional tours. It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the body responsible for golf and as such, in addition to the Men’s and Women’s WATC’s it also organises the golf competitions in both the Olympics and Youth Olympics.

The competition has in recent years moved by rotation around the world taking in Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe-Africa in turn.

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

Venue

The WATC will be played over Carton House’s two golf courses and will be hosted by the Golfing Union of Ireland and Irish Ladies Golf Union.

The Montgomerie is a par 72 inland-links course which measures 7,301 yards from the championship tees. The nines are relatively similar in length and follow the standard configuration with two par 3’s and two par 5’s on each side. It hosted the Irish Open Championship on the European Tour in 2005, 2006 and 2013.

The O’Meara is a par 73 parkland course which measures 7,165 yards from the championship tees. Again the two nines are similar in length, albeit the front nine includes three par 5’s.

Competition Format

72 teams are competing in the 2018 WATC.

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

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

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

Whilst individual results are reported and the player with the lowest score is recognised at the closing ceremony there is no prize awarded for the honour.

GB&I Competitors

Each of the home nations will be represented with the following players having been selected (Age / SPWAR): –

ENGLAND
Matt JORDAN (22 / #16), Gian-Marco PETROZZI (21 / #108) and Mitch WAITE (23 / #37)

IRELAND
Robin DAWSON (22 / #15), John MURPHY (20 / #94) and Conor PURCELL (21 / #34)

SCOTLAND
Ryan LUMSDEN (21 / #88 ), Euan WALKER (22 / #114 ) and Sandy SCOTT (20 / #132)

WALES
Ben CHAMBERLAIN (NK / #972), Jake HAPGOOD (NK / #395 ) and Tom WILLIAMS (NK / #728)

Good luck to all of the home nation teams competing in Ireland this week.

2018 WATC Prediction

Whilst there are 72 teams competing at the 2018 WATC just ten have a chance of a medal in my opinion.

This is my Top 10 prediction: –

1. United States of America
2. ENGLAND
3. IRELAND
4. South Africa
5. Australia
6. Denmark
7. Norway
8. Canada
9. France
10. Italy

The U.S.A. will be represented by Cole HAMMER (SPWAR #6), Colin MORIKAWA (#2) and Justin SUH (#10). The ‘undisputed’ World No. 1 Braden THORNBERRY has either not be selected or declined the opportunity to travel to Ireland.

Jovan REBULA and Victor HOVLAND, the 2018 Amateur and U.S. Amateur champions, are in action for South Africa and Norway respectively.

Future WATC Venues

2020 – Hong Kong G.C. (composite) and The Clearwater Bay G. & C.C., Hong Kong, China
2022 – Le Golf National and Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche, near Paris, France

The choice of France in 2022 was something of a surprise as the WATC was scheduled to be played in the Americas based on the rotation system that has been in place.

From 2024 due to escalating costs the WATC will be staged at a single course with the field reduced accordingly. It is expected a new qualifying competition for the smaller and newer golfing nations will be established ahead of this Championship.

2016 WATC

AUSTRALIA won the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship in Mayakoba, Mexico by a massive 19-shots.

The team of Cameron DAVIS, Harrison ENDYCOTT and Curtis LUCK equalled the 72 hole scoring record of 534 (-38).

It was the fourth time Australia had won the Eisenhower Trophy, following victories in 1958, 1966 and 1996.

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Australia – Harrison Endycott, Cameron Davis, Curtis Luck, Matt Cutler – with the Eisenhower Trophy (Photo: Golf Australia)

ENGLAND (-19) collected the silver medal with AUSTRIA and IRELAND (-18) sharing bronze.

Alfie PLANT holed a 9-foot birdie putt on the last to secure second place for England. The Irish team appeared to have second sown up but a double bogey from Jack HUME (68) and a bogey from Stuart GREHAN (72) on the 18th, in their two counting rounds, ended up costing them dear.

It was the first time that both ENGLAND and IRELAND had medalled since the home nations started competing individually rather than under the Great Britain & Ireland banner.

SCOTLAND (-11) finished in a disappointing 11th place given the strong team they put out and particularly after holding the Round 1 lead when they posted a -10 score.

WALES finished in tied 16th. David BOOTE (-9) was their mainstay but he was supported well by Owen EDWARDS and Joshua DAVIES, both of whom provided two scores over the Championship.

Team Results
1. AUSTRALIA -38
2. ENGLAND -19
T3. IRELAND -18
11. SCOTLAND -11
T16. WALES -8

T6. USA -15

AUSTRALIA’s Cameron DAVIS (269 / -17) recorded the Championship’s lowest individual score. His compatriot Curtis LUCK (271 / -15) finished second, helped in no small part by a superb 63 (-9) in the third round.

England’s Alfie PLANT (-12) was GB&I’s leading player at the Championship. David BOOTE (-9), Jack HUME (-7) and Paul MCBRIDE (-5) all played very well too, finishing in the Top 20 Individual standings.

GB&I Individual Results
T3. Alfie PLANT (ENG) -12
9. David BOOTE (WAL) -9
T11. Jack HUME (IRE) -7
T20. Paul MCBRIDE (IRE) -5
T27. Robert MCINTYRE (SCO) -3
T38. Connor SYME (SCO) Ev
T38. Grant FORREST (SCO) Ev
T38. Scott GREGORY (ENG) Ev
T48. Stuart GREHAN (IRE) +2
T53. Jamie BOWER (ENG) +3
T71. Owen EDWARDS (WAL) +5
T100. Joshua DAVIES (WAL) +11

2014 WATC

The United States of America, represented by Bryson DECHAMBEAU, Beau HOSSLER and Denny MCCARTHY won the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy in Karuizawa, Japan. The U.S. team set a new record score of 534 (-38).

2014 Eisenhower Trophy

U.S.A. – Bryson DeChambeau, Denny McCarthy, Jim Hyler (c) and Beau Hossler – with the Eisenhower Trophy (Photo: USGA / Steven Gibbons)

In 2014 Spain’s Jon RAHM won the Individual with a record breaking 263 (-23) total.

Historic Results

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

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

Here is the full list of historic results: –

Screen Shot 2018-09-04 at 17.48.59

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Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship – 2018 Preview, Reports & Results

Posted on 23/08/2018 by Golf Bible

29th August 2018

Victor VEYRET today won the 2018 Carrick Neill Scottish Open Amateur Championship at Gleneagles.

Victor Veyret (Photo: Scottish Golf / Kenny Smith Photography)

Four under par rounds of 69, 65, 67 and 67 on the Kings Course gave the tall Frenchman a 268 (-12) total and an impressive 6-shot victory.

Victor Veyret’s Scorecards (Photo: Scottish Golf / Golfbox Scoring)

Ireland’s Conor PURCELL (-6) finished second coming through the field strongly on the final day with rounds of 67 and 68.

Euan WALKER (-5) wasn’t able to repeat his form of the first two days but two par 70’s helped him secure third, taking the leading Scot honours in the process.

Joe LONG (ENG), Thomas PLUMB (ENG) and Stuart EASTON (SCO) all finished tied 4th on 278 (-2).

Just seven players finished under par in the Championship. The final one being Jake HAPGOOD (WAL) who finished in seventh on -1.

The highlight of Round 3 in the morning was Robin DAWSON‘s (IRE) 63 (-7). His low round of the week included just 29 shots on the back nine. Starting the final round in tied second place, four shots back of Veyret, it was something of a surprise when he could only managed a 75 (+5) this afternoon. A 75 which could have been a lot worse too – four birdies in his final five holes which he played in 3-under after a bogey on 16 helped tidy up the card a little.

Click here to view the – 2018 Scottish Open Amateur Results

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28th August 2018

Frenchman Victor VEYRET shot a 65 (-5) in Round 2 to take the lead on 134 (-6). His round included 5 birdies and an eagle, on the short par 4 14th.

Scotland’s Euan WALKER backed up his Day 1 67 with a 68 today to finish alone in second place on 135 (-5). Four under after 15 in Round 2 he will have been disappointed to bogey both 16 and 18, holes where many in the field have been picking up shots.

Laird SHEPHERD (ENG), Ben JONES (ENG), Stuart EASTON (SCO), Nurtai SALDAROV (SCO), Jake HAPGOOD (WAL) and Joe LONG (ENG) all remain in contention on 138 (-2).

17 players are on 140 (Ev) or better after 36 holes so there is still plenty to play for tomorrow.

43 players made the 36 hole cut which fell at 143 (+3).

Round 1 joint leader Sam ROOK (ENG) missed out on +4 after he followed his 67 with a 77.

Whilst Wales’ Hapgood is in the mix his Eisenhower Trophy teammates Ben CHAMBERLAIN (+7) and Tom WILLIAMS (+11) both missed out.

