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World Amateur Team Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

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11th October 2025

Round 4

SOUTH AFRICA secured their first Eisenhower Trophy victory with a 547 (-29) total on the Tampines Course at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.

South Africa (Photo: IGF)

AUSTRALIA (-21) finished 2nd and ENGLAND (-19) 3rd, securing the silver and bronze medals.

SCOTLAND (-11) finished tied 7th, IRELAND (Ev) tied 21st and WALES (+5) tied 27th.

Defending champions USA (-9) were a disappointing tied 10th.

Team Results (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

The outstanding player at this year’s Championship, Christiaan MAAS (RSA), finished with a 69 for a 266 (-22) total, 10 shots ahead of Australia’s Declan O’DONOVAN in 2nd place.

Eliot BAKER (ENG), 67, and Connor GRAHAM (SCO), 66, with the best score in Round 4, both finished on -6 and tied 11th. Stuart GREHAN (IRL), 71, Charlie FORSTER (ENG), 70, and Tyler WEAVER (ENG), -5, were tied 17th.

Individual Results (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – Men’s 2025 WATC Team and Individual Leaderboards

The 2027 World Amateur Team Championships will be hosted by the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation and will be played at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.

ME.

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10th October 2025

Round 3

With just 18 holes to play SOUTH AFRICA (-26), who are surprisingly seeking their first Eisenhower Trophy victory, enjoy an 11-shot lead after they delivered a best of the week 132 (-13) in the third round.

AUSTRALIA and MEXICO are tied 2nd on -15 with ENGLAND (-12) and FRANCE (-11) also well placed in the race for the silver and bronze medals.

SCOTLAND (-5) are tied 10th, IRELAND (-1) tied 19th and WALES (Ev) tied 22nd heading in to tomorrow’s final round.

Defending champions USA (-4) are tied 14th after a second consecutive 139 (-5) score in Round 3.

Round 3 Team Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Christiaan MAAS (RSA) shot a third round 65 to move on to -19. With a 10-shot lead he now seems assured of the Individual honours in Singapore.

Mexico’s Eduardo DERBEZ, a University of Texas teammate of Maas, shot the best round of the week so far in Round 3. His 64, which included six consecutive birdies on the front nine and a final hole eagle, earned him a share of the course record.

After 54 holes Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -6 is tied 7th, Stuart GREHAN (IRL) -4 tied 12th, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -3 19th and Eliot BAKER (ENG) & Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) -1 tied 27th.

Round 3 Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

ME.

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9th October 2025

Round 2

SOUTH AFRICA (-14) moved into a commanding 5-shot lead at the Eisenhower Trophy after a 135 (-9) Round 2 score.

On a low scoring day in Singapore, albeit one where play was suspended for 1 hour and 24 minutes in the morning due to dangerous weather, AUSTRALIA, FRANCE and ENGLAND (-9) are all tied 2nd after 138 (-6), 139 (-5) and 137 (-7) team scores respectively.

The other home nations also improved their leaderboard positions. IRELAND and WALES (both -2) rose to tied 14th whilst SCOTLAND (-1) are up to tied 18th.

Defending champions and favourites USA (+1) are tied 22nd after a 139 (-5) Round 2 score.

Round 2 Team Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Christiaan MAAS (RSA) -12 leads the Individual standings by 4-shots after he posted a second consecutive 66.

Rintaro NAKANO (JAP) also recorded a 66 to move up to tied 3rd place on -7 behind Hiroshi TAI (SNP) -8, after he could only manage a 71, and alongside Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA) who shot one of three 67’s in Round 2.

Charlie FORSTER (ENG) 69, now on -4 in tied 11th, and Stuart GREHAN (IRL) 68, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) 67 & Tyler WEAVER (ENG) 68, -3 in tied 14th are the leading GB&I players after 36 holes.

Round 2 Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

ME.

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8th October 2025

Round 1

Carlos Astiazaran (-4) and Eduardo Derbez (-3) helped MEXICO (-7) to a surprise Round 1 lead in the Eisenhower Trophy competition.

SOUTH AFRICA (-5) and FRANCE (-4) are their nearest challengers after a typically warm day in Singapore where temperatures peaked at 91°F in the afternoon.

ENGLAND (-2) finished the opening day tied 8th, WALES (+2) tied 20th, SCOTLAND (+3) tied 25th and IRELAND (+4) tied 28th.

Defending champions USA (+6), tied 32nd, got off to a disappointing start which may prove to be unsurmountable even with their elite team. All three of their players posted scores of 75 (+3).

Round 1 Team Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Home favourite Hiroshi TAI (SNP) -7 leads Christiaan MAAS (RSA) -6 and Carlos ASTIAZARAN (MEX) (-4) in the Individual standings. Tai had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot this morning and finished the day 1-shot shy of David Puig’s course record.

From a GB&I perspective Eliot BAKER (ENG) & Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -1 are tied 15th and Tyler WEAVER (ENG), Caolan BURFORD (WAL), Jonathan BALE (WAL), Stuart GREHAN (IRL) & Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) +1 are all tied 35th.

Round 1 Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

ME.

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7th October 2025

The 34th Men’s World Amateur Team Championship (WATC), played for the Eisenhower Trophy, starts on Wednesday 8th October in Singapore.

The Championship will be hosted by the Singapore Golf Association and played at Tanah Merah Country Club.

USA, who won the competition for the 16th time in 2023, will be looking to defend the title for the first time since they last did so in 2014. They also have the opportunity to become the first country since 1994 to win both the men’s and women’s competitions in the same year following their victory in the Espirito Santo Trophy last week.

The WATC is a biennial international amateur golf competition run by the International Golf Federation (IGF).

The IGF comprises 153 national governing bodies of golf in 150 countries as well as tours and organizations that conduct championships. It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the body responsible for golf and as such, in addition to the Men’s and Women’s WATC’s it also organises the golf competitions in both the Olympics and Youth Olympics.

