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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.

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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.

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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 European Amateur Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

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28th June 2025

Round 4

A final round 67 (-5) helped 21 year old Filip JAKUBČÍK (CZH) to a 3-shot victory in the 2025 European Men’s Amateur Championship. His winning score was 280 (-8) and he becomes the first Czech player to win the title. This is the most prestigious win for the Czech star who will shortly commence his senior season at University of Arizona and can look forward to improving his current WAGR #9 ranking next week.

With the win Jakubčík earned an exemption into The 153rd Open Championship which will be played at Royal Portrush G.C. next month.

Filip Jakubčik (Photo: European Golf Association)

Kristin BRESSUM (DEN) earned the silver medal on 283 (-5) and Sakke SILTALA (FIN) the bronze medal on 284 (-4).

Bressum and Siltala were joined by Wolfgang GLAWE (GER), WAGR #96, and Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) 285 (-3), WAGR #284, tied 4th, in earning an exemption into Final Qualifying for The Open Championship next Tuesday. Glawe subsequently declined the invitation.

Cameron ADAM (SCO) was the leading GB&I player finishing tied 9th on 287 (-1). Following on from his win in the St. Andrews Links Trophy earlier this month he won The Open Amateur Series to also earn a spot in The Open Championship.

Zach LITTLE (ENG), Charlie FORSTER (ENG) & Stuart GREHAN (IRL) all finished tied 12th on 288 (Ev), Jenson FORRESTER (ENG) & Seb CAVE (ENG) 290 (+2) tied 18th and Freddie TURNELL (ENG) & Eliot BAKER (ENG) 291 (+3) tied 21st.

Defending champion Tommy MORRISON (USA) saved his best to the last round at Vasatorp G.C., an eight birdie 6-under 66 lifting him up to tied 12th.

The average Round 4 score was 72.39 (+0.39) with 24 players breaking par on Saturday and a further eight shooting an even par 72.

Final Results (Graphic: European Golf Association / GolfBox)

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

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27th June 2025

Round 3

Finn KOELLE (GER), Kristian BRESSUM (DEN) and Filip JAKUBČÍK (CZH) finished Day 2 tied for the lead on 213 (-3). Whilst Bressum and Jakubcik could only manage 1-over 73’s Koelle took advantage with a 2-under 70.

After Round 3 just six players are now under par for the Championship with Sakke SILTALA (FIN) -2 and Nevill RUITER (NED)  and Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) -1 the nearest challengers to the three co-leaders.

Cameron ADAM (SCO) & Stuart GREHAN (IRL) Ev are tied 7th and Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Seb CAVE (ENG) and Jenson FORRESTER (ENG) +1 tied 9th.

60 players made the top 60 and ties 54 hole cut which fell at 224 (+8).

The average Round 3 score was 76.09 (+4.09) with just five players breaking par and three managing a par 72 on another tough day in Sweden.

Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: European Golf Association / GolfBox)

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26th June 2025

Round 2

Sakke SILTALA (FIN) recorded five birdies in his second round 68 (-4) to move into the 36 hole lead with a 139 (-5) total.

Kristian BRESSUM (DEN) and Filip JAKUBČÍK (CZH) share 2nd place on 140 (-4). Bressum delivered the best round of the week so far on Day 2 with a bogey free 65 (-7), a full 10 shots better than his Round 1 score. Jakubcik’s 69 was a bit more up-and-down, including an eagle and four birdies but also three bogeys.

From a GB&I perspective Stuart GREHAN (IRL) -3 is tied 4th, Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Jenson FORRESTER (ENG) & Seb CAVE (ENG) -1 are tied 9th and Eliot BAKER (ENG) & Zach LITTLE (ENG) Ev are tied 18th.

100 players made the 36 hole top 96 and ties first cut which fell at +9. Dion REGAN (WAL) showed good heart in making this cut. After an 84 in Round 1 he bounced back today with a 68 to finish on -8. A total of 27 GB&I players lived to fight another day in Sweden.

The average Round 2 score was 73.43 (+1.43), a full four shots lower than yesterday. 42 players broke par compared with 10 in Round 1 and 21 shot a par 72 compared with 5 yesterday. Whilst Day 1 saw no scores in the 60’s an easier scoring day for Round 2 saw 16.

Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: European Golf Association / GolfBox)

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25th June 2025

Round 1

Jack GILBERT (USA), Gerardo GOMEZ (MEX) and Kayun MUDADANA (AUS) all shot 2-under 70’s on Day 1 at Vasatorp G.C. to share the early lead in the European Amateur.

Seb CAVE (ENG) and Stuart GREHAN (IRL) -1, Zach LITTLE (ENG) & Jenson FORRESTOR (ENG) Ev and Thomas HIGGINS (IRL), Tom OSBORNE (ENG) & Harley SMITH (ENG) +1 are the leading GB&I players.

The average Round 1 score was 77.43 (+5.43). Just 10 of the 144 players broke par with a further 5 shooting par 72.

Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: European Golf Association / GolfBox)

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24th June 2025

The 38th European Amateur Championship will be played at Vasatorp G.C. in Sweden between 25th-28th June 2025.

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

This will be the fourth occasion that Sweden has hosted the European Amateur. It has previously been staged at Karlstad (1996), Skövde G.C. (2004) and Halmstad G.C. (2011).

Vasatorp Golf Club (Photo: EGA)

Competition Format

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

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

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

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

Entries

144 players from 41 countries will contest the 2025 Championship.

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

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

There are 34 GB&I entries, namely Cameron ADAM (SCO), Eliot BAKER (ENG), Tom BASTOW (WAL), Jack BIGHAM (ENG), Ben BOLTON (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Seb CAVE (ENG), Sebastian DESOISA (GIB), Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG), Jenson FORRESTER (ENG), Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Conor GOUGH (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Stuart GREHAN (IRL), Daniel HAYES (ENG), Thomas HIGGINS (IRL), Monty HOLCOMBE (ENG), Seán KEELING (IRL) Kris KIM (ENG), Aidan LAWSON (SCO), Oscar LENT (ENG), Zach LITTLE (ENG), Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL), Dominic MCGLINCHEY (SCO), Tom OSBORNE (ENG), Dion REGAN (WAL), Matt ROBERTS (WAL), Charlie RUSBRIDGE (ENG), Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO), Harley SMITH (ENG), Henry STYLES (ENG), Gregor TAIT (SCO), Freddie TURNELL (ENG) and Tyler WEAVER (ENG).

The leading international entries (WAGR Top 100) are Christiaan MAAS (RSA), defending champion Tommy MORRISON (USA), Filip JAKUBCIK (CZH), Connor WILLIAMS (USA), Michael Alexander MJAASETH (NOR), Luke POTTER (USA), Daniel BENNETT (RSA), Daniel SVÅRD (SWE), Hugo LE GOFF (FRA), Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER), Peer WERNICKE (GER), Benjamin REUTER (NED), Luke SAMPLE (USA) and Wolfgang GLAWE (GER).

Vasatorp Golf Club, Sweden

Vasatorp Golf Club, which has hosted numerous national and international tournaments in the past, is located on the eastern side of Helsingborg.

