South Beach International Amateur – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 08/12/2023 by Golf Bible

22nd December 2023

Ben JAMES (USA) won the 2023 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) with a 271 (-12) total.

Ben James (Photo: SBIA)

James shot a final round 68 (-3) at Miami Beach G.C. which included four birdies to take the prestigious title by 2-shots.

His nearest challengers, Michael LA SASSO (USA) and Miles RUSSELL (USA), both shot even par 71’s to tie for 2nd place.

Four European’s, Loran APPEL (NED) & Kiko COELHO (POR)-8 tied 4th and Quentin DEBOVE (FRA) & Mats EGE (NOR) -7 tied 6th, finished in the top 10.

Pleasingly the best round of the day came from England’s Charlie FORSTER whose 64 (-7) included a back nine of just 29 shots as well as an eagle two on the 347 yard par 4 16th. A tied 13th place at the SBIA was the best result of his short career.

Scoring was much improved from yesterday with an average score of 71.77 (+0.77) seen from the 86 players who completed the final round.

SBIA Results

There were good performances from Tom BASTOW (WAL) and Luke POULTER (ENG) both of whom went under par in the fourth round to finish tied 23rd (-2) and tied 40th (+1) respectively.

SBIA GB&I Only Results

Click here to view the – SBIA 2023 Results

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21st December 2023

Michael LA SASSO (USA) and Miles RUSSELL (USA) -10 will take a 1-shot lead over Mats EGE (NOR) and 2023 U.S. Walker Cup team member Ben JAMES (USA) into the final round of the SBIA.

Tom BASTOW (WAL) remains the leading GB&I player in the event albeit a 3-over 74 saw him fall down the leaderboard to tied 30th on -1.

Jay MENDELL (USA) shot a best of the day 65 (-6), all the more impressive when one considers that only 17 players were able to break par.

The reduced field of 88 players generally found Miami Beach a tougher proposition in Round 3 with the average score rising to 73.49 (+2.49) as high winds in south Florida continued to add to the challenge.

SBIA Round 3 Top 10 Leaderboard

The remaining GB&I players struggled to make any impression in Round 3 with Luke POULTER (ENG) producing the best score with his 73 (+2).

SBIA Round 3 GB&I Only Leaderboard

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20th December 2023

Michael LA SASSO (USA) moved into the lead on Day 2 after posting a 64 (-6) at Normandy Shores (NS).

15 year old Miles RUSSELL (USA) is 1-shot further back on -10 after he rose through the field with a bogey free 60 (-10), tieing the course record at NS.

Tom BASTOW (WAL) is the leading GB&I player after 36 holes; he added an even par 71 at Miami Beach (MB) to sit on -4 for the tournament.

88 players, a record for the SBIA, made the top 72 and ties cut which fell at 142 (+1).

In Round 2 MB (par 71) played to an average score of 73.34 (+2.34) and NS (par 70) to an average score of 71.70 (+1.70) as strong winds generally made scoring tougher.

SBIA Round 2 Top 10 Leaderboard

Joseph PAGDIN (ENG) 138 -3, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) 141 Ev, Luke POULTER (ENG) 141 Ev and Harley SMITH (ENG) 142 (+1) joined Bastow in making the cut.

SBIA Round 2 GB&I Only Leaderboard

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19th December 2023

Mats EGE (NOR) leads the South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) after an opening 64 (-7) around Miami Beach G.C (MB). The East Tennessee State Senior, who is the second highest ranked player in the field, finished his bogey free round strongly with five birdies in his closing six holes.

Marco TRSTENJAK (CAN) shot a 64 (-6) at Normandy Shores G.C. (NS), with a bogey on the par 3 17th hole, to finish his round one shot back of the leader.

Florida-based Joe PAGDIN (ENG) was the leading GB&I player after 18 holes; his 65 (-5) at NS, which included a joint best seven birdies, saw him finish the day tied 3rd.

In Round 1 MB (par 71) played to an average score of 71.67 (+0.67) and NS (par 70) to an average score of 70.83 (+0.83).

SBIA Round 1 Top 10 Leaderboard

In addition to Pagdin Tom BASTOW (ENG) 66 -4 NS, Seán KEELING (IRL) 69 -2 MB and Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) 70 -1 MB were amongst the 80 players to break par on Day 1.

The SBIA has a 36-hole cut which sees only the top 72 and ties progress to the final two rounds on Thursday and Friday. 208 players started the competition.

SBIA Round 1 GB&I Only Leaderboard

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8th December 2023 (Updated 15th December 2023)

The 13th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th-22nd December 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

First played in 2011 the SBIA has quickly become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions, attracting a high quality international field.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available and daily once play commences.

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. by the full field over the first two days.

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

Miami Beach Golf Club

Players

A maximum field of 210 players are permitted with the entry fee set at $450.

14 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field, a number of whom are studying at U.S. colleges. Josh HILL (ENG) was a late withdrawal. There were 16 last year with the highest ever entry being 19 in 2018.

I’ve listed all of this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current WAGR (as at 13th December): –

Tom BASTOW (WAL) #1,569
Henry DALY (ENG) #2,188
Jake FOLEY (IRL) #2,221
Charlie FORSTER (ENG) #867
Jake HIBBERT (ENG) #1,395
Patrick KEELING (IRL) #1,406
Seán KEELING (IRL) #360
Kris KIM (ENG) #387
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #1,509
Luke POULTER (ENG) #422
David SHIEL (IRL) #1,923
Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) #1,129
Harley SMITH (ENG) #872
Brandon ST JOHN (IRL) #2,468

Other players in the WAGR Top 200 competing include (in rank order): –

Ben JAMES (USA) #7
Mats EGE (NOR) #35
Connor JONES (USA) #90
Stephen CAMPBELL JR (USA) #108
Jacob SOSA (USA) #108
Owen STAMPER (USA) #126
Michael LA SASSO (USA) #131
Quentin DEBOVE (FRA) #135
Deven PATEL (USA) #158
George DUANGMANEE (USA) #163
Finn KOELLE (GER) #167
Segundo OLIVA PINTO (ARG) #198
Blades BROWN (USA) #200

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it frequently does here.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the tournament.

DCIM100MEDIA

Normandy Shores Golf Club

Weather Forecast (as at 15th December)

The weather generally looks good for the duration of the event albeit the wind shouldn’t be under-estimated as it normally proves to be a factor on both of these flat exposed coastal courses.

Tue 19th Dec. – Sunny / Wind 12mph NE / Temp. Min. 11°C, Max. 19°C.
Wed 20th Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 15mph NE / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 21°C.
Thu 21st Dec – Cloudy, Showers PM / Wind 15mph NW / Temp. Min. 17°C, Min 24°C.
Fri 22nd Dec – Showers AM, Cloudy / Wind 13mph E / Temp. Min. 16°C, Max. 25°C.

SBIA Website Links

Click here to view the – SBIA 2023 Leaderboard

Click here to view the – SBIA 2023 Pairings

Click here to view the – SBIA Website

2022 South Beach International Amateur

Luke CLANTON (USA) beat Henry GUAN (USA) on the first sudden death play-off hole with a par after 14 year old Guan found water off the tee. Both players had finished on 266 (-17) in regulation play.

Clanton, who is now a sophomore at Florida State University, added the South Beach International Amateur title to the Azalea Invitational and North and South Amateur wins which he also secured in 2022.

Luke Clanton (Photo: SBIA)

Here is the final scoreboard from the 2022 competition: –

The Final Results (Graphic: SBIA)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) was the leading GB&I player, tied 10th on -9.

Luke POULTER (ENG) finished tied 14th on -8, Gregor TAIT (SCO) -4 tied 33rd and Archie DAVIES (WAL) & Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) -3 41st.

Here are the final scores of the GB&I players who made the cut: –

The Final GB&I Results (Graphic: SBIA)

Nine other GB&I players missed the cut as shown below in the 36 hole scores: –

img_3621-1

The Round 2 GB&I Player Scores (Graphic: SBIA)

Historic Results

Here is a list of past winners, provided with their winning scores and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: –

2022 – Luke CLANTON (USA) -17 / Cut Ev
2021 – Finigan TILLY (USA) -15 / Cut -1
2020 – Cole HAMMER (USA) -16 / Cut Ev
2019 – Ben SHIPP (USA) -2 / Cut +8
2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

ME.

The European Amateur Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 26/06/2023 by Golf Bible

Saturday 30th June 2023

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

With his wire-to-wire victory Ballester secured an exemption into the forthcoming 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool G.C.

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

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), who took this week off, won the 2023 Open Championship Amateur Series. This new exemption into The Open from The R&A was given to the player who gained the most WAGR points in the St. Andrews Links Trophy, the Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Championship events.

Round 4

After starting with an eagle 3 on the opening hole Jose BALLESTER (ESP) ultimately had to settle for a final round 1-over 73 and a two shot win.

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.

James Ashfield’s Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Beyond Ashfield 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.

Here are the final results:-

Round 4 Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

The Round 4 average score was 72.73 (+0.73), the first day that par had collectively not been broken by the field. The wind was at its strongest on Saturday with some tricky hole locations adding to the challenge. There were 7 eagles and 703 birdies in Round 4.

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

ME.

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Friday 30th June 2023

Round 3

Jose BALLESTER (ESP) pulled away from the field with a Round 3 66 which took him on to -22. He will now head into tomorrow’s final round with a two shot lead.

Jose Ballester’s Rounds 1, 2 & 3 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Michael MJAASETH (NOR) 67 and Jack INGHAM (NED) 65 are the Spaniard’s nearest challengers on -20.

Zach CHEGWIIDEN (ENG) 68, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) 68, Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) 66 and James ASHFIELD (SCO) 71 are all tied 7th on -17 and collectively are the leading GB&I players.

Hugh FOLEY (IRL) -16 tied 13th, Will HOPKINS (ENG) -15 tied 16th and Mark POWER (IRL) -14 tied 18th are also in the top 20.

The 54 hole top 60 and ties cut fell at -9 with 65 players advancing to the final day.

Here is the Round 3 leaderboard showing all the players who made the cut and a few that just missed out: –

Leading Round 3 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

The Round 3 average score was 70.28 (-1.72), a reflection of the stronger winds the blew across the links on Day 3. There were 22 eagles and 658 birdies in Round 3.

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

ME.

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Thursday 29th June 2023 & Friday 30th June 2023

Round 2

A four hour rain and lightening delay in the afternoon meant that despite play continuing until 10.30pm local time the second round had to be completed early on Friday morning.

Tiger CHRISTENSEN (GER), James ASHFIELD (WAL) and Jose BALLESTER (ESP) share the 36 hole lead on 128 (-16).

Ashfield is the leading GB&I player after two rounds of 64 with only one bogey seen.

James Ashfield’s Rounds 1 & 2 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Daniel RODRIGUES (POR) and Michael MJAASETH (DEN) are 1-shot further back from the leaders on -15.

Hugh FOLEY (IRL) is in 6th place after shooting a 9-under 63 in Round 2.

Hugh Foley’s Rounds 1 & 2 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) and Jack BIGHAM (ENG) are tied 7th after recording a 65 and 66 respectively on Thursday.

Will HOPKINS (ENG) is now tied 10th, alongside Mark POWER (IRL) and Matty WILSON (SCO), after matching Foley’s 63 in Round 2.

Will Hopkins’ Rounds 1 & 2 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) 66 and Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) 69 are tied 16th, meaning there are nine GB&I players in the top 20.

The low round of the day belonged to James CLARIDGE (ENG) who shot a bogey-free 62 to bounce back strongly from his opening 72 and move up 83 places on the leaderboard to tied 21st.

James Claridge’s Rounds 1 & 2 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Here are the leading players after Round 2: –

Leading Round 2 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

The Round 2 average score was slightly lower than Round 1 at 69.41 (-2.59). There were 36 eagles and 673 birdies.

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

ME.

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Wednesday 28th June 2023

Round 1

Alejandro AGUILERA (ESP), Paul BEAUVY (FRA), Jose BALLESTER (ESP) and Jack INGHAM (NED) all shot bogey-free 62’s (-10) to share the Round 1 lead.

Alejandro Aguilera, Paul Beauty, Jose Ballester & Jack Ingham Round 1 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

As expected the 6,717 yards par 72 Pärnu Bay Golf Links proved to be far from a Championship test with 103 players from a starting field of 144 breaking par in the opening round. 58 players achieved -4 or better.

There was a two hour rain delay for the afternoon starters but thankfully the EGA were still able to complete the round. However, there were some concerns amongst the players affected that the re-start was scheduled too soon with thunder and lightening still evident in the area.