The WATC are hosted by rotation taking in Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, Africa and for the first time in 2023 the Middle East.

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

Competition Format

36 teams are competing in the 2025 WATC.

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

Ties for the golf medal are resolved by reference to the third non-counting score in the fourth round, then, if necessary, the third, second and first rounds. All other ties are left unresolved.

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

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

Whilst individual results are reported and the player with the lowest score is recognised at the closing ceremony there has historically been no prize awarded for this achievement.

Competitors

The home nations will be represented by the following players (with their ages and WAGR as at 1st October noted after their name): –

ENGLAND – Eliot Baker 22 (#93), Charlie Forster 22 (#47), Tyler Weaver 20 (#12)

England (Photo: IGF)

IRELAND – John Doyle 18 (#414), Stuart Grehan 32 (#124), Caolan Rafferty 32 (#133)

Ireland (Photo: IGF)

SCOTLAND – Cameron Adam 22 (#18), Connor Graham 18 (#37), Niall Shiels Donegan 20 (#59)

Scotland (Photo: IGF)

WALES – Jonathan Bale 37 (#177), Tomi Bowen 22 (#285) Caolan Burford 21 (#1,488)

Wales (Photo: IGF)

The other competing nations are as follows with those highlighted expected to be the most competitive.

ARGENTINA – Juan Martín Loureiro 22 (#185), Segundo Oliva Pinto 26 (#115), Mateo Pulcini 25 (#171)

AUSTRALIA – Billy Dowling 20 (#262), Declan O’Donovan 22 (#315), Harry Takis 19 (#117)

BRAZIL – Andrey Borges Xavier 24 (#31), Eduardo Ferreira 19 (#148), Herik Oliveira Machado 24 (#46)

CANADA – Isaiah Ibit 19 (#379), Justin Matthews 21 (#237), Ashton McCulloch 23 (#70)

CHINA – Haoyi Wang 16 (#213), Qiyou Wu 16 (#222), Ziqin Zhou 19 (#125)

COLOMBIA – Carlos Ardila Conde 29 (#49), Tomás Restrepo 17 (#183), Emilio Vélez 15 (#143)

CZECHIA – Timotej Formánek 20 (#542), Filip Jakubčík 21 (#7), Štěpán Plášek 16 (#335)

DENMARK – Claes T. Borregaard 25 (#77), Oscar H. Bredkjær 21 (#383), Kristian H. Bressum 25 (#65)

ESTONIA – Kevin Jegers 24 (#107), Richard Teder 20 (#101), Mattias Varjun 25 (#356)

FRANCE – Louis Anceaux 20 (#308), Oscar Couilleau 17 (#120), Hugo Le Goff 17 (#54)

GERMANY – Wolfgang Glawe 23 (#69), Emil Riegger 20 (#116), Tim Wiedemeyer 20 (#22)

GUAM – Redge Camacho 30 (#3,084), Markus Nanpei 20 (#NR), Ivan Sablan 21 (#1,811)

GUATEMALA – Sebastian Barnoya 31 (#76), Gabriel Palacios 20 (#34), Alejandro Villavicencio 45 (#72)

INDIA – Arin Ahuja 24 (#2,018), Rakshit Dahiya 18 (#349), Deepak Yadav 23 (#3,389)

INDONESIA – Randy Bintang 21 (#268), Asa Najib 24 (#277), Amadeus C. Susanto 22 (#362)

ITALY – Riccardo Fantinelli 21 (#163), Michele Ferrero 20 (#270), Filippo Ponzano 21 (#138)

JAPAN – Taishi Moto 20 (#104), Taisei Nagasaki 16 (#159), Rintaro Nakano 21 (#158)

MEXICO – Carlos Astiazaran 20 (#114), Gerardo Gomez 20 (#167), Eduardo Derbez 20 (#637)

MOROCCO – Adam Bresnu 21 (#86), Alexandre El Khomri 15 (#788), Hugo Mazen Trommetter 21 (#553)

NETHERLANDS – Guus Lafeber 17 (#289), Benjamin Reuter 22 (#90), Nevill Ruiter 23 (#265)

NEW ZEALAND – Cooper Moore 17 (#168), Zackary Swanwick 19 (#75), Robby Turnbull 18 (#306)

NORWAY – Emil Herstad 18 (#969), Michael Mjaaseth 22 (#21), Joachim Larsen 21 (#726),

PANAMA – Raul Carbonell 26 (#208), Miguel Ordoñez 41 (#410), Omar Tejeira 35 (#89)

PARAGUAY – Benjamin Fernandez 20 (#211), Franco Fernandez 18 (#629), Erich Fortlage 19 (#173)

SINGAPORE – Brayden Lee 18 (#305), Troy Storm 16 (#385), Hiroshi Tai 23 (#61)

SOUTH AFRICA – Charl Barnard 19 (#684), Daniel Bennett 20 (#24), Christiaan Maas 22 (#6)

SPAIN – Alejandro De C. Piera 20 (#112), Álvaro P. Roman 20 (#293), Sergio J. Romero 20 (#63)

SWEDEN – Alfons Bondesson 22 (#88), Simon Hovdal 20 (#197), Filip Fahlberg Johnsson 19 (#108)

THAILAND – Arsit Areephun 22 (#1,566), Pongsapak Laopakdee 20 (#56), Parin Sarasmut 17 (#212)

USA – Mason Howell 18 (#127), Preston Stout 21 (#4), Ethan Fang 20 (#3)

VIETNAM – Ho Anh Huy 15 (#334), Nguyen Anh Minh 18 (#42), Nguyen Duc Son 18 (#530)

ZIMBABWE – Darlington Chikanyambidze 19 (#715), Munesu Chimhini 14 (#611), Elton Zulu 26 (#816)

20 of the above listed players competed in the 2023 WATC at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in U.A.E.

