Tag Archives: Gavin Tiernan

Men’s Home Internationals – 2025 Preview & Results

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All Graphics, Tables and Scoring shown below are shared courtesy of England Golf and Golf Genius.

Friday 8th August 2025

ENGLAND won the 2025 Men’s Home Internationals completing a clean sweep against Wales on the final day.

England Men’s Team (Photo: England Golf)

Individual Performances

Eliot BAKER (ENG), Alexander FARMER (SCO), Caolan BURFORD (WAL) and Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) were the leading performers for each home nation at Woodhall Spa G.C.

Day 3

IRELAND 6.5 – 5.5 SCOTLAND

IRELAND narrowly beat SCOTLAND thanks to a slightly better performance in the morning Foursomes. David HOWARD picked up two wins for the Irish on Day 3 whilst Alexander FARMER and Ross LAIRD completed an excellent competition for the Scots with strong contributions.

ENGLAND 6.5 – 5.5 WALES

ENGLAND were made to work hard for their final win by WALES who were rewarded for their efforts by securing 3rd position in the final standings. Eliot BAKER, Tom OSBORNE and Jamie VAN WYK were the key men for the hosts in their final game whilst Caolan BURFORD and Tomi BOWEN finished off a strong week with another good points haul for the Welsh.

Click here to view the – Men’s and Women’s Home Internationals Scores

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Thursday 7th August 2025

Day 2 

ENGLAND now have one hand on the Men’s Raymond Trophy after securing their second win of the competition. WALES will need to beat them on Day 3 by four or more points to cause an upset. IRELAND will hope to avoid defeat to SCOTLAND tomorrow to avoid a whitewash.

WALES 4.5 – 7.5 SCOTLAND

Unbeaten trio Alexander FARMER (SCO), Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO) and Jack MCDONALD (SCO) led Scotland to a comfortable win against Ireland. Ioan ROWE (WAL) ended Ross LAIRD‘s (SCO) three match unbeaten run but four other tight games ultimately went against the Welsh.  

ENGLAND 8.0 – 4.0 IRELAND

After the morning Foursomes were halved England secured victory over Ireland with a dominant Singles series. Seb CAVE, Eliot BAKER and Jake SOWDEN all picked up to wins for the English on Day 2. There was a surprisingly big win for Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) against his potential Walker Cup teammate Dominic CLEMONS (ENG). Tiernan is now four wins from four at Woodhall Spa.

ME.

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Wednesday 6th August 2025

Day 1

ENGLAND and WALES got off to winning starts in this year’s Men’s Home Internationals with narrow victories over SCOTLAND and IRELAND respectively.

IRELAND 5.5 – 6.5 WALES 

Tomi BOWEN (WAL) and Caolan BURFORD (WAL) led Wales to a welcome victory over Ireland for whom Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) was unbeaten.

ENGLAND 7.0 – 5.0 SCOTLAND

Jamie VAN WYK (ENG) picked up two wins and SEB CAVE (ENG) a win and a half for England as they overcame Scotland where an unbeaten Ross LAIRD (SCO) put up the most resistance.

ME.

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1st August 2025

This year’s Men’s Home Internationals will be played at Woodhall Spa G.C. in Lincolnshire, England on 6th-8th August 2025.

IRELAND will be defending the Raymond Trophy which they won at Murcar Links in Scotland last year.

This article will focus on the Men’s Home Internationals and will be updated with score links and daily reports once the competition starts.

Combined Event

In 2022 The R&A and four Home Golf Unions decided to combine the Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals into one mixed event.

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

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

The R&A stepped back from running all of the Home Internationals in 2024 returning their organisation to each host nation. 

Hopefully this means that we can now look to remove the mixed element completely and return to the separate men’s and women’s competitions which have a lot of history and tradition and in my opinion should not have been interfered with.

2025 Men’s Players

The four national golf unions have selected the following players to represent their countries this year. I have added their World Amateur Golf Rankings as at 30th July 2024 in brackets.

ENGLAND  
Eliot BAKER – Tiverton, 22 (108)
Ben BOLTON – Enville, 18 (355)
Seb CAVE – Coxmoor, 21 (133)
Dominic CLEMONS – Gog Magog, 23 (39)
Lewy HAYWARD – Marlborough,19 (705)
Tom OSBORNE – Lindrick, 23 (162)
Jake SOWDEN – The Oaks, 21 (1,199)
Freddie TURNELL – Burnham & Berrow, 20 (129)
Jamie VAN WYK – Royal Lytham & St. Annes, 24 (996)

Tyler Weaver (11), Luke Poulter (32), Charlie Forster (52), Jack Bigham (54), Matthew Dodd-Berry (ENG) (113), Harley Smith (127), Sam Easterbrook (158), Zach Little (217) and Daniel Hayes (244) are WAGR top 250 English players not competing. 

IRELAND 
Colm CAMPBELL – Warrenpoint (980)
John DOYLE – Fota Island (554)
Keith EGAN – Carton House (1,165)
Stuart GREHAN – County Louth (495)
Thomas HIGGINS – Roscommon (414)
David HOWARD – Fota Island (1,778)
Jonathan KEANE – Lahinch (4,506)
Seán KEELING – Roganstown (330)
Gavin TIERNAN – County Louth (530)

Caolan Rafferty (151) and Matthew McClean (211) are are WAGR top 250 Irish players not competing.

SCOTLAND 
Andrew DAVIDSON – Crail (337)
Alexander FARMER – Kilmacolm (1,184)
Ross LAIRD – Glenbervie (725)
Jack MCDONALD – Roxburghe (1,131)
Dominic MCGLINCHEY – Renaissance (1,273)
Sam MUKHERJEE – Gullane (1,718)
Gregor TAIT – Aldeburgh (763)
Chris ROBB – Meldrum House (N/R – Re-instated Amateur)
James WOOD – Bathgate (1,138)

Cameron Adam (25), Connor Graham (45) and U.S.-based Niall Shiels Donegan (94) are WAGR top 250 Scottish players not competing.