Michael MJAASETH (NOR) -9 is 5th and Quentin DEBOVE (FRA), Daniel RODRIGUES (POR), Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), Tiger CHRISTENSEN (GER) and James ASHFIELD (WAL) -8 tied 6th.

Jack BIGHAM (ENG) & Matty WILSON (SCO) -7 tied 11th, Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG) -6 tied 17th and Angus CARRICK (SCO), Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG), Mark POWER (IRL) & Hugh FOLEY (IRL) -5 tied 27th are the other leading GB&I players at the end of Day 1.

Here are the leading players after Round 1: –

Leading Round 1 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

The Round 1 average score was 69.63 (-2.36). There were 32 eagles and 674 birdies.

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

ME.

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26th June 2023

The 36th European Amateur Championship will be played at Pärnu Bay Golf Links in Estonia between 28th June and 1st July 2023.

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

This will be the second occasion that Estonia has hosted the European Amateur. The Estonian Golf & Country Club staged the event in 2016.

Competition Format

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

A cut takes place after 54 holes with the 60 lowest scores and ties qualifying 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 37 countries will contest the 2023 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, Estonia, competitors in the Bonallack Trophy, St. Andrew’s Trophy and Jacques Léglise Trophy matches, the 2023 South American Amateur champion and the 2023 European Mid-Amateur champion.

There are 32 GB&I entries, namely James ASHFIELD (WAL), Josh BERRY (ENG), Jack BIGHAM (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Jack BROOKS (ENG), Angus CARRICK (SCO), Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG), James CLARIDGE (ENG), Paul CONROY (IRL), Will COXON (ENG), Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG/PHI), Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), Jack HEARN (IRL), Joshua HILL (IRL), Will HOPKINS (ENG), Seán KEELING (IRL), Max KENNEDY (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Ollie MUKHERJEE (SCO), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Mark POWER (IRL), Calum SCOTT (SCO), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO), Harley SMITH (ENG), Gregor TAIT (SCO) and Matthew WILSON (SCO).

Europe’s highest WAGR-ranked player John GOUGH (ENG) is playing in the British Masters at The Belfry this week.

Noteworthy overseas entries include Jose Luis BALLESTER BARRIO (ESP), Jonas BAUMGARTNER (GER), Pietro BOVARI (ITA), Mats EGE (NOR), Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI), Albert HANSSON (SWE), Tobias JONSSON (SWE), Frederik KJETTRUP (DEN), Luis MASAVEU (ESP), Michael MJAASETH (NOR), Daniel DA COSTA RODRIGUES (POR), Bard SKOGEN (NOR) and Richard TEDER (EST).

Pärnu Bay Golf Links, Estonia

Pärnu Bay is a links style course designed by Finnish architect Lassi Pekka Tillander which opened for play in 2015.

As you can see from the photos it is located on a narrow coastal site and features wide fairways, expansive sandy waste areas and undulating greens.

The course is a relatively short 6,720 yards long and plays to a par of 72. It has five par 3’s, eight par 4’s and five par 5’s.

Weather Forecast

Weather conditions are generally expected to be good, albeit with the risk of afternoon showers.

Weds 28th June – Sunny / PM Showers. Wind 7 mph SE. Min. 13°C / Max. 24°C.
Thurs 29th June – Sunny / PM Showers. Wind 8 mph W. Min. 12°C / Max. 25°C.
Fri 30th June – Sunny. Wind 10 mph W. Min. 12°C / Max. 25°C.
Sat 1st July – Sunny / PM Showers. Wind 10 mph SW. Min. 12°C / Max. 22°C.

Prizes

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

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

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 Liverpool G.C. in England.

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 the Amateur or European Amateur) will also earn a spot at Royal Liverpool.

The players finishing 2nd to 5th in this year’s European Amateur will be invited to compete in Final Qualifying.

Further Information

Click here to view the – EGA European Amateur Championship Website

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

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

2022 European Amateur Championship

Filippo CELLI (ITA) won the 2022 European Amateur Championship at El Saler Golf Club in Spain after rounds of 64, 74, 73 and 69. His 280 (-8) total gave him a 1-shot victory.

He became the fourth Italian winner of this prestigious trophy following in the footsteps of Massimo Scarpa (1992), Stafano Mazzoli (2015) and Luca Cianchetti (2016).

Rasmus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) finished 2nd on 281 (-7), Calum SCOTT 3rd on 282 (-6) 3rd and Javier BARCOS GARBAYO (ESP) 4th on 283 (-5).

Calum Scott, Filippo Celli and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Photo: European Golf Association)

The other GB&I players to finish in the top 50 in 2022 were Harley SMITH (ENG) -1 tied 9th, Rob MORAN (IRL) Ev tied 18th, Callum BRUCE (SCO) +1 T23, James ASHFIELD (WAL) +2 tied 23rd and Josh HILL (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) & Frank KENNEDY (ENG) +5 tied 44th.

Leading Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Click here to view the full – EGA / Golfbox 2022 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 very successful professional careers include Stephen GALLACHER (1994), Sergio GARCIA (1995), Gregory HAVRET (1999), Carl PETTERSSON (2000), Rory MCILROY (2006), Victor DUBUISSON (2009) and Nicolai HØJGÅRD (2018).

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

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

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

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

ME.

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 05/06/2023 by Golf Bible

11th June 2023

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.

Maguire’s -20 total for the final 54 holes on the host course, let alone his strong run of recent results, must bode well for his chances of being selected for the GB&I Walker Cup team.

The winner said “It feels absolutely amazing to be able to call myself the St. Andrews Links champion. What a place to win. You couldn’t pick a better place to have a victory than the Old Course. I’m absolutely delighted.”

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).

Alex Maguire (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

Round 4

Starting the final round tied for the lead the Irishman quickly got into his stride and pulled away from the field with an outward 31 (-5). It is to his huge credit that he was able to add three more birdies on the back nine to complete a flawless final round of 64, the lowest score seen at the tournament.

Alex Maguire’s Scorecards (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

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

It was a welcome return to form for Calum Scott who chose not to take up his WAGR Top 50 exemption into U.S. Open Final Qualifying and come home in good time to prepare for the St. Andrews Links Trophy and The Amateur Championship.

Markus LUOMA (FIN) -12 bounced back well from a disappointing 72 in the morning to finish 6th with Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) -12 again reminded us of his class with another top ten result.

Frank KENNEDY (ENG) -11 finished 8th and Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) -11, who had carried the burden of the lead for much of the tournament, 9th after he fell back with a closing 74.

26 of the 42 players broke par and 4 shot the par of 72 in Round 4.

Round 4 Results (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

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

Round 3

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) moved into a tie for the 54 hole lead on -13 after a morning 66 which included seven birdies.

Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) showed no signs of nerves, going out in 31 which included an eagle 2 on the par 4 3rd. However, he was unable to make further in roads on the back nine and as such his 68 saw him fall into a tie for 1st.

Charlie’s brother Harry CROCKETT (ENG) matched Maguire’s 66, the best achieved in this round, to move into tied 3rd with Albert HANSSON (SWE).

Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) and Jack BIGHAM (ENG) both posted morning 67’s to move nicely up the leaderboard.

22 of the 42 players broke par and 8 shot par in Round 3 re-affirming how easy the 7,171 yard Old Course is to play when the weather is pleasant.

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

ME.

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10th June 2023

Round 2

Charlie CROCKETT (ENG), playing in his first home event since returning from Missouri where he enjoyed a very good collegiate season, shot a 7-under 65 on the Old Course to take the 36-hole lead in the St. Andrews Links Trophy. The obvious highlights were his opening three birdies and his eagle two on the short par 4 10th hole.

Charlie Crockett’s Rounds 1 and 2 Scorecards (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Markus LUOMA (FIN), Jerry JI (NED), Albert HANSSON (SWE) and Rob MORAN (IRL) are all one short further back of the Surrey man after rounds of 66, 67, 68 and 69 respectively.

In form Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), who won the East of Ireland title earlier this week, matched Luoma’s 66 to finish the day tied 6th alongside Paul BEAUVY (FRA), Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Jack INGHAM (NED).

Charlie’s younger brother Harry CROCKETT (ENG), who is now at Nebraska in the States, is tied 10th on -6. I was writing about successful brothers at the Brabazon Trophy a few weeks ago and here we are again with another pair.

The international nature of this event is clear when one sees that there are twelve different nationalities represented in the current top 20.

42 players made the top 40 and ties cut, which fell at 141 (-2), ensuring themselves a further 36 holes on the Old Course on Sunday. They are all shown below:-

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

Luis MASAVEU (ESP) -1, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) -1, Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) -1, James CLARIDGE (ENG) Ev, Josh BERRY (ENG) Ev, Tyler WEAVER (ENG) Ev, Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL) Ev, James ASHFIELD (WAL) +1, Harley SMITH (ENG) +1, Liam NOLAN (IRL) +3, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) +4, Hugh FOLEY (IRL) +4 and John GOUGH (ENG) +4 were amongst the group of 102 players who missed the cut.

ME.

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9th June 2023

Round 1

Jack INGHAM (NED), Ronan KLEU (SUI), Erik JANSSON (SWE), Robert MORAN (IRL) and Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL) all recorded opening rounds of 65 (-5) on the New Course to share the 18 hole lead.

Most of these players made good starts but none better than O’Keeffe who was 5-under after 3 holes, helped considerably by an albatross on the par 5 3rd hole.

Round 1 Leader Scorecards (Graphic: St. Andrews Links Trust / Golf Genius)

Frank KENNEDY (ENG), with Fanny Sunesson on the bag again, Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA), Ben VAN WYK (RSA) and R&A Boys’ champion Albert HANSSON (SWE) are all one shot further back after posting 67’s.

Calum SCOTT (SCO), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Colm CAMPBELL (IRL) and Harry CROCKETT (ENG) are amongst a group of eight players tied 10th on -3.

On a lovely day in Fife 51 players broke par on the New Course with a further 20 achieving a par score of 71.

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

ME.

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5th June 2023

144 golfers will tee off on Friday 9th June in the 34th St. Andrews Links Trophy.

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

This year it is even more important for the GB&I players who are competing as the Old Course in St. Andrews will also be hosting the 49th Walker Cup match in September.

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. In non-Open Championship year’s the Jubilee Course normally alternates with the New for Round 1.

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.

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

The Old Course has been set up at 7,171 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.

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

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

Ties for other places will be decided by the lowest score for the last 18 holes or the last 9 or 6 or 3 or 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.

GB&I Walker Cup squad members James ASHFIELD (WAL), Josh BERRY (ENG), Archie DAVIES (WAL), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), John GOUGH (ENG), Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Robert MORAN (IRL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL), Mark POWER (IRL), Calum SCOTT (SCO), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), Harley SMITH (ENG), Gregor TAIT (SCO) and Tyler WEAVER (ENG) are all competing.

The missing squad members are Barclay BROWN (ENG), Josh HILL (ENG) and Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL). Brown chose to play in U.S. Open Final Qualifying in California on Monday 5th June (he finished tied 2nd to progress), Hill withdrew having originally entered and McClean is travelling over to the U.S. Open to take up his 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion exemption.

Max KENNEDY (IRL), who won the Ulster Men’s Amateur Championship last week, had planned to play but withdrew when he was selected for the International Team at the Arnold Palmer Cup, which is also being played this week. Max, who is at Louisville, was our leading player on the U.S. college circuit this season.

Other GB&I players who have been showing some recent form are Jack BIGHAM (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Seb CAVE (ENG), Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG), James CLARIDGE (ENG), Paul CONROY (IRL), Will COXON (ENG), Charlie CROCKETT (ENG), Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG), Zach LITTLE (ENG), Sean KEELING (IRL), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), James NASH (WAL), Matt ROBERTS (WAL) and Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL); all of them should be competitive this week.

In recent weeks Liam Nolan has won the Brabazon Trophy at Sunningdale, Connor Graham the Scottish Men’s Open Championship at Meldrum House and Alex Maguire the East of Ireland Amateur Open at County Louth so all three of them will arrive with their confidence high.

The overseas players in the field that stand out to me are Harrison CROWE (AUS), Quentin DEBOVE (FRA), Albert HANSSON (SWE), Elias HAAVISTO (FIN), David LUNDGREN (SWE), Louis MASAVEU (ESP), Laurenz SCHIERGEN (GER) and Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA).

Players from 22 countries will be competing at St. Andrews this year.

Weather Forecast (as at Wenesday 7th June)

The current weather forecast looks very good with sun and gentle breezes expected.

Friday 9th June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 14 mph E. Temp. Min. 6°C / Max. 14°C.
Saturday 10th June – Sunny. Wind 14 mph E. Temp. Min. 10°C / Max. 16°C.
Sunday 11th June – Sunny Intervals. Wind 11 mph E. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 18°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

In a boost to this year’s St. Andrews Links Trophy the R&A announced a new exemption category for the 2023 Open Championship a few months ago.