Venue

The 2025 WATC is being played at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.

Tanah Merah opened in 1984 and has two championship courses, the Garden Course and Tampines Course. The Tampines is being used this week.

The Club has staged many international events, including the Johnnie Walker Classic, Lexus Cup, HSBC Women’s Champions, the Asian Tour’s International Series Singapore (ISS) and the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open.

This week it will be set up to play to 7,394 yards and will have a par of 72.

Hole                1           2          3           4          5          6           7          8          9         Total
Par                  4           4          4           3          5           3          4          5          4           36
Yards            385       475      444      214       636      173      433       569      334       3663

Hole               10         11         12         13        14        15        16        17        18        Total
Par                 5            4            4          4          3          4           3          4         5           36
Yards            598       420      435       397      195       507       156      434      589      3,731

2023 WATC

USA (-36) won the 33rd Men’s World Amateur Team Championship by 11-shots at Abu Dhabi G.C. in U.A.E.

The team finished the event off in style compiling the low round of the Championship; a 132 (-12), helped in no small part by a 64 from David FORD, the second lowest round in the tournament’s history.

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Team USA – Nick Dunlap, David Ford & Gordon Sargent (Photo: IGF)

NORWAY and AUSTRALIA (-25) tied for 2nd place with FRANCE (-24) 4th and NEW ZEALAND and ITALY (-23) tied 5th. It was Norway’s best ever finish in their 26 appearances to date.

IRELAND (-20) finished strongly to rise 11 places on the final day and secure a tied 8th finish.

ENGLAND (-14) finished tied 15th, WALES (-13) tied 17th and SCOTLAND (-10) tied 21st.

32 of the 36 teams finished the 72 holes with an under par score.

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Team Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Western Amateur champion Kazuma KOBORI (NZL) took the low Individual title with a 272 (-16) total. He rose eight places to secure the honour with a fine 65 (-7) in the final round.

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Nick DUNLAP (USA) finished 2nd on -15 with France’s Bastien AMAT and Norway’s Herman WIBE SEKNE -14 one shot further back.

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Leading Individual Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) -11 produced the best performance by a GB&I player finishing tied 8th.

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) -10 again impressed at the highest level with a very consistent performance to finish tied 14th.

Five other GB&I players finished under par for the Championship. Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -8 was tied 17th, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -6 tied 30th, Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), who came through the standings with a final day 65, -5 tied 36th, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) -3 tied 43rd and Liam NOLAN (IRL) -2 tied 50th.

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GB&I Individual Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Historic Results

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

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

Here are the historic Men’s WATC results: –

Future WATC Events

The International Golf Federation has confirmed the following future venues for the WATC: –

35th – 2027 – Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Morocco

36th – 2029 – Fontana G.C., Austria

ME.

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

Men’s Home Internationals – 2025 Preview & Results

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

Friday 8th August 2025

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

England Men’s Team (Photo: England Golf)

Individual Performances

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

Day 3

IRELAND 6.5 – 5.5 SCOTLAND

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

ENGLAND 6.5 – 5.5 WALES

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

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

ME.

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Thursday 7th August 2025

Day 2 

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

WALES 4.5 – 7.5 SCOTLAND

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

ENGLAND 8.0 – 4.0 IRELAND

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

ME.

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Wednesday 6th August 2025

Day 1

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

IRELAND 5.5 – 6.5 WALES 

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

ENGLAND 7.0 – 5.0 SCOTLAND

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

ME.

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1st August 2025

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

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

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

Combined Event

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

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

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

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

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

2025 Men’s Players

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Venue – Woodhall Spa Golf Club

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

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

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

Match Format

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

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

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

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

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

The winning team receives the Raymond Trophy.  

The Raymond Trophy

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

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

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

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The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2025 Weather Forecast (as at 1st August 2025)

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

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

2024 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

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

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

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

Screenshot 2024-08-09 at 20.58.03

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

Historic Results

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

ME.

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

European Men’s Amateur Team Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

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12th July 2025

ITALY won the 2025 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship at Killarney Golf & Fishing Resort in Ireland.

Italy Celebrate Victory (Photo: EGA / INPHO / Laszlo Geczo)

The final results were: –

ESTONIA, CZECH REPUBLIC and PORTUGAL finished 14th-16th and were therefore relegated to Division 2 for the 2026 Championship. 

In this year’s Division 2 competition WALES finished 2nd to earn promotion back to the main event in 2026. BELGIUM 1st and AUSTRIA 3rd joined them. SCOTLAND‘s 4th place saw them miss out.

Match Play Flight A – Finals Day

ITALY (4), DENMARK (3) and ENGLAND (1) earned the medals on the final day of the Match Play Flight A competition in Killarney.

Flight A Final Day Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ITALY (4) beat DENMARK (3) 6.0-1.0 in the Final not losing any of the seven games that were contested.

Italy v. Denmark Flight A Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ENGLAND (1) managed to grab victory over IRELAND (2) from the jaws of defeat to take bronze. Ireland seemed to have the result in their hands when they were winning all of the afternoon Singles but late wins for Tyler WEAVER, by 1 Hole, and Charlie FORSTER, on the 19th, finally saw them over the line.

England v. Ireland Flight A 3rd & 4th Place Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2025 Match Play Scoreboards – Flight A and Flight B

ME.

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11th July 2025

Match Play Flight A – Semi-Finals

The two Semi-Finals both went against seed with ITALY (4) easily beating ENGLAND (1) and DENMARK (3) edging out IRELAND (2).

Flight A Semi-Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ENGLAND (1) were disappointing in the afternoon Singles as they fell to a 5.5-1.5 defeat to ITALY (4).

England v. Italy Flight A Semi-Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

A superb finish to the round from Kristian HJORT BRESSUM enabled him to take the all-important single point off Thomas HIGGINS that enabled DENMARK (3), who fought back well from losing the two morning Foursomes, to edge out IRELAND (2).