WALES
Tom BASTOW – Isle of Purbeck (871)
Tomi BOWEN – Welshpool (250)
Caolan BURFORD – Rhuddlan (1,437)
Sean DAVID – Pyle & Kenfig (2,381)
Jamie DEAN – Carmarthen (2,076)
Alex JAMES – Royal Lytham & St. Annes (2,611)
Tom MATTHEWS – Aldersley Green (1,064)
Iestyn MCAVOY – Glynhir (916)
Ioan ROWE – Royal Porthcawl (4,723)

U.S.-based Jonathan Bale (126) and Matt Roberts (386), who has recently stepped back from the amateur game, are highly WAGR-ranked players missing for Wales.

Since the team selections were announced the English, Scottish and Welsh Closed Amateur Championships have been completed. As is becoming the norm none of the three 2025 champions were selected by their countries – in the last 3 years just one of the nine champions has played in the Home Internationals.

Venue – Woodhall Spa Golf Club

The Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa is one of the world’s leading heathland courses, having recently benefitted from a major renovation be leading architect Tom Doak.

The course, which was originally designed by Harry Vardon, is located on an undulating piece of land and is memorable for it’s superb par 3’s, deep bunkers and patches of gorse and heather.

It plays to 7,024 yards off the Blue Tees and a par of 73. It has a Course Rating of 75.3 and a Slope Rating of 152.

Match Format

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

Each country plays every other team over the three competition days.

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

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

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

The winning team receives the Raymond Trophy.  

The Raymond Trophy

The Men’s Home Internationals were first played in 1932 and this year’s staging will be the 84th playing of this prestigious event.

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

In the 83 competitions played to date England have won 40, Scotland 21, Ireland 14 and Wales 1. The remaining 7 were tied before it was decided that ties would be resolved by using game points.

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The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2025 Weather Forecast (as at 1st August 2025)

The forecast is currently looking very good for the three competition days: –

Wed. 6th Aug. – Sunny / Wind 9 mph W / Temp. Min 13º, Max 22º
Thurs. 7th Aug. – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14 mph SW / Temp. Min 13º, Max 24º
Fri. 8th Aug. – Sunny / Wind 11 mph W / Temp. Min 12º, Max 24º

2024 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

Ireland won the Raymond Trophy at the 2024 Men’s Home Internationals winning all three of their games and accumulating 25.5 points at Murcar Links. 

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Ireland Women and Men’s Mixed Team (Photo: Chris Young / Scottish Golf)

Each match consisted of four morning Foursomes and eight afternoon Singles.

Screenshot 2024-08-09 at 20.58.03

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

Historic Results

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

ME.

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

The St. Andrews Trophy – 2025 Preview & Results

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Friday 25th July 2025

Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) won The 35th St. Andrews Trophy match against Continent of Europe by 16.5-8.5 points at Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro in Madrid, Spain.

GB&I now have 27 wins in the 35 matches played with Europe having seven and there being one tie in 2016.

Only requiring 1.5 points from the nine Singles played in the final session Tyler WEAVER (ENG) and Luke POULTER (ENG) wasted no time in securing victory for GB&I with wins in the opening two games.

Commenting afterwards an elated GB&I captain Dean Robertson said “The team produced phenomenal golf. To win all four series was more than my expectations. The teamwork was magical, preparation great and I couldn’t be more proud of them all. We’ll enjoy this, reflect, and then we’ll build on this for our trip across the Atlantic.”

The GB&I Team (Photo: Aitor Alcalde / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Cameron ADAM (SCO) was the star man for GB&I winning all four of his games. Luke POULTER (ENG), Eliot BAKER (ENG) and Tyler WEAVER (ENG) also strongly contributed to GB&I’s victory.

Claes THRANE BORREGAARD (DEN), Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) and Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) all won both of their singles, putting up the most resistance for a well beaten Continent of Europe team.

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

Day 2 PM Singles

GB&I ensured they would win all four sessions by taking the Day 2 afternoon Singles series 5.0-4.0.

Play commenced at 1.30pm CEST (12.30am BST) with all nine players on both sides competing.

Day 2 Singles Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Tyler WEAVER (ENG) maintained his unbeaten record in this year’s match with a comprehensive 6&5 victory over Filip JAKUBČÍK (CZH) who handed the initiative to Weaver early on and was simply not in the form to ever recover it.

Weaver v. Jakubčík Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

A victorious Luke POULTER (ENG) and Gunnlauger Arni SVEINSSON (ISL) halved both par 5’s on the back nine with eagles. On the 18th Poulter holed a long bunker shot to follow Sveinsson in after he had holed a mammoth put before him.

Poulter v. SveinssonScoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER), who is one of the few European players who can leave Spain with his head held high, beat the previously unbeaten Connor GRAHAM (SCO) in some style in Game 3 with another solid performance.

Graham v. Wiedemeyer Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Hugo LE GOFF (FRA), who had trailed for most of the round, chose the optimum time to take the lead – the 18th green – as he robbed Charlie FORSTER (ENG) of a first singles win.

Forster v. Le Goff Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Norway’s Claes Thrane BORREGAARD took advantage of a poor start by Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) and despite a valiant fight back by the Gog Magog member was able to hold on for a 1 Hole victory. Borregaard’s three consecutive birdies on 13, 14 and 15 proved crucial in the end.

Clemons v. Borregaard Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Eliot BAKER (ENG) battled impressively to secure his win against home player Sergio JIMENEZ ROMERO. Birdies on the 16th and 18th holes enabled the Devonian to complete an unbeaten record and notably deliver two singles wins.

Baker v. Jimenez Romero Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) ensured every member of the GB&I team won a game in this year’s St. Andrews Trophy match with a solid 3&2 win against Alfons BONDESSON (SWE). Tiernan led from the first hole and never looked like relinquishing his point throughout.

Tiernan v. Bondesson Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

A more consistent Richard TEDER (EST), determined to secure his first win over the match, got the better of Stuart GREHAN (IRL) by 2&1 in Game 8.

Grehan v. Teder Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Cameron ADAM (SCO) completed a four-out-of-four win record for GB&I with an error free performance against Kristian HJORT BRESSUM (DEN) who will be rueing his play around the turn where he essentially handed the win to the in-form Scotsman.

Adam v. Hjort Bressum Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Day 2 AM Foursomes

GB&I matched their Foursomes performance of yesterday winning the Day 2 series 3.5-0.5.

Trailing 11.5-4.5 after this session any hope Continent of Europe had of retaining the trophy they won with ease last year at Royal Porthcawl was effectively ended.