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

Competition Website

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

2022 St. Andrews Links Trophy

19 year old Connor MCKINNEY (AUS) won the 2022 St. Andrews Links Trophy beating compatriot Adam BRADY by 2-shots.

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

Connor McKinney (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

Robert MORAN (IRL) and Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) finished third and fourth on countback with Frenchman Paul BEAUVY claiming 5th.

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) 9th, Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) 12th, Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL) 13th and Matt GAUNTLETT (ENG) 15th were the other leading GB&I players.

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

51 players made the top 40 and ties cut which eventually fell at 144 (Ev).

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.

Brabazon Trophy – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 17/05/2023 by Golf Bible

28th May 2023

Liam NOLAN (IRL) won the 2023 Brabazon Trophy on Sunningdale’s New Course after shooting a final round 68 and over coming Zach LITTLE (ENG) in a sudden death play-off which lasted three holes.

Under the highest pressure Nolan demonstrated an outstanding short game as well as some clutch putting to boost his hopes of a GB&I Walker Cup berth later this year.

The 23 year old became the fourth Irish winner of this prestigious title following in the footsteps of Ronan Rafferty (1980 – tied with Peter McEvoy), Niall Kearney (2009) and Cormac Sharvin (2015).

It was Liam’s second victory of the year having won the South American Amateur Championship in Ecuador in early January. He had only returned to competitive play with a tied 18th place finish at the recent Irish Amateur Open after prioritising his education at the University of Galway, where he studies biomedical engineering, for most of 2023.

With his proud parents watching on Nolan said “The name and the history of Sunningdale Golf Club makes it one of the coolest places to win a golf tournament. There have been a lot of really good winners here in the past and to put my name on this trophy is amazing.”

“To share this moment with people who have been with you through thick and thin, especially my mum and dad, they’ve seen all the ups and downs so we’ll definitely treasure this moment for a long time.”

Liam Nolan (Photo: Golf Bible)

Whilst scant consolation after coming so close to winning the famous gold trophy Zach LITTLE (ENG) did ‘take home’ the George Henriques Salver awarded to the highest finishing U20 GB&I player.

Round 4

The final group of Seán KEELING (IRL) -6 and Liam NOLAN (IRL) -1 set off at 1.30pm. With Keeling having a 5-shot lead I chose to follow this group exclusively.

Unfortunately for the 16 year old protege he was unable to produce the start he would have wanted dropping shots in each of the first three holes. A sliced drive off the first tee, a misjudged short iron into the par 3 2nd and three putts on the third green suggested all parts of his game were feeling the pressure of the occasion.

The more experienced Nolan on the other hand made a very solid start to his round not missing a shot on the opening three holes but unable to convert a couple of good birdie chances.

Both players then missed the 4th fairway and ended up in the heather. Nolan was unable to save his par but Keeling settled himself with a good chip and putt for his first par of the round.

As the two Irish players walked to the 5th tee they passed the Zach LITTLE (ENG) and James ASHFIELD (WAL) group who had teed off at 12 noon standing on the adjacent 13th tee. News quickly filtered though that Little had chosen today to play the round of his life. The West Herts man had gone out in 29 and after pars on the opening holes of the back nine was -6 for his round and -2 for the Championship, just one shot behind Keeling and one ahead of Nolan. After he had hit a powerful drive down the left side of the par 5 the group of spectators following the final group collectively began to wonder if it may be time to walk in a different direction.

The famous 183 yard par 3 5th would with the benefit of hindsight prove to be one of the pivotal holes. After Keeling had found the centre of the green Nolan overshot it and ended up rolling down a path leading from the 6th tee. Fortunately his ball had not gone into the surrounding gorse and he was able to take a free drop. Then from fully 70 yards, to the astonishment of the crowd, he played an exquisite blind chip which landed on the edge of the green and rolled to within two feet of the hole. From looking at a potentially big number on the tee he had managed to save his par.

Whilst Nolan scrambled a par after a poor drive Keeling birdied the long par 5 6th, to move back to -4, and in fact only just missed out on an eagle after two high quality shots got him on the green. The crowd who had largely stayed with him breathed a sigh of relief that their decision may ultimately be vindicated.

Little secured his birdie on the 13th to move to -3 and with the wind noticeably strengthening at this point a gambling man would have certainly backed the Englishman to win if he could close out his round.

On the next hole Keeling, who was still leading the Championship at this point on -4, pulled his drive to the left of the fairway and ended up under a lone gorse bush. After taking a drop behind it he played up short of the green and got up and down from 40 feet for a ‘good’ bogey. It would have been confidence boosting but for the fact that Nolan facilitated a two shot swing by securing a birdie from 12 feet after finding the fairway and playing a quality iron into the short par 4.

Keeling again failed to make a par on the 8th and for the first time since the start of the Championship found himself not leading on -2. Nolan saved his par again relying on his impressive short game skills to stay at -1.

Both players played the 9th hole well but it was Nolan who left the green feeling the better after he converted a 25 foot putt from just off the back edge. Keeling, who had been closer, left his birdie attempt well short.

After regulation pars on the inviting downhill par 3 Keeling’s hopes came to a crushing end on the 11th. A hooked drive ended up in the middle of a small wood well left of the fairway. After considering his options he chose to return to the tee. His second drive ended up in the heather on the right and from there he could only scramble a 3-over 7. After he took five on the par 4 12th and had moved to +2 his Championship wining hopes were over. With the weight on his shoulders now lifted it was to his credit that he birdied both of the remaining par 5’s to finish -2 for his final six holes and limit the damage to a 76.

Despite a disappointing day, albeit one which will hopefully help further down the line, Keeling earned a lot of praise for his on course demeanour and sound temperament only once showing some frustration after a pulled approach into a bunker on 16 (which he then got up and down from spectacularly).

Seán Keeling’s Final Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Playing in front of a sparse crowd Little, who had started the day on +4, parred in from the 14th to complete a superb round of 63 (-7) and set a challenging clubhouse target of -3 for the reminder of the field.

Zach Little’s Final Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

On the 11th and 12th holes Nolan again demonstrated the benefits of a fully functioning short game that can cope with Championship pressure, chipping close from tricky lies on both holes firstly after a pulled approach from the fairway and then from short of the next green after his tee shot with an iron went well right.

Nolan’s irons were mis-firing at this point and one back of Little he could ill afford to keep missing greens. On the 12th he pushed a long iron 40 yards right of the par 5 13th green and was fortunate to find grass and a clear line in amongst an area of trees and head high ferns. Unfortunately a weak pitch meant he had to settle for par.

Worst was to come on the par 3 14th. With the hole cut in the back right portion of the green the man from Galway over shot the green on the left and found himself on a bare lie facing a chip to a tiered green that was running away from him. His contact wasn’t pure and the ball quickly ran away finishing a good 40 feet away. His par putt got up the tier but still finished 6 feet short. He knew and everyone watching knew that this was probably make or break time. The putt went straight in the middle but he still fell 2-shots back of Little.

Critically Nolan immediately bounced back on the uphill 437 yard par 4. Having driven over the pond into a perfect spot he found the front of the green and then holed a 20 foot putt for birdie.

Nolan, now just one shot back with three holes to play, saw his approach to the 16th spin back to the front of the green and he was again left with an identical, if a little longer, uphill putt over a tier just like he had faced on the 14th. Again he was up to the task.

A regulation par on 17 left Nolan needing a birdie on the par 5 last to force a play-off with Little who had finished his round nearly two hours earlier. His drive found the fairway and a piercing long iron ran through the back of the green leaving a tricky downhill pitch to a flag on the front right.

The pitch was played to perfection, landing on the green and rolling out to a few feet short of the flag. The putt was easily holed and with Nolan reaching -3 it was time for a play-off.

Liam Nolan’s Pitch on the 72nd Hole (Video: Golf Bible)

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

The final day saw 15 under par rounds and two par 70’s.

James CLARIDGE (ENG), who recorded six birdies in his round, finished 3rd but will be rueing a double bogey 6 on the dog-leg right to left 11th. It was another excellent performance in 2023 from the West Midlander who appears to be playing his way on to our Walker Cup team.

Jack PLUMB (ENG) completed a weekend 69-67 for a 280 (Ev) total and a career best 4th place result just ahead of overnight leader Seán KEELING (IRL) who was 5th on countback.

The expected final push from GB&I No. 1 John GOUGH (ENG) didn’t materialise but his 71 left him with another top 10 finish.

Reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) finished strongly with a 66 to finish alongside University of Stirling student Will COXON (ENG) and Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI), who led the overseas contingent, on 282 (+2).

Final Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Play-Off

The sudden death play-off was played on the 1st and 18th holes.

Little stepped up first and despite having faced a long wait to find out whether extra holes would be required, smashed a magnificent drive into perfect position on the right side of the 1st fairway.

Nolan chose to stick with his game plan and his long-iron found the fairway short of the bunker on the left hand side of the fairway.

Both players hit their approaches to the back of the green, the safe play given it slopes from back to front and it it is easy to finish short as we would see shortly. Too great putts narrowly missed going in, Zach’s stopping on the edge of the hole.

Moving onto the par 5 18th Little then hit another superb drive down the left side.

Perhaps feeling the pressure Nolan pushed his drive but luck proved to be on his side. He hit a group of trees hard and his ball bounced back out left onto the midldle of the fairway.

Nolan hit a near identical approach into the elevated green with his ball finishing within a few feet of his earlier shot on the 72nd hole. Little’s long iron finished short of the green on the right side but as he would be pitching uphill it appeared preferable to the position his opponent again found himself in.

Little played first and left his misjudged chip 8 feet short of the hole.

Nolan then stepped up again and miraculously repeated his wonder shot of just a few minutes earlier leaving his ball even closer to the hole this time. Little now needed to drop his putt to tie the hole in birdie fours and extend the play-off. He stepped up and confidently did so.

Returning to the 1st and the third play-off hole Little’s great run of drives ran out, albeit this time luck was on his side as his push was wide enough to have taken his ball into the middle of the 18th fairway. Not an ideal line in to the green but nevertheless in the circumstances a very welcome outcome. Nolan’s long iron was taken into the semi-rough on the right hand side of the sloping fairway.

Both players, maybe over reacting to their over hit approaches first time around, came up short; Little on the right side and Nolan on the left.

Unsurprisingly given the evidence of his fourth round performance and the play-off so far it was no surprise to see Nolan play another stunning chip, judging the pace and line to perfection. Just a foot way his four was assured.

Liam Nolan’s Pitch on the 1st (3rd Play-Off Hole) (Video: Golf Bible)

Little again left his uphill pitch short and unfortunately for him his 6 foot par putt to extend the play-off lipped out on the right edge.

Zach Little Lips Out His Par Putt on the 1st (3rd Play-Off Hole) (Video: Golf Bible)

Nolan tapped in and he and his caddie, fellow Irish International Joshua Hill, had won the Brabazon Trophy at one of the most famous clubs in the world. The rest of the touring Irish party quickly joined them to celebrate a memorable win.

Joshua Hill With Liam Nolan (Photo: Golf Bible)

Click here to view the – 2023 Brabazon Trophy Results

ME.

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27th May 2023

Round 3

65 players were invited back for another round at Sunningdale and they were greeted by a New Course bathed in sunshine and presented in superb condition.

The overnight leader Seán KEELING (IRL) produced another very assured round. His 1-under par 69 appeared very comfortable and ultimately extended his Championship lead to 5-shots. Two poor irons into the par 3 2nd and 10th cost him bogeys as did a drive which ran out of fairway on the dogleg 11th but these errors were offset by four birdies, three of which came on par 5’s. There was an important par save on 16 too where he two putted downhill from 40 feet judging his first putt to perfection across the tiered green. On the closing hole his long iron into the green, leaving him 8 feet for eagle, after a perfect drive down the left hand side of the fairway impressed me and I am sure will have resonated with The R&A selectors who were watching closely.

If Keeling needs a reminder that the Brabazon Trophy is far from his with 18 holes still to play he can reflect on the performance of his playing partner Kris KIM (ENG) who tumbled down the leaderboard with a 76 today. Kim was just slightly off with his irons and his putting and the New Course made him suffer.

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

The big movers in Round 3 were Liam NOLAN (IRL) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO) who both scored 67’s (-3). Nolan, who was surprised to see his parents on the first tee after they flew over from Galway first thing this morning, will start tomorrow on -1 and will hope to apply some early pressure on his 16 year old compatriot who he will be paired with.

Liam Nolan’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Graham, another outstanding GB&I junior, finished his round strongly with three birdies in his closing six holes. He will be paired in the penultimate group with Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) who recorded his third consecutive 70.