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27th August 2018

Koen KOUWENAAR (NED), Euan WALKER (SCO) and Sam ROOK (ENG) all shot 67 (-3) to share the Round 1 lead at the Scottish Open Amateur.

All three players finished strongly over Gleneagles’ Kings Course to secure their 67’s. Koen birdied four of his last five holes, whilst Euan and Sam birdied three and four of their last 6 respectively albeit both threw in a bogey on 15.

23 other players recorded under par rounds, 5 on -2 and 18 on -1 so the overall leaderboard remains very tight.

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23rd August 2018

The 52nd Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship, sponsored by Carrick Neill, starts on Monday at the Gleneagles Resort, Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross.

5th hole, Kings Course, Gleneagles (Photo: http://www.hiddenlinksgolf.com)

Format

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

18 holes will be played on both Monday 27thand Tuesday 28th August.

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 Wednesday 29th August.

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, all off scratch or better, will start the 2018 Championship.

The start sheet for Rounds 1 and 2 can be viewed here – 2018 Scottish Open Amateur Tee Times

The Championship has historically been played in late May or early June. The move to late August in 2018 has inevitably been detrimental to the field quality. There are a variety of reasons for this. Overseas touring parties have moved on, teams have largely been selected, players are returning to college in the United States, others are finalising moves into the Pro ranks and in some cases funds have simply run out.

Just two members of the nine man Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) St. Andrews Trophy team are competing at Gleneagles; these are Ireland’s Robin DAWSON and Conor PURCELL. England’s David HAGUE was a late withdrawal from the event.

In form Euan MCINTOSH and James WILSON, winner of last week’s Welsh Open Amateur, will lead the home challenge.

Only Euan WALKER from Scotland’s three man Eisenhower Trophy team, which starts in Ireland on 5th September, is competing. Ryan LUMSDEN and Sandy SCOTT are notable absentees but presumably both have had to return to College in the States before coming home again next week.

Other leading Scottish players in the field include Matthew CLARK, Greg DALZIEL, Stuart EASTON, Calum FYFE, Darren HOWIE, Jim JOHNSTON and Jeff WRIGHT.

Ben CHAMBERLAIN, Jake HAPGOOD and Tom WILLIAMS, the three members of Wales’ Eisenhower Trophy team, will all be in action.

Their is a strong English contingent at Gleneagles which includes Jake BOLTON, Callum FARR, Jack GAUNT, Bailey GILL, Ben JONES, Matty LAMB, Joe LONG, Joshua MCMAHON, Billy MCKENZIE, Thomas PLUMB and Laird SHEPHERD. The three members of England’s Eisenhower Trophy team Matthew JORDAN, Gian-Marco PETROZZI and Mitch WAITE are all skipping this year’s Scottish Open Amateur.

There are a small number of overseas entires, the best appearing to be Frenchman Victor VEYRET.

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).

Gleneagles, Kings Course

Located 20 miles south of Perth Gleneagles is a world class golf resort with three Championship golf courses.

James Braid was the primary architect of the first and arguably still the best course, The Kings. Located on moorland it offers outstanding views with vast countryside and mountains providing a spectacular backdrop.

9th hole, Kings Course, Gleneagles (Photo: http://www.golfnorth.co.uk)

A number of prestigious amateur and professional events have been staged on the course since it opened in 1919. However, this is the first time the Scottish Open Amateur has been staged at Gleneagles.

Recent restoration work, widening fairways so bunkers moved out of the rough, has returned this famous old course back to its best too.

The Kings course will play 6,752 yards this week to a par of 70. The front nine will measure 3,321 yards and the back nine 3,431 yards. The 10th, which normally plays as a par 5 is being played as a 440 yard par 4.

With the greens running at around 11 feet on the stimpmeter and the par set at a demanding 70 I do not expect a low scoring Championship.

Weather Forecast

The weather forecast is generally cool and dry with a modest breeze:-

Mon 27th Aug – Light cloud / Wind 15 mph W / Temp. Max. 18°C, Min. 9°C.
Tues 28th Aug – Light cloud / Wind 13 mph SW / Temp. Max. 18°C / Min. 11°C.
Wed 29th Aug – Light cloud / Wind 10 mph SW / Temp. Max. 17°C / Min. 7°C.

Rounds 1 and 2 will see players tee off the 1st from 7.00am right through until 3.20pm.

The 2017 Scottish Men’s Open Amateur

Liam JOHNSTON (SCO) shot rounds of 69, 66, 69 and 71 to win the 2017 Carrick Neill Scottish Men’s Open Championship with a 275 (-9) total at Western Gailes.

Liam was the first home winner since Wallace Booth in 2008.

Liam Johnston (Photo: Kenny Smith / Scottish Golf)

Matthew JORDAN (ENG) finished second, two shots further back, continuing a superb run off form. Matthew recorded successive Top 5’s in the Irish Open Amateur, Brabazon Trophy and Scottish Open Amateur before winning the St. Andrews Links Trophy last summer.

Craig HOWIE (SCO) and David MICHELUZZI (AUS) shared third place on -5 as both stumbled a little in the final round as the wind picked up.

Connor SYME (SCO) finished 5th on -4, whilst Clément CHARMASSON (FRA) and Matty LAMB (ENG) shot final round 67’s to move through the field and finish tied 6th on -3.

Click here to view the – 2017 Scottish Open Amateur 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: –

2016 – Cameron John (AUS)
2015 – Marco Penge (ENG)
2014 – Gavin Moynihan (IRE)
2013 – Garrick Porteous (ENG)
2011 – Andy Sullivan (ENG)
2009 – Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
2004 – Richie Ramsay (SCO)
2003 – Gary Wolstenholme (ENG)
2002 – Barry Hume (SCO)
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)

ME.

The St. Andrews Trophy – 2018 Preview, Reports & Results

Posted on 15/07/2018 by Golf Bible

Friday 27th July 2018

The Continent of Europe beat Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) 15.5 – 9.5 in the 32nd St. Andrews Trophy match played this year at Linna Golf in Finland.

The Continent of Europe Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

This was just the sixth time Europe had won the match and the 6 point margin represented their biggest ever victory. Prior to this year their best win had come in 1982 when they won 14.5 – 9.5 at Rosendaelsche G.C. in Netherlands.

GB&I entered the final day leading 7 – 5 but were comprehensively outplayed by an inspired European team who won the Day 2 games 10.5 – 2.5.

Europe won the morning Foursomes 3 – 1 to leave the match tied at 8 points each and in theory to perfectly set up the afternoon series of Singles where all eighteen players would be in action.

Unfortunately GB&I were thrashed 7.5 – 1.5 in the Singles. Matthew JORDAN (ENG) won his match and Mitch WAITE (ENG) secured a late half.

It is difficult to put a positive spin on this result for GB&I given that Europe were ‘missing’ at least five of what I would consider to be their potential first team. A number of Europe’s leading players chose to play in this week’s Porsche European Open on the European Tour or to return early to the Unites States in the run up to the U.S. Amateur.

I can’t criticise the GB&I selection as I picked exactly the same team independently before the match started. They were simply outplayed on the final day.

In The R&A’s match report GB&I Captain Craig Watson said: “The team is obviously very disappointed but if you look at the scoring by the Continent of Europe you can see we were up against a very high standard of golf. This is the level that the players need to aspire to and achieve and when they look back on the performance there will be many learning points to take away. If you are to win a match like this you obviously need to make your fair share of putts when it matters. We just couldn’t match the Continent of Europe today. I don’t think we were complacent.”

Coming a year after the 19 – 7 record breaking thrashing at the hands of the United States in the Walker Cup GB&I have just over 400 days to find a team ready to face them again at Royal Liverpool in September 2019.

Looking at the individual performances Matias HONKALA (FIN) was the star man for Europe winning all four of his matches. Stefano MAZZOLI (ITA) didn’t play in the Day 1 Singles but won all three of the other matches he was selected for.

Matthew JORDAN (ENG) was comfortably GB&I’s star man winning three of his four games.

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

Individual Performances Analysis

Screen Shot 2018-07-27 at 15.32.45

Day 2 Afternoon Singles

Day 2 Afternoon Singles Results (Photo: EGA / Golfbox)

The Continent of Europe’s captain Yves HOFSTETTER will be pleased with the changes he made to his pairings on Day 2 as the home side ran out 3 – 1 winners in the morning Foursomes.

Thankfuly for Great Britain & Ireland, who looked like they were heading for a clean sweep of losses after 9 holes, the Irish pairing of Robin DAWSON and John MURPHY battled back well to secure a 2 hole win in Game 2. Unfortunately our other pairings were all well beaten in the series (see below).