The Tournament Course, an open and undulating heathland layout with some water hazards, was designed by Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest in 2008.

The layout stretches up to 6,735m and plays to a par of 72 from the back tees.

Vasatorp Golf Club (Graphic: EGA)

Weather Forecast (as at 24th June)

Conditions are expected to be generally good, albeit with some rain likely and relatively strong winds.

Weds 25th June – Light Rain Showers. Wind 16 mph NW. Min. 10°C / Max. 19°C.
Thurs 26th June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 10 mph SE. Min. 15°C / Max. 20°C.
Fri 27th June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 18 mph NW. Min. 13°C / Max. 21°C.
Sat 28th June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 15 mph W. Min. 13°C / Max. 22°C.

Prizes

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

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

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The European Amateur Championship Trophy (Photo: EGA)

The Open Championship

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

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

Players who finish in 2nd to 4th places in this year’s European Amateur will also be offered a place in Final Qualifying which takes place next Tuesday, the 1st July. Any ties for 2nd-4th will be decided in favour of the highest ranked player in WAGR.

Other Championships

The USGA also grants exemptions to the winner into the U.S. Amateur Championship, the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship (if U19) and into Final Qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Open Championship (subject to remaining an amateur).

Further Information

Click here to view the – EGA European Amateur Championship Website

2024 European Amateur Championship

Tommy MORRISON (USA) won the 2024 European Amateur Championship at The Scandinavian G.C. in Denmark becoming the first American to win the title. He finished a three hole aggregate play-off on -2, one better than Ireland’s Max KENNEDY and three better than his compatriot Preston SUMMERHAYS.

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Tommy Morrison (Photo: European Golf Association)

Max Kennedy’s Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Calum SCOTT (SCO) finished in 4th place on -7 and newly crowned Amateur champion Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN), Santiago de la FUENTE (MEX) & Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) -6 were all tied 5th.

GB&I players Liam NOLAN (IRL) -4 11th and Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG) & Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -1 tied 16th finished in the top 20.

Click here to view the – EGA / Golfbox 2024 European Amateur Championship Leaderboard

History

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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

Scottish Men’s Open Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

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1st June 2025

ROUND 4

Eliot BAKER (ENG) won the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at North Berwick by 7-shots, continuing the recent English dominance in this competition.

Three consecutive bogeys from the 2nd hole by Billy DOWLING (AUS) no doubt helped to settle leader Eliot BAKER (ENG) into the final round. Baker would go on to make four birdies himself on the front nine, going out in 33 shots, and when he eagled the 11th the Championship was effectively over as a contest. To his credit Baker, who also won the Portuguese International Amateur Championship earlier this year, saw out the remaining holes with ease.

Emil RIEGGER (USA) and Marian LUDWIG (GER) both finished with 67’s to secure 4th and 5th place respectively. Daniel HAYES (ENG) finished 6th on -8 after posting a 70 and 69 on the final day.

Tom OSBORNE (ENG), Timothy CHAN (HKG), Dian KRUGER (RSA), Ben BROWN (ENG), Mike GRAY (SCO), Morgan BLYTHE (ENG) and George CANNON (SCO) all finished the 72 holes on -7 to make up the top 13.

Final Results (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Click here to view the – 2025 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Leaderboard

ROUND 3

Eliot BAKER (ENG) moved into a 1-shot lead at the Scottish Men’s Open Championship with a 7-under 64. He started the final round on -16.

Eliot Baker’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Billy DOWLING (AUS) came home in 31 shots for a 67 to remain firmly in the mix on -15.

Dowling’s compatriot Kayun MUDADANA posted a 68 to start the final circuit on -11.

George CANNON -9 is 4th after a 69 and Emil RIEGGER (USA) -7 5th after a 70.

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31st May 2025

ROUND 2

Billy DOWLING (AUS) backed up his opening 64 with a solid 4-under 67 to take a 2-shot lead into the final round of the Scottish Men’s Open Championship.

Eliot BAKER (ENG) -9 is 2nd and Kayun MUDADANA (AUS) -8 3rd after they impressed on Saturday with a 66 and 64 respectively at North Berwick.

Scottish trio George CANNON -7 4th and Gregor TAIT -6 & Andrew DAVIDSON -6 tied 5th are nicely in the mix heading into the final day.

43 players made the top 40 and ties cut which fell at 143 (+1).

Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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30th May 2025

ROUND 1

Billy DOWLING (AUS) took the early lead in the Scottish Men’s Open Championship with a nine birdie 64 (-7) around North Berwick’s West Links.

Billy Dowling’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

Morgan BLYTHE (ENG) -6 and George CANNON (SCO) -5 played their way into 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Blythe enjoyed eight birdies in his round whilst Cannon delivered a bogey-free 66.

Eliot BAKER (ENG), Herman HUUS (NOR) and Harry THOMAS (ENG) are all tied 4th on -4.

On a good scoring day 31 players finished their rounds with an under par score with a further 22 shooting even par 71’s.

Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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27th May 2025

The 58th Scottish Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship starts on Friday 30th May at North Berwick Golf Club.

North Berwick G.C. (Photo: North Berwick G.C. Website)

Format

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

18 holes will be played on both Friday 30th May and Saturday 31st May.

A 36 hole cut will then take place with only the leading 40 competitors and ties qualifying for the final two rounds which will be played on Sunday 1st June.

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

Field

144 competitors will start the 2025 Championship.

The field will be made up of (1) the 55 entrants with the highest WAGRs, (2) the next 55 players with the lowest WHS Handicap Index, (3) up to 12 Scottish Golf nominations and (4) a minimum of 24 players via the Pre-Qualifying event (see below).

Matt MCCLEAN (SCO) #149, Marian LUDWIG (GER) #263, Eliot BAKER (ENG) #289, Daniel HAYES (ENG) #308, Atin WADE ARTHUR (RSA) #320, Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO) #333, Aidan LAWSON (SCO) #384, Scott WOLTERING (NED) #390, Kayun MUDADANA (AUS) #405, Billy DOWLING (AUS) #406, Guus LAFEBER (NED) #442, Declan O’DONOVAN (AUS) #483, Ivan VERSTER (RSA) #518 and Jack BUCHANAN (AUS) #534 are the highest WAGR ranked players in the field.

The busy amateur schedule means that the Championship continues to struggle to attract a top class field despite often hosting it on some of the world’s best courses. The Scottish Open is being played adjacent to the U.S. NCAA Division I National Championship and East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship, after the Brabazon Trophy and before the St. Andrews Links Trophy and Amateur Championship.

The drvn.golf WAGR Power Estimator is suggesting a field strength number of c.285.0000* for the 2025 event. By way of comparison the Championship’s Power was 306.7519 in 2024 (Muirfield), 252.0597 in 2023 (Meldrum House) and 601.8878 in 2022 (Cruden Bay).

* Actual WAGR Event Power confirmed as 291.9717

Pre-Qualifying

Scottish Golf, for the fourth time, held an 18 hole Pre-Qualifying event. This year it took place on Tuesday 27th May at Haddington G.C.