Play on Friday started at 8.30am CEST (7.30am BST) at Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro on the outskirts of Madrid.

GB&I captain Dean Robertson understandably made no changes to his successful Day 1 pairings with Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) again left out.

Sergio JIMENEZ ROMERO (ESP) was dropped by captain Carlos de Corral from the Continent of Europe’s Foursomes line up. De Corral also chose to tweak his pairings with Gunnlauger Arni SVEINSSON (ISL) joining Filip JAKUBČÍK (CZH) and new-boy Alfons BONDESSON (SWE) paired with Hugo LE GOFF (FRA).

Day 2 Foursomes Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Tyler WEAVER (ENG) & Connor GRAHAM (SCO) finally overcame Gunnlauger Arni SVEINSSON (ISL) & Filip JAKUBČÍK (CZH) on the 18th hole in what was generally a high class match with plenty of birdies.

Weaver & Graham v. Jakubčík & Sveinsson Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

A strong finish from Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) & Richard TEDER (EST) nearly helped them successfully turnaround their game against Luke POULTER & Charlie FORSTER but the English pair were able to salvage a good half with a crucial birdie on the par 5 18th.

Poulter & Forster v. Wiedemeyer & Teder Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Six birdies from Eliot BAKER (ENG) & Stuart GREHAN (IRL) ensured they won Game 3 against Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) & Alfons BONDESSON (SWE) by 2 Holes albeit the final one on the 18th was much needed to close this one out.

Baker & Grehan v. Le Goff & Bondesson Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Cameron ADAM (SCO) & Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) beat the out of sorts Danish pairing of Kristian HJORT BRESSUM & Claes THRANE BORREGAARD in the final morning game. Whilst Adam & Clemons were unable to match the closing birdie that the three GB&I pairings all achieved ahead of them they had already done enough to earn the final Foursomes point.

Adam & Clemons v. Hjort Bressum & Borregaard Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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Thursday 24th July 2025

Day 1 PM Singles

GB&I extended their lead to four points after winning the Day 1 afternoon Singles series 4.5-3.5.

Play started at 1.30pm CEST (12.30am BST) with Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) and Kristian HJORT BRESSUM (DEN) left out of the GB&I and Continent of Europe Singles line-ups by the two captains, Dean Robertson and Carlos de Corral.

Day 1 Singles Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Tyler WEAVER (ENG), who was 4Up with eight holes to play, will be disappointed not to have brought home a full point for GB&I in his game against debutant Alfons BONDESSON (SWE). To his credit Bondesson fought back well and was able to to take advantage of some poor play on the back nine from the Englishman.

Weaver v. Bondesson Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

After a slow start Luke POULTER (ENG) produced six birdies to overcome European Amateur champion Filip JAKUBČÍK (CZH) who had an up-and-down day in Madrid. This was Poulter’s second point of the day and the Florida Gator is certainly making a positive impression.

Poulter v. Jakubčík Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) proved to be too good for Spain’s Sergio JIMENEZ ROMERO in Game 3. The Texas Tech rising sophomore strung five birdies together on the front nine to take control of this encounter and despite a few hiccups coming home secured a solid 3&1 win.

Graham v. Jimenez Romero Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

France’s Hugo LE GOFF, winner of the 2025 Lytham Trophy, is a quality player and far from the ideal opponent for Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) to be drawn against on his GB&I debut. Le Goff was four under par with no bogeys recorded for the 17 holes he required to complete a 2&1 win for the Continent’s first win of the afternoon.

Tiernan v. Le Goff Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Three birdies in a row from the 12th helped Eliot BAKER (ENG) run out a 4&3 winner against Gunnlaugur Arni SVEINSSON (ISL) who was far to inconsistent in his play to gain any momentum in this particular game.

Baker v. Sveinsson Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Claes THRANE BORREGAARD (DEN) edged a close match against Charlie FORSTER (ENG) with a clutch birdie on the par 5 18th.

Foster v. Borregaard Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Cameron ADAM (SCO) enjoyed a fast start to his match against Richard TEDER (EST) with four birdies in their opening six holes. Playing with confidence after his great summer the Northwestern man secured a comfortable 4&3 win.

Adam v. Teder Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) posted an eagle and three birdies in an error free performance that saw him overcome re-instated amateur Stuart GREHAN (IRL) by 3&2 in the final game of the day.

Grehan v. Wiedemeyer Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Day 1 AM Foursomes

GB&I made a good start to The 35th St. Andrews Trophy match winning the morning Foursomes series 3.5-0.5 in Madrid, Spain.

Play started at 8.30am CEST (7.30am BST) at Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro with Gavin TIERNAN (IRL) and Alfons BONDESSON (ESP) left out of the Foursomes line-ups by the two captains, Dean Robertson and Carlos de Corral.

Day 1 Foursomes Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

The strong pairing of Tyler WEAVER (ENG) & Connor GRAHAM (SCO) delivered a 2&1 win for GB&I against Sergio JIMENEZ ROMERO (ESP) & Filip JACUBČÍK (CZH) in Game 1. Having taken a 3Up lead after seven holes the Anglo-Scottish pair saw the match out with relative ease.

Weaver & Graham v. Jimenez Romero & Jakubčík Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Luke POULTER (ENG) & Charlie FORSTER (ENG) delivered six birdies on route to a 2&1 victory against Gunnlaugur Arni SVEINSSON (ISL) & Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) who did little wrong in a competitive encounter.

Poulter & Forster v. Sveinsson & Le Goff Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

A poor finish from Stuart GREHAN (IRL) & Eliot BAKER (ENG), where they dropped two shots in the closing three holes and most importantly a critical one on the par 5 18th, handed a half to the Danish pair Claes THRANE BORREGAARD & Kristian HJORT BRESSUM in Game 3.

Grehan & Baker & Borregaard & BressumScoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Cameron ADAM (SCO) & Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) made up for GB&I’s disappointment in the preceeding game by producing a superb birdie on the 18th hole to secure a 1 Hole win against Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) and Richard TEDER (EST) who fought back well from a sloppy front nine.

Adam & Clemons v. Wiedemeyer & Teder Scoreboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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22nd July 2025

The 35th St. Andrews Trophy match will be contested on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th July at Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro in Madrid, Spain.

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.

Due to changes being made to the international golf calendar the 2025 match unusually takes place only a year after the last one and in the same year as the Walker Cup.

