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

ME

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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

ME

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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

ME

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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

ME

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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.

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: –

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.

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