Kenneth GLEN (SCO), Mason ROLOFF (USA) and Adam GILES (SCO), who all posted 69’s (-2), were the co-medalists leading 28 players into the main event. The cut fell at +2 with 6 of the 11 players on that number progressing after count back. The players who missed out will now have to make do with places on the reserve list.

Click here to view the – 2025 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Pre-Qualifying Results

Tee Times

Play on Friday and Saturday will commence at 7.00am with the final three-ball setting out at 3.20pm.

Click here to view the – 2025 Scottish Men’s Open Championship Tee Times

North Berwick

The Championship is being played on North Berwick’s West Links course.

The North Berwick Golf Club was formed in 1832 which led to organised golf first being played over this unique piece of land.

The Championship tees can stretch the course to 6,579 yards with a par of 71. The par 4 13th “Pit”, which plays to a green behind a wall, the 14th “Perfection”, the par 3 15th “Redan” and the 16th “Gate” with it’s deep gully in the green are the signature holes.

Between 1935 and 1975 the annual Scottish Boys’ Championship, inaugurated by North Berwick G.C. and later taken over by Scottish Golf, took place over the West Links. Many other major events have been staged here since, including Final Qualifying for The Open Championship on six occasions (last 2013), The Ladies’ British Amatuer Stroke Play Championship (2017), The Seniors’ Amateur StrokePlay Championship (2019) and The Scottish Boys Open Championship (2020).

Prizes

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

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

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 27th May)

The weather forecast suggests the Championship will be played largely in sunny conditions, albeit with dome rain expected on the all-important final day.

Fri 30th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 18 mph W / Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 17°C,
Sat 31st May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 15 mph S / Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 18°C
Sun 1st June – Rain Showers / Wind 19 mph SW / Temp. Min. 9°C / Max. 16°C

2024 Results

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) won the 2024 Scottish Men’s Open Championship with a 260 (-24) total.

His final day 65 (-6) and 62 (-9) saw him take the title at Muirfield by an astonishing 17 shots.

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Dominic Clemons (Photo: Scottish Golf)

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

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

Just eight of the 44 players who made the cut finished under par after 72 holes.

Screenshot 2024-06-02 at 19.08.36

Final Results (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

Past Winners

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

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

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

ME.

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

Brabazon Trophy – 2025 Preview & Results

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24th May 2025

ROUND 4

Biagio Andrea GAGLIARDI (ITA) shot a final round 70 to win the 2025 Brabazon Trophy by 2-shots with a 276 (-8) total. He is the first Italian to win this prestigious trophy.

Biagio Andrea Gagliardi (Photo: England Golf / Leaderboard Photography)

Freddie TURNELL (ENG) moved up to 2nd place with a 69, the joint best round of the day.

Eliot BAKER (ENG) and Mattias VARJUN (EST) both finished Round 4 with 1-over 72’s to complete the Championship in tied 3rd place.

Australian Billy DOWLING finished strongly with a 69 to take 5th place. Harley SMITH (ENG) -3 finished 6th and Jack MCDONALD (SCO), Ben BOLTON (ENG) & Kayun MUDADANA (AUS) -2 tied 7th.

Final Brabazon Trophy Results (Photo: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Freddie TURNELL (ENG) won The George Henriques Salver awarded to the highest finishing Under 20 GB&I player.

Final George Henriques Salver Results (Photo: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2025 Brabazon Trophy Results

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24th May 2025

ROUND 3

Biagio Andrea GAGLIARDI (ITA) moved into the lead on 206 (-7) at Hankley Common after shooting a 2-under 69 on Day 3.

Mattias VARJUN (EST) and Eliot BAKER (ENG) are tied 2nd on -6 after they posted a 70 and 71 respectively.

A best of the week and new course record 63 (-8), which included 10 birdies, from Australian Kayun MUDADANA saw him jump up the leaderboard to tied 4th. He was joined by Ben BOLTON (ENG) and Freddie TURNELL (ENG) who benefitted from a 68 and 71 in Round 3.

Three other English players, Harry CROCKETT, Jake SOWDEN and Harley SMITH finished the day tied 7th alongside Sweden’s Simon HOVDAL on 210 (-3).

Mason HOWELL (USA) shot a blemish free 64, the second best round of the week, to move into tied 12th. Whilst there was no hole-in-one for the American today he did manage an eagle on the 13th and five other birdies in his third round.

Round 3 Leadboard (Photo: England Golf / Golf Genius)

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23rd May 2025

ROUND 2

Eliot BAKER (ENG) and Tom HUGHES (ENG) maintained their share of the lead on 136 (-6) after they both recorded 1-under par 70’s at Hankley Common on Day 2 of the Brabazon Trophy.

Simon HOVDAL (SWE), tied for 3rd, became the fifth player to shoot a 66 in the Championship with his bogey free effort in Round 2.

Biagio Andrea GAGLIARDI (ITA) 67 and Mattias VARJUN (EST) 69 moved up the leaderboard to join the Swede on 137 (-5) for the 36 holes played.

Freddie TURNELL (ENG) is 6th on 139 (-3) after he posted a 68 and now sits alongside compatriots Harley SMITH 70 and Jake SOWDEN (ENG) 71 as well as in form Welshman Matt ROBERTS 72.

Scoring on Friday proved harder than yesterday with just 19 players going under par and 10 playing to the par of 71. This compared with 25 and 16 players doing so respectively in Round 1.

60 players advanced to the weekend after the top 60 and ties cut fell at a higher than expected 147 (+5).

17 year old Mason HOWELL (USA) recorded a hole-in-one on the 167 yard par 3 2nd hole which helped him make the cut on the mark.

Round 2 Leadboard (Photo: England Golf / Golf Genius)

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22nd May 2025

ROUND 1

Ville VIRKKALA (FIN), Eliot BAKER (ENG) and Tom HUGHES (ENG) share the Round 1 lead at the Brabazon Trophy after they all recorded 66’s at Hankley Common.

Virkkkala played his opening nine holes in a 6-under 30 shots before three bogeys on his back nine took a little of the shine of his round.

Baker and Hughes both enjoyed eagles in their rounds; the Tiverton man’s came at the the 598 yard par 5 8th hole whilst Formby’s Hughes achieved his on the shorter 496 yard par 5 13th.

Matt ROBERTS (WAL) started and finished his rounds with bogeys but six birdies in between saw him finish the day tied for 4th alongside Richard TEDER (EST) and Alexander FARMER (SCO). Teder holed his approach on the short par 4 17th for an eagle whilst Farmer enjoyed seven birdies in his opening circuit.

From the field of 114 players 25 players recorded under par rounds with a further 16 shooting a par 71.

Round 1 Leadboard (Photo: England Golf / Golf Genius)

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20th May 2025

The 79th English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy will be played at Hankley Common Golf Club, between Thursday 22nd and Sunday 25th May 2025.

I will be updating this article with a scores link and daily reports once play commences.

Format

This four day competition consists of 72 holes of stroke play golf with 18 holes being played daily.

A 36 hole cut will reduce the field to the leading 60 competitors and ties.

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

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

Field

144 competitors from 17 different countries will contest the 2025 Brabazon Trophy Championship.