Denmark v. Ireland Flight A Semi-Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

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10th July 2025

Match Play Flight A – Quarter Finals

The four highest seeds after the Stroke Play Qualifying, ENGLAND (1), ITALY (4), DENMARK (3) and IRELAND (2), all progressed on Day 1 of the Match Play Stage.

Flight A Quarter Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ENGLAND (1) enjoyed a comfortable 6.0-1.0 win against FINLAND (8) in the opening Quarter Final. After winning the two morning foursomes afternoon single wins by Tyler WEAVER, Daniel HAYES and Charlie FORSTER ensured their would be no comeback from the Fins.

England v. Finland Flight A Quarter Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Led by Stuart GREHAN IRELAND (2) saw off SWEDEN (7) 5.0-2.0 in their Match Play Flight A encounter. Gavin TIERNAN and Matt MCCLEAN earned important Singles wins to get the Irish over the line. 

Ireland v. Sweden Flight A Quarter Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ITALY (4) and DENMARK (3) both earned 4.5-2.5 wins against FRANCE (5) and GERMANY (6) in the two other Quarter Final matches to take their places in the Semi-Finals. 

ME.

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9th July 2025

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

ENGLAND (-44) earned the No. 1 Match Play Flight A seeding with an outstanding performance in the 36 hole Stroke Play Qualifying competition at Killarney.

Making up the qualifiers for Flight A were IRELAND (-25) who finished 2nd, DENMARK (-25) 3rd, ITALY (-24) 4th, FRANCE (-17) 5th, GERMANY (-14), 6th SWEDEN (-12) 7th and FINLAND (-10) 8th.

Sweden, who were 14th after the opening round, fought back well to take their place in Flight A.

SPAIN (-7) 10th and ESTONIA (-5) 12th, who both looked relatively strong on paper at the outset, will be disappointed not to make Flight A.

The lowest five scores from each six man team counted towards the team total with any ties broken by reference to their non-counting score.

The top eight qualifying teams will now play in a Flight (A) seeded match play competition, which will determine the medalists, and the next eight a second flight (B). The bottom three countries in Flight B at the end of the week will be relegated to Division 2.

Stroke Play Qualifying Team Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -12 produced the best individual performance just edging out his teammate Charlie FORSTER by 1-shot. Weaver enjoyed a hole-in-one on the 3rd as well as seven other birdies in a stunning 63 today, setting a new amateur course record in the process.

Eliot BAKER (ENG) -9 5th, Stuart GREHAN (-8) 8th, Luke POULTER (ENG) -6 13th, Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) -5 17th and Thomas HIGGINS (IRL) -5 20th all performed well for their countries in the Stroke Play Qualifying.

Italian pair Riccardo FANTINELLI & Biagio Andrea GAGLIARDI -10, Peer WERNICKE (GER) -9, Kristian HJORT BRESSUM (DEN) -9 and Paul BEAUVY (FRA) & Alexis LERAY (FRA) also led their respective countries to strong seedings. 

The average Round 2 score from the 96 competitors was 71.23 (-0.77), lower than yesterday’s 72.19, (+0.19) with 47 (42) players finishing Day 2 with an under par round.

Stroke Play Qualifying Individual Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

2025 Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Teams and Individuals

ME.

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8th July 2025

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

ENGLAND (-20) lead the Stroke Play Qualifying competition after a strong opening day performance in Killarney.

ICELAND (-13) are a surprise 2nd, IRELAND (-11) 3rd, GERMANY (-11) 4th and DENMARK (-10) 5th. 

Amongst the pre-tournament favourites SPAIN (-5) 7th, FRANCE (-2) 8th, ESTONIA (-1) 9th and particularly SWEDEN (+5) 14th all have work to do to tomorrow to confirm their places in the Flight A Match Play stage. 

The lowest five scores from each six man team count towards the team total with ties broken by reference to their non-counting score.

Round 1 Stroke Play Qualifying Team Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Charlie FORSTER (ENG) enjoyed eight birdies in his 65 (-7) as he took the Round 1 lead in the Individual standings.

Sergio JIMENEZ (ESP) -6 is 2nd on count back, Kristian HJORT BRESSUM (DEN) -6 3rd, and Icelandic pair Gunnlaugur Arni SVEINSSON and Veiger HEIDARSSON 4th and 5th after they were the best of the five 67’s (-5).

The average Round 1 score from the 96 competitors was 72.19 (+0.19) with 42 players finishing Day 1 with an under par score.

Round 1 Stroke Play Qualifying Individual Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

The top eight qualifying teams will play in a first flight (A) seeded match play competition, which will determine the medalists, and the next eight a second flight (B).

ME.

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7th July 2025

Introduction

The 42nd European Men’s Amateur Team Championship will be played between Tuesday 8th and Saturday 12th July 2025 at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club in Ireland.

Killarney Golf & Fishing Club (Photo: Killarney Golf)

Only England and Ireland will be competing in the main men’s event this week. Scotland and Wales are amongst the nine teams playing in the Division 2 competition being played in Hungary.

Sweden are the defending champions having beaten Netherlands in last year’s final at Royal Park I Roveri in Italy.

Scotland were the last home nation to win the Team Championship when they successfully defended the title at Golf de Chantilly in France in 2016. England last won in 2013, Ireland in 2008 and Wales in 1993. 

The European Ladies’, Boys’ and Girls’ Team Championships are also being played elsewhere in Europe this week.

2025 Teams

16 national teams of 6 players will contest the 2025 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship.

The teams competing are Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The home nation teams are made up of the following players (2nd July 2025 WAGR’s in brackets): –

ENGLAND – Eliot BAKER (#134), Charlie FORSTER (#58), Daniel HAYES (#259), Luke POULTER (#49), Harley SMITH (#123), Tyler WEAVER (#14). Total Team WAGR = 637.