Connor Graham’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Perhaps the biggest threat to Keeling will be serial winner John GOUGH (ENG) who may need some help from the leader but is unlikely to go backwards on the final day. After dropping three shots in his opening holes – not for the first time this week – he battled back to post a 71 (-1) in Round 3 and finish the day tied for third with Graham and Gerhardsen.

Day 3 saw six under par rounds and nine even par rounds. William HORNE (ENG), who was first out with a marker, and Seb CAVE (ENG) were the two other players to record the joint best of the day score of 67.

Whilst none of them will be focussing on it tomorrow Seán KEELING -5 leads Connor GRAHAM Ev and Ben WILLIS (ENG) +1 in the U20 George Henriques Salver competition.

ME.

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26th May 2023

Round 2

It was another sunny day in Berkshire but a slightly stronger breeze and some tricky pin positions saw scoring rise in comparison with yesterday’s opening round – there were just five under par rounds and seven even par rounds.

Seán KEELING (IRL) retained the lead with a 70 to stay on -5 for the Championship. The 16 year old from Roganstown dropped two shots on consecutive holes on the front nine but showed good composure to get back on track and with two birdies on his homeward nine is very well placed at the halfway stage.

Kris KIM (ENG), who is even younger than Seán at 15, is 2nd, two shots further back, after a 71. After a double bogey on the downhill par 3 17th he finished his round off well with a closing birdie.

John GOUGH (ENG) also shot a +1 71 on Day 2 albeit a closing bogey 6 will have stung.

Overnight co-leader Jean Leon AESCHLIMANN (SUI) fell back into tie with Gough in 3rd on -1 after a 74.

Fellow Swiss player Nicola GERHARDSEN is tied with Tiverton’s Eliot BAKER (ENG) in tied 5th place after they recorded a 70 and 72 respectively.

Screenshot 2023-05-26 at 21.39.16

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

67’s (-3) from Nick DAY (ENG), tied 7th, Conor GOUGH (ENG), tied 21st, and Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA), tied 30th, were the joint best efforts on Friday.

Screenshot 2023-05-26 at 21.39.45

Nick Day’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Screenshot 2023-05-26 at 21.40.10

Conor Gough’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

65 players made the top 60 and ties cut which fell at 147 (+7). Conor GRAHAM (SCO) 69, Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) 67, Frazer JONES (ENG) 69, Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) 70, Vincent STJERNFELDT (SWE) 71, Patrick KEELING (IRL) 71 and Jaapo JÄMSÄ (FIN) 71 all bounced back well to make the cut.

I don’t know if three sets of brothers have ever made the cut at the Brabazon Trophy before but for the record Ireland’s Keeling’s, Patrick and Seán, Scotland’s Graham’s, Patrick and Connor, and England’s Gough’s, John and Conor, all made the cut.

.Jack BROOKS (ENG) +8, Gregor TAIT (SCO) +8, Harley SMITH (ENG) +8, Josh BERRY (ENG) +9, Joshua HILL (IRL) +11, Caolan BURFORD (WAL) +12, Rob MORAN (IRL) +14 and Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) +15 were amongst the casualties.

Seán KEELING (-5) and Kris KIM (-3) lead Jenson FORRESTER and Ben WILLIS (ENG) (+1) in the U20 George Henriques Salver competition.

ME.

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25th May 2023

Round 1

Jean Leon AESCHLIMANN (SUI) and Seán KEELING (IRL) lead the Brabazon Trophy after they both opened their accounts at Sunningdale with impressive 65’s (-5).

Keeling started out at 9.40am on the New Course and enhanced his growing reputation with a flawless performance.

Aeschlimann, who has struggled a little in 2023, produced a scintillating back nine 30 in the afternoon to move rapidly to the top of the leaderboard.

Screenshot 2023-05-25 at 19.26.41

Jean Aeschlimann and Seán Keeling’s Round 1 Scorecards (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Kris KIM (ENG), recent winner of the Fairhaven Boys’ Trophy, is third on -4. After starting with two bogeys he produced seven birdies over his remaining holes to hand in a 66.

Ben WILLIS (ENG), who qualified last week at Kedleston Park, is 4th after a 67; two closing birdies finishing off a very good day’s work for another young player.

Eliot BAKER (ENG), who finished in the top 15 at Saunton last year, Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), John GOUGH (ENG), who started with three consecutive birdies before recovering strongly, Jenson FORRESTER (ENG), Alex FORD (ENG) and Matt ROBERTS (WAL), who is performing very consistently this year, all finished Round 1 on 68.

At the close of play there were 16 players under par with a further 14 on Even par.

Screenshot 2023-05-25 at 20.05.49

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

Notable players who have work to do tomorrow to make the cut include Jack BROOKS (ENG), Rob MORAN (IRL), James ASHFIELD (WAL) & Harley SMITH (ENG) +3, Tyler WEAVER (ENG) & Conor GRAHAM (SCO) +4, Joshua HILL (IRL) +5, Josh BERRY (ENG) +6, Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) +7 and Caolan BURFORD (WAL) +9.

Seán KEELING also leads the race for The U20 George Henriques Salver although Kris KIM, Ben WILLIS, Dylan SHAW-RADFORD and Jenson FORRESTER, who are all in the top 5 after Round 1, all qualify for this competition too.

ME.

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17th May 2023 – updated 24th May 2023

The 77^thEnglish Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy will be played on the New Course at Sunningdale Golf Club between Thursday 25th and Sunday 28th May 2023.

Three Qualifying Tournaments were played on 16th May 2022 to help England Golf, the organisers, complete the field (see below).

Format

The competition consists of 72 holes of stroke play golf with 18 holes being played over four days.

Play on the opening two days will commence at 7.30am with the final three-ball heading out at 3.40pm.

A 36 hole cut will take place with only the leading 60 competitors and ties progressing to the two remaining rounds.

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

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

Field

144 competitors from 19 different countries will contest the 2023 Brabazon Trophy Championship.

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

Amongst the 87 exempt players, and therefore arguably the favourites for the title, are James ASHFIELD (WAL), Josh BERRY (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Jack BROOKS (ENG), James CLARIDGE (ENG), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI), John GOUGH (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Seán KEELING (IRL), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), Harley SMITH (ENG) and Gregor TAIT (SCO).

England’s Frank KENNEDY, who recently won the Lytham Trophy, didn’t enter choosing to take up ‘invites’ on the Challenge Tour. He played in The Netherlands the week before the Brabazon but subsequently withdrew from the conflicting Denmark event.

The overseas players appearing this year do not appear to be as strong collectively as we have seen in previous years, although we were spoilt by a world class South African touring party last year.

Three regional qualifying tournaments were staged on 16th May 2023 to determine the remainder of the field with 54 spots initially made available. Three further players have been taken from the Qualifiers to cover for withdrawals.

Qualifying Events

Three 18 hole stroke play events, each with a field of 120 players, were staged.

18 players automatically qualified from the Midland, Northern and Southern Qualifiers. A few more players will probably end up making the final start sheet after being called up from the Reserves list.

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

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

MIDLAND – Kedleston Park G.C., Derbyshire – Results
6,674 yards – Par 72 – Slope Rating 129
120 players / 19 Qualifiers

Medalist – Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) 67 -5
Qualifiers – Jenson Forrester (ENG), Jack Severn (ENG), David Razinskas (ENG), Joshua Ashton (ENG), Daniel Butteriss (ENG), Jake Sowden (ENG), Levi Desmond (ENG), Joe Jones (WAL), Jake Plumb (ENG), Robert Holden (ENG), Tom Osborne (ENG), Will Harvey (ENG), Mark Porter (ENG), Ben Willis (ENG), Alex Ford (ENG), Reece Goodyear (ENG), James Isley (ENG), Res 2 Theo Baker (WAL)
Reserves – Charlie Box (ENG), John Kemp (ENG)

NORTHERN – Delamere Forest G.C., Cheshire – Results
6,588 yards – Par 72 – Slope Rating 131
120 players / 18 Qualifiers

Medalist – Ross LAIRD (SCO) and Ruben LINDSAY (SCO) 66 -6
Qualifiers – George Cannon (SCO), Mackenzie Holmes (SCO), Patrick Keeling (IRL), Luke Kelly (ENG), Padraig O’Dochartaigh (IRL), Jamie Van Wyk (ENG), Jake Hibbert (ENG), Thomas Barnes Grimes (ENG), Marc Boucher (IRL), Edward Featherstone (ENG), Daniel Bardsley (ENG), Jonny Cossar (ENG), Rhys McIlroy (SCO), Greg Holmes (ENG), Ellis Willott (ENG), Tom Matthews (WAL)
Reserves – William Sandoz (WAL), Andrew Davidson (SCO), Cameron Mukherjee (SCO)

SOUTHERN – Golf at Goodwood, West Suusex – Results
6,921 yards – Par 72 – Slope Rating 136
120 players / 20 Qualifiers

Medalist – Tim HOLLIS (ENG) 70 -2
Qualifiers – Enrique Dimayuga (ENG), Alex Stubbs (ENG), Benjamin Humphrey (ENG), Ollie Smith (ENG), Shay McQueen (ENG), George Mills (ENG), Steve Mitchell (ENG), Daniel Roberts (ENG), Shaun Mills (ENG), Iestyn McAvoy (WAL), George Ackerman (ENG), James Pinhorn (ENG), Kris Kim (ENG), Tom Scullion (ENG), Edward Mason (ENG), William Horne (ENG), Jonathan Exon-Taylor (ENG), Res 1 Cole Sedgwick (ENG), Res 3 George Saunders (ENG)
Reserves – Stan White (WAL)

Prizes

The Winner receives the magnificent gold Brabazon Trophy shown below.

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

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

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

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

The Philip Scrutton Jug is awarded to the player returning the best aggregate scores in The Brabazon Trophy and The Berkshire Trophy (which will be played on 17-18 June).

Sunningdale Golf Club

Located in Berkshire, England, Sunningdale is one of the world’s finest golf clubs and enjoys two of the best heathland courses, the Old and the New.

The New Course was designed by renowned architect and former club secretary Harry Colt.

It was opened on 10th November 1923, 22 years after the Old Course, and is therefore celebrating it’s centenary this year – hence the visit from England Golf.

Holes 6-10 were replaced, on less undulating land, in 1934 with architect Tom Simpson originally designing these. However, his work proved to be unpopular with the members so Colt and his then partner John S.F. Morrison returned in 1939 to re-design them. The course has changed little since then.

The New Course (Blue Tees) includes five par 3’s, ten par 4’s and three par 5’s.

With fewer bunkers and a little more space than it’s near neighbour the New plays to a challenging par of 70 over 6,716 yards.

New Course Scorecard (Graphic: Sunningdale G.C.)

Weather Forecast – last updated at 11.30am on Wednesday 24th May 2023

The weather forecast is looking excellent with sunny conditions and only light breezes expected throughout the week.

Thur 25th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph NE / Temp. Min. 8°C, Max. 20°C.
Fri 26th May – Sunny / Wind 11 mph E / Temp. Min. 6°C, Max. 18°C.
Sat 27th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph NE / Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 21°C.
Sun 28th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph NE / Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 21°C.

2022 Brabazon Trophy

18 year old Christiaan MAAS (RSA) won the 2022 Brabazon Trophy after recording rounds of 65, 70, 67 and 68 for a 270 (-14) total.

He was the third South African winner of this prestigious title following in the footsteps of Charles Schwartzel (2002, Royal Cinque Ports) and Kyle McClatchie (2017, Woodall Spa).

Christiaan Maas (Photo: GolfBible)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) -9 finished 2nd, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) -8 3rd, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) -6 4th and Swiss pair Maximilien STURDZA and Nicola GERHARDSEN (-4) 5th and 6th on count back.

Final Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)

Eliot BAKER (ENG) 288 +4, who finished tied 14th, secured the George Henriques Salver, the prize awarded to the leading Great British & Irish player in the Championship under the age of 20.

Click here to for more information on the 2022 Championship – Brabazon Trophy – 2022 Preview & Results

Recent Results

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

Saunton – 2022 Brabazon Trophy Results

Ganton – 2021 Brabazon Trophy Results

Sherwood Forest – 2020 Brabazon Trophy Results

History, Past Winners and Records

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other notable recent winners include well known pros Ignacio GARRIDO (1992), Peter HANSON (1998) and Charl SCHWARTZEL (2002).