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

2025 Teams

Each team has nine players.

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

Great Britain & Ireland Team

The R&A Selection Committee, including Captain Dean Robertson (Scotland), 55, announced their nine man team on 4th July.

With the Walker Cup match coming up in September Robertson, who is Head of Golf at the University of Stirling, will be looking for a victory to instil some confidence in his team as well as increasing the chances of him remaining in post beyond the match in Cypress Point.

GB&I’s 2025 team will consist of six new and three returning players.

Each player’s nationality, current WAGR, selection route and event history is shown below.

Cameron ADAM (21) – Scotland, #29, WAGR Top 5 (Debut, 2025)

Eliot BAKER (22) – England, #121, Captain’s Pick (Debut, 2025)

Dominic CLEMONS (23) – England, #44, WAGR Top 5 (2nd Appearance, 2024, ’25)

Charlie FORSTER (22) – England, #57, Captain’s Pick (2nd Appearance, 2024, ’25)

Connor GRAHAM (18) – Scotland, #40, WAGR Top 5 (2nd Appearance, 2024, ’25)

Stuart GREHAN (32) – Ireland, #627, Captain’s Pick (2nd Appearance, 2016, ’25)

Luke POULTER (21) – England, #41, Captain’s Pick* (Debut, 2025)

Gavin TIERNAN (19) – Ireland, #583, Captain’s Pick (Debut, 2025)

Tyler WEAVER (20) – England, #14, WAGR Top 5 (Debut, 2025)

* Luke Poulter was the 5th highest ranked GB&I player on WAGR on 2nd July 2025 but did not meet the minimum divisor of 18 proviso so this selection spot was transferred over to an additional Captain’s pick.

Three GB&I players in the WAGR Top 100 were not selected, namely, Jack BIGHAM (England) #54. Matthew DODD-BERRY (England) #96 and Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (Scotland) #97.

Great Britain & Ireland Team (Graphic: RFEG)

Continent of Europe

Carlos de Corral (Spain), 45, took over the captaincy of the Continent of Europe team in 2024, winning his first game in charge at Royal Porthcawl.

De Corral is a very experienced team captain leading Spanish teams on numerous occasions. He is the Sports Director at the Madrid Golf Federation and will be very well versed on the host course.

His team was announced by the European Golf Association (EGA) on 24th June (six players in First Wave) and 17th July (three players after the European Amateur Championship).

Like GB&I, Europe’s team will consist of six new and three returning players this year.

Each player’s nationality, current WAGR, selection route and event history is shown below.

Alfons BONDESSON – Sweden, #90, First Wave (Debut, 2025)

Kristian HJORT BRESSUM – Denmark, #71, Second Wave (Debut, 2025)

Filip JACUBČÍK– Czech Republic, #6, Second Wave (2nd Appearance, 2024, ’25)

Sergio JIMENEZ ROMERO – Spain, #74, First Wave (Debut, 2025)

Hugo LE GOFF – France, #55, First Wave (Debut, 2025)

Gunnlaugur Arni SVEINSSON – Iceland, #15, First Wave (Debut, 2025)

Richard TEDER – Estonia, #80, Second Wave (2nd Appearance, 2024, ’25)

Claes Thrane BORREGAARD – Denmark, #95, First Wave (Debut, 2025)

Tim WIEDEMEYER – Germany, #35, First Wave (2nd Appearance, 2024, ’25)

The leading European players, according to WAGR Top 100, who are not playing this year are Michael MJAASETH (Denmark) #23, Daniel SVARD (Sweden) #52, Peer WERNICKE (Germany) #63, Benjamin REUTER (Netherlands) #65, Wolfgang GLAWE (GER) #67 and Lev GRINBERG (Ukraine) #91.

It is perhaps a little surprising that no Italians have been selected given that their 6-man team won the European Men’s Amateur Team Championship two weeks ago in Killarney, beating Denmark in the Final.

Continent of Europe Team (Photo: RFEG)

Match Format 

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

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

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

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

As the holders Continent of Europe can retain the Trophy by reaching 12.5 points.

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

Venue – Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro

Founded in 1895 Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro is one of Spain’s most prestigious clubs and has hosted many national and international amateur and professional tournaments over the years.

It has hosted the Spanish Open 15 times and the Madrid Open 26 times.

The Club has also hosted the Eisenhower Trophy, the Bonallack Trophy, the European Amateur Championship and the European Mid-Amateur Championship. The latter event in 2017 was won by the Continent of Europe’s team captain Carlos de Corral.

The Club enjoys two 18 holes, The Arriba (Upper) and The Abajo (Lower), both laid out on rolling tree lined terrain. The Arriba, which is being used this week, is generally considered the weaker of the two course. It plays to around 7,042 yards and a par of 72.

This will be the first time that the St. Andrews Trophy match has been played in Spain since 1990 when GB&I won at El Saler.

Weather Forecast – as at 3.00pm on Tuesday 22nd July 2025

The weather forecast for Madrid looks excellent this week: –

Thur 24th July – Sunny. Wind 13mph NE. Temp. Max. 15°C / Min. 30°C.
Fri 25th July – Sunny. Wind 11mph NE. Temp. Max. 16°C / Min. 30°C.

2024 Match – Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, Wales

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

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

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

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

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

Click here to view the – 2024 St. Andrews Trophy Match Results

Past Results

In the 34 encounters to date GB&I have won the St. Andrews Trophy 26 times.

Europe have seven wins to their name albeit four of them have come recently in 2010, 2012, 2018 and 2024.

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

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

ME.

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

NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2025 Preview & Results

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14th May 2025

Here is a summary of the results from the six 54-hole NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Regional Championships which were played on 12th-14th May 2025.

The low five teams (30 in total) and the low individual (6 in total) not on one of those teams from each Regional advanced to the National Championships.

For more information on these Regional Championships please read the Preview article lower down this page.

The 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship will be played at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California on 23rd-28th May 2025.