England Team (Photo: EGA)

IRELAND – John DOYLE (#786), Stuart GREHAN (#845), Thomas HIGGINS (#402), Matt MCCLEAN (#204), Caolan RAFFERTY (#203), Gavin TIERNAN (#652). Total Team WAGR = 3,092.

Ireland Team (Photo: EGA)

On paper England, Estonia, Ireland, France, Spain and Sweden appear to be the strongest teams likely to challenge for the medals.

Format / Schedule

The Championship is run by the European Golf Association, this year in partnership with Golf Ireland.

Two rounds of stroke play qualifying are completed on the first two days, with the lowest five scores from each team counting. All ties will be broken by reference to each team’s non-counting scores.

These results then determine a seeded match play draw. The top eight qualifying teams will play in a first flight (A), which will determine the medalists, and the next eight a second flight (B).

Fight A start off with 1st v. 8th, 2nd v. 7th, 3rd v. 6th and 4th v. 5th. Winning teams advance in their brackets while losing teams play against other defeated nations to determine the final positions.

The teams in Flight A play 2 foursomes and 5 singles whilst losing teams and those in Flight B play 1 foursomes and 4 singles.

A win earns one point, a draw half a point and a loss no points in all of the individual games that make up a match.

The teams that finish 14th to 16th in the match play stage will be relegated to the Division 2 Championship for 2026.

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The European Amateur Team Championship Trophy (Photo: EGA)

Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, Ireland

Located on the banks of Lough Leane on the south-west coast of Ireland Killarney’s par 72 Killeen Course is staging this year’s Championship.

The course has staged the Irish Open four times (1991-92-10-11), the Irish Women’s Open twice (2002-03) and The Curtis Cup once(1996).

This will be the third time Ireland has hosted the event. Killarney previously hosted the event 50 years ago in 1975 with Portmarnock afforded the honour more recently in 1997 

Killarney Golf & Fishing Club Logo (Photo: Killarney Golf)

Weather Forecast

This week’s weather forecast looks very good with generally sunny conditions and little wind expected.

Tue 8th July – Cloudy. Wind 9 mph NW. Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 21°C.
Wed 9th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 8 mph NW. Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 21°C.
Thur 10th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 6 mph SW. Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 24°C.
Fri 11th July – Sunny. Wind 11 mph S. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 24°C.
Sat 12th July – Sunny. Wind 12 mph SE. Temp. Min. 14°C / Max. 23°C.

EGA Website Links – 2025 Scores / Information

2025 Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboards – Teams and Individuals

2025 Match Play Draw / Results – Flight A and Flight B

Full Player List

European Golf Association Championship Website

2024 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship

Match Play Stage

Sweden won the 2024 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship at Park Royal I Roveri in Italy.

Sweden, seeded 6th after the stroke play qualifying, beat Netherlands (4) 3.0-2.0 in the Final with Germany (1) overcoming Estonia (2) in the 3rd & 4th Place match.

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Sweden (Photo: EGA)

In Flight A England lost to Netherlands and Italy before beating Spain in their final game.

In Flight B Ireland lost their opening game to Portugal before recovering with victories over Austria and Scotland. Prior to their final game Scotland had previously lost to Denmark before beating Wales. Wales beat Austria in their final game after losses to Finland and Scotland.    

In a disappointing tournament for the home nations England finished 7th, Ireland 13th, Scotland 14th and Wales 15th. After finishing in the bottom three teams Scotland and Wales were relegated to Division 2 for the 2025 Championship.

These were the final results: –

Screenshot 2024-07-15 at 09.07.03

Screenshot 2024-07-15 at 09.06.43

Stroke Play Qualifying

Germany (-32) earned medalist honours in the 36 hole Stroke Play Qualifying competition at Royal Park.

England (-19) finished 5th to qualify for Flight A. Ireland (-11) 9th, Scotland (-10) 10th, who had started the day in 3rd place, and Wales (+3) 14th all missed the match play cut and will now have to play out the week in Flight B.

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Team Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Jerry Ji (NED) won the Individual competition with a 130 (-14) total which included 15 birdies over the 36 holes.

Jack BIGHAM (ENG), Cameron ADAM (SCO) and Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), who didn’t drop a shot in the two rounds, were the leading GB&I players, all posting 137 (-7).

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Individual Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

History / Previous Results

The European Men’s Amateur Team Championship was first played in 1959.

It was played every second year until 2007. Since then it has been played annually save for 2012 when no Championship was held.

To date England have won 11 times, Scotland 8, Ireland and Spain 6, Sweden 3 and Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Wales once each.

Click here to view the full list of – European Men’s Amateur Team Championship Past Winners 

ME.

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

Men’s European Nations Championship – 2025 Preview & Results

Posted on by

29th March 2025

Round 4

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

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

The England Team (Photo: England Golf)

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

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

Team Results (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

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

Individual

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

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

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

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

Individual Results (Graphic: RFE Golf / GolfDirecto)

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

ME.

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28th March 2025

Round 3

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

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

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

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

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

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

Individual

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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27th March 2025

Round 2

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

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

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

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

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

Individual

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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26th March 2025

Round 1

Team (best 3 from 4 scores count)

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

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

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

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

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

Individual

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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25th March 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Past ENC Winners

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

Team Competition

2024  Ireland     2024 ENC Team Results

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Ireland Team (Photo: Golf Ireland) 

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

Past Sherry Cup Team Winners (started 1998)

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

Individual Competition

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

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James Ashfield (Photo: Golf Wales)

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

Past Sherry Cup Individual Winners

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

ME.

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

Men’s Home Internationals – 2024 Preview & Results

Posted on by

Friday 9th August 2024

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

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

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

Screenshot 2024-08-09 at 20.58.03

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

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

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

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

Day 3

Scotland v. Wales

Wales beat Scotland 8.0-4.0.