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Irish Amateur Open Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 09/05/2023 by Golf Bible

14th May 2023 – Round 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the final top 20 leaderboard: –

Final Leaderboard (Graphic: Golf Ireland / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2023 Irish Amateur Open Results

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13th May 2023 – Round 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the Round 3 leaderboard: –

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

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12th May 2023 – Round 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are the leading players after Round 2: –

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

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11th May 2023 – Round 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the Round 1 leaderboard: –

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

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9th May 2023

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

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

Format

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

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

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

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

Players

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

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

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

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

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

Tee Times

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

Click here to view the – 2023 Irish Amateur Open Leaderboard

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

Course

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

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

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

Weather Forecast

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

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

The 2022 Irish Amateur Open Championship

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

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

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

🏆Colm Campbell (@WarrenpointGC) is the @FlogasIreland Irish Men’s Amateur Open once again after overcoming Malone’s Matthew McClean in a sudden-death play-off @IslandGolfClub⛳️

MORE: https://t.co/iCV5DBhjX9 #FlogasAmOpens #GolfIreland pic.twitter.com/W5u1J9sDqi

— Golf Ireland (@GolfIreland_) May 15, 2022

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

History, Past Winners and Records

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

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

The Championship was not played during both World Wars.

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

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

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

ME.

Jones Cup Invitational – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 04/01/2023 by Golf Bible

8th January 2023 – Round 3

David FORD (USA) holed an 18 foot downhill birdie putt on the 18th hole to complete a wire-to-wire win at the 19th Jones Cup Invitational in Georgia.

Ford, a sophomore at North Carolina, beat Caleb SURRATT (USA) by 1-shot and as a result now looks a certainty for the 2023 USA Walker Cup team.

The winner will also receive an exemption into the 2023 RSM Classic a PGA Tour event played at Sea Island in November.

David Ford (Photo: Jones Cup Invitational)

Ford’s 204 (-12) total was the second best in tournament history, 1-shot short of Davis Thompson’s (USA) 203 (-13) total in 2020.

The final round proved to be a game of two halves for the two leading players.

Surratt birdied four of his opening seven holes to wipe out Ford’s 2-shot lead and entered the back nine with a 2-shot lead of his own. However, it was Ford who had the last laugh coming home in an unblemished three birdie 33, including one on the critical tournament winning final hole. Surratt did little wrong, save for a bogey on the par 5 14th, but could only manage an even par 36 shots for the homeward nine, thus coming up 1-shot short of forcing a play-off.

David Ford and Caleb Surratt’s Tournament Scorecards (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

Michael BRENNAN (USA), Mark Power’s Wake Forest teammate, finished strongly with a final round of 67 to claim 3rd place on -8. Peter FOUNTAIN (USA), who had been amongst the leading group from Day 1, had to settle for 4th place after a 71 on Sunday.

Top 20 Results (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

Sadly the challenge of Ocean Forest proved too much this year for the 11 GB&I players who were competing. Collectively they were 84 over par with just two of the 33 rounds played under the course’s par of 72.

Our highest finish came from James ASHFIELD (WAL) +3 who finished tied 27th out of a field of 84 players. Barclay BROWN (ENG) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) +4 were tied 33rd and U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL) +5 tied 39th.

GB&I Results (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

\Please click here to view the – Jones Cup Invitational Results

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7th January 2023 – Round 2

David FORD (USA) extended his overnight lead to 2-shots after a second round 68 which included five birdies.

Caleb SURRATT (USA) moved into 2nd place; eight birdies helping him to a best-of-the-week 66.

Peter FOUNTAIN (USA) stayed in contention with a 1-under 71.

img_3676-1

Round 2 Leading Scores (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

James ASHFIELD (WAL) produced the first and to date only under par round by a GB&I player on Day 2. His 71 (-1) could have been even better too with two late bogeys on the 16th and 17th taking the edge of a fine round. He’ll start the final round tied 18th on +1 for the tournament and will be hoping to give his Walker Cup chances an early boost with a similar, or hopefully better, score tomorrow.

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) +2 tied 24th , Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +2 tied 24th and Mark POWER (IRL) +5 tied 47th all bounced back well today with even par 72’s.

img_3677-1

GB&I Round 2 Scores (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

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6th January 2023 – Round 1

David FORD (USA) recorded seven birdies in an opening round of 67 (-5) to take the early lead in the 2023 Jones Cup Invitational.

Ford’s University of North Carolina teammate Peter FOUNTAIN (USA) is one shot further back after a rollercoaster 68 (-4) which included eight birdies and four bogeys.

Ben CARR (USA), runner up at last year’s U.S. Amateur Championship, and Jackson KOIVUN (USA) are tied 3rd after 2-under 70’s.

Only 11 of the 84 players competing were under par at the end of play.

Round 1 Leading Scores (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

It was a relatively disappointing day for the 11-man group of Great British and Irish players who were too frequently caught out by the tight Ocean Forest course.

Hugh FOLEY (IRL) and Jack BIGHAM (ENG), tied 23rd, lead the way after 73’s (-1). Both Foley and Bigham offset four birdies with five bogeys in their day’s work.

With no cut and a challenging test the good news is that with 36 holes still to play there is still time for all of them to work there way back into the top 10.

GB&I Round 1 Scores (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

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4th January 2023 – Preview

The 19th Jones Cup Invitational will be played between 6th-8th January 2023 at Ocean Forest G.C. on the northern tip of Sea Island in Georgia.

The event has been brought forward from its traditional February date due to the commencement of a renovation programme at Ocean Forest next month.

Historically a top 10 ranked amateur tournament it has always attracted a strong field, particularly in Walker Cup years which of course 2023 is.

The winner of the Jones Cup Invitational, subject to them remaining an amateur, receives an exemption into the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic played at Sea Island in November.

The Jones Cup Invitational was first played in January 2001 as a prelude to that year’s Walker Cup match which was being staged at Ocean Forest in August.

The venue is a big supporter of amateur golf with the Jones Cup Junior Invitational, Jones Cup Senior Invitational and Sea Island Women’s Amateur played at Sea Island G.C.’s nearby Seaside Course since 2009, 2012 and 2021 respectively.

Format

The Jones Cup Invitational is a 54 hole individual stroke play competition played over three days.

Given the small field there is no cut.

The winner receives the silver Jones Cup and the Layne Williams Medal which was awarded for the first time in 2022. Layne Williams was a rules official for the Georgia State Golf Association.

Players

The Jones Cup Invitational Committee invite 84 players to contest their tournament.

The majority of invites are granted based on each player’s previous performances and their world amateur rankings.

74 players contested an 18 hole qualifier on Sea Island’s Plantation Course on 4th January with Jack GOLDASICH (USA), Sam LAPE (USA), Lance SIMPSON (USA) and Hunter SMITH (USA) all added to the field.

11 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are competing this year. 9 of the 19 man GB&I Walker Cup squad are in attendance. They are (in alphabetical order with their current SPWARs): –

James ASHFIELD (WAL) #215 GB&I WC SQUAD
Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #362
Barclay BROWN (ENG) #83 GB&I WC SQUAD
Archie DAVIES (WAL) #63 GB&I WC SQUAD
Hugh FOLEY (IRL) #61 GB&I WC SQUAD
Josh HILL (ENG) #348 GB&I WC SQUAD
Frank KENNEDY (ENG) #290 GB&I WC SQUAD
Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) #56 GB&I WC SQUAD
Mark POWER (IRL) #246 GB&I WC SQUAD
Matt ROBERTS (WAL) #977
Harley SMITH (ENG) #162 GB&I WC SQUAD

There are 28 other players in the SPWAR Top 100 competing (in rank order): –

Caleb SURRAT (USA) #3 USA WC SQUAD
Gordon SARGENT (USA) #4 USA WC SQUAD
David FORD (USA) #5 USA WC SQUAD
Austin GREASER (USA) #8
Maxwell MOLDOVAN (USA) #12 USA WC SQUAD
Ross STEELMAN (USA) #14 USA WC SQUAD
Bryce LEWIS (USA) #17 USA WC SQUAD
Cole SHERWOOD (USA) #19 USA WC SQUAD
Ben CARR (USA) #21
Kelly CHINN (USA) #22
Luke CLANTON (USA) #24
Ricky CASTILLO (USA) #28
Michael BRENNAN (USA) #30 USA WC SQUAD
Palmer JACKSON (USA) #33 USA WC SQUAD
Ben JAMES (USA) #35 USA WC SQUAD
Tommy KUHL (USA) #42
Herman SEKNE (NOR) #43
Matthis BESARD (BEL) #57
Max FORD (USA) #60
Drew GOODMAN (USA) #66
Mason WILLIAMS (USA) #79
Martin COUVRA (FRA) #81
Reid DAVENPORT (USA) #82
Jackson KOIVUN (USA) #85
Drew SALYERS (USA) #87
Robbie HIGGINS (USA) #88
Canon CLAYCOMB (USA) #89
Frederik KJETTRUP (DEN) #100

Evan BECK (USA) #168 USA WC SQUAD

As shown above 11 of the players selected for the 16-man US Walker Cup Squad are playing this week in Georgia.

Course

Ocean Forest is a challenging course with an exposed seaside links feel. Holes run alongside both the Hampton River and the Atlantic Ocean with marshes and the sea abutting a number of the fairways and greens. The remaining holes are cut through a pine forest.

Natural sand dunes are evident albeit the defining feature is the small undulating greens.

The course plays to 7,308 yards with a standard par of 72. If the wind blows here scores can be unusually high.

The Club was founded in 1995 by Bill Jones III. His family’s Sea Island Company having owned the land since the 1920’s.

Jones invited architect Rees Jones to design a championship course on the site with work commencing in September 1993. Some renovation work was subsequently done by Rees Jones in 2007. Beau Welling Design have been instructed for the 2023 work which will involve refreshing the tees, greens and bunkers.

President George H. Bush, Bill Jones III, former U.S. attorney general Griffin Bell, David Love III and Rees Jones played the opening round in Spring 1995.

The course was awarded the 2001 Walker Cup shortly after opening. At just 6 years old it remains the youngest club to be afforded this honour. Peter McEvoy led GB&I to a convincing 15-9 victory.

Weather Forecast (as at 4th January)

Cool but sunny weather is expected this week with thankfully moderate breezes.

Fri 6th Jan. – Sunny / Wind 11 mph NW / Temp. Min. 3°C, Max. 16°C.
Sat 7th Jan. – Sunny / Wind 8 mph N / Temp. Min. 6°C, Max. 17°C.
Sun 8th Jan. – Sunny / Wind 9 mph E / Temp. Min. 9°C, Max. 21°C.

2022 Jones Cup Invitational

Palmer JACKSON (USA) won the 2022 Jones Cup Invitational by 3-shots from Logan MCALLISTER (USA). They were the only two players in the field to finish under par.

Palmer Jackson (Photo: Jones Cup Invitational)

2022 saw a small GB&I entry with John GOUGH (ENG) +4 our highest finisher in tied 7th.

Dan BRADBURY (ENG) +12 finished tied 34th, Mark POWER (IRL) +17 tied 48th, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +24 tied 72nd, Luke HARRIES (WAL) +25 tied 75th and James ASHFIELD (WAL) +33 82nd.

Click here to view the full – Jones Cup Invitational 2022 Results

Here is a list of the past winners with their finishing scores: –

2022 – Palmer JACKSON (USA) 211 (-5)
2021 – Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE) 214 (-2)
2020 – Davis THOMPSON (USA) 203 (-13)
2019 – Akshay BHATIA (USA) 142 (-2) – event shortened to 36 holes due to bad weather
2018 – Garrett BARBER (USA) 212 (-4) – winner of the Jones Cup Junior Invitational in 2016
2017 – Braden THORNBERRY (USA) 212 (-4)
2016 – Beau HOSSLER (USA) 214 (-2)
2015 – Austen CONNELLY (USA) 216 (Ev)
2014 – Corey CONNORS (CAN) 218 (+2)
2013 – Sean DALE (USA) 213 (-3)
2012 – Justin THOMAS (USA) 216 (Ev)
2011 – John PETERSON (USA) 217 (+1)
2010 – Patrick READ (USA) 222 (+6)
2009 – Kyle STANLEY (USA) 217 (+1)
2007 – Luke LIST (USA) 206 (-10) – played at Frederica G.C. due to renovation work at Ocean Forest
2005 – Nicholas THOMPSON (USA) 214 (-2)
2003 – Gregg JONES (USA) 211 (-5)
2001 – DJ TRAHAN (USA) 210 (-6)

Canada’s Corey Connors and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg are the only non-American winners of the Jones Cup Invitational.

ME.

South Beach International Amateur – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 14/12/2022 by Golf Bible

Thursday 22nd December 2022

Luke CLANTON (USA) beat Henry GUAN (USA) on the first sudden death play-off hole, the par 5 15th, with a par after 14 year old Guan found the water that borders the right side of the fairway.