With the NCAA U.S. College golf season, where the majority of the leading International and GB&I players are now engaged, not finishing until the end of May the field quality is understandably impacted.

Just four of GB&I’s top 20 WAGR-ranked players are competing. The third highest ranked, Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) #44, who played in the US Open Qualifier at Walton Heath (on 19th May) – 30 miles away from Hankley Common – has chosen to skip the event.

The DRVN.golf Power Estimator suggests the event will have a WAGR Power figure of c.368.0000 in 2025 (Actual: 384.3262). This continues the decline seen in recent years where the number was 617.0619 in 2022, 467.2656 in 2023 and 454.8860 last year.

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

The top 20 WAGR-ranked players in the field are Richard TEDER (EST) #148, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) #149, Tom OSBORNE (ENG) #191, Harley SMITH (ENG) #192, Michele FERRERO (ITA) 207, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) #225, Freddie TURNELL (ENG) #227, Magnus BECKER FREDERIKSON (DEN) #249, Simon HOVDAL (SWE) #274, Eliot BAKER (ENG) #289, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) #334, Scott WOLTERING (NED) #390, Conor GOUGH (ENG) #393, Kayun MUDADANA (AUS) #405, Billy DOWLING (AUS) #409, Ben BOLTON (ENG) #468, Mason HOWELL (USA) #472, Charlie RUSBRIDGE (ENG) #473, Oscar HOLM BREDKJÆR (DEN) #488 and Kris KIM (ENG) #507.

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Three 18 hole regional Qualifying Tournaments were staged on 13th May 2025. 51 players automatically qualified from each of the Midland, Northern and Southern Qualifiers. A further number will make the final start sheet after being called up from the Alternates / Reserves list.

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

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

MIDLAND – Burton-on-Trent G.C., Nottinghamshire – Results
6,510 yards – Par 71
111 players / 17 Qualifiers

Medalists – Philipp KRONE (ENG) 68 -3
Other Qualifiers – Jack DRURY (ENG), Matthew STRUDWICK (ENG), Bailey HIRD (ENG), Olly ALLISON (ENG), Joe CLARKE (ENG), Tim HOLLIS (ENG), Jack PETERS (ENG), Max WEAVER (ENG), Daniel BARDSLEY (ENG), Leyton HARDWICK (ENG), Max HOPKINS (ENG), Louie BLOXHAM (ENG), Edward LINLEY (ENG), Ben A. WILLIS (ENG), Daniel BUTTERISS (ENG) and Charlie DAUGHTERY (ENG)

NORTHERN – Fleetwood G.C., Lancashire – Results
6,521 yards – Par 72
101 players / 16 Qualifiers

Co-Medalist – Andrew HASWELL (ENG) 67 -5
Other Qualifiers – Luke KELLY (ENG), Oliver CATON (ENG), Tom HUGHES (ENG), Cameron THOBURN (ENG), Tai NAYLOR (ENG), George WHITEHEAD (ENG), Ben BROWN (ENG), Daniel ROBERTS (ENG), Sam MUKHERJEE (SCO), Thomas GRIMES (ENG), Matthew DOLLING (ENG), Jamie MANN (SCO), Cole SELF (ENG), Kieran MCCARTHY (ENG) and Matthew LEVER (ENG)

SOUTHERN – Long Ashton G.C., Somerset – Results
6,347 yards – Par 71
118 players / 18 Qualifiers

Medalist – Nathan MOORE (ENG) 64 -7
Other Qualifiers – Joss EDWARDS (ENG), George SAUNDERS (ENG), Milan REED (ENG), Charlie ROBB (ENG), William PARTNER (ENG), Lewy HAYWARD (ENG), Henry DALY (ENG), Andrew ISAACS (ENG), Ryan WILLIAMS (WAL), William PONTIN (WAL), Luke JENKINS (ENG), Dewi JOHN (WAL), Zac MUDFORD (ENG), Jonah FERNANDES (ENG), Aled GREVILLE (WAL), Rory BROWNE (ENG) and James BATH (ENG)

Tee Times

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

Click here to view the – 2025 Brabazon Trophy Tee Times

Prizes

The Winner receives the magnificent gold Brabazon Trophy shown below.

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

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

Two other prizes are connected to the Brabazon Trophy competition: –

The George Henriques Salver is awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20.

The Philip Scrutton Jug is awarded to the player returning the best aggregate scores in The Brabazon Trophy and The Berkshire Trophy. The latter was played on 17-18 May and won by Jake SOWDEN (ENG) who is also competing this week.

Hankley Common Golf Club

Hankley Common G.C. in Tilford, near Farnham in Surrey was first opened as a nine hole course in May 1897. A further nine holes were added by James Braid in 1923/24 but it was only after Harry Colt undertook some remodelling and replaced three holes in 1935 that it started to be recognised as one of England’s best inland courses.

It sits on a huge piece of heathland which allows the holes to meander across the property often in isolation. The area has been designated as a ‘site of special scientific interest’ due to its range of trees and abundant wildlife.

Off the back tees the course measures 6,904 yards and plays to a par of 71, there being only one par 5 on the back nine.

The uphill par three 7th is the ‘signature hole’ but in truth their are many memorable holes on the property.

There are a number of roads, paths and tracks on the course all of which have been deemed integral with no free relief available.

Hankley Common has hosted a number of major events through the years most recently the English Men’s Amateur Championship (Closed) in 2019, which was won by Conor Gough, and the R&A Men’s Home Internationals in 2021.

4th Tee, Hankley Common G.C. (Photo: Golf Bible) 

Weather Forecast – on Tuesday 20th May 2025

The weather forecast suggests the Championship will be predominantly dry with some sun and modest breezes. Saturday and early Sunday morning are expected to  see some rain.

Thur 22nd May – Sunny / Wind 9 mph NW / Temp. Min. 8°C, Max. 18°C.
Fri 23rd May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 12 mph SW / Temp. Min. 8°C, Max. 16°C.
Sat 24th May – Light Rain / Wind 15 mph SW / Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 17°C.
Sun 25th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14 mph W / Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 17°C.

England Golf Event Website

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

2024 Brabazon Trophy

Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) won the 2024 Brabazon Trophy at Hollinwell G.C. becoming the fifth Scotsman to collect this prestigious title.

Due to poor weather the Championship was played over 48 holes with Graham winning with a -9 total.

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Gregor Graham (Photo: England Golf / Leaderboard Photography)

Daniel HAYES (ENG) finished 2nd on -8, Wilhelm RYDING (SWE) 3rd on -8, fast finishing Wilmer EDERO (SWE) 4th on -7 and Eliot BAKER (ENG) 5th on -7.

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2024 Brabazon Trophy Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius) 

Daniel HAYES (ENG) won The George Henriques Salver, awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20. Harley SMITH (ENG) -6 was 2nd and Ben BOLTON (ENG) -5 3rd. All three return to the Championship in 2025.

Recent Results

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

Hollinwell – 2024 Brabazon Trophy Results

Sunningdale – 2023 Brabazon Trophy Results

Saunton – 2022 Brabazon Trophy Results

History, Past Winners and Records

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

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

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

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

The first player to successfully defend the title was Ronnie WHITE who won at Birkdale in 1950 and nearby Formby in 1951.