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

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Ireland v. England

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

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

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ME.

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Thursday 8th August 2024

Day 2

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

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England v. Scotland

England beat Scotland 7.5-4.5.

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

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

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

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Wales v. Ireland 

Ireland thrashed Wales 10.0-2.0.

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

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

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

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ME.

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Wednesday 7th August 2024

Day 1

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

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England v. Wales

England beat Wales 7.5-4.5.

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

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

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Ireland v. Scotland 

Ireland beat Scotland 7.5-4.5.

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

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

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ME.

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6th August 2024

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

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

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

Combined Event

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

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

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

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

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

2024 Men’s Players

The four national golf unions have selected the following players to represent their countries this year. I have added their World Amateur Golf Rankings as at 31st July 2024 in brackets.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Venue – Murcar Links Golf Club

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

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

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

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

Match Format

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

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

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

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

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

The winning team receives the Raymond Trophy.  

The Raymond Trophy

The Men’s Home Internationals were first played in 1932 and this year’s staging will be the 83rd playing of this prestigious event.

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

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

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The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2024 Weather Forecast (as at 6th August 2024)

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

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

2023 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

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

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

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

Screenshot 2023-08-11 at 20.16.51

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

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

Historic Results

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

ME.

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

European Men’s Amateur Team Championship – 2024 Preview & Results

Posted on by

13th July 2024

Championship Summary

Sweden won the 2024 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship at Park Royal I Roveri in Italy.

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Sweden (Photo: EGA)

Netherlands were 2nd and Germany 3rd.

In a disappointing tournament for the home nations England finished 7th, Ireland 13th, Scotland 14th and Wales 15th. After finishing in the bottom three teams Scotland and Wales were relegated to Division 2 for the 2025 Championship.

Here are the final results: –

Screenshot 2024-07-15 at 09.07.03

Screenshot 2024-07-15 at 09.06.43

Here is my assessment of the individual home nation performances: –

Screenshot 2024-07-13 at 16.58.00

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Match Play Stage – Day 3

Flight A

Sweden (seeded 6th) beat Netherlands (4) by 3.0-2.0 to win the European Amateur Team Championship.

Germany (1) beat Estonia (2) by 4.0-1.0 to pick up the Bronze Medal.

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Match Play Stage – Flight A Final Day Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

England (5) beat Spain (3) 3.5-1.5 to secure 7th place in the 2024 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship in Italy.

Matty DODD-BERRY and Dominic CLEMONS won the opening Foursomes game before Jack BIGHAM and Will HOPKINS backed them up with two Singles wins.

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England v. Spain MP Day 3 Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Click here to view the Match Play Draw / Scores – Flight A (featuring England)

Flight B

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Match Play Stage – Flight B Final Day Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Ireland (9) beat Scotland (10) 3.0-2.0 to preserve their Division 1 status. Unfortunately the loss means Scotland will join Wales in the Division 2 Championship next year.

Liam NOLAN and Matt MCCLEAN secured Singles wins after Seán KEELING and Hugh FOLEY had taken the Foursomes after extra holes. Brothers Connor GRAHAM and Gregor GRAHAM again secured Singles wins for the Scots.

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Ireland v. Scotland MP Day 3 Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Wales finished the Championship with a 3.0-2.0 win against Austria. Jonathan BALE and Tom BASTOW won the Foursomes game with Tom MATTHEWS and Tomi BOWEN picking up narrow Singles wins late on to get the Welsh over the line.

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Austria v. Wales MP Day 3 Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Click here to view the Match Play Draw / Scores – Flight B (featuring Ireland, Scotland and Wales)

ME.

____________________________________________

12th July 2024

Match Play Stage – Day 2

Flight A

The Netherlands (4) beat Germany (1) by 5.5-1.5 and Sweden (6) got the better of Estonia (2) by 4.5-2.5 in the Semi-Finals at Royal Park I Roveri in Turin.

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Match Play Stage – Flight A Day 2 Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

England (5) lost their second game in Match Play Flight A by 3.5-1.5. Italy (8) proved too strong at home and the English are now consigned to a 7th / 8th place match against Spain on the final day.

Jack BIGHAM enjoyed a comprehensive Singles win against Luca Memeo whilst Tyler WEAVER secured his second half in his game against Matteo Cristoni.

Quarter Final losers play a reduced format in Flight A. The original two foursomes and five singles becomes just one foursomes and four singles.

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Italy v. England MP Day 2 Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Flight B

After losing their opening match play games yesterday Austria (13), Ireland (9), Scotland (10) and Wales (14) started Day 2 knowing that only two straight wins could save one of them from relegation.

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Match Play Stage – Flight B Day 2 Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Ireland took on Austria and enjoyed a positive 4.0-1.0 win. Seán KEELING and Hugh FOLEY got the Irish off to a solid start with a big 5&4 win in the lone Foursomes before Max KENNEDY, Caolan RAFFERTY and Liam NOLAN followed up with their own Singles wins.

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Ireland v. Austria MP Day 2 Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Calum SCOTT got the better of Tomi BOWEN on the 19th hole of the final Singles game to determine the outcome of the Wales v. Scotland game in Flight B.

After falling behind with two Foursomes losses Connor GRAHAM and Gregor GRAHAM took care of their Singles to set up the grand finale.

Today’s results mean that Wales and Austria are relegated to Division 2. The losers of tomorrow’s Ireland v. Scotland game will join them.

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Wales v. Scotland MP Day 2 Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

____________________________________________

11th July 2024

Match Play Stage – Day 1

Day 1 of the Match Play Stage proved to be disastrous for the four GB&I teams with all of them losing.

Flight A

The leading eight teams from the Stroke Play Qualifying competition contest Flight A which ultimately determines the medal winners.

Germany (1), Netherlands (3), Sweden (6) and Estonia (2) progressed to the Semi-Finals.