Both players had finished on 266 (-17) in regulation play. This was after a dramatic conclusion to the 72nd hole at Miami Beach G.C. where Clanton holed a 15 footer for par before Guan birdied from 8 feet to take us into extra time.

Clanton produced a great final round 66 (-5) which included six birdies to force the play off with Guan who had started the day with a 3-shot lead. 14 year old Guan should be proud of his performance and his 69 was hugely impressive given the pressure he would have been feeling.

Screenshot 2022-12-22 at 22.16.09

Luke Clanton’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

Clanton, who is a freshman at Florida State University, added the South Beach International Amateur title to the Azalea Invitational and North and South Amateur wins he had already earned earlier this year.

Luke Clanton (Photo: SBIA)

The final scoreboard was understandably dominated by players from the USA.

The Final Results (Graphic: SBIA)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) was the leading GB&I player; a 67 on the final day lifting him to tied 10th on -9.

Luke POULTER (ENG) backed up his win in last week’s Willow Cup by finishing tied 14th on -8. This was a real break-out performance for him in a high class field.

Gregor TAIT (SCO) -4 finished a creditable tied 33rd after a final round 68 with Archie DAVIES (WAL) and Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) -3 41st our only other players to complete the tournament with under par scores.

The Final GB&I Results (Graphic: SBIA)

The average score in the final round was 71.58 (+0.58). With the course dried out there were no preferred lies in the fourth round.

Click here to view the – SBIA 2022 Results

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Wednesday 21st December 2022

86 players made the cut and following heavy overnight rain benefitted from ‘lift, clean and place’ rules for the third round.

Young Henry GUAN (USA) from Texas showed few signs of nerves as he produced a 4-under 67 to extend his lead to three shots in the South Beach International. Seven birdies were partially erased by a bogey on the 6th and a double on the par 5 10th.

Screenshot 2022-12-22 at 09.31.18

Henry Guan’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

Luke CLANTON (USA), the reigning North & South Amateur champion, -12 moved up to 2nd place with a 65 whilst George DUANGAMANEE (USA) and Deven PATEL (USA) -11, in tied 3rd, remain in striking distance.

Luke POULTER (ENG) and Nels SURTANI (USA) produced the best two rounds of the day with superb 7-under 64’s.

The average score from the reduced field in Round 3 was 70.17 (-0.83) with 44 of the 86 players breaking par.

The Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: SBIA)

Luke POULTER (ENG) stole the GB&I headlines with his blemish free 64 (-7) lifting him 35 places to tied 9th.

Screenshot 2022-12-22 at 09.14.54

Luke Poulter’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), now up to tied 33rd, continued his comeback from a lacklustre opening round with a 67 in the third round.

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) was the only other home player to produce an under par round on Wednesday. His 70 leaves him in tied 39th.

The Round 3 GB&I Player Scores (Graphic: SBIA)

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Tuesday 20th December 2022

Henry GUAN (USA) posted a second consecutive 65, this time at Normandy Shores, to move into the lead on -11. Guan, who like yesterday’s co-leader Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA), is only 14 years old was bogey free and as you can see below has only one blemish on his two cards after 36 holes.

Screenshot 2022-12-21 at 08.19.50

Henry Guan’s Round 1 & 2 Scorecards (Graphic: SBIA)

Guan is one shot better off than John M. BUTLER (USA) who recorded a 67 at Miami Beach whilst the other co-overnight leader George DUANGAMANEE (USA) finished the second day in 3rd on -9.

The Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: SBIA)

Jack HEARN (IRL) leads the GB&I group of 16 players on -4.

Archie DAVIES (WAL) -3, Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) -3, Gregor TAIT (SCO) -3, Luke POULTER (ENG) -2, Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) -1 and Joe PAGDIN (ENG) -1 were also amongst the 86 players who made the top 72 and ties 36 hole cut. This was the second highest number of players to make the cut in SBIA history.

Nine GB&I players missed the cut. Most upset will be James CLARIDGE (ENG), who having gone out in 33 (-2) at Normandy Shores to sit nicely in the top 20, came home in 40 (+5) to miss out by 1-shot on +1.

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The Round 2 GB&I Player Scores (Graphic: SBIA)

The average score at Miami Beach on Day 2 was 72.60 (+1.60 over par) whilst it was slightly lower at Normandy Shores 71.39 (+1.39 over par). The windier conditions led to lower number of under par rounds – 61 v. 82 yesterday.

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Monday 19th December 2022

Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA), who is just 14 years old, and George DUANGAMANEE (USA) both recorded opening 64’s (-7) at Miami Beach to take the early lead in the South Beach International Amateur.

Screenshot 2022-12-20 at 11.59.53

Oscar Couilleau’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

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George Duangamanee’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

John BUTLER (USA) recorded the lowest Round 1 score at Normandy Shores. His 64 (-6) left him tied 3rd and was one better than Ryan DUPUY (USA) and Cameron TANKERSLEY (USA) who are tied 5th.

82 players from the field of 210 posted under par scores in Round 1. The average score at Miami Beach was 71.50 (+0.50 over par) whilst it was slightly higher at Normandy Shores 71.10 (+1.10 over par).

The Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: SBIA)

Joe PAGDIN (ENG) and Gregor TAIT (SCO), tied 10th, are the leading GB&I players on -4. Joe shot a 67 at Miami Beach whilst Gregor took 66 at Normandy Shores.

Frank KENNEDY (ENG) and Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) -3 were just a shot further back with an encouraging overall total of 11 out of our 16 players under par after their first 18 holes.

The Round 1 GB&I Player Scores (Graphic: SBIA)

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14th December 2022

The 12th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th-22nd December 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

First played in 2011 the SBIA has quickly become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions. The SPWAR continues to rate it as having the 5th best field on the world amateur calendar.

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. by the full field over the first two days.

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

Miami Beach Golf Club

Players

210 players have paid the $420 entry fee and will contest the 2022 SBIA.

16 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field, a number of whom are studying at U.S. colleges. There was 17 last year with the highest entry being 19 in 2018.

Given 2023 is a Walker Cup year a top 10 finish in an event of this magnitude would be a real selection fillip for any of our players.

I’ve listed all of this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current SPWAR (as at 14th December): –

James CLARIDGE (ENG) #463
Paul CONROY (IRL) #162
Archie DAVIES (WAL) #64
Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) #37
Charlie FORSTER (ENG) #378
Alfie FOX (ENG) #966
Jack HEARN (IRL) #302
Jake HIBBERT (ENG) #1,372
Seán KEELING (IRL) #673
Frank KENNEDY (ENG) #274
Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) #137
Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) #360
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #1,126
Luke POULTER (ENG) #1,278
Harley SMITH (ENG) #156
Gregor TAIT (SCO) #182

Other players in the SPWAR Top 150 competing include (in rank order): –

Ben JAMES (USA) #32
Tommy KUHL (USA) #38
Tobias JONSSON (SWE) #44
Connor JONES (USA) #52
Luke CLANTON (USA) #59
Ramus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) #68
Brett ROBERTS (USA) #73
Luis MASAVEU (ESP) #75
Garrett BARBER (USA) #76
Martin COUVRA (FRA) #84
Marco FLORIOLI (ITA) #86
Ty GINGERICH (USA) #87
Jack WALL (USA) #96
Drew DOYLE (USA) #105
David NYFJÄLL (SWE) #108
Bastien AMAT (FRA) #112
Mats EGE (USA) #115
Jack LUNDIN (USA) #121
Jackson BUCHANAN (USA) #130
Alex PRICE (USA) #141
Lucas CARPER (USA) #148
Luke GUTSCHEWSKI (USA) #149

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it frequently does here.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the tournament.

DCIM100MEDIA

Normandy Shores Golf Club

Weather Forecast (as at 14th December)

The weather generally looks good for the duration of the event albeit the wind shouldn’t be under-estimated as it normally proves to be a factor on both of these flat exposed seaside courses.

Mon 19th Dec. – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14 mph NE / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 25°C.
Tue 20th Dec – Sunny with PM Showers / Wind 14 mph E / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 26°C.
Wed 21st Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 12 mph N / Temp. Min. 17°C, Min 26°C.
Thu 22nd Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 11 mph SW / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 28°C.

SBIA Website Links

Click here to view the – SBIA 2022 Leaderboard

Click here to view the – SBIA 2022 Pairings

Click here to view the – SBIA Website

2021 South Beach International Amateur

Finigan TILLY (USA), who was born in London but is now based in California, completed a surprise wire-to-wire victory at the 11th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA). Tilly started the week ranked #318 in the SPWAR. His 268 (-15) total was one shot off Cole Hammer’s 2020 scoring record.

Finigan Tilly (Photo: SBIA)

Clay AMLUNG (USA) -13 finished 2nd and Jose BALLESTER (ESP) -12, after closing with two bogeys, 3rd.

SBIA 2021 Final Top 20 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

English left hander Sam BAIRSTOW finished 4th on -9 after a joint best final round of 67.

Callan BARROW (ENG), John GOUGH (ENG) and Jake HIBBERT (ENG) -5 also finished in the top 20.

Of the other GB&I players who made the cut Callum BRUCE (SCO) -2 finished tied 36th, Josef HACKER (ENG) +2 tied 59th and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) +4 tied 69th.

SBIA 2021 GB&I Final Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Click here to view the full – SBIA 2021 Results

Historic Results

Here is a list of past winners, provided with their winning scores and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: –

2021 – Finigan TILLY (USA) -15 / Cut -1
2020 – Cole HAMMER (USA) -16 / Cut Ev
2019 – Ben SHIPP (USA) -2 / Cut +8
2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

ME.

The Jacques Léglise Trophy – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 21/08/2022 by Golf Bible

27th August 2022

The Continent of Europe won the 45thJacques Léglise Trophy match at Blairgowrie G.C. beating Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) by 13.5-11.5.

Having been dominated in the early years of the completion by GB&I the Continent of Europe have now won the last three matches and five of the six played since 2016.

Continent of Europe (Photo: The R&A)

Germany’s Carl Siemens was the star man for Europe winning his two foursomes with compatriot Tim Wiedemeyer and both of his singles against Englishmen Josh Berry and Josh Hill.

Saturday Singles

The Continent of Europe team capped off their successful trip to Scotland by winning the Day 2 Singles series 5.0-4.0 thus ensuring they won the overall match 13.5-11.5.

GB&I’s Tyler Weaver halved the opening game of the series with Jorge Siyuan Hao. In a high quality match both players were 4-under for the full 18 holes. Hao birdied the 17th to regain parity down the home stretch.

Harley Smith lost 3&1 to Tim Wiedemeyer. Smith started bogey, double-bogey to firmly hand the initiative to his German opponent. Wiedemeyer, making few errors, was 5Up after 12 holes before Smith regained some respectability with better play later on.

Carl Siemens beat Josh Hill 2&1 in a tight Game 3; the putts dropping for the German rather than the Dubai-based Englishman.

Dylan Shaw-Radford delivered his second Singles win beating Italy’s Marco Florioli 3&1 with a 5-under performance over the 17 holes required for victory.

Josh Berry bounced back well on Day 2 to secure a tie with Oihan Guillamoundeguy, the highly rated Frenchman. The Yorkshireman produced 5 birdies, including a critical one on the 18th.

Frank Kennedy got the better of Tom Haberer, who was out of sorts for much of the afternoon, by 4&3.

The Netherlands’ Thijmen Batens beat Connor Graham by 2 Holes helped by four consecutive birdies on the 8th to 11th holes.

Oliver Mukherjee secured GB&I’s third full point with a 1 Hole victory over William Wistrand. In a close match Mukherjee birdied both the 16th and 18th holes to edge ahead.

Hansson v. Shiels Donegan Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox Scoring)

Albert Hansson produced seven unblemished birdies (see above) to blow Niall Shiels Donegan away 7&5 in just 13 holes.

Saturday Singles Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox Scoring)

Saturday Foursomes

GB&I won the Day 2 Foursomes 3.0-1.0 to reduce Continent of Europe’s overnight lead of 3 points to a far more manageable one.

The opening game was an up and down affair with neither pair finding their best form. In the end the German’s Carl Siemens and Tim Wiedemeyer simply made fewer mistakes than Shaw-Radford and Shiels Donegan.

Tyler Weaver and Harley Smith scored well with four birdies to secure GB&I’s first win of the day against Guillamoundeguy and Florioli, who were unbeaten on Day 1.

Josh Hill and Oliver Mukherjee birdied the last two holes of their game against Thijmen Batens and Tom Haberer to secure GB&I’s second win by 1 Hole in the Saturday Foursomes.

Wistrand & Hansson v. Kennedy & Graham Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox Scoring)

Frank Kennedy and Connor Graham produced 7 birdies in Game 4 (see above) to beat Swedish pair William Wistrand and Albert Hansson.