AMHERST, VIRGINIA

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Oklahoma (-10), 2nd Vanderbilt (-6), 3rd Tennessee (-5), 4th Wake Forest (-1), 5th Pepperdine (+9)

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: 1st Jackson Van Paris (USA / Vanderbilt) -8

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: T2 Sakke Siltala (FIN / Texas State) -5

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – T14 JOSH HILL (ENG / TENNESSEE) -1
Non-Qualified – T6 MARK STOCKDALE (ENG / ARKANSAS) -3, T20 TOM SCULLION (ENG / FLORIDA GULF COAST) +1, T55 MATTY DODD-BERRY (ENG / LSU) +11

AUBURN, ALABAMA

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Auburn (-32), 2nd Texas A&M (-5), 3rd UCLA (+6), 4th Purdue (+9), 5th Georgia Tech (+10)

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: 1st Jackson Koivun (USA / Auburn) -12

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: T2 Claes Borregaard (DEN / Kennesaw State) -8

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – T31 JENSON FORRESTER (ENG / PURDUE) +6, T52 SAM EASTERBROOK (ENG / PURDUE) +11
Non-Qualified – T31 JOE PAGDIN (ENG / TCU) +5, T43 JAY GOULD-HEALY (IRL / OREGON) +9, T48 ENRIQUE DIMAYUGA (SGP / SMU) +10, T52 JACK MAXEY (ENG / ARKANSAS STATE – IND) +11, T61 ALEXANDER ROWLAND (ENG / LITTLE ROCK) +14, FREDDIE TURNELL (ENG / LITTLE ROCK) DNF, ED FEATHERSTONE (ENG / LITTLE ROCK) DNF, ARCHIE SMITH (ENG / LITTLE ROCK) DNF

BREMERTON, WASHINGTON

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Florida (-28), 2nd Arizona State (-25), 3rd Colorado (-4), 4th USF (-2), 5th South Carolina (Ev)

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: 1st Braxton Watts (USA / Utah) -12

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: 1st Braxton Watts (USA / Utah) -12

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – 4th LUKE POULTER (ENG / FLORIDA) -10,
Non-Qualified – T12 SEB CAVE (ENG / CHARLOTTE) -2, T27 FRAZER JONES (ENG / CHARLOTTE) +3, T49 JACK LEE (ENG / COASTAL CAROLINA) +7, T59 DREW SYKES (ENG / COASTAL CAROLINA) +12

RENO NEVADA

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Brigham Young (-15), 2nd Virginia (-11), 3rd Texas (-8), 4th San Diego (+8), 5th California (+9)

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: 1st Paul Chang (CHN / Virginia) -10

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: T3 Bryan Kim (USA /Duke) -6

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – None
Non-Qualified – T17 GAVIN TIERNAN (IRL / EAST TENNESSEE STATE) +1, T30 GAVIN O’NEILL (IRL / GRAND CANYON) +5, T54 DOMINIC CLEMONS (ENG / ALABAMA) +11, T66 BEN CARBERRY (SCO / EAST TENNESSEE STATE) +18, BENJAMIN OBERHOLZER (IRL / EAST TENNESSEE STATE) DNF, JOSHUA PRITCHETT (ENG / EAST TENNESSEE STATE) DNF

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Florida State (-29), 2nd Ole Miss (-20), 3rd New Mexico (-14), 4th Georgia (-7), 5th Augusta (-3)

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: 1st Luke Clanton (USA / Florida State) -15

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: 4th Jacob Modleski (USA / Notre Dame) -9

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – 7th TYLER WEAVER (ENG / FLORIDA STATE) -6, T23 JACK BIGHAM (ENG / FLORIDA STATE) EV, T27 OLIVER CAGE (ENG / NEW MEXICO) +1
Non-Qualified – 5th CAMERON ADAM (SCO / NORTHWESTERN) -8, T45 NIALL SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO / NORTHWESTERN) +7, MARK GAZI (IRL / NORTHWESTERN) DNF, PATRICK KEELING (IRL / FLORIDA STATE) DNF, ARCHIE FINNIE (SCO / NORTHWESTERN) DNF 

URBANA, ILLINOIS

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: T1 Oklahoma State (-15), T1 Illinois (-15), 3rd UNLV (-6), 4th Troy (-2), 5th Texas Tech (-1)

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: 1st Hunter Thomson (USA / Michigan) -10

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: 1st Hunter Thomson (USA / Michigan) -10

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – T5 CALUM SCOTT (SCO / TEXAS TECH) -6, T18 ZACH LITTLE (ENG / UNLV) Ev, T27 CONNOR GRAHAM (SCO / TEXAS TECH) +2, SEAN KEELING (IRL / TEXAS TECH) SUB
Non-Qualified – T8 CHARLIE FORSTER (ENG / LONG BEACH STATE) -5

ME.

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30th April 2025

Regional Championships

The six 54 hole NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Regional Championships will be played on 12th-14th May 2025.

81 teams and 45 individuals, from non-qualifying teams, were selected on 30th April 2025 to compete at these competitions.

Local Conference Championships were played across the country in April with 28 Conference team champions granted automatic qualification into the 2025 Regionals. The remaining teams progressed based on their performances throughout the season.

13 teams and 10 individuals were allocated to three of the Regional venues with the remaining sites hosting 14 teams and 5 individuals. As always the draw has been made in such a way that all of the fields are of a similar strength.

Teams of five players play 72 holes of stroke play with their best four scores counting towards their team’s total score. Players, who play in each round, are also eligible for a separate Individual competition.

I will be updating this article with a summary of the results when play is completed.

National Championships

5 teams and the top individual (not on one of those teams) from each Regional event will progress to the National Championship which will be played at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California on 23rd-28th May 2025.

The National Championships start with 54 holes of stroke play. The top 15 teams and 9 individuals, not on an advancing team, then progress to a final 18 holes of stroke play. After these 72 holes have been played an Individual champion is determined and the top 8 teams advance to a match play stage to establish the Team champions.

Auburn are the defending champions after they defeated Florida State 3-2 in the 2024 Championship Final in Carlsbad. Georgia Tech sophomore Hiroshi Tai (SGP) won the Individual title with a 72 hole total score of 285 (-3).

Details of the six Regional Championships are shown below with each team and individual listed in seed order and, if they earned automatic qualification, the Conference Championship they recently won to do so.

GB&I players attached to the qualifying colleges are highlighted in bold blue type. Each team is now allowed to take a Reserve to the event so it is possible some may not play or be subbed in and out during the week.