Shortly afterwards Philip SCRUTTON won the Brabazon three times in four years (1952, ‘54 & ‘55).

Sir Michael BONALLACK has four wins to his name. The first came at Royal Cinque Ports in 1964 and the last at Hillside in 1971. At Moortown in 1969, with play-offs having been discarded at this time, he shared the title with Rodney FOSTER.

Other well known British winners of the Brabazon include Gordon BRAND Jnr, Sandy LYLE (2), Peter MCEVOY, Ronan RAFFERTY and Ronnie SHADE (3).

Other notable winners include well known pros Ignacio GARRIDO (1992), Peter HANSON (1998) and Charl SCHWARTZEL (2002), Jordan SMITH (2013) and Sam BAIRSTOW (2021).

ME.

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

Irish Amateur Open Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

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Sunday 11th May 2025

Round 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final Results (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2025 Irish Amateur Open Results

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Saturday 10th May 2025

Round 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Friday 9th May 2025

Round 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Thursday 8th May 2025

Round 1

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

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

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

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

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

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6th May 2025

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

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

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

Format

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

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

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

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

Players

132 golfers will contest the 2025 Championship.

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

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

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

Tee Times

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

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

Course

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

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

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

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 6th May)

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

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

The 2024 Irish Amateur Open Championship

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

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Matt McClean (Photo: Golf Ireland)

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

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

History, Past Winners and Records

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

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

The Championship was not played during both World Wars.

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

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

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

ME.

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

Men’s European Nations Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

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29th March 2025

Round 4

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

ENGLAND (-8) won the Men’s European Nations Championship at RCG Sotogrande by 14 shots.

The England Team (Photo: England Golf)

SPAIN (+6) finished 2nd, ESTONIA (+7) were 3rd, ITALY (+16) 4th and FRANCE (+17) 5th.

It was a disappointing week in Spain for the other three home nation teams who were all well off the pace. WALES (+39) finished tied 11th, IRELAND (+34) tied 13th and SCOTLAND (+45) 15th.

Team Results (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

Click here to view the – 2025 ENC Men’s Team Results

Individual

Estonia’s Kevin JEGERS (-14) completed an impressive wire-to-wire victory in the Individual competition at the European Nations Championships.

Harley SMITH (-6) finished 2nd, Daniel HAYES (-5) 3rd and Pablo LOPEZ (-3) 4th. Only four of the 72 competitors completed the 72 holes with an under par score demonstrating the extent of the test posed by Sotogrande.

Eliot BAKER (+7) tied 13th, Ross LAIRD (+13) tied 29th, Jonathan BALE (+15) tied 34th and Matt MCCLEAN (+16) tied 39th were the other GB&I players to finish the event in the top 40.

The average score in Round 4 was 75.82 (+3.82).

Individual Results (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

Click here to view the – 2025 ENC Men’s Individual Results

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28th March 2025

Round 3

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

A superb -11 team score in Round 3 lifted ENGLAND (-8) into a commanding 1st place in the Men’s European Nations Championship at RCG Sotogrande.

SPAIN (+3) are now 2nd, ITALY (+7) 3rd, ESTONIA (+8) 4th and FINLAND (+11) 5th heading into tomorrow’s final round.

The other home nations are finding the going tough in Spain with IRELAND (+34) tied 14th, WALES (+36) 16th and SCOTLAND (+37) 17th.

Round 3 Team Scores (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

Click here to view the – 2025 ENC Men’s Team Round 3 Scores

Individual

Estonia’s Kevin JEGERS (-9) continues to lead the way in the Individual standings with Spain’s Pablo LOPEZ (-7) two shots behind him in 2nd place.

The English trio of Daniel HAYES (-5) 3rd, Harley SMITH (-2) 5th, after a tournament best bogey free 7-under 65 today, and Eliot BAKER (+3) tied 9th are all in the top 10.

Jack MCDONALD (+7) tied 19th, Tomi BOWEN (+8) tied 22nd and Luke O’NEILL (+11) tied 32nd lead the way for the other home nation teams.

The average score in Round 3 was 76.05 (+4.05) which demonstrates how good Smith’s 65 was.

Round 3 Individual Scores (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

Click here to view the – 2025 ENC Men’s Individual Round 3 Scores

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27th March 2025

Round 2

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

FINLAND (-3) lead SPAIN (-1) and ESTONIA (Ev) after Round 2 of the Men’s European Nations Championship at RCG Sotogrande.

ENGLAND (+3) are 4th, IRELAND (+19) tied 11th, SCOTLAND (+25) 15th and WALES (+29) 17th.

Round 2 Team Scores (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

Click here to view the – 2025 ENC Men’s Team Round 2 Scores

Individual

Estonia’s Kevin JEGERS (-7) continues to lead the way in the Individual standings with Finland’s Ville VIRKKALA three shots behind him in 2nd place.

From a home nation perspective Daniel HAYES (-2) is tied 3rd, Eliot BAKER (+4) tied 18th, Harley SMITH, Tomi BOWEN & Luke O’NEILL (+5) all tied 24th and Jack MCDONALD (+6) tied 34th.

The average score in Round 2 was 75.37 (+3.37).

Round 2 Individual Scores (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

Click here to view the – 2025 ENC Men’s Individual Round 2 Scores

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26th March 2025

Round 1

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

ESTONIA (-2) lead the Men’s European Nations Championship at RCG Sotogrande in Spain.

AUSTRIA (-1) are 2nd and ITALY and ENGLAND (Ev) are tied 3rd.

The other home nations had a disappointing opening round with defending champions IRELAND (+9) tied 12th, SCOTLAND (+13) tied 14th and WALES (+20) tied 17th.

Round 1 Team Scores (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

Click here to view the – 2025 ENC Men’s Team Round 1 Scores

Individual

Estonia’s Kevin JEGERS and Austria’s Jacob LOTSCHAK shot 3-under 69’s to take the early lead in the Individual standings.

English pair Eliot BAKER and Daniel HAYES (-1), tied 5th, were the best of the GB&I players.

Ireland’s John DOYLE (+2) tied 24th, Wales’ Tomi BOWEN (+3) tied 35th and Scotland’s Ross LAIRD & Gregor TAIT (+4) tied 43rd led the way for the other countries.

The average score in Round 1 was 75.04 (+3.04).

Round 1 Individual Scores (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

Click here to view the – 2025 ENC Men’s Individual Round 1 Scores

ME.

___________________________________________

25th March 2025

The Men’s European Nations Championship (ENC) starts on Wednesday 26th March at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande in Andalucía, Spain.

R.C.G. Sotogrande is the permanent home of the ENC and this will be the 17th playing of the event.

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

I will be providing daily reports on this page once the Championship commences.

Field
18 four-man teams (72 players) will play for the Team prize.