Saturday Foursomes Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox Scoring)

Josh Berry was replaced by Tyler Weaver in the GB&I Foursomes line up on Day 2. Continent of Europe were unchanged with Jorge Siyuan Hao again left to focus on his afternoon Singles.

ME.

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26th August 2022

Friday Singles

Continent of Europe won the Day 1 Singles 5.5-2.5 to take a 7.5-4.5 half-way lead in the Jacques Léglise Trophy match. It was a disappointing series result for GB&I who at one point were leading five of the eight games on the course.

Josh Hill got the better of Jorge Siyuan Hao in the opening Single largely due to his more consistent play over the 18 holes and a crucial birdie on the par 3 17th hole.

Arguably the highest quality game of the series was the halved one between Marco Florioli and Tyler Weaver, albeit the finish was a little out of keeping with the earlier play.

Florioli v. Weaver Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox Scoring)

Despite doing little wrong Harley Smith lost Game 3 by 1 Hole to the ever impressive Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy who birdied the 18th to take the full point.

Josh Berry was understandably 5 Down after 7 holes after handing in a string of bogeys to the scorers. Despite bouncing back well on the back nine Carl Siemens secured an easy 5&4 win.

Dylan Shaw-Radford ensured he finished Day 1 as the only unbeaten GB&I player with a 2 Hole win over Germany’s Tim Wiedemeyer. Shaw-Radford produced 7 birdies and 1 eagle in the match.

Thijmen Batens gave Frank Kennedy little opportunity to impress in a notable 4&3 victory. After an opening hole bogey the man from The Netherlands produced 5 birdies and 1 eagle to pull away from the American-based Englishman.

Niall Shiels Donegan lost 3&2 to Germany’s Tom Haberer who seemed to be one step ahead of the Scotsman throughout the encounter.

In the final game of the day Albert Hansson, the 2022 Boys’ Amateur Championship, got the better of young Connor Graham, the 2022 Junior Open Champion by 2&1.

Friday Singles Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox Scoring)

Oliver Mukherjee was rested by Captain King whilst William Wistrand was benched by the Europeans.

Friday Foursomes

Honours were even 2.0-2.0 at lunch on the opening day of the 2022 Jacques Léglise Trophy match.

Continent of Europe got off to a dream start in the opening Foursomes series immediately recording two big wins.

Guillamoundeguy & Florioli were 6-under par when their match came to a conclusion on the 14th green.

Wiedemeyer & Siemens were 5-under par for their round when they won on the 15th.

However, Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) recovered well to win the final two games at Blairgowrie G.C.

Shaw-Radford & Shiels Donegan produced the lowest scores in the morning to secure an all-important win in Match 3. After an opening hole bogey the Anglo-Scottish pairing produced 8 birdies to secure a 2&1 victory in a high quality game.

Batens & Haberer v. Shaw-Radford & Shiels Donegan Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox Scoring)

In the last encounter Graham & Kennedy, who were 3-under for the 16 holes they played, picked up the final available point.

Friday Foursomes Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox Scoring)

Jorge Siyuan Hao and Tyler Weaver missed out on selection for Continent of Europe and GB&I respectively in the Day 1 Foursomes.

Click here to view the full – 2022 Jacques Léglise Trophy GolfBox Results

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21st August 2022

The 45thJacques Léglise Trophy match between Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) and Continent of Europe will take place at Blairgowrie Golf Club in Scotland on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th August.

This annual match is contested by two nine-player U18 boys’ teams. It is essentially a junior equivalent of the biennial men’s St. Andrews Trophy match also played between these two regions.

Following wins at Aldeburgh G.C. in England (2019) and Falsterbo G.C. in Sweden (2021) the Continent of Europe are looking to make it three-in-a-row in Perthshire. The 2020 match, which was due to be played at Blairgowrie, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 Teams

The R&A have selected the following players to represent GB&I (SPWAR’s at 21st August): –

Josh BERRY – Doncaster, England (SPWAR #219)
Connor GRAHAM – Blairgowrie, Scotland (SPWAR #104)
Josh HILL – Trump International Dubai, England (SPWAR #260)
Frank KENNEDY – Trump National Jupiter, England (SPWAR #252)
Oliver MUKHERJEE – Gullane, Scotland (SPWAR #287)
Dylan SHAW-RADFORD – Huddersfield, England (SPWAR #333)
Niall SHIELS DONEGAN – Meadow Club USA, Scotland (captain) (SPWAR #302)
Harley SMITH – The Rayleigh Club, England (SPWAR #112)
Tyler WEAVER – Bury St. Edmunds, England (SPWAR #232)

Reserves: 1) Sam EASTERBROOK – Olton, England and 2) Caolan BURFORD – Rhuddlan, Wales

Wales’ Chris KING, Chairman of The R&A’s GB&I Boys’ Selection Committee, will again take charge of the team.

The Jacques Léglise Trophy (Photo: European Golf Association)

The 2022 Continent of Europe team, selected by the European Golf Association, consists of: –

Thijmen BATENS – Belgium (SPWAR #524)
Marco FLORIOLI – Italy (SPWAR #87)
Oihan GUILLAMOUNDEGUY – France (SPWAR #121)
Tom HABERER – Germany (SPWAR #837)
Albert HANSSON – Sweden (SPWAR #410)
Jorge Siyuan HAO – Spain (SPWAR #62)
Carl SIEMENS – Germany (SPWAR #207)
Tim WIEDEMEYER – Germany (SPWAR #318)
William WISTRAND – Sweden (SPWAR #1,387)

Europe will be led for the third time by Non-Playing Captain Joachim FOURQUET of France.

Format

Four foursomes games are played each morning.

Singles are then played in the afternoon; eight on Day 1 and nine on Day 2.

As there will be 25 points to play for each team will require 13.0 points to claim an outright victory.

Venue

The Rosemount Course at Blairgowrie Golf Club is the venue for the 2022 match.

The course was designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie, opening in 1927, and then extended by James Braid in 1930. Subsequent upgrades have been made to it by Donald Steel, Peter Alliss and Graeme Webster.

A heathland course set amongst pine, firs, birch and heather the Rosemount plays to 7,007 yards and has a par of 72 and a slope of 136.

Weather

The forecast suggests near perfect dry golfing conditions with moderate breezes can be expected.

Friday 26th August – Light Cloud / Wind 7 mph SW / Temp. Min. 9°C, Max. 17°C.
Saturday 27th August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 5 mph SE / Temp. Min. 10°C, Max. 19°C.

Additional Information

Click here to view the – R&A Jacques Léglise Trophy Website

The 2021 Jacques Léglise Trophy Match

Continent of Europe won the The 44thJacques Léglise Trophy match against Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) at Falsterbo Golfklubb in Sweden.

Continent of Europe Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

The final score was 16.5-8.5 with the Continent of Europe winning ten points on Day 2 whilst GB&I could only muster three.

Continent of Europe won the opening Friday Foursomes series 3-1 to take an early advantage. GB&I fought back in the afternoon winning the Day 1 Singles 4.5-3.5.

Continent of Europe then won the Saturday Foursomes series 3.5-0.5 to take a four point lead into the final Singles which they won 6.5-2.5 to complete a comprehensive victory.

Click here to view the final – 2021 Jacques Léglise Trophy Results

Previous Matches

A junior match was first played between 1958 and 1966 with GB&I winning all of them.

After a short break it was re-instated to the amateur calendar in 1977 as the Jacques Léglise Trophy. Jean-Louis Dupont donated the new trophy in memory of Jacques Léglise, a former President of both the French Golf Association and the European Golf Association. Leglise was also a past French amateur champion and national team captain.

Since becoming the Jacques Léglise GB&I have won 29 of the matches with the Continent of Europe claiming 14 victories with the 2015 match tied. Surprisingly nine of Europe’s wins have been in away matches.

Originally played in a single day the match moved to two in 1996.

Click here to view all of the – Jaques Léglise Trophy Historic Results

ME.

R&A Men’s Home Internationals – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 01/08/2022 by Golf Bible

5th August 2022

England won the inaugural R&A Trophy for the combined Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals match played at Ballyliffin G.C. in Ireland.

England won the Men’s Raymond Trophy and Ireland the Women’s International Shield.

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

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

Here are my Men’s Individual Performance tables confirming that England’s Arron EDWARDS-HILL was the most successful player in the 2022 Raymond Trophy contest.

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.55.04

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.41.35

Day 3 Matches

Scotland 7.5 v. Wales 4.5

Ireland 5.5 v. England 6.5

Having lost the morning Foursomes series 3-1 England fought back to win the afternoon Singles 5.5-2.5 to take an all-important narrow victory over Ireland. It was a stunning comeback for the English who looked out of it after 9 holes but important ties for Arron Edwards-Hill, Sam Bairstow & John Gough at the top of the order and wins for Olly Huggins, Josh Berry, Harley Smith and Jack Bigham down the home stretch saw them steal the trophy from the hosts.

Here’s the Men’s Home Internationals Results Table after the Round 3 matches.

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.41.48

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4th August 2022

Day 2 Matches

England 7.5 – Scotland 4.5

Wales 3.0 – Ireland 9.0

Whilst both teams won on Day 2 of the Men’s Home Internationals Ireland moved ahead of England in the standings by virtue of their larger winning margin against Wales.

Here’s the Men’s Home Internationals Table after the Round 2 matches.

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 10.53.15

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3rd August 2022

Day 1 Matches

England 9.0 – Wales 3.0

Scotland 3.0 – Ireland 9.0

England and Ireland have both made strong starts to the Men’s Home Internationals, both winning their opening day matches 9-3 against Wales and Scotland respectively.

Here’s the Men’s Home Internationals Table after the Round 1 matches.

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 10.46.50

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2nd August 2022

The R&A and four Golf Unions have this year decided to bring together the mens and womens home internationals.

Therefore the R&A Womens and Mens Home Internationals will be played at Ballyliffin Golf Club in County Donegal, Ireland on 3rd-5th August 2022.

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

I am not supportive of these changes, particularly to the longstanding Men’s and Women’s events. This is because: –

1) I appreciate the history and tradition that both have built up over many years.

2) The impact on competitiveness of moving to a larger combined team of 16 players for the main prize, albeit I accept there are pros and cons to this.

3) It discriminates against men by reducing the number of male players competing from 11 to 9 and the number of foursomes (5 to 4) and singles (10 to 8) they play in the event.

Despite requesting help in understanding this change on Twitter no one has to date provided me with a single positive reason for this move.

To be clear I am all for shared venues, which may add to the overall spectacle, but remain unconvinced about the merits of combined and mixed events. In my opinion the separate mens and womens competitions should have remained the priority and if it was felt a combined trophy was necessary this should have been the secondary add-on.

Format Change

In the new combined event England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will have 16 person amateur teams consisting of 9 men and 7 women. The number of women competing is unchanged but men on each side have been reduced by two.

Each country will play every other team over the three competition days.

Matches will consist of 7 foursomes (4 mens and 3 womens) and 14 singles (8 mens and 6 womens) played over 18 holes. Each match will start with a mens game and alternate with a womens game thereafter. When compared with the previous separate events the womens format is unchanged but the mens has been reduced by 1 foursomes and 2 singles.

One point will be 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 will be determined according to the highest number of match points earned. Ties will be broken by reviewing the total number of individual womens and mens combined game points.

The winning team will be awarded a new prize, The R&A Trophy.

Whilst now appearing to be of secondary importance The Raymond Trophy and International Shield will still be awarded to the countries which respectively gain the most match points in the men’s and women’s separate series of matches.

The Raymond Trophy

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

The men’s home internationals were first played in 1932 and this year’s ‘staging’ will be the 81st playing of this prestigious event.

Since 1952 the winning team has received The Raymond Trophy.

In the 80 competitions played to date England have won 38, 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.

The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2022 Men’s Players

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

ENGLAND
Sam BAIRSTOW – Hallowes
Josh BERRY – Doncaster
Jack BIGHAM – Harpenden
Arron EDWARDS-HILL – Chelmsford
John GOUGH – Stoke Park
Olly HUGGINS – Frilford Heath
Ben QUINNEY – Kings Hill
Harley SMITH – The Rayleigh Club
Tyler WEAVER – Bury St. Edmunds

IRELAND
Robert BRAZILL – Naas
Colm CAMPBELL – Warrenpoint
Hugh FOLEY – Royal Dublin
Matt MCCLEAN – Malone
Robert MORAN – Castle
Liam NOLAN – Galway
Peter O’KEEFFE – Douglas
Mark POWER – Kilkenny
Caolan RAFFERTY – Dundalk

SCOTLAND
Callum BRUCE – Duff House Royal
Angus CARRICK – Cragielaw
Matthew CLARK – Renfrewshire
Andrew DAVIDSON – Crail
Rory FRANSSEN – Auchterarder
Connor GRAHAM – Blairgowrie
Gregor GRAHAM – Blairgowrie
Lewis IRVINE – Kirkhill
Calum SCOTT – Nairn

WALES
Tomi BOWEN – Welshpool
Sean DAVID – Pyle & Kenfig
Alex JAMES – Royal Lytham & St. Anneshuddlan
Connor JONES – Aberdovey
Tom MATTHEWS – Aldersley Green
Craig MELDING – Neath
Paddy MULLINS – Whitchurch
James NASH – Ormskirk
Matt ROBERTS – Royal Porthcawl

Wales’ three leading players James Ashfield, Archie Davies and Luke Harries are all playing at The Celtic Manor Resort in the Cazoo Open on the DP World Tour this week.