37 GB&I players are featuring at the Regional Championships with 3 of these starting as substitutes.

AMHERST, VIRGINIA
Course: Poplar Grove Golf Club / Host: Liberty
CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

~ Due to forecast thunderstorms Round 1 was played at Amherst on Sun 4th PM.

Teams
1. LSU – MATTY DODD-BERRY (ENG)
2. Oklahoma
3. Vanderbilt
4. Pepperdine – West Coast Conference
5. Tennessee – JOSH HILL (ENG)
6. Arizona
7. Stanford
8. Wake Forest
9. Arkansas – MARK STOCKDALE (ENG)
10. Florida Gulf Coast – TOM SCULLION (ENG)
11. Kent State – Mid-American Conference – DARCY HOGG (IRL) NS
12. Princeton – The Ivy League
13. Howard – Northeast Conference

Individuals
1. Andrew Swanson, Clemson
2. Kaleb Wilson, West Virginia
3. Ike Joy, Liberty
4. Emil Riegger, Maryland
5. Peicheng Chen, St. John’s – New York
6. Sakke Siltala, Texas State
7. Henric Bjelke, Campbell – Coastal Athletic Association
8. Colin Dutton, UNCG – Southern Conference
9. Alex Heard, UConn – Big East Conference
10. Nolan Schuermann, Holy Cross -Patriot League

AUBURN, ALABAMA
Course: Auburn University Club / Host: Auburn
CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Teams
1. Auburn
2. Texas A&M
3. UCLA – Big Ten Conference
4. SMU – ENRIQUE DIMAYUGA (SGP)
5. Georgia Tech
6. Oregon – JAY GOULD-HEALY (IRL), HUGH ADAMS (ENG) NS, DANIEL BULLEN (SCO) NS
7. Purdue – JENSON FORRESTER (ENG), SAM EASTERBROOK (ENG)
8. University of Arkansas at Little Rock – Ohio Valley Conference – ARCHIE SMITH (ENG), FREDDIE TURNELL (ENG), ED FEATHERSTONE (ENG), ALEXANDER ROWLAND (ENG)
9. TCU – JOE PAGDIN (ENG)
10. Charleston
11. New Mexico State
12. Loyola Maryland Patriot League
13. USC Upstate – Big South Conference

Individuals
1. Louis Anceaux, University of Louisiana Monroe
2. Claes Borregaard, Kennesaw State
3. Xing Luo, North Alabama
4. Thomas Schmidt, Arkansas State
5. Parker Claxton, Georgia Southern
6. Camden Braidech, Chattanooga
7. Yixiang Wang, Memphis
8. JACK MAXEY (ENG), Arkansas State – Sun Belt Conference
9. Jeep Patrick, Presbyterian – Big South Conference
10. Jonathan Xoinis, UT Martin – Ohio Valley Conference

BREMERTON, WASHINGTON
Course: Gold Mountain Golf Club / Host: Washington
CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Teams
1. Arizona State
2. Florida – Southeastern Conference – LUKE POULTER (ENG)
3. Utah
4. South Carolina
5. South Florida
6. Colorado
7. Charlotte – American Athletic Conference – SEB CAVE (ENG), FRAZER JONES (ENG), CONNOR GOUGH (ENG) NS
8. Kansas
9. Colorado State
10. Kansas State – HARRY BENT (SCO) NS, FIONN DOBBIN (IRL) NS
11. Elon – Coastal Athletic Association
12. Coastal Carolina – Sun Belt Conference – JACK LEE (ENG), DREW SYKES (ENG)
13. Oral Roberts – The Summit League
14. Seattle U – Western Athletic Conference

Individuals
1. Sam Renner, Washington State
2. Lukas Boandl, Rice
3. Mason Snyder, Loyola Marymount
4. Cade Anderson, Loyola Marymount
5. Daniel Zou, Rice

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RENO NEVADA
Course: Montreux Golf & Country Club / Host: Nevada and Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority
CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Teams
1. Texas
2. Virginia – Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Alabama – DOMINIC CLEMONS (ENG)
4. Duke
5. Mississippi State
6. Brigham Young
7. San Diego
8. Santa Clara
9. California
10. Grand Canyon – GAVIN O’NEILL (IRL), JOSH MCCABE (IRL) NS, SAM MURPHY (IRL) NS
11. Sam Houston – Conference USA
12. East Tennessee State – Southern Conference – GAVIN TIERNAN (IRL), JOSHUA PRITCHETT (ENG), BEN CARBERRY (SCO), BENJAMIN OBERHOLZER (IRL) SUB
13. Central Arkansas – ASUN Conference – SAM NORMAN (ENG) NS
14. Fairfield – Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Individuals
1. Dane Huddleston, Utah Valley [Western Athletic Conference]
2. Baron Szeto, Cal Poly
3. Max Schliesing, UTEP
4. Tegan Andrews, Cal State Fullerton
5. Dylan Teeter, UTEP

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
Course: Seminole Legacy Golf Club / Host: Florida State
CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Teams
1. Ole Miss
2. Florida State – TYLER WEAVER (ENG), JACK BIGHAM (ENG)
3. San Diego State – Mountain West Conference
4. Georgia
5. Louisville – PATRICK KEELING (IRL)
6. Northwestern – CAMERON ADAM (SCO), NIALL SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO), MARK GAZI (IRL), ARCHIE FINNIE (SCO) SUB 
7. Notre Dame
8. New Mexico – OLIVER CAGE (ENG)
9. Southern California
10. Michigan State
11. Furman
12. Augusta – Southland Conference
13. Davidson – Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Florida A&M – Southwestern Athletic Conference

Individuals
1. Malan Potgieter, Louisiana
2. NaShawn Tyson, Florida Atlantic
3. Hugo Thyr, South Alabama
4. Niilo Maki-Petaja, Louisiana Tech
5. Gaspar Glaudas, Stetson – ASUN Conference

URBANA, ILLINOIS
Course: Atkins Golf Club / Host: Illinois
CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOREBOARD RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Teams
1. Oklahoma State – Big 12 Conference
2. North Carolina
3. Illinois
4. Texas Tech – CALUM SCOTT (SCO), CONNOR GRAHAM (SCO), SEAN KEELING (IRL) SUB
5. Long Beach State – Big West Conference – CHARLIE FORSTER (ENG)
6. UNLV – ZACH LITTLE (ENG)
7. Houston – RUBEN LINDSAY (SCO) NS
8. Marquette – Big East Conference
9. Troy
10. Pacific
11. NC State
12. Illinois State – Missouri Valley Conference
13. Wright State – Horizon League

Individuals
1. Hunter Thomson, Michigan
2. Jack Schoenberger, Kentucky
3. Paul Beauvy, Iowa State
4. Patton Samuels, Austin Peay
5. Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso
6. Clay Merchent, Indiana
7. Ryan Ford, Cincinnati
8. Ben Cors, Dayton – Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Titus Boswell, IU Indy – Horizon League
10. Trey Wall, Murray State – Missouri Valley Conference

SUB – Substitute / NS – Not Selected

ME.