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Match Play Stage – Flight A Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

England (5) lost to Netherlands (4) 4.5-2.5 to end their hopes of a medal this year.

Single wins for Dominic CLEMONS and Will HOPKINS and a half for Tyler WEAVER were the only positives that could be taken from this loss.

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Netherlands v. England Quarter Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Flight B

The teams that finished 9th to 16th in the Stroke Play Qualifying play in Match Play Flight B. Regaining some pride and more importantly avoiding relegation to Division 2 are the primary goals at this level.

From the outset all matches in Flight B consist of one foursomes and four singles.

On a day of surprises Portugal (16), Switzerland (12), Finland (11) and Denmark (15) were the winners.

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Match Play Stage – Flight B Draw (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Ireland (9) some how managed to lose to Portugal (16) by 3.0-2.0 in their opening match. To put this into context Portugal finished last by 25 shots in the Stroke Play Qualifying and failed to record one individual par round or better in their 12 attempts.

Max KENNEDY and Matt MCCLEAN comfortably won their Singles games for the Irish albeit in vain.

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Ireland v. Portugal Quarter Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Finland (11) got the better of Wales (14) 3.0-2.0 in a tight match where the opening Foursomes required six extra holes and two of the Singles went the distance.

James ASHFIELD and Matt ROBERTS won their Singles games for the Welsh.

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Finland v. Wales Quarter Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

After a disappointing qualification Denmark (15) found some form to beat Scotland (10) by 3.5-1.5.

Gregor TAIT and Jack MCDONALD secured a half in the opening foursomes but only Connor GRAHAM could prevail for the Scots in the Singles.

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Scotland v. Denmark Quarter Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

____________________________________________

10th July 2024

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

Germany (-32) earned medalist honours in the 36 hole Stroke Play Qualifying competition at Royal Park.

Estonia (-26), Spain (-25) and Netherlands (-24) were tightly grouped in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place.

England (-19) finished 5th to qualify for Flight A. Sweden (-18) 6th, France (-17) 7th and Italy (-15) 8th made up the all-important leading eight teams.

Ireland (-11) 9th, Scotland (-10) 10th, who had started the day in 3rd place, and Wales (+3) 14th all missed the match play cut and will now have to play out the week in Flight B.

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Team Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Jerry Ji (NED) won the Individual competition with a 130 (-14) total which included 15 birdies over the 36 holes.

Jacob Melin (SWE) -12 finished 2nd and Paul Beauvy (FRA) -11 3rd.

Jack BIGHAM (ENG), Cameron ADAM (SCO) and Dominic CLEMONS (ENG), who didn’t drop a shot in the two rounds, were the leading GB&I players, all posting 137 (-7).

James ASHFIELD (WAL), Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) and Max KENNEDY (IRL) were all 1-shot worse off on 136 (-6).

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Individual Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Click here to view the Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Teams and Individuals

ME.

____________________________________________

9th July 2024

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

Germany (-15) lead Estonia (-14) after the opening round of the Stroke Play Qualifying competition at Royal Park.

Scotland (-9) are 3rd, England (-6) 7th, Ireland (-6) 8th and Wales (+6) 14th.

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Team Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Jerry Ji (NED) leads the Individual standings after he produced an 8-under 64 which included nine birdies.

Tiger Christensen (GER) is 2nd on -6. His 66 included two eagles on par 4’s; the 414 yard 7th and the 411 yard 14th.

Gregor GRAHAM (SCO), 3rd, had the best start from a home nation player with a 5-under 67, helped by an eagle on the par 5 18th.

Dominic CLEMONS (ENG) had a bogey free 68 (-4) to end the opening day in 7th place.

Cameron ADAM (SCO), Max KENNEDY (IRL) and Jack BIGHAM (ENG) all finished on 3-under 69’s to finish Round 1 in the top 20.

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Individual Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

ME.

____________________________________________

7th July 2024

Introduction

The 41st European Men’s Amateur Team Championship will be played between Tuesday 9th and Saturday 13th July 2024 at Royal Park I Roveri in Italy.

Teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will all be competing this week.

Spain are the two time defending champions having most recently beaten Denmark in last year’s final at Royal Waterloo G.C. in Belgium.

The European Ladies’, Boys’ and Girls’ Team Championships are also being played elsewhere in Europe this week.

2024 Teams

16 national teams of 6 players will contest the 2024 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship.

The teams competing are Austria, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.

The home nation teams are made up of the following players (3rd July 2024 WAGR’s in brackets): –

ENGLAND – Jack BIGHAM (#44), Dominic CLEMONS (#178), Matty DODD-BERRY (#151), Will HOPKINS (#69), Harley SMITH (#563), Tyler WEAVER (#88). Total Team WAGR = 1,093.

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England (Photo: EGA)

IRELAND – Hugh FOLEY (#693), Seán KEELING (#320), Max KENNEDY (#35), Matt MCCLEAN (#82), Liam NOLAN (#87), Caolan RAFFERTY (#65). Total Team WAGR = 1,282.

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Ireland (Photo: EGA)

SCOTLAND – Cameron ADAM (#222), Connor GRAHAM (#173), Gregor GRAHAM (#128), Jack MCDONALD (#1,060), Calum SCOTT (#15), Gregor TAIT (#450). Total Team WAGR = 2,048.

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Scotland (Photo: EGA)

WALES – James ASHFIELD (#29), Jonathan BALE (#388), Tom BASTOW (#975), Tomi BOWEN (#213), Tom MATTHEWS (#1,811), Matt ROBERTS (#431). Total Team WAGR = 3,847.

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Wales (Photo: EGA)

On paper Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain and Sweden appear to be the strongest teams likely to challenge for the medals.

Format / Schedule

The Championship is run by the European Golf Association, this year in partnership with The Italian Golf Federation.