Venue – Ballyliffin Golf Club

Ballyliffin is Ireland’s most northerly golf club and is located near Inishowen in County Donegal.

It enjoys two superb links courses, The Old Links and Glashedy Links, and is now generally accepted as being one of the best golf resorts in Europe.

The Old Links course is being used this week. The men’s championship course is going to play at 6,891 yards with a par of 71, there being only one par 5 on the front nine.

2022 Weather Forecast (as at 2nd August 2022)

The latest forecast is satisfactory for the three competition days: –

Wed. 3rd Aug. – Light Rain / Wind 17mph W / Temp. Min 11º, Max 16º
Thurs. 4th Aug. – Showers / Wind 16 mph NW / Temp. Min 11º, Max 15º
Fri. 5th Aug. – Light Cloud / Wind 15mph NW / Temp. Min 12º, Max 17º

2021 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

Ireland won the 2021 R&A Men’s Home Internationals after a thrilling contest at Hankley Common G.C. which went down to the final putt of the competition.

Ireland With The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Luke Walker / Getty Images / The R&A)

Scotland who secured 27.5 game points, compared with Ireland’s 27, finished second, England a disappointing 3rd and Wales 4th.

Final Table / Match Points (Graphics: The R&A / Golfbox)

England won the Seniors, Girls and Boys and Women’s Home Internationals in 2021 but were found wanting in the Men’s event. No one would have predicted before play started that they would be comfortably beaten in both Singles series against Scotland (8-2) and Ireland (6.5-3.5) and it was these two series performances that ultimately cost them.

Match Overview (Graphics: The R&A / Golfbox)

Click here to view the full – 2021 R&A Men’s Home Internationals Results

Robert MORAN (IRL), Andrew NI (SCO), John GOUGH (ENG) and Luke HARRIES & Ben CHAMBERLAIN (WAL) were the leading players for the four nations at Hankley Common.

Historic Results

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

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The European Amateur Championship – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 21/06/2022 by Golf Bible

25th June 2022

Filippo CELLI (ITA) won the 2022 European Amateur Championship at El Saler Golf Club after rounds of 64, 74, 73 and 69.

Celli is from Rome and is a rising junior at Texas Christian University in USA.

Filippo Celli (Photo: European Golf Association)

The 2023 European Amateur Championship will be played at Pärnu Bay Golf Links in Estonia.

Round 4

A final round 69 gave Filippo Celli a 280 (-8) total and a one shot victory. Celli started nervously with a bogey 5 on his opening hole but recovered his poise quickly with four birdies following on his front nine. An even par back nine saw him safely home albeit a bogey 5 on the par 4 16th made things interesting down the stretch.

He is the fourth Italian winner of this prestigious trophy following in the footsteps of Massimo Scarpa (1992), Stafano Mazzoli (2015) and Luca Cianchetti (2016).

The victory also provides Celli with an exemption into the 150th Open Championship being played at St. Andrews in a few weeks time.

Rasmus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) produced one of three 67’s on the final day to take 2nd place on 281 (-7). Whilst he too bogeyed the first he followed it was six unblemished birdies in what was a strong finish for the Dane.

Scotland’s Calum SCOTT (-6) finished 3rd after a final round 68, which also included six birdies, lifted him up three places. Scott has enjoyed a good Freashman season at Texas Tech University and continues to trend upwards. This is the best result of his career to date.

Calum Scott, Filippo Celli and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Photo: European Golf Association)

Neergaard-Petersen, Scott and Javier BARCOS GARBAYO (ESP), who finished 4th on 283 (-5), all earned exemptions into Final Qualifying for the Open Championship as a result of their top 4 finishes.

The other GB&I players to finish in the top 50 were Harley SMITH (ENG) -1 tied 9th, Rob MORAN (IRL) Ev tied 18th, Callum BRUCE (SCO) +1 T23, James ASHFIELD (WAL) +2 tied 23rd and Josh HILL (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) & Frank KENNEDY (ENG) +5 tied 44th.

Leading Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Click here to view the full – EGA / Golfbox Leaderboard

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24th June 2022

Round 3

Filippo CELLI (ITA) recaptured the lead from compatriot Pietro BOVARI (ITA) on Day 3 after they recorded rounds of 73 and 75 respectively. Celli will start the final day on -5 with Bovari tied for 2nd, one shot further back, alongside Javier BARCOS (ESP), Sam SLATER (AUS), whose 66 was the low round of the day, Michael MJAASETH (DEN) and Yannick MALIK (GER).

South African Casey JARVIS, who has largely disappointed on Golf RSA’s European tour, crept into contention with a 68. He is now tied 6th in a group of four players which includes Calum SCOTT (SCO), GB&I’s leading player, on 214 (-2).

The other leading GB&I players are James ASHFIELD (WAL) -1 tied 10th, Harley SMITH (ENG) Ev tied 14th, Rob MORAN (IRL) +1 tied 18th and Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Olly HUGGINS (ENG) and Rory FRANNSEN (SCO), all +2 tied 27th.

There are now just 17 players on even par or better. The average score in Round 3 was 74.41, the lowest we have seen to date.

Welshman James ASHFIELD is tied 1st for the ‘most pars or better’ with 48 whilst Ben QUINNEY (ENG) leads the field in ‘most birdies or better’ with 15. In terms of the standings that matter Quinney is tied 55th on 222 (+6).

67 players made the top 60 and ties cut which fell at +6.

img_2037-1

Leading Round 3 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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23rd June 2022

Round 2

Pietro BOVARI (ITA) shot a bogey free 66 in Round 2, the best round of the day by two shots, to move into the lead of the European Amateur.

Overnight leader and compatriot Filippo CELLI (ITA) slipped into 2nd place after recording a 2-over 74.

Jack INGHAM (NED) followed his opening 70 with a 69 to move up 16 places to 3rd place. For the second day running he helped his cause with an eagle on the back nine.

Calum SCOTT (SCO) is now the leading GB&I player. After rounds of 71 and 70 he sits on -3 in tied 5th place.

The other leading home players are Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Robert MORAN (IRL) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO). On 143 (-1) for the first 36 holes they are all tied 15th.

There are now 34 players on even par or better, down from the 45 seen after Round 1 had been completed. The average score in Round 2 was 75.35 (par 72), half a shot higher than the 74.84 posted by the field on Wednesday.

img_2027-1

Leading Round 2 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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22nd June 2022

Round 1

Italy’s Filippo CELLI shot a spectacular 64 (-8), which included an eagle, seven birdies and surprisingly a bogey 5 on the 18th, to take a 3-shot lead in the European Amateur at El Saler.

Rasmus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN‘s (DEN) bogey free 67 (-5) on a perfect day for golf in Valencia sees him in sole possession of 2nd place.

Nine players, including Scotland’s Rory FRANSSEN, are tied for third place on -4 after recording 68’s.

15 year old Connor GRAHAM (SCO) -3 is tied 12th with Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Callum BRUCE (SCO), Olly HUGGINS (ENG), Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Mason ESSAM (ENG) -1, tied 22nd, also under par.

Hamish BROWN (DEN), also on -3, joined his compatriot Neergaard- Petersen as the only other player to go bogey free through the opening 18 holes.

45 players finished Round 1 on even par or better. The average score across all of the 144 players was 74.84 (+2.84).

Leading Round 1 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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21st June 2022

The 35th European Amateur Championship will be played at El Saler Golf Club, which is located on the southern outskirts of Valancia in Spain, between 22nd-25th June 2022.

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

2022 will be the third occasion that Spain has hosted the European Amateur with El Prat GC in Barcelona hosting the previous two visits.

I will be updating this article with daily reports on play during the week.

Competition Format

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

A cut takes place after 54 holes with the 60 lowest scores and ties qualifying 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 is used for all other ties.

Entries

144 players contest the Championship which is traditionally played in June each year.

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, Spain, competitors in the Bonallack Trophy, St. Andrew’s Trophy and Jacques Léglise Trophy matches, the 2022 South American Amateur champion and the 2022 European Mid-Amateur champion.

There are 25 GB&I entries, namely Cameron ADAM (SCO), James ASHFIELD (WAL), Callan BARROW (ENG), Jack BROOKS (ENG), Callum BRUCE (SCO), Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG), Archie DAVIES (WAL), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Mason ESSAM (ENG), Archie FINNIE (SCO), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), TJ FORD (IRL), Rory FRANNSEN (SCO), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Josh HILL (ENG), Olly HUGGINS (ENG), Lewis IRVINE (SCO), Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Ben QUINNEY (ENG), Matt ROBERTS (WAL), Calum SCOTT (SCO), Harley SMITH (ENG) and Matthew WILSON (SCO).

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) and John GOUGH (ENG) were in the field but have both withdrawn presumably following their exertions at the Amateur Championship last week.

Noteworthy overseas entries include Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE), Bastien AMAT (FRA), Christian BANKE (USA), Matthis BESARD (BEL), Frederik BIRKELUND (DEN), Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA), Hamish BROWN (DEN), Jack BUCHANAN (AUS), Christiaan BURKE (RSA), Martin COUVRA (FRA), Harrison CROWE (AUS), Kyle DE BEER (RSA), Matteo FERNANDEZ DE OLIVEIRA (ARG), Marco FLORIOLI (ITA), Jorge HAO (ESP), James HYDES (NZL), Casey JARVIS (RSA), Jerry JI (NED), Ryggs JOHNSTON (USA), Frederik KJETTRUP (DEN), Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), Connor MCKINNEY (AUS), Jaime MONTOJO (ESP), David NYFJALL (SWE), Yurav PREMLALL (RSA), David PUIG (ESP – and a member of the LIV Golf Series), Baard SKOGEN (NOR) and Kiet VAN DER WEELE (NED).

Parador Campo de Golf de El Saler, Spain

The 2022 Championship is being staged at El Saler Golf Club in Spain.

The Club was founded in 1968 with the course designed by the prominent Spanish architect Javier Arana.

Located in the Natural Park of La Albufera on the Mediterranean coast it stretches through a protected landscape of dunes and pine forests.

Parador El Saler Golf Club Course Plan (Photo: El Saler G.C.)

El Saler is 6,950 yards / 6,355 metres long and plays to a par of 72. It has a course rating of 74.2 and a slope of 136.

Highly rated the course has staged the Spanish Open in 1994, 1989, 2001, and 2013, the Seve Trophy in 2003 and it was a European Tour Qualifying School venue between 2013-2017.

Weather Forecast

Weather conditions are expected to be unchanged and near perfect throughout the week.

Weds 22nd June – Sunny. Wind 6 mph SW. Min. 19°C / Max. 32°C.
Thurs 23rd June – Sunny. Wind 6 mph SW. Min. 20°C / Max. 31°C.
Fri 24th June – Sunny. Wind 6 mph SW. Min. 19°C / Max. 32°C.
Sat 25th June – Sunny. Wind 6 mph SE. Min. 20°C / Max. 30°C.

Prizes

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

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

The champion also earns an exemption into the Open Championship, this year being played at St. Andrews in Scotland.

Further Information

Click here to view the – EGA European Amateur Championship Website

2021 European Amateur Championship

Christopher BRING (DEN) won the 2021 European Amateur Championship by 2-shots with a 264 (-20) total.

Christopher Bring (Photo: European Golf Association)

Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE) finished 2nd on 266 (-18) and David PUIG (ESP) 269 (-15) 3rd. Both players are returning this year and are expected to do well again.

Due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions there were no players from Great Britain in the field at Golf Du Médoc Resort in France but Marc BOUCHER, Max KENNEDY, Robert MORAN and Michael YOUNG from Ireland all made it to the start line. However, all four missed the 54 hole cut.

Click here to view the full – 2021 European Amateur Championship Results

History

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

Ashley Chesters is the only two-time winner and the only player 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)

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The Home of Great British & Irish Amateur Golf

Tag Archives: Harley Smith

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