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

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

The following players have been selected to represent the four competing home nations in 2025: –

England – Eliot BAKER, Daniel HAYES, Tom OSBORNE, Harley SMITH

Ireland – Brian DORAN, John DOYLE, Matt MCCLEAN, Luke O’NEILL

Scotland – Alexander FARMER, Ross LAIRD, Jack MCDONALD, Gregor TAIT

Wales – Tomi BOWEN, Jonathan BALE, Caolan BURFORD, Archie DAVIES

A Women’s ENC, made up of 10 three player teams, also takes place alongside the Men’s competition. No home nations are competing this year.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weather Forecast
The forecast looks good with unusually low winds currently expected. Wind, often stronger in the afternoon, can cause problems given the numerous water hazards on the course.

Wednesday 26th – Mist AM / Sunny PM.  Min. 10°C / Max. 18°C; Wind W 5mph
Thursday 27th – Sunny. Min. 10°C / Max. 19 °C; Wind NW 6mph
Friday 28th – Sunny. Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 20°C; Wind N 7mph
Saturday 29th – Sunny. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 20°C; Wind N 8mph

Past ENC Winners

The home nations have an excellent record, particularly in recent years, in this event.

Team Competition

2024  Ireland     2024 ENC Team Results

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Ireland Team (Photo: Golf Ireland) 

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

Past Sherry Cup Team Winners (started 1998)

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

Individual Competition

2024 James Ashfield (WAL)     2024 ENC Men’s Individual Results

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James Ashfield (Photo: Golf Wales)

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

Past Sherry Cup Individual Winners

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

ME.

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

Men’s Home Internationals – 2024 Preview & Results

Posted on by

Friday 9th August 2024

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

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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 

Here is my analysis of the individual performances which highlights the star men from each team: –

Screenshot 2024-08-09 at 21.19.00Screenshot 2024-08-09 at 21.21.08

All Scoring and Tables shown in this article for the 2024 competition are shared courtesy of Scottish Golf.

Day 3

Scotland v. Wales

Wales beat Scotland 8.0-4.0.

After the Foursomes series was halved Wales pulled away from the host nation in the opening five Singles, winning four and halving the other. It appears that the final three pairs were called off once the result became undoubted.

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Ireland v. England

In the winner-takes-it all final match Ireland beat England by 8.0-4.0. 

The Irish took a nice advantage into the singles and ultimately finished off the match in style by edging a number of close Singles.

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ME.

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Thursday 8th August 2024

Day 2

Ireland and England both finished Day 2 unbeaten albeit Ireland sit top of the table with 2.5 more match points.

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England v. Scotland

England beat Scotland 7.5-4.5.

A superb Singles performance, where they secured 6.5 points out of the 8.0 available, helped England to a bounce-back win against Scotland who had them on the ropes after the morning Foursomes.  

England’s Charlie FORSTER and Will HOPKINS remain unbeaten from their four games.

Cormac SHARPE was unbeaten for the Scots on the day and enjoyed his second big Singles win.

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Wales v. Ireland 

Ireland thrashed Wales 10.0-2.0.

A clean sweep in the four foursomes for Ireland was followed by five Singles wins as they outclassed their opponents today.

Liam NOLAN and Seán KEELING took their tournament win records to four out of four.

Tom MATTHEWS bounced back well with the sole Singles win for the Welsh.

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ME.

_________________________________________

Wednesday 7th August 2024

Day 1

England and Ireland were the winning teams on Day 1 and are tied at the top of the 2024 Men’s Home Internationals table. 

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England v. Wales

England beat Wales 7.5-4.5.

Wales will be pleased to have tied the afternoon Singles series but disappointed to let the earlier Foursomes get away from them. 

Seb CAVE, Charlie FORSTER and Will HOPKINS secured maximum points for the English in this match.

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Ireland v. Scotland 

Ireland beat Scotland 7.5-4.5.

Ireland got off to the best possible start with a win against the host nation albeit Scotland will be disappointed with the contribution from their leading players. 

Liam NOLAN and Seán KEELING were both unbeaten for the Irish in the match whilst Andrew DAVIDSON and Jack MCDONALD picked up two points for the Scots.

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ME.

_________________________________________

6th August 2024

This year’s Men’s Home Internationals will be played at Murcar Links G.C. in Aberdeen, Scotland on 7th-9th August 2024.

ENGLAND will be defending the Raymond Trophy which they won at Machynys Peninsula G.C. in Wales last year.

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

For reasons that haven’t been communicated – at least not to me – The R&A appear to have stepped back from running all of the Home Internationals in 2024 returning their organisation to each host nation. 

Hopefully this means that in due course we can 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.

2024 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 31st July 2024 in brackets.

ENGLAND  
Seb CAVE – Coxmoor (294)
Dominic CLEMONS – Gog Magog (142)
Matthew DODD-BERRY – Royal Liverpool (125)
Charlie FORSTER – Basingstoke (239)
Daniel HAYES – Bramhall (507)
Josh HILL – Trump Dubai (412)
Will HOPKINS – Belton Park (57)
Tom OSBORNE – Lindrick (386)
Harley SMITH – The Rayleigh (428)

Jack Bigham (35) and Tyler Weaver (74) are unavailable as they are competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship on 12-18 August 2024. 

IRELAND 
Colm CAMPBELL – Warrenpoint (1,045)
Paul COUGHLAN – Castleknock (1,531)
Hugh FOLEY – Royal Dublin (779)
Ryan GRIFFIN – Ballybofey & Stanoriar (825)
Thomas HIGGINS – Roscommon (497)
Josh HILL – Galgorm Castle (952)
Seán KEELING – Roganstown (277)
Liam NOLAN – Galway (80)
Luke O’NEILL – Connemara (719)

Max Kennedy (28) and Matthew McClean (75) are unavailable as they are competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.   

SCOTLAND 
Cameron ADAM – Royal Burgess (184)
Andrew DAVIDSON – Crail (654)
Gregor GRAHAM – Blairgowrie (101)
Ross LAIRD – Glenbervie (1,174)
Jack MCDONALD – Roxburghe (879)
James MORGAN – Longniddery (755)
Cormac SHARPE – Blairgowrie (2,193)
Gregor TAIT – Aldeburgh (418)
Matthew WILSON – Forres (673)

Connor Graham (134), Calum Scott (12) and Niall Shiels Donegan (365) are unavailable as they are competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.  

WALES
Theo BAKER – Celtic Manor (1,458)
Jonathan BALE – Royal Porthcawl (296)
Tom BASTOW – Isle of Purbeck (790)
Tomi BOWEN – Welshpool (178)
Caolan BURFORD – Rhuddlan (668)
Archie DAVIES – Carlisle (560)
Tom MATTHEWS – Aldersley Green (369)
Matt ROBERTS – Royal Porthcawl (369)
Max WEAVER – Bury St. Edmunds (1,873)

James Ashfield (25) is unavailable as he is competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.

Since the team selections were announced the English, Scottish and Welsh Closed Amateur Championships have been played. The three champions were Harley Smith, Alexander Farmer and Jamie Dean. In 2023 none of the three champions, Ben Brown, Cameron Adam and Max Weaver, competed in the Home Internationals. This year Harley Smith makes it one out of the three.  

Venue – Murcar Links Golf Club

Murcar Links G.C. was established in 1909 and lies to the north of Royal Aberdeen G.C.