Two rounds of stroke play qualifying are completed on the first two days, with the lowest five scores from each team counting. All ties will be broken by reference to each team’s non-counting scores.

These results then determine a seeded match play draw. The top 8 qualifying teams will play in a first flight (A), which will determine the medalists, and the next eight a second flight (B).

Fight A therefore starts off with 1st v. 8th, 2nd v. 7th, 3rd v. 6th and 4th v. 5th. Winning teams advance in their brackets while losing teams play against other defeated nations to determine the final positions 1-19.

The teams in Flight A play 2 foursomes and 5 singles whilst losing teams and those in Flight B play 1 foursomes and 4 singles.

A win earns 1 point, a draw half a point and a loss no points in all of the individual games that make up a match.

The teams that finish 14th to 16th in the match play stage will be relegated to the Division 2 Championship for 2025.

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The European Amateur Team Championship Trophy (Photo: EGA)

Royal Park I Roveri, Italy

Royal Park I Roveri is located 20km north of Turin in north west Italy.

The highly regarded Allianz Course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr in 1971. It is tree lined and features a number of bunkers, meandering brooks and larger lakes.

Off the Championship tees the course plays to 7,181 yards (6,566m) and a par of 72. It has a Slope of 143 and a Course Rating of 74.4.

The Club hosted the Italian Open Championship between 2009 and 2012.

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Royal Park Allianz Course Map (Photo: Royal Park)

Weather Forecast

This week’s weather forecast for north west Italy looks sunny with little wind, albeit with a risk of thunder and lightning throughout.

Tue 9th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 5 mph NE. Temp. Min. 19°C / Max. 30°C.
Wed 10th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 6 mph E. Temp. Min. 20°C / Max. 30°C.
Thur 11th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 6 mph SE. Temp. Min. 20°C / Max. 30°C.
Fri 12th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 5 mph NE. Temp. Min. 22°C / Max. 28°C.
Sat 13th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 6 mph NE. Temp. Min. 20°C / Max. 27°C.

EGA Website Links – 2024 Scores / Information

Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboards – Teams and Individuals

Match Play Draw / Results – Flight A and Flight B

Full Player List

European Golf Association Championship Website

____________________________________________

2023 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship

Match Play Stage

Flight A (1-8)

Spain (2) beat Denmark (1) 4-3 to win the 2023 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship Final at Royal Waterloo G.C. in Belgium.

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The Victorious Spanish Team (Photo: EGA)

Ireland (4) beat England (3) 6-1 to win the bronze medal in a one-sided 3rd and 4th Place Match.

Click here to view the – Match Play Flight A Final Results

Flight B (9-16)

Finland (10) beat Wales (12) 3-2 in the Flight B Final to earn 9th place in the Championship.

Click here to view the – Match Play Flight B Final Results

Stroke Play Qualifying

Denmark (-32) earned medalist honours in the 36 hole Stroke Play Qualifying competition.

Spain (-29), England (-27), Ireland (-23), France (-20), Netherlands (-17), Italy (-16) and Sweden  were the other teams to qualify for the top 8 Flight A Match Play Stage.

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Team Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

José BALLESTER (ESP) -11 took the individual honours with Barclay BROWN (ENG) -10 finishing 2nd and 2024 Amateur champion Jacob Skov OLESEN (DEN) -9 3rd.

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Individual Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Top 30 (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Click here to view the Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Teams and Individuals

In overall terms Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Barclay BROWN (ENG) and James ASHFIELD (WAL) were the leading home nation players in 2023.

Screenshot 2023-07-15 at 16.57.50

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History / Previous Results

The European Men’s Amateur Team Championship was first played in 1959.

It was played every second year until 2007. Since then it has been played annually save for 2012 when no Championship was held.

To date England have won 11 times, Scotland 8, Ireland and Spain 6, Sweden 3 and Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Wales once each.

Click here to view the full list of – European Men’s Amateur Team Championship Past Winners 

ME.

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

Men’s European Nations Championship – 2024 Preview & Results

Posted on by

20th April 2024

Round 4

IRELAND (+4) held off a fast finishing SWITZERLAND (+5) to win the 2024 Men’s European Nations Championship at R.C.G. Sotogrande.

It was Ireland’s second victory in the competition following with their previous win which came in 2016.

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Ireland Team (Photo: Golf Ireland) 

WALES (+6) finished 3rd, SCOTLAND (+7) 4th and ENGLAND (+16) tied 7th.

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Round 4 Team Results (Graphic: RCG Sotogrande / Golfbox)

James ASHFIELD (WAL) -5 won the Individual title at the European Nations Championship helped by a classy 69 in the final round.

Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) -3 finished 2nd and Lars VAN DER VIGHT (NED), Will HOPKINS (ENG) and Jack HEARN (IRL) -2 tied 3rd.

Tomi BOWEN (WAL) +5 tied 13th, Seán KEELING (IRL) +6 tied 17th and Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) +7 tied 19th all finished in the top 20 from the GB&I contingent.

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James Ashfield (Photo: Golf Wales)

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Round 4 Individual Results (Graphic: RCG Sotogrande / Golfbox)

ME

__________________________________________

19th April 2024

Round 3

IRELAND (+1) for the second day running delivered the best team score with a +3 total to move into the overall European Nations Championship lead.

WALES (+5) are four shots behind them in 2nd but SCOTLAND (+10), hampered by the withdrawal of Connor GRAHAM due to injury, tumbled down the rankings to 5th with a +17 score on Day 3. The defending champions ENGLAND (+16) continue to disappoint, remaining tied 9th.

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Round 3 Team Scores (Graphic: RCG Sotogrande / Golfbox)

Jack HEARN (IRL) -5 moved to the top of the Individual leaderboard as he added a 71 (-1) to his consistent body of work in Sotogrande. Will HOPKINS (ENG) -3 moved up to 3rd whilst Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) & James ASHFIELD (WAL) -2