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

Irish Amateur Open Championship – 2024 Preview & Results

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12th May 2024

Round 4

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

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Matt McClean (Photo: Golf Ireland)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Final Results (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

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

ME.

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11th May 2024

Round 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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10th May 2024

Round 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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9th May 2024

Round 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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7th May 2024

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

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

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

Format

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

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

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

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

Players

138 golfers will contest the 2024 Championship.

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

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

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

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

Tee Times

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

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

Course

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

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

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

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 7th May)

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

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

The 2023 Irish Amateur Open Championship

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

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

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

Click here to view the – 2023 Irish Amateur Open Results

History, Past Winners and Records

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

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

The Championship was not played during both World Wars.

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

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

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

ME.

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

Irish Amateur Open Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

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14th May 2023 – Round 4

Great Britain & Ireland’s undisputed number 1 amateur John GOUGH (ENG) won the 2023 Irish Amateur Open Championship after a superb 67 (-5) in the final round at The Island G.C.

With perfect timing he played his best round on the final day and moved to the top of the leaderboard with just a handful of holes to play.

With his father coming from County Meath in Ireland and his mother from County Down in Northern Ireland Gough was particularly delighted to pick up this trophy.

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Starting six shots back at the start of the day Gough had to work hard to wrestle this title from the players ahead of him, posting seven birdies and then holding on over the two difficult closing holes.

Two hat-trick’s of birdies on holes 8-10, then 14-16, broke the field and set up the victory before Gough had to find away over the line.

The Englishman had been 5 under par for his third round when he walked on to the 17th tee yesterday and perhaps thoughts of his bogey-bogey finish crept into his mind as he arrived on the same part of the course today.

On the 17th Gough missed the green with his approach before a stone dead chip enabled him to save par.

However, a pulled tee shot meant the Englishman would not enjoy a ceremonial walk up the home hole. After taking a drop from the heavy rough on a bank to the left of the 18th fairway he found the fairway before hitting a superb approach and holing out from three feet for a bogey.

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John Gough’s Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Gough’s total of 280 (-8) proved to be one better than Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), who posted a solid 70 (-2), and two better than overnight leader Tomi BOWEN (WAL), who could only manage a 75 after his third round heroics.

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) -5, who had returned from college in USA to compete, finished 4th, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) -4, was 5th and recent West of Ireland champion James CLARIDGE (ENG) -3 6th.

The reduced field of 56 players produced 9 under par rounds in the fourth round.

Here is the final top 20 leaderboard: –

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Final Leaderboard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2023 Irish Amateur Open Results

ME.

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13th May 2023 – Round 3

Tomi BOWEN (WAL), who won the Darwin Salver at Rye G.C., in March, shot a scarcely believable 10-under par 62 to open up a 4-shot lead heading into tomorrow’s final round of the Irish Amateur Open.

His new amateur course record included one eagle and nine birdies and was three shots better than any of the other competitors could manage.

Talking to Golf Ireland post round the 20 year old from Welshpool said “I got off to a good start. I had three birdies in a row and then I had three birdies around the middle of the round, and then held on really. Hit a really good shot into 15, made an eagle there and just holed a lot of putts and just felt really good with all of my game.”

If Bowen can get over the line tomorrow he will become the first Welsh winner since Rhys Pugh who won at Royal Dublin G.C. in 2011.

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Tomi Bowen’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

The Championship had been due to start at 8.00am with players going off both the 1st and 10th tees as they had for the first two rounds. However, the early morning fog refused to lift so the first tee time ultimately had to be pushed back by two hours and 45 minutes.

By closing the gap between the morning and afternoon waves and by reducing the tee time intervals by one minute Golf Ireland were able to catch up some time and it was to their (and the players) huge credit that the third round was able to be completed before sunset.

Once the fog had moved on the near perfect golfing conditions of sun and modest easterly breezes that we had been promised materialised. It was therefore no surprise to see 40 under par scores in the third round and the amateur course record of 67 at the start of the day repeatedly come under pressure.

Matthew WILSON (SCO) and James CLARDIGE (ENG) both equalled the amateur course record of 67 on Saturday to move up to tied 7th and tied 11th respectively on the leaderboard.

Jackson GARNETT (ENG) and Hugh FOLEY (IRL) both posted 66’s as they secured places in the final day field by rising 64 and 43 places in the standings.

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Jackson Garnett’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

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Hugh Foley’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

TJ FORD (IRL) lowered the amateur course record to 66, the highlight being a holed approach on the par 4 7th hole. Unfortunately for the County Sligo man his efforts would be eclipsed within a matter of hours as Bowen stormed around the links to surprise the locals with his 62.

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TJ Ford’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Dylan SHAW-RADFORD‘s (ENG) six birdie 68 moved him into 2nd place in the Championship on -5 with Matt ROBERTS (WAL), James FOX (IRL), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) and Harley SMITH (ENG) all finishing the day in tied 3rd on -4. 

It was a disappointing day for the overnight leaders who were perhaps distracted by not teeing off until 4.40pm. Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) shot 76 (+4), Harley SMITH (ENG) 74 (+2) and Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) 75 (+3). Smith deserves some credit though for limiting the damage after opening his round with a 5-over par 9 on the first hole. 

56 players made the top 50 and ties cut which fell at 222 (+6). Amongst the players to miss the cut were Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL) +9, Joshua HILL (IRL) +11, Quentin CAREW (IRL) +11, defending champion Colm CAMPBELL (IRL) +11 and Joshua BERRY (ENG) +13.

Here is the Round 3 leaderboard: –

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

ME.

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12th May 2023 – Round 2

Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) took the 36 hole lead on 137 (-7) at the Irish Amateur Open Championship after a six birdie 68 around The Island course. Importantly two of those birdies came immediately after he had dropped a shot to ensure he maintained momentum.

Rafferty, who played in the 2019 Walker Cup match, is playing a much lighter schedule nowadays due to work commitments but has shown enough good form in recent years for us to know he is fully capable of winning this event. Sleeping in his own bed and travelling the 50 miles down the M1 from his Dundalk home each day will also be helping his chances.

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Caolan Rafferty’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

As expected playing conditions were very good on Friday with 23 under par rounds recorded by the field, 9 more than yesterday.

Overnight leader Harley SMITH (ENG) had another good day. His 71 left him one shot back of the Dundalk man on -6.

England’s Zach CHEGWIDDEN produced a tidy 68 of his own to move into 3rd place. Finishing his round with two birdies will certainly have improved his mood.

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Zach Chegwidden’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Matt ROBERTS (WAL) 71 and James FOX (IRL) 70 are tied 4th on 142 (-2) after they maintained their form into the second day.

Robbie CANNON (IRL) 69 tied 6th, John GOUGH (ENG) 69, who was bogey free on the day, tied 11th, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) 70 tied 14th, Caolan BURFORD (WAL) 70 tied 18th, James CLARIDGE (ENG) 71 tied 28th, Gerard DUNNE (IRL) 69 tied 28th and Rob MORAN (IRL) 71 tied 28th all moved up the leaderboard with sub-par rounds. 

Starting on the 10th tee at 1.11pm the low round of the day went to experienced Geoff LENEHAN (IRL) who bounced back from a disappointing 80 in Round 1 to post a 67, adding his name to the growing list of amateur course record holders. As a result he moved up 82 places in the standings to tied 28th.

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Geoff Lenehan’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Looking ahead to the 54 hole cut there are currently 54 players on +5 or better.

Here are the leading players after Round 2: –

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

ME.

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11th May 2023 – Round 1

18 year old Harley SMITH (ENG), who teed off the 10th hole at 8.33am, showed a welcome return to form in Round 1 of the Irish Amateur Open Championship. His 67 (-5), which tied the amateur course record, on The Island links included six birdies and just the one dropped shot.

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Harley Smith’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Smith’s nearest challengers on Day 1 Ross LAIRD (SCO) -4 and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) -3 also started their opening rounds off the 10th, Laird at 1.33pm and Rafferty at 9.28am.

Smith and Rafferty’s scores were particularly impressive as they both played in the morning drizzle which eventually gave way to brighter skies in the afternoon.

Paul COUGHLAN (IRL), Keith EGAN (IRL) and Mitchell COWIE (SCO) are all tied 4th after delivering 2-under par 70s. Cowie, who started on the 1st tee, was the only player in the field not to drop a shot in Round 1.

In total just 14 players out of a starting field of 132 broke par today.

Among the eight who posted 71 (-1) were Rob BRAZILL (IRL), Matt ROBERTS (WAL), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) and Matthew WILSON (SCO), all of whom we can expect to hang around the top of the leaderboard for the duration.

Here is the Round 1 leaderboard: –

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

ME.

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9th May 2023

The Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship, sponsored by Flogas, starts on Thursday 11th May 2023 at The Island Golf Club in Corballis, County Dublin.

It will be the 84th playing of this prestigious Championship.

Format

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

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

A tie for the Championship will be resolved by a sudden death play-off. All other ties will be resolved by reference to the last eighteen and nine holes played.

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

Players

132 golfers, primarily from the four home nations, will contest the 2023 Championship.

11 of the 20 GB&I Walker Cup panelists will be in attendance – Joshua BERRY (ENG), Aaron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), John GOUGH (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG) and Harley SMITH (ENG).

Other players I’ll be keeping an eye on this week are Marc BOUCHER (IRL), Jack BROOKS (ENG), Caolan BURFORD (WAL), James CLARIDGE (ENG), Joshua HILL (IRL), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), Seán KEELING (IRL), Quentin CAREW (IRL), Jack MCPHAIL (ENG), Sam POTTER (ENG), Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), Matt ROBERTS (WAL), Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) and Gavin TIERNAN (IRL).

Two time winner and the defending champion Colm CAMPBELL (IRL) will also be hoping to pick up where he left off at The Island last year.

The Island’s very own Kevin LE BLANC (IRL), who turned pro in 2017 as a 19 year old before returning to the amateur ranks, is also in the field.

Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2023 Irish Amateur Open Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2023 Irish Amateur Open Leaderboard

Players will tee off, using both the 1st and 10th tees, between 8.00am and 2.50pm on each of the first three days so changes in the weather and wind speeds could play a big part in scoring.

Course

The Island G.C. was founded in 1890 and as its name suggests was originally only accessible by ferry boat.

During the winter of 2019/20 the front 9 holes were updated and lengthened by architects Ebert & McKenzie with the plan being to bring them up to the standard of the already much admired back 9.

With the course bordered by sea on three sides it now plays to 7,257 yards from the back tees and has a testing par of 72. There are twelve par 4’s, three par 3’s and three par 5’s.

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Weather Forecast

The weather forecast looks generally good for all four competition days – mainly sunny, albeit a little breezy.

Thu 11th May – Drizzle / Wind 9 mph NE / Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 14°C.
Fri  12th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 12 mph NE / Temp. Min. 6°C / Max. 16°C.
Sat  13th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph SE / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 17°C.
Sun 14th May – Light Rain Showers / Wind 10 mph NW / Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 16°C.

The 2022 Irish Amateur Open Championship

Colm CAMPBELL (IRL), then 35, won the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open at The Island Golf Club last year after a play-off with Matt MCCLEAN (IRL).

It was Campbell’s second Championship having also picked up the famous trophy at nearby Royal Dublin back in 2016.

Now a part-time golfer with a young family Campbell, who plays out of the Warrenpoint Golf Club and works full time as a PING golf salesman, is largely restricted to a domestic amateur schedule.

Click here to view the full – 2022 Irish Amateur Open Results

History, Past Winners and Records

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

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

The Championship was not played during both World Wars.

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

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

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

ME.

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