It was originally designed by Archie Simpson with James Braid refining the layout in the 1930s. More recent improvements have been made by Graeme J. Webster’s Team Niblick Ltd.

Murcar’s championship course (black tees) plays to 6,516 yards, has a par of 71, a course rating of 72.8 and a slope rating of 136.

Murcar hosted the inaugural Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play competition on the European Tour in 2016. It has also staged the European Girls Team Championship (2009), the Scottish Amateur Stroke Play (2009), the European Boys Team Championship (2013) and the Amateur Championship – SPQ (2018).

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 83rd 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 82 competitions played to date England have won 40, Scotland 21, Ireland 13 and Wales 1. The remaining 7 were tied before it was decided that ties would be resolved by using game points.

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The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2024 Weather Forecast (as at 6th August 2024)

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

Wed. 7th Aug. – Sunny Intervals / Wind 21 mph SW / Temp. Min 11º, Max 19º
Thurs. 8th Aug. – Sunny Intervals / Wind 15 mph SE / Temp. Min 13º, Max 19º
Fri. 9th Aug. – Light Rain / Wind 16 mph W / Temp. Min 11º, Max 19º

2023 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

ENGLAND successfully defended the Men’s Raymond Trophy last year at Machnys Peninsula Ballyliffin G.C. in Ireland.

England beat Ireland on the final day by 3.0 points to snatch the title from their opponents by just 0.5 points scored.

Despite losing to Scotland on the final day Wales finished 3rd. Scotland also missed out by 0.5 points scored.

Screenshot 2023-08-11 at 20.16.51

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

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

Historic Results

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

ME.

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

The European Amateur Championship – 2024 Preview & Results

Posted on by

29th June 2024

Tommy MORRISON (USA) won the 2024 European Amateur Championship at The Scandinavian G.C. after finishing the three hole aggregate play-off on -2, one better than Ireland’s Max KENNEDY and three better than his compatriot Preston SUMMERHAYS.

Morrison is the first American to win the European Amateur in its 37th playing.

Morrison’s victory comes with an exemption into The Open Championship in a few weeks time at Royal Troon G.C. The USGA also grants the winner exemptions into the U.S. Amateur Championship (which he won’t require based on his existing WAGR) and into Final Qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Open Championship (subject to him remaining an amateur).

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Tommy Morrison (Photo: European Golf Association)

Calum SCOTT (SCO) will join the Texan at The Open in Scotland after winning The Open Championship Amateur Series. Scott finished 2nd in the St. Andrews Links Trophy, reached the Quarter Finals of the Amateur Championship and came 4th in this week’s European Amateur Championship to earn the most WAGR points.

Screenshot 2024-06-29 at 19.14.04

My Unofficial Open Amateur Series Results

Play-Off

Max KENNEDY (IRL), Tommy MORRISON (USA) and Preston SUMMERHAYS (USA) played the 9th, 10th and 18th holes on the New Course in a three hole aggregate play-off to decide the 2024 European Amateur.

Morrison birdied the 10th and 18th to win the Championship. He critically got up and down from a tough lie beside the par 5 18th green.

Kennedy matched Morrison’s birdie on the 10th but missed an 18 foot birdie on 18.

Summerhays bogeyed the 10th, sandwiched between two pars, to effectively fall out of the battle.

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Play-off Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Round 4

Max KENNEDY (IRL), Tommy MORRISON (USA) and Preston SUMMERHAYS (USA) all finished on 279 (-9) at The Scandinavian G.C. in Denmark.

Kennedy shot a bogey free 5-under 67 in the final round whilst Morrison also matched this score in typically a more colourful effort. Summerhays birdied the 15th, 16th and 18th holes in regulation to post a 69 and force his way into the shootout.

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Max Kennedy’s Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Calum SCOTT (SCO) finished strongly with a 68 to secure 4th place on -7.

Amateur champion Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN) showed no hangover from his exertions last week, finishing tied 5th alongside Santiago de la FUENTE (MEX) and Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) on -6.

After four consecutive birdies Wiedemeyer had stood on the 18th tee in the lead on -10. However, after putting three balls in the water on his final hole his 4-over nine sent him tumbling back down the leaderboard.

From a GB&I perspective Liam NOLAN (IRL) -4 11th and Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG) & Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -1 tied 16th also finished in the top 20.

28 of the 69 players who played the final round completed the Championship on even par or better.

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Round 4 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Click here to view the – EGA / Golfbox 2024 European Amateur Championship Leaderboard

ME.

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28th June 2024

Round 3

Preston SUMMERHAYS returned to the top of the European Amateur leaderboard at The Scandinavian G.C after he posted a level par 72 on Day 3.

Summerhays’ 210 (-6) total is one better than Daniel SVÄRD (SWE), Charlie FORSTER (ENG), Alfons BONDESSON (SWE), Santiago De La FUENTE (MEX) and Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER).

Liam NOLAN (IRL) jumped up 47 places on the leaderboard to tied 7th after he recorded a 7-under 67 which included nine birdies; the best round of the week by 2-shots.

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Liam Nolan’s Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Amateur champion Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN), Phoenix CAMPBELL (AUS), Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO), Jaime MONTOJO (ESP), Jonathan NIELSEN (DEN) and Tyler WEAVER (ENG) all shot 5-under 67’s in Round 3 to move up the standings.

15 players are within three shots of the lead and 34 players are on even par or better with 18 holes to play.

69 players made the 60 lowest scores and ties second cut to progress to Saturday’s final round.

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Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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27th June 2024

Round 2

Tim WIEDEMEYER (GER) shot a seven birdie 67 to move into the 36 hole lead at the European Amateur.

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Tim Wiedemeyer’s Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Bastian AMAT (FRA), Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), Tommy MORRISON (USA) and Preston SUMMERHAYS (USA) are all tied for 2nd on -6. Amat rose seven places on the leaderboard with a 4-under 68 today.

Like Wiedemeyer Jerry JI (NED), Marcin BOGUSZ (POL) and Lev GRINBERG (UKR) also shot 67 (-5) in Round 2 to match the low round of the week mark.

Max KENNEDY (IRL) -3 is tied 11th and Calum SCOTT (SCO), Hugh FOLEY (IRL) & Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -2 tied 15th. Scott again finished his round strongly, this time with five consecutive birdies, to record a 68 and move up 39 spots.

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Calum Scott’s Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

On a tight leaderboard 35 players are now on even par or better after 36 holes.

Exactly 96 players made the 36 hole 96 lowest scores and ties cut which fell at 150 (+6).

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Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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26th June 2024

Round 1

2023 USA Walker Cup player Preston SUMMERHAYS leads the European Amateur after a 5-under 67 around The Scandinavian G.C.’s New Course.

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Preston Summerhays’ Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Fellow American Tommy MORRISON is tied for 2nd after a bogey free 68. He was the only player in the field of 144 not to drop a shot on Day 1.

Max KENNEDY (IRL), who played the opening tee shot at 7.00am, Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) and Charlie FORSTER (ENG) also recorded 68’s to join Morrison in the tie for 2nd place.

Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), who was 4-over after four holes and who had a triple bogey 8 on the par 5 4th, fought back well to finish on -2 and tied 9th.