Day 2 Morning Foursomes

Day 2 Morning Foursomes Results (Photo: EGA / Golfbox)

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Thursday 26th July 2018

Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) lead the Continent of Europe 7 – 5 after Day 1 of the 32nd St. Andrews Trophy match in Finland.

English pair Matthew JORDAN and Gian-Marco PETROZZI are unbeaten for GB&I having won their foursomes match this morning before winning their individual Singles this afternoon.

Home favourite Matias HONKALA is the only European player to have a 100% unblemished record so far.

Nick POPPLETON (ENG) and Stefano MAZZOLI (ITA) were both part of winning partnerships in the morning but were stood down for the afternoon Singles.

Day 1 Afternoon Singles

Day 1 Afternoon Singles Results (Photo: EGA / Golfbox)

Day 1 Morning Foursomes

Day 1 Morning Foursomes Results (Photo: EGA / Golfbox)

Robin Dawson In Action During The Day 1 Foursomes (Photo: @LinnaGolf)

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25th July 2018

Earlier today The R&A confirmed that the 2020 St. Andrews Trophy match will be played at Royal Porthcawl G.C. in South Wales.

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15th July 2018

The 32nd St. Andrews Trophy match will be contested on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th July at Linna Golf in Finland.

9th Green and Clubhouse, Linna Golf (Photo: golfboo.com)

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

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

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

2018 Teams

Each team has nine players.

The golfing calendar is extremely busy at this time of year and therefore player availability may be impacted by other opportunities.

The 2018 St. Andrews Trophy clashes with the Porsche European Open (European Tour, 26-29 July), Euram Bank Open in Austria (Challenge Tour, 26-29 July), German International Amateur (Europe, 26-29 July), Pacific Coast Amateur (U.S., 24-27 July) and to a lesser degree the Western Amateur Championship (U.S., 30 July-4 August).

Continent of Europe

Yves HOFSTETTER (Switzerland) will once again be the Non-Playing Captain of the European team.

His team was announced by the European Golf Association (E.G.A.) on 11th July and is listed below. Each player’s nationality, their SPWAR’s and their SPWAR Regional Ranking on the date of selection is also provided.

Edgar CATHERINE – France #153 (15th)

Marc HAMMER * – Germany #537 (102nd)

Angel HIDALGO PORTILLO – Spain #113 (11th)

Matias HONKALA – Finland #325 (53rd)

Frédéric LACROIX – France #126 (13th)

Stefano MAZZOLI – Italy #62 (7th)

Frederik NILEHN – Sweden #23 (2nd)

Lorenzo SCALISE – Italy #29 (4th)

Sami VALIMAKI – Finland #172 (22nd)

* replaced Falko HANISCH – Germany #586 (106th) who withdrew on 24th July 2018.

Home players Matias HONKALA and Sami VALIMAKI were both in the Finnish team who yesterday won the 2018 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship.

It is disappointing that just 3 of the team were in the SPWAR’s Continent of Europe Top 9 on the date of selection.

The most obvious ‘missing persons’ include John AXELSEN (Denmark), Oliver GILLBERG (Sweden), 2018 European Amateur Championship Nicolai HOJGAARD (Denmark), Rasmus HOJGAARD (Denmark), Viktor HOVLAND (Norway), Hurly LONG (Germany), Victor PASTOR (Spain) and Kristoffer REITAN (Norway).

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

Great Britain & Ireland Team

The R&A Selection Committee, including Non-Playing Captain Craig WATSON (Scotland), announced their nine man team on 16th July. Each player’s nationality, their SPWAR’s and their SPWAR Regional Ranking on the date of selection is also provided.

Todd CLEMENTS (21) – England #36 (4th)

Robin DAWSON (22) – Ireland #8 (1st)

David HAGUE (21) – England #T75 (T10th)

Matthew JORDAN (22) – England #11 (2nd)

John MURPHY (20) – Ireland #61 (7th)

Gian-Marco PETROZZI (21) – England #76 (9th)

Nick POPPLETON (24) – England #223 (26th)

Conor PURCELL (21) – Ireland #47 (5th)

Mitch WAITE (23) – England #17 (3rd)

Unlike the European Team above it is hard to argue with The R&A’s GB&I team or feel disappointed with the players that have not made themselves available. Indeed I selected the same team on 15th July (when this article was first published), explaining how I came to it in the Appendix below.

Match Format

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

Thursday 26th July AM – Foursomes x 4
Thursday 26th July PM – Singles x 8
Friday 27th June AM – Foursomes x 4
Friday 27th June PM – Singles x 9

The additional Singles on Day 2 was first played in 2016.

With a maximum total of 25 points available and one point awarded for each match a team will be required to accumulate 13 points to secure victory. GB&I can of course retain the Trophy by reaching 12.5 points as they did in 2016.

Venue – Linna Golf, Finland

Linna Golf is a luxury golf resort located in the Vanajanlinna area of Hämeenlinna in Southern Finland. Linna is around 60 miles north of the capital city Helsinki.

The course was designed by European Golf Design and Tim Lobb and opened for play in 2005. It is a hilly parkland course routed through a pine and birch forest. Three lakes and elevated, well protected and quick undulating greens make Linna a challenge from the back tees.

From these Championship Tees the course can be stretched to 7,244 yards. The front 9 is 3,541 yards long with a par of 35 (one par 5) and the back 9 3,703 yards with a par of 37 (three par 5’s). However, previous major events have seen the nines switched and I expect this to be the case again at the forthcoming St. Andrews Trophy match.

Linna Golf, Finland (Photo: European Golf Design)

Linna is consistently ranked as one of the best courses in Finland, normally alongside the two courses at Kytäjä.

It has previously hosted European Challenge Tour (2009) and Staysure Senior (2017) events as well as the 2010 European Amateur Championship. A part of the European Tour Properties chain it is expected to host a European Tour event in due course.

Weather Forecast

The long range weather forecast for Finland looks very good for both the practice and competition days: –

Thur 26th July – Sunny. Wind 8mph E. Temp. Max. 25°C / Min 16°C.
Fri 27th July – Sunny. Wind 8mph E. Temp. Max. 25°C / Min 16°C.

2016 Match – Prince’s Golf Club

GB&I fought back bravely to draw the 2016 match at Prince’s Golf Club in Kent, England 12.5-12.5 and thus retain the St. Andrews Trophy they had won in Sweden in 2014.

GB&I lost the opening morning’s Foursomes series 0-4 and entered Day 2 4-8 down after halving the eight Day 1 Singles.

GB&I won the Day 2 Foursomes 3.5-1.5 before securing sufficient points in the final Singles series to clawback the deficit. Wales’ David BOOTE secured the all important point in the last game still out on the links.

Great Britain & Ireland Retained The St. Andrews Trophy In 2016 (Photo: Darren Plant)

Click here to view the complete – 2016 St. Andrews Trophy Match Results

Here are the Individual Player Contributions for the 2016 St. Andrews Trophy match: –

Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 18.55.13

Past Results

To date GB&I have won the St. Andrews Trophy 25 times with Europe having just five wins to their name, albeit two of them came recently in 2010 and 2012. GB&I got back on track in 2014, winning 14-10 at Barsebäck, Sweden.

2016 was the first time the match had been halved. This arguably represents another win for GB&I but I have excluded it from the above numbers.

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

Here are the historic match results in full: –

Screen Shot 2018-07-15 at 15.26.00

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Appendix – My 2018 St. Andrews Trophy Team With Analysis

Nobody who follows GolfBible will be surprised to learn that my primary reference point for selection is the latest Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR).

1. SPWAR (as at 15th July 2018)

The top 20 players in the SPWAR’s GB&I Region Ranking, updated for the European Men’s and Boys’ Team Championships which finished yesterday, are: –

1. Robin DAWSON, Ireland #8
2. Matthew JORDAN, England #11
3. Mitch WAITE, England #17
4. Todd CLEMENTS, England #36
5. Conor PURCELL, Ireland #47
6. Ryan LUMSDEN, Scotland #57
7. John MURPHY, Ireland #61
8. Harry HALL, England #66
9. Gian-Marco PETROZZI, England #74

T10. David HAGUE, England #T75
T10. Jake BURNAGE, England #T75
12. Tom SLOMAN, England #88
13. Ben JONES, England #99
14. Alex GLEESON, Ireland #101
15. Laird SHEPHERD, England #105
16. Caolan RAFFERTY, Ireland #122
17. Sandy SCOTT, Scotland #126
18. Rowan LESTER, Ireland #137
19. Sam LOCKE, Scotland #142
20. Andrew WILSON, England #153

I personally wouldn’t bother but for completeness others may want to cast an eye over the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

2. WAGR (as at 8th July 2018 / published 11th July 2018)

Here are the current top 20 players from GB&I in the WAGR: –

1. Matthew JORDAN, England #5
2. Robin DAWSON, Ireand #10
3. Todd CLEMENTS, England #14
4. Alex FITZPATRICK, England #42
5. Gian-Marco PETROZZI, England #43
6. Billy MCKENZIE, England #71
7. Harry HALL, England #84
8. Ben JONES, England #95
9. David HAGUE, England #97

10. Ryan LUMSDEN, Scotland #102
11. David WICKS, England #113
12. Alex GLEESON, Ireland #124
13. Tom SLOMAN, England #178
14. Peter O’KEEFFE, Ireland #182
15. Caolan RAFFERTY, Ireland #189
16. Euan WALKER, Scotland #193
17. Joe PAGDIN, England #196
18. Charlie STRICKLAND, England #199
19. Mitch WAITE, England #201
20. Rowan LESTER, Ireland #213

Next I would want to look at current form. Obviously this is fully reflected in the SPWAR (but not so well in the WAGR) but specifically we have a perfect last (team match play) event to also consider.

3. European Men’s Amateur Team Championship (10-15 July 2018)

Accepting England’s strength in depth the first thing to say here is if a player isn’t being picked for their 6-man National Team last week why should I pick them for a GB&I Team this week.

That’s obviously not good news for original St. Andrews Trophy Squad members Alex FITZPATRICK, Calum FYFE, Harry HALL, Ben JONES, Sam LOCKE, Billy MCKENZIE, Robin WILLIAMS and Andrew WILSON. All have had their moments in the critical recent months but perhaps haven’t shone to the same degree as some of their peers.

The above rule is of course only true if the teams for the European Men’s were picked well ! In the case of Ireland I feel Conor PURCELL was an unlucky omission. Conor’s strong end of season form in the U.S. was initially ignored by the Irish selectors before he then emphasised the point by having a great Amateur. Immediately after the team announcements in July Conor backed his form up with an excellent European Amateur Championships.

In the European Men’s Team Championship in Germany England finished 2^nd, Scotland 8^thand Ireland 10^thin Germany. Wales played in Division 2. Therefore I see no reason for England not to dominate my selection. This benefits Nick POPPLETON who was selected for England on the back of his Brabazon Trophy win and who played his part for England last week.

Looking at the individual performances: –

ENGLAND (SP 2^nd – 693 / -27)
Gian-Marco PETROZZI – SP 1^st62 70 (-12), MP W3/L2/H1
Matthew JORDAN – SP 5^th69 66 (-9), MP W4/L1/H1
Nick POPPLETON – SP 28^th77 66 (-1), MP W2/L2/H0
David HAGUE – SP 30^th72 71 (-1), MP W2/L1/H2
Todd CLEMENTS – SP 45^th74 71 (+1), MP W1/L2/H0
Mitch WAITE – SP 77th 72 77 (+5), MP W2/L1/H0

SCOTLAND (SP 6^th– 709 / -11)
Euan MCINTOSH – SP 14^th72 68 (-4), MP W0/L3/H0
Sandy SCOTT – SP 20^th69 72 (-3), MP W0/L1/H2
Stuart EASTON – SP 35^th72 72 (Ev), MP W0/L3/H0
Jamie STEWART – SP 39^th71 73 (Ev), MP W2//L2/H0
Ryan LUMSDEN – SP 41^st77 68 (+1), MP W2/L2/H0
Euan WALKER – SP 46^th73 72 (+1), MP W1/L3/H0

IRELAND (SP 9^th– 719 / -1)
John MURPHY – SP 6^th 68 67 (-9), MP W2/L1/H0
Robin DAWSON – SP 27^th 67 75 (-2), MP W3/L0/H0
Caolan RAFFERTY – SP 49^th72 73 (+1), MP W2/L1/H0
Rowan LESTER – SP 68^th77 71 (+4), MP W2/L0/H1
Jonathan YATES – SP 88^th 75 76 (+7), MP W1/L2/H0
Alex GLEESON – SP 92^nd81 74 (+11), MP W2/L1/H0

Finally, I have looked back at the 20 man St Andrews Trophy Match Squad announced by The R&A on 14^thMay 2018 to ensure no one has slipped through the net.

4. St. Andrews Trophy Squad

Todd CLEMENTS, England
Robin DAWSON, Ireland
Alex FITZPATRICK, England
Calum FYFE, Scotland
Alex GLEESON, Ireland
David HAGUE, England
Harry HALL, England
Ben JONES, England
Matthew JORDAN, England
Rowan LESTER, Ireland
Sam LOCKE, Scotland
Ryan LUMSDEN, Scotland
Billy MCKENZIE, England
Gian-Marco PETROZZI, England
Caolan RAFFERTY, Ireland
Sandy SCOTT, Scotland
Jamie STEWART, Scotland
Euan WALKER, Scotland
Robin WILLIAMS, England
Andrew WILSON, England

In early June Nick POPPLETON (England), who had just won the Brabazon Trophy, was added to the Squad ahead of a planned gathering at St. Andrews prior to the St. Andrews Links Trophy event.

There were 11 English players, 6 Scottish, 4 Irish and 0 Welsh players selected by the R&A.

Based on the above information the following players are definite’s for me: –

Matthew JORDAN – England
Robin DAWSON – Ireland
Gian-Marco PETROZZI – England
Mitch WAITE – England
John MURPHY – Ireland
David HAGUE – England

To make up my nine man team I’ve gone for: –

Todd CLEMENTS – England
Nick POPPLETON – England
Conor PURCELL – Ireland

but could as easily have included one of the following: –

Tom SLOMAN – England
Ryan LUMSDEN – Scotland
Harry HALL – England
Jake BURNAGE – England

Unfortunately I could find no justification for any Scottish or Welsh players in this team other than a desire to see representation from as many home nations as possible.

ME.

The European Amateur Championship – 2018 Preview, Reports & Results

Posted on 26/06/2018 by Golf Bible

30th June 2018

Robin Dawson (Silver), Nicolai Hojgaard (Gold) and Jerry Ji (Bronze)
(Photo: European Golf Association / Ronald Speijer)

Nicolai HOJGAARD (DEN) won the 2018 European Amateur Championship at Royal Hague today.

A final round 73 (+1), which included a double bogey 7 on the 18th, was good enough for a 281 (-7) total and a 1 shot win. The victory comes with an exemption to the 2018 Open Championship to be played at Carnoustie Golf Links in three weeks time.

Nicolai Hojgaard’s Scorecard (Photo: European Golf Association / Golfbox)

Norwegians Viktor HOVLAND and Kristoffer REITAN both recorded best of the day 67’s (-5) in Round 4 to finish the event strongly.

Hovland finished tied 2nd on 282 (-6) alongside Robin DAWSON (IRE), who himself shot a 68 (-4) today, Jerry JI (NED) and Mitch WAITE (ENG). In accordance with the competition rules Dawson and Ji won the silver and bronze medals based on a 36, then 18, hole count back.

Robin Dawson’s Scorecard (Photo: European Golf Association / Golfbox)

Mitch Waite’s Scorecard (Photo: European Golf Association / Golfbox)

Dawson’s compatriots Conor PURCELL and Rowan LESTER also finished the Championship well and can be pleased with their 6th and tied 7th place finishes respectively.

Here is a list of the GB&I final results (only players who made the T60 54 hole cut): –
T2 Robin DAWSON (IRE) 71 72 71 68 282 (-6)
T2 Mitch WAITE (ENG) 72 69 68 73 282 (-6)
6 Conor PURCELL (IRE) 74 69 71 69 283 (-5)
T7 Rowan LESTER (IRE) 70 73 71 70 284 (-4)
T16 Matthew JORDAN (ENG) 74 70 69 73 286 (-2)
T21 Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) 75 69 71 72 287 (-1)
T21 Euan WALKER (SCO) 72 71 70 74 287 (-1)
T21 Jack GAUNT (ENG) 70 72 69 76 287 (-1)
T29 Jamie STEWART (SCO) 72 73 72 71 288 (Ev)
T37 Rory FRANSSEN (SCO) 77 70 71 72 290 (+2)
T44 Andrew WILSON (ENG) 75 68 76 73 292 (+4)
T49 Bailey GILL (ENG) 71 77 71 74 293 (+5)
T49 Ben JONES (ENG) 75 71 73 74 293 (+5)
T49 Ben CHAMBERLAIN (WAL) 72 73 72 76 293 (+5)
T54 Tom SLOMAN (ENG) 72 69 72 81 294 (+6)
T59 Robin WILLIAMS (ENG) 78 68 73 76 295 (+7)
T59 Nick POPPLETON (ENG) 71 72 75 77 295 (+7)

To view the detailed final scores click here – 2018 European Amateur Championship Results

ME.

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29th June 2018

Nicolai HOJGAARD (DEN) leads the European Amateur after 54 holes with a 208 (-8) total. The 17 year old identical twin of Rasmus (who is tied 15th) shot a 68 today.

A number of British players moved nicely into position on Friday. Mitch WAITE (ENG) also shot 68 to move into sole second on -7 and Jack GAUNT (ENG) a bogey free 69 to start Day 4 in tied 3rd on -5.

Matthew JORDAN (ENG) 69, Euan WALKER (SCO) 70 and Tom SLOMAN (ENG) 72 all finished their third rounds strongly to end the day on -3, tied 8th.

Irish trio Conor PURCELL, Robin DAWSON and Rowan LESTER all recorded 71’s and are now tied 15th on -2. Dawson and Lester are paired together tomorrow at 11.20am so will hopefully drive each other on to good finishes.

63 players, including 17 from GB&I, made the top 60 and ties cut which fell at 220 (+3). Mark POWER (IRE), Joe PAGDIN (ENG) and BEN HUTCHINSON (ENG) were amongst the 8 players who just missed out on +4. It was particularly hard on both Power, who had fought back well from a first round 79, and 16 year old Pagdin who shot a brave 69 in Round 3.

Australia’s Charlie DANN went out in a blaze of glory recording a 67, the best round of the day. Unfortunately it could only lift him to +5 for the Championship and hence he still missed the cut by two shots.

ME.

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28th June 2018

Whilst Thursday was hot and sunny throughout unfortunately it proved to be a day of two halves with regard to the wind. This morning saw wind speeds of 10mph but this afternoon they were generally stronger gusting up to 30mph.

Inevitably this had an impact on the scoring. The first 72 players out today, teeing off between 7.00am and 11.17am (local time), had an average score of 72.39. The next 72, teeing off between 11.32pm and 3.49pm, were 1.47 shots higher at 73.86.

Blake WINDRED (AUS) finished with 4 birdies in his last 6 holes to post his second 69. He leads on 138 (-6) from overnight leader Perry COHEN (SUI) whose even par 72 left him on 139 (-5).

Giovanni TADIOTTO (BEL) bounced back from a first round 80 with a 66, the best of the week so far. He finished the day tied 51st nicely within the top 60 cut line which will be applied tomorrow.

Mitch WAITE (ENG) and Tom SLOMAN (ENG) who have been pretty inseparable in recent weeks both shots 69’s to move up to tied 5th on 141 (-4).

Jack GAUNT (ENG) is the only other home player in the top 10. He produced a good 72 playing late this afternoon to stay on -2 and tied 8th.

Andrew WILSON (ENG) produced the best GB&I round of the day with a 68 (he’s T19). Conor PURCELL (IRE) had a 69 (also T19), notable as he is the first player to deliver a bogey free round in the Championship to date.

ME.

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27th June 2018

Switzerland’s American-based Perry COHEN leads the European Amateur at the end of Round 1 after a superb 67 (-5). After bogeying the 1st hole the recent graduate of St. Mary’s California University produced an unblemished round featuring three birdies on each side.

Jack GAUNT (ENG), Alex GLEESON (IRE), Rowan LESTER (IRE) and Tom PLUMB (ENG) were the best of the 36 Great British and Irish players competing at Royal Hague. Their 70’s (-2) represented a very creditable start to this prestigious amateur event.

Gleeson had more birdies (7) than any other player in the field in Round 1 and will clearly have been disappointed to tarnish a great day with a double bogey 7 on the home hole.

Robin DAWSON (IRE), Bailey GILL (ENG) and Nicholas POPPLETON (ENG) are also under par for the championship after shooting 71 (-1) today.

Congratulations to Alexander HERRMANN (GER) who recorded a hole-in-one on the par 3 12th in his round of 69.

The average score on Day 1 was 74.39 (+2.39) so anything around par represented a solid start.

The field of 144 players will be cut to the top 60 and ties after 54 holes so there is still lots to play for.

ME.

__________________________________________

26th June 2018

The 31^st International European Amateur Championship starts tomorrow at Royal Hague Golf & Country Club in Netherlands.

This prestigious Championship is run by the European Golf Association (EGA), assisted each year by the host nation; this year, the Royal Netherlands Golf Federation.

Royal Hague G. & C.C. 18th Green and Clubhouse (Photo: rcedejong)

Competition Format

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

A cut will take place after 54 holes with the 60 lowest scores and ties qualifying for the final round on Saturday 30th June.

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

Entries

144 players will contest the Championship this week.

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

Exemptions were also available to the defending champion, a single nomination from each EGA member nation, four nominated players from the host nation, Netherlands, competitors in the most recent Bonallack Trophy, St. Andrew’s Trophy and Jacques Léglise Trophy matches, the 2018 South American Amateur champion and the 2018 European Mid-Amateur champion.

Most of the leading European and Great Britain and Irish (GB&I) players will be on show. There are 36 GB&I players in total competition at Royal Hague.

There are 17 of the current Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking’s Top 100 competing. These are Viktor HOVLAND (NOR) #7, Matthew JORDAN (ENG) #11, Robin DAWSON #16, Lorenzo SCALISE (ITA) #30, Frederik NILEHN (SWE) #35, Kristoffer REITAN (NOR) #41, Mitch WAITE (ENG) #52, Ryan LUMSDEN (SCO) #56, David HAGUE (ENG) #71, Stefano MAZZOLI (ITA) #66, TOM SLOMAN (ENG) #79, Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) #82, Alex GLEESON #86, Victor PASTOR (ESP) #87, Conor PURCELL (IRE) #92, Laird SHEPHERD (ENG) #93 and Shae WOOLS-COBB (AUS) #100.

Stefano Mazzoli is a past champion having won the event at Penati Golf Resort in Slovakia in 2015.

Event Information

Round 1 starts at 7.00am local time (BST + 1)

Click here to view the – 2018 European Amateur Championship Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2018 European Amateur Championship Leaderboard

I will be providing a short report after each day’s play on this webpage throughout the Championship.

Royal Hague Golf Club

The 2018 Championship is being staged at Koninklijke Haagsche Golf & Country Club in Wassenaar, Netherlands. Better known to us in English as Royal Hague.

It is generally acknowledged to be the best course in Netherlands and one of the most challenging in Europe.

15th hole, Royal Hague G. & C.C. (Photo: Frank Pont / Infinite Variety Golf Design)

Founded in April 1893 the Club is celebrating it’s 125th anniversary this year.

The current course was designed by Englishmen C. Hugh Alison and Harry Colt and opened for play in 1939.

Since 2008 Dutch architect Frank Pont has been engaged on an extensive course restoration project. He has reviewed all of the greens, bunkers and tees greatly improving Royal Hague’s playability and presentation.

Located on the famous strip of Dutch links land, just north of The Hague city centre, the course lies a couple of miles inland from the North Sea. Uneven stances on an undulating dune landscape, with a few blind shots thrown in, are very much the order of the day here.

10th hole, Royal Hague G. & C.C. (Photo: Frank Pont / Infinite Variety Golf Design)

A standard par 72 championship course it stretches to 6,844 yards with two very even nines.

It is going to play firm and fast this week albeit I understand the upturned saucer greens have been watered and are therefore holding well struck approach shots.

Weather Forecast

A hot and sunny week is forecast for Northern Europe and conditions should be very good over the four competition days. Winds tend to increase in speed here as the day goes on.

Weds 27^th June – Sunny. Wind 15 mph (NNE). Max. 23°C / Min 14°C.
Thurs 28th June – Sunny. Wind 17 mph (NNE). Max. 24°C / Min 14°C.
Fri 29^th June – Sunny. Wind 20 mph (NNE). Max. 23°C / Min 13°C.
Sat 30^th June – Sunny. Wind 16 mph (NNE). Max. 24°C / Min 16°C.

Prizes

Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the Top 3 finishers.

More importantly the champion receives an exemption into this year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland. Last year Alfie Plant used his exemption to go on and win the low amateur Silver Medal at Royal Birkdale G.C.

The Championship Trophy is held by the winning player’s national golf authority.

2017 European Amateur Championship

England’s Alfie PLANT won the 2017 European Amateur Championship on the Old Course at Walton Heath Golf Club in England.

Alfie Plant, 2017 European Amateur Champion (Photo: GolfBible)

Alfie overcame Italian duo Luca CIANCHETTI and Lorenzo SCALISE on the fifth play-off hole after all three had tied on -15 for the 72 holes of stroke play.

Luca had won the 2016 European Amateur in Estonia after seven play-off holes with Norway’s Victor HOVLAND so a trend appears to be developing.

Click here to view the – 2017 European Amateur Championship Results

Click here to view the – 2016 European Amateur Championship Results

History

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

2018 will be the second occasion the Netherlands have hosted it. It has been held in 18 different countries in total.

Former winners who have gone on to enjoy very successful professional careers include Stephen GALLACHER (1994), Sergio GARCIA (1995), Gregory HAVRET (1999), Carl PETTERSSON (2000), Rory MCILROY (2006) and Victor DUBUISSON (2009).

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

Ashley Chesters is the only two-time winner and the only player to have retained the trophy.

ME.

NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2018 GB&I Results

Posted on 16/05/2018 by Golf Bible

30th May 2018

As there was only limited GB&I interest in the National Championships I couldn’t justify a separate article. However, I thought I would add some comments on this event to my Regional Championships article. The original Regionals article follows immediately beneath these.

No. 1 seed Oklahoma State won the NCAA Championship for the 11th time beating Alabama 5-0 in the match-play final which fortunately for them was being staged on their home course, Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Broc Everett and Oklahoma (Photos: Oklahoma University Men’s Golf)

In the stroke-play stage of the event Broc Everett from Augusta University defeated Auburn’s Brandon Mancheno in a playoff to win the individual national championship. Playing as an individual after his team missed the 54-hole cut, the 23-year-old claimed his first college victory at just the right time.

Broc Everett (Photo: Augusta University Men’s Golf)

It proved to be a disappointing event for the handful of GB&I representatives who made it this far.

Sandy Scott (SCO) was our only player to play all four rounds in the stroke play stage. He shot rounds of 77, 73, 76 and 85 (+23) to finish T79 in the individual standings. Just one of his four rounds counted to his team’s total as Texas Tech qualified in 3rd place. Texas Tech then lost 3-2 in Round 1 of the match play to eventual runners-up Alabama. Sandy lost his match 2&1 to Davis Shore.

Daniel Sutton (ENG) shot rounds of 71, 73 and 75 (+3) but his Kansas team missed the 54 hole stroke play cut.

Ryan Lumsden (SCO) started well with a 67 but fell away with subsequent rounds of 76 and 80 (+7). As I feared in my NCAA Regional Results article Ryan’s teammate Eric McIntosh (SCO) was dropped for the Finals. However, he was subbed in for the 3rd round where he shot a creditable even par 72. Nevertheless Northwestern fell just short of the first cut mark.

Harry Ellis (ENG) recorded scores of 75, 73 and 80 as UNLV crashed out on Day 3 too.

Here are the links to all of the results: –
Team SP Results / Individual SP Results / Team MP Results

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16th May 2018

Over the last three days 81 teams and 45 individuals not on those teams have competed in six 54 hole NCAA Division I Regional Championship events.

The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each Regional have now advanced to the National Finals, which will be played on 25th – 30th May at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

For more background information on these events please read my previous article – NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2018 Preview.

______________________________________________

This follow up article summarises the results of the 21 Great British and Irish (GB&I) players who competed in the 2018 Regional Championships.

The links for both the Team and Individual Player Results are provided in RED under each Regional heading for those seeking more detail.

Well done to Ryan Lumsden and Eric McIntosh (both Northwestern), Harry Hall (UNLV), Sandy Scott (Texas Tech) and Daniel Sutton (Kansas) who have all played this week and have seen their Teams qualify for the National Championships.

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Traditions Club – Bryan, Texas
Hosted by Texas A&M University, College Station

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

From the 13 teams competing here Texas A&M Univesity (1), Clemson (3), Baylor (2), UCLA (5) and Kentucky (4) qualified. This was the only Regional where all of the top 5 seeds progressed.

2017 U.S. Walker Cup player Braden Thornberry (Ole Miss) finished 4th to claim the Individual qualifying spot.

San Francsico finished last on +40. I am not sure why Toby Briggs (ENG / FR) was not selected this week as he seems to have played for them throughout the College season.

Our only other representative in Texas was Lewis George (ENG / JR), the Central Arkansas man playing as an Individual. After a solid 73 in round 1 Lewis fell away with rounds of 77 and 75. He finished tied 50th out of a field of 75.

OSU Golf Club, Scarlet Course – Columbus, Ohio
Hosted by The Ohio State University

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

From the 13 teams competing here Oklahoma State (1), Illinois (2), UNLV (4), Northwestern (6) and Texas Tech (3) qualified.

Kyle Mueller from Michigan, playing as an Individual, justified his selection by winning the event and qualifying as the low individual.

Ryan Lumsden (SCO / JR) recorded rounds of 75, 70 and 66 to finish tied 4th. Eric McIntosh (SCO / FR) finished tied 46th after rounds of 72, 78 and 77. Ryan and Eric were both in the Northwestern team who qualified for the Nationals. Eric, who was 5th in the line up, had one counting round and therefore may find his place under scrutiny next week.

Harry Hall (ENG / JR) shot rounds of 70, 70 and 75 to finish tied 13th. His team UNLV finished 3rd so he can look forward to playing in the National Championship.

Sandy Scott (SCO / SO) finished well with a 70 after earlier scores of 81 and 75. With two counting rounds and Texas Tech claiming the final qualifying team spot Sandy can also look forward to contesting the season finale.

Paul McBride (IRE / SR) finished tied 20th alongside two of his Wake Forest teammates. Paul shot three counting rounds of 76, 70 and 73 but will see his time in the U.S. come to an end without playing in the National finals, Wake Forest finishing a disappointing 8th.

Louisville finished 9th where they were seeded for the event and therefore failed to qualify. Devin Morley (IRE / SO) 75, 77 and 76 finished 51st whilst John Murphy (IRE / SO) 79, 78 and 73 was tied 57th in the individual rankings. Hugh O’Hare (IRE / FR) failed to make Louisville’s starting 5 for the Regionals.

Rhys Nevin-Wharton (ENG / SO) delivered a 76, 73 and 75 for Tennessee to finish tied 37th. Whilst all three of his rounds counted his team were well off the pace this week.

Elliott Fullalove (ENG / SR) was not selected by Jacksonville who went on to finish tied 10th. Their No. 5 player Aaeri Krishnan shot rounds of 82, 86 and 80 (+35) and finished last of those players completing all 54 holes.

Yale finished 12th out of the 13 competing teams with Eoin Leonard (IRE / JR) not finding the Ohio State University course to his liking (79,79, 80 / 67th).

Reunion Resort, Watson Course – Kissimmee, Florida
Hosted by University of Central Florida

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

From the 14 teams competing here Florida (2), UCF (10), Vanderbilt (1), North Carolina (3) and Kent State (5) qualified.

George Cunningham from Arizona qualified as the low individual.

Pavan Sagoo (ENG / SR) recorded rounds of 73, 72 and 71 (216) to finish tied 39th. His St. Mary’s CA (9) team finished 11th.

Jack Ainscough (ENG / FR) shot rounds of 76, 68 and 72 (216) to also finish tied 39th. His team, Colorado State (8), finished 7th.

Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club – Norman, Oklahoma
Hosted by University of Oklahoma

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

From the 14 teams competing here Oklahoma (1), Brigham Young (7), North Florida (5), Auborn (2) and Arkansas (3) qualified.

Joshua McCarthy from Pepperdine qualified as the low individual.

Florida State came into this Regional as the 4th seeds and finished 6th just one shot behind Arkansas. Jamie Li (ENG / SO) recovered from a first round 75 with rounds of 72 and 70 to end up tied 26th. Similarly Harry Ellis (ENG / RS SR) started poorly with a 79 before posting a 71 and 73. Nevertheless I am sure both he and the team would have been hoping for more than a tied 47th finish from their No. 1 player.

Jack Hermeston (ENG / SR) struggled at the Jimmie Austin OU G.C. this week. His rounds of 86, 76 and 76 and a tied 72nd finish didn’t really help his University of Missouri-Kansas City team, although two of them were counting.

Lonnie Poole Golf Course – Raleigh, North Carolina
Hosted by North Carolina State University

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

From the 14 teams competing here Texas (3), Duke (5), North Carolina State (6), Augusta (12) and Arizona State (4) qualified.

Campbell’s Pontus Nyholm won a three way -9 play-off to qualify as the low individual.

Harrison Taee (ENG / SO) was not selected by Duke who finished 2nd as a Team on -22.

Missouri pair Rory Franssen (SCO / SO) and Jamie Stewart (SCO / FR) both played consistently well finishing on -1 to tie 32nd. Rory shot rounds of 71, 72 and 69 whilst Jamie contributed a 68,72 and 72. Missouri finished tied 8th, missing out on 5th place by just 6 shots.

Oisin Devereux (IRE / SO) recorded rounds of 75, 77 and 76 to finish 70th as his Iona team found themselves out of their depth at this level.

Charlotte’s Conor Purcell (IRE / SO), playing as an Individual, couldn’t build on his 67 in round 2. His other rounds of 79 and 74 saw him finish on +7 and tied 61st, 16 shots away from the play-off and required qualifying mark.

In passing I should note this event was won by SPWAR World No. 1 Doug Ghim. Doug shot 64, 66 and 66 for a stunning 196 (-17) total and a 3-shot victory.

The Reserve at Spanos Park – Stockton, California
Hosted by University of the Pacific

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

From the 13 teams competing here Kansas (8), Stanford (3), Iowa State (10), Alabama (2) and Oregon (5) qualified.

Charles Corner from Texas El Paso secured the Individual qualifying spot by finishing tied 3rd on -9.

Kansas were the surprise winners of the Stockton / Pacific Regional. Daniel Sutton (ENG / SR) went along way to delivering this shock. His opening round of 67 was followed up with a 73 and 71 which secured him a tied 9th result in the individual standings, the second best in the Kansas line up..

Thomas Mulligan (IRE / FR) was not selected for the successful Oregon team this week but will have his fingers crossed the coach has a change of heart before the Nationals.

Likewise Danny Daniels (ENG / FR) of Iowa State was not selected but his Team progressed.

Colorado just missed out finishing 6th. However, Daniel O’Loughlin (ENG / SO) continues to impress. Rounds of 73, 69 and 71 saw him finish a creditable tied 16th.

This event was won by 2017 USA Walker Cup player Norman Xiong with rounds of 68, 67 and 66 (-15).

ME.

NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2018 Preview

Posted on 03/05/2018 by Golf Bible

13th May 2018

The NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee announced the teams and individuals they had selected to participate in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships on 2nd May.

81 teams and 45 individuals not on those teams will compete in six 54 hole Regional Championships that will all be played on 14th – 16th May. All of the teams are seeded and spread across the various Regional events.

The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each Regional will then advance to the National Finals.

The 2018 National Team and Individual titles will be decided on 25th – 30th May at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma with Oklahoma State University hosting this year’s Championship.

______________________________________________

The 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf National Championships were held at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois. Oklahoma won the team title last year, beating the defending champion Oregon 3-1-1 in the match play final. Braden Thornberry of Ole Miss claimed the individual title with a four-day stroke play total of 277 (-11).

______________________________________________

21 Great British and Irish (GB&I) players will be competing in the NCAA Regional Championships. Six other GB&I players have not been selected by their Colleges.

Most of our players are members of five man Teams. The two exceptions to this being Lewis George and Conor Purcell who were both selected as Individuals based on their own performances during the season. It is not easy to stand out in this way so well done to both of them.

Lewis earned his place by winning the Southland Conference Championship. He has been named to the All-Southland Conference Team and is the Conference’s Player of the Year. He led the UCA Bears in scoring average this season at 72.4 strokes, with a low round of 65. He has enjoyed two wins this season and finished runner-up twice.

Conor, an at-large selection by the NCAA panel, was named to the Conference USA’s all-conference first team. He led the Charlotte 49ers with a 71.77 stroke average this season, posting four top-10 finishes along with a top-five.

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Listed below are the teams and individuals selected to participate in the six Regional Championships.

Each Team is listed in seed order. Therefore the No. 1 team at each site can be considered the main favourites to win the National Championship. Oklahoma State, playing in Columbus, Ohio, go into the post season as the Team to beat.

After the College or University name you will also find the Team’s Golfweek / Sagarin national ranking and if they earned automatic qualification the Conference Championship they were victorious at.

I have included the names of all of the GB&I players on their rosters so we can easily see who our players are attached to and which of them will be competing this week.

Finally the links for both the Team and Individual Player Scores are provided in RED.

Traditions Club – Bryan, Texas
Hosted by Texas A&M University, College Station

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

Teams (seeded in the following order)

Texas A&M (3)
Baylor (11)
Clemson (16)
Kentucky (24)
UCLA (28)
Ole Miss (31)
South Carolina (46)
San Francisco (52)

– Toby Briggs (ENG / FR) not selected.

Georgia (47)
Mississippi State (60)
UNC Wilmington (71) [Colonial Athletic Association]
Northern Colorado (150) [Big Sky Conference]
Bradley (167) [Missouri Valley Conference]

Individuals

Michael Perras, Houston
Mitchell Meissner, Rice
Blake Elliott, McNeese
Zander Lozano, University of Texas at San Antonio
Mario Carmona, Rice
Hunter Eichhorn, Marquette
Lewis George, Central Arkansas (ENG / JR)
Jake Brown, Indiana
Matt Murlick, Marquette
Michael Sass, College of Charleston

OSU Golf Club, Scarlet Course – Columbus, Ohio
Hosted by The Ohio State University

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

Teams (seeded in the following order)

Oklahoma State (1)
Illinois (12) [Big Ten Conference]
Texas Tech (14)

– Sandy Scott (SCO / SO)

UNLV (20) [Mountain West Conference]

– Harry Hall (ENG / JR)

Wake Forest (23)

– Paul McBride (IRE / SR)

Northwestern (40)

– Ryan Lumsden (SCO / JR)
– Eric McIntosh (SCO / FR)

Penn State (34)
Tennessee (43)

– Rhys Nevin-Wharton (ENG / SO)

Louisville (49)

– Devin Morley (IRE / SO)
– John Murphy (IRE / SO)
– Hugh O’Hare (IRE / FR) not selected.

Jacksonville (66)

– Elliott Fullalove (ENG / SR) not selected.

Michigan State (69)
Yale (125) [The Ivy League]

– Eoin Leonard (IRE / JR)

Cleveland State (200) [Horizon League]

Individuals

Kyle Mueller, Michigan
Matthew Naumec, Boston College
Alex Schaake, Iowa
Patrick Flavin, Miami (Ohio)
David Kocher, Maryland
Daniel Wetterich, Ohio State
Peter Knade, Maryland
Jacob Poore, Northern Kentucky
Zach Schroeder, Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne
Nick Wilkins, Morehead State

Reunion Resort, Watson Course – Kissimmee, Florida
Hosted by University of Central Florida

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

Teams (seeded in the following order)

Vanderbilt (2)
Florida (10)
North Carolina (19)
South Florida (22) [American Athletic Conference]
Kent State (30) [Mid-American Conference]
Arizona (33)
Purdue (45)
Colorado State (39)

– Jack Ainscough (ENG / FR)

Saint Mary’s (48) [California]

– Pavan Sagoo ( ENG / SR)

UCF (58)
Coastal Carolina (83) [Sun Belt Conference]
Jacksonville State (144) [Ohio Valley Conference]
Georgetown (148) [Big East Conference]
Central Connecticut State (229) [Northeast Conference]

Individuals

Steven Fisk, Georgia Southern
R.J. Keur, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Yannick Schütz, South Alabama
Billy Tom Sargent, Western Kentucky
Saptak Talwar, Sacred Heart

Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club – Norman, Oklahoma
Hosted by University of Oklahoma

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

Teams (seeded in the following order)

Oklahoma (4) [Big 12 Conference]
Auburn (9) [Southeastern Conference]
Arkansas (15)
Florida State (27)

– Harry Ellis (ENG / RS SR)
– Jamie Li (ENG / SO)

North Florida (26) [Atlantic Sun Conference]
Pepperdine (25) [West Coast Conference]
Brigham Young (41)
Virginia (53)
San Diego State (50)
Nevada (55)
Sam Houston State (70) [Southland Conference]
University of Missouri-Kansas City (122) [Western Athletic Conference]

– Jack Hermeston (ENG / SR)

Navy (214) [Patriot League]
Prairie View A&M (269) [Southwestern Athletic Conference]

Individuals

Ian Snyman, North Texas
McClure Meissner, SMU
Peyton Wilhoit, Southern Illinois
Chris Korte, Denver
Tanner Napier, Arkansas State

Lonnie Poole Golf Course – Raleigh, North Carolina
Hosted by North Carolina State University

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

Teams (seeded in the following order)

Georgia Tech (8) [Atlantic Coast Conference]
California (5)
Texas (18)
Arizona State (17)
Duke (29)

– Harrison Taee (ENG / SO) not selected.

NC State (35)
Liberty (38) [Big South Conference]
Missouri (36)

– Rory Franssen (SCO / SO)
– Jamie Stewart (SCO / FR)

Santa Clara (51)
Campbell (62)
Middle Tennessee State (73) [Conference USA]
Augusta (111) [Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference]
Davidson (194) [Atlantic 10 Conference]
Iona (262) [Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference]

– Oisin Devereux (IRE / SO)

Individuals

Dawson Armstrong, Lipscomb
Mark Lawrence, Virginia Tech
Conor Purcell, Charlotte (IRE / SO)
Alex Weiss, Marshall
Brendan MacDougall, High Point

The Reserve at Spanos Park – Stockton, California
Hosted by University of the Pacific

GOLFSTAT SCORES – TEAM and PLAYER

Teams (seeded in the following order)

LSU (6)
Alabama (7)
Stanford (13)
Southern California (21) [Pac-12 Conference]
Oregon (37)

– Thomas Mulligan (IRE / FR) not selected.

TCU (32)
Colorado (44)

– Daniel O’Loughlin (ENG / SO)

Kansas (42)

– Daniel Sutton (ENG / SR)

Kennesaw State (56)
Iowa State (54)

– Danny Daniels (ENG / FR) not selected.

UNC Greensboro (91) [Southern Conference]
UC Irvine (130) [Big West Conference]
North Dakota State (181) [The Summit League]

Individuals

Carl Yuan, Washington
Riley Elmes, Loyola Marymount
Vinnie Murphy, Grand Canyon
Felix Mory, California State University, Northridge
Blake Tomlinson, Utah
Charles Corner, UTEP
Henry Lee, Washington
Jeremy Gandon, Kansas State
Ryan Han, UC Davis
Michael Christifulli, Siena

ME.

Men’s Home Internationals – 2017 Preview, Daily Reports & Results

Posted on 12/08/2017 by Golf Bible

18th August 2017 – Day 3

The Men’s Home Internationals came to a dramatic conclusion this afternoon at Moortown Golf Club in Leeds.

The Raymond Trophy was won by IRELAND. They drew the deciding match with ENGLAND 7.5 – 7.5 but in doing so pipped the home nation by a half point in total match points earned, 26.5 against 26.0.

Game 6 – IRELAND v. ENGLAND – Results

This was Ireland’s fourth consecutive victory in the event, a national record for them in the long history of this competition.

Ireland (Photo: Leaderboard Photography)

Earlier in the day Wales beat Scotland 9.5 – 5.5, consigning the Scots to the wooden spoon.

Game 5 – WALES v. SCOTLAND – Results

Click here to view the detailed – Men’s Home Internationals Results

Here is the final Points Table with the ‘Countback’ information at the bottom: –

Points Table (Photo: England Golf Event Microsite)

Caolan RAFFERTY (IRE), Josh HILLEARD (ENG), Jack DAVIDSON (WAL) and Jamie STEWART (SCO) were the ‘Most Valuable Players’ for the four competing countries as can be seen in the following analysis: –

Screen Shot 2017-08-18 at 19.18.01

ME.

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17th August 2017 – Day 2

Game 3 – IRELAND v. SCOTLAND – Results

Ireland beat Scotland 10-5 to remain on course for a fourth consecutive Raymond Trophy win.

Ireland won the Foursomes 4-1, with only Ryan LUMSDEN and Euan WALKER able to come out on top for the Scots. The Singles were much closer with the Irish narrowly winning the series 6-4.

Paul MCBRIDE followed up a morning Foursomes win with Conor O’ROURKE with a notable 5&4 against fellow Walker Cup hopeful Liam JOHNSTON.

Game 4 – WALES v. ENGLAND – Results

England beat Wales 9.5-5.5 to secure a winner takes all match against Ireland tomorrow.

Wales had the better of the Foursomes winning the series 3-2. However, England came back strongly in the afternoon Singles (7.5-2.5) to run out comfortable winners in the end.

Jack DAVIDSON beat Matthew JORDAN 3&2 in the top Singles game.

David HAGUE beat Llewellyn MATTHEWS 8&6 to remain the only player in the competition with a 100% Win record.

The Day 2 Points Table (Photo: England Golf Website)

ME.

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16th August 2017 – Day 1

Game 1 – IRELAND v. WALES – Results

Ireland overcame Wales 9-6 on Day 1 of the Men’s Home Internationals. Wales won the morning Foursomes series 3-2 but struggled in the Singles, losing 7-3.

Paul MCBRIDE, having won his morning Foursomes with Conor O’ROURKE, was rested in the afternoon presumably due to a minor injury.

Jack DAVIDSON beat Conor O’ROURKE 2&1 in the afternoon Singles.

Game 2 – ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND – Results

England also beat Scotland 9-6. England took a 4-1 lead into the afternoon and looked for a while as if they may run away with the match but the Scots fought back to reduce the deficit to 3 points.

Craig HOWIE beat Dan BROWN by 1 hole whilst Matthew JORDAN halved with Liam JOHNSTON.

ME.

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12th August 2017 – Preview

The 2017 Men’s Home Internationals will be contested between 16th and 18th August at Moortown Golf Club near Leeds in England.

Ireland will travel to Yorkshire hoping to win the Raymond Trophy for a fourth consecutive year.

A competitive series of matches is guaranteed as all of the players will be looking to impress ahead of the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team announcement which is expected to be made on 21st August.

The Competition

11-man teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales play against each other annually, taking it in turns to the host the event.

Over three days all of the countries play each other once. There are five foursomes and ten singles match play games in each series.

2017 Players

The four national golf unions have selected the following players to represent their countries this year: –

ENGLAND
Jack BURNAGE
Dan BROWN
Todd CLEMENTS
Jack GAUNT
David HAGUE
Josh HILLEARD
Matthew JORDAN
Bradley MOORE
Gian-Marco PETROZZI
Tom SLOMAN
Will WHITEOAK

IRELAND
Colm CAMPBELL
Robin DAWSON
Colin FAIRWEATHER
Alex GLEESON
John-Ross GALBRAITH
Rowan LESTER
Paul MCBRIDE
Peter O’KEEFFE
Conor O’ROURKE
Conor PURCELL
Colin RAFFERTY

The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

SCOTLAND
Matthew CLARK
Rory FRANSSEN
Craig HOWIE
Liam JOHNSTON
Sam LOCKE
Ryan LUMSDEN
Chris MACLEAN
Craig ROSS
Sandy SCOTT
Jamie STEWART
Euan WALKER

WALES
Ben CHAMBERLAIN
Jack DAVIDSON
Joshua DAVIES
Owen EDWARDS
Evan GRIFFITH
Jake HAPGOOD
Matthew HARRIS
Tim HARRY
Llewellyn MATTHEWS
Lewys SANGES
Tom WILLIAMS

It remains a frustration to followers of amateur golf that this prestigious international match continues to be scheduled directly against the US Amateur Championship.

This year David BOOTE (WAL), Harry ELLIS (ENG), Scott GREGORY (ENG), Jack SINGH BRAR (ENG), Stuart GREHAN (IRE), Robert MACINTYRE (SCO), Alfie PLANT (ENG) and Connor SYME (SCO) are all playing in the US Amateur, thus weakening their respective national teams and reducing the importance of this historic competition.

Moortown Golf Club

Founded in 1909 Moortown was designed by the famous golf course architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie.

One of the finest inland golf courses in England it is noted for it’s large greens and superb bunkering.

The courses measures 6,980 yards from the Blue Championship tees, playing to a par of 71.

Moortown Golf Club Scorecard

Moortown hosted the 1929 Ryder Cup, the first on British soil, as well as many other professional tournaments between 1929 and 1986.

On the amateur circuit it has hosted the Boys’ Amateur Championship (1934, 1958, 1966 & 1972), the English Amateur Championship (1938, 1962, 1980 & 1994), the English Ladies Championship (1955), the Brabazon Trophy (1957, 1968, 1974, 1999 & 2009), the Ladies’ Home Internationals (1978), the Ladies’ British Amateur Open Stroke Play (1983 & 2015) and the Boys’ Home Internationals (2001).

2016 Men’s Home Internationals

Ireland won the 2016 Home Internationals after a nail biting 8-7 victory over England on the final day at Nairn Golf Club.

Ireland with the Raymond Trophy (Photo: Kenny Smith)

England had led the match 3-2 after the morning Foursomes but Ireland came out fighting in the afternoon Singles. Early on they appeared to be leading virtually all of the matches. England did well to recover a few of the games but at the end of the day the Irish were able to carry their early momentum through to secure a crucial 6-4 series win.

Man of the moment was Colm CAMPBELL who birdied the last to secure a narrow 1 hole win over Adam CHAPMAN. Playing in the final Singles it proved to be the crucial winning point.

Please click the link to review the full competition results – 2016 Men’s Home Internationals Results. [Click on the match results to see the individual game scores]

I include below the Individual Performances Analysis from last year as much so we can reflect on who played as to how well each player did: –

1. IRELAND

Screen Shot 2016-08-13 at 08.22.57

2. ENGLAND

Screen Shot 2016-08-13 at 08.23.48

3. SCOTLAND

Screen Shot 2016-08-13 at 08.25.02

4. WALES

Screen Shot 2016-08-13 at 08.25.48

I am looking forward to this week’s competition and to some of the match ups, which may very well end up being unofficial Walker Cup deciders.

Good luck to all the players and teams.

ME.

Golf Bible

The Home of Great British & Irish Amateur Golf

Tag Archives: Conor Purcell

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