Reigning Scottish Amateur champion Cameron ADAM, -1 tied 15th, is the only other GB&I player in the top 20.

37 players shot even par or better in the first round.

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Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

_________________________________________

21st June 2024 (Last Updated 25th June 2024)

The 37th European Amateur Championship will be played on the New Course at The Scandinavian G.C. in Denmark between 26th-29th June 2024.

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

This will be the fourth occasion that Denmark has hosted the European Amateur. It has previously been staged at Aalborg G.C. (1990), Odense Eventyr Golf (2001) and Esbjerg G.C. (2008).

Competition Format

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

In a change to previous years there is going be two cuts applied to the field during the Championship. After 36 holes only players with the 96 lowest scores and ties will progress and then after 54 holes only the 60 lowest scores and ties will qualify for the final round.

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

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

Entries

144 players from 40 countries will contest the 2024 Championship.

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

Exemptions were available to the defending champion, a single nomination from each EGA member nation, four nominated players from the host nation, Denmark, competitors in the Bonallack Trophy, St. Andrew’s Trophy and Jacques Léglise Trophy matches, the 2024 South American Amateur champion and the 2024 European Mid-Amateur champion.

There are 32 GB&I entries, namely Cameron ADAM (SCO) WAGR #261 (as at 19th June), James ASHFIELD (WAL) #35, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #69, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) #243, Oscar CRAIG (ENG) #265, Harry CROCKETT (ENG) #503,  Archie DAVIES (WAL) #425, Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) #647, Hugh FOLEY (IRL) #714, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) #403, Conor GOUGH (ENG) #329, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) #226, Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) #156, Thomas HIGGINS (IRL) #508, Monty HOLCOMBE (ENG) #2,185, Will HOPKINS (ENG) #83, Seán KEELING (IRL) #389, Max KENNEDY (ENG) #68, Kris KIM (ENG) #367, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) #91, Ollie MUKHERJEE (SCO) #1,029, Jack MURPHY (IRL) #846, Liam NOLAN (IRL) #122, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) #429, Calum SCOTT (SCO) #28, Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG) #655, Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) #720, Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) #640, Gregor TAIT (SCO) #449, Harry WATKINS (WAL) #3,978, Tyler WEAVER (ENG) #99 and Matthew WILSON (SCO) #671.

Tom OSBORNE (ENG) #624 is currently the 1st Reserve for the Championship.

The leading international entries are Bastian AMAT (FRA) WAGR #34, Jose BALLESTER (ESP) #7, Albert HANSSON (SWE) #84, Tobias JONSSON (SWE) #41, Algot KLEÉN (FRA) #76, Luis MASAVEU (ESP) #43, Michael MJAASETH (NOR) #67, Tommy MORRISON (USA) #58, the new Amateur champion Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN) #88, Luke SAMPLE (USA) #121, Bård SKOGEN (NOR) #126, Preston SUMMERHAYS (USA) #7, Daniel SVÅRD (SWE) #74, Richard TEDER (EST) #106 and Lars VAN DER VIGHT (NED) #73.

The Scandinavia Golf Club, Denmark

Located 25 minutes north of Copenhagen in Farum, North Zealand the New Course was designed, through a forest separated by streams and natural ponds, by Bruce Charlton of the Robert Trent Jones II Golf Architects.

Opened in 2010 it has a par of 72 and plays to 7,088 yards (6,481m). Like last year’s course at Pärnu Bay in Estonia it has an unusual configuration of five par 3’s, eight par 4’s and five par 5’s.

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Course Routing (Graphic: EGA)

Weather Forecast (as at 7.00am 25th June)

Conditions are expected to be good, albeit with the some fairly strong winds on the final two days.

Weds 26th June – Sunny. Wind 8 mph SE. Min. 12°C / Max. 25°C.
Thurs 27th June – Sunny. Wind 10 mph SE. Min. 15°C / Max. 27°C.
Fri 28th June – Sunny. Thundery Showers PM. Wind 15 mph SE. Min. 17°C / Max. 24°C.
Sat 29th June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 20 mph SW. Min. 14°C / Max. 20°C.

Prizes

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

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

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The European Amateur Championship Trophy (Photo: EGA)

The Open Championship

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

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

The players finishing 2nd to 4th in this year’s European Amateur will be offered a place in Final Qualifying which takes place on Tuesday 2nd July.

Other Championships

The USGA also grants exemptions to the winner into the U.S. Amateur Championship, the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship (if U19) and into Final Qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Open Championship (subject to remaining an amateur).

Further Information

Click here to view the – EGA European Amateur Championship Website

2023 European Amateur Championship

Jose BALLESTER (ESP) won the 2023 European Amateur Championship with a 267 (-21) total over 72 holes at Pärnu Bay Golf Links in Estonia.

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Mads Laage, Jose Ballester and James Ashfield (Photo: European Golf Association)

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Jose Ballester’s Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Mads LAAGE (DEN) finished 2nd and James ASHFIELD (WAL) 3rd on 36 hole count back after they both finished on -19.

The other leading GB&I players were Jack BIGHAM (ENG) and Hugh FOLEY (IRL) -18, who tied 4th, James CLARIDGE (ENG), Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) & Mark POWER (IRL) -15, who tied 13th, and Calum SCOTT (SCO) & Will HOPKINS (ENG) -14, who tied 21st.

Click here to view the – EGA / Golfbox 2023 European Amateur Championship Leaderboard

History

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2024 Preview & Results

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9th June 2024

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

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Seb Cave (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

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

Round 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Round 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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8th June 2024

Round 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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7th June 2024

Round 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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31st May 2024 (Updated 4th June 2024)

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

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

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

Competition Format

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Field

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

26 different countries will be represented in Fife.

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

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

Tee Times

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

Weather Forecast (as at Tuesday 4th June)

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

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

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

Prizes

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

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

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

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

The Open Championship

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

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

Competition Website

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

2023 St. Andrews Links Trophy

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

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

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Alex Maguire (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

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

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

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

Past Winners

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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

Scottish Men’s Open Championship – 2024 Preview & Results

Posted on by

2nd June 2024

Round 4

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

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

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Dominic Clemons (Photo: Scottish Golf)

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

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

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

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Dominic Clemons Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

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

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

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Round 4 Scoreboard – Leaders (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

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Round 3

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

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

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Dominic Clemons Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

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

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

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Round 3 Scoreboard – Leaders (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

ME.

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1st June 2024

Round 2

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

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Dominic Clemons Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

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Jordan Burnand Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

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

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

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Round 2 Scorecard – Leaders (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

ME.

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31st May 2024

Round 1

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

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Jamie Nielsen Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

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

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Round 1 Scorecard – Leaders (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

ME.

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28th May 2024

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

I will be updating this article throughout the week.

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Format

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

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

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

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

Field

144 competitors will start the 2024 Championship.

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

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

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

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

Pre-Qualifying

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

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

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

Muirfield

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prizes

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

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

Weather Forecast (last updated Friday 30th May)

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

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

2023 Results

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

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Conor Graham (Photo: Scottish Golf)

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

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

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Final Results (Graphic: Scottish Golf)

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

Past Winners

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

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

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

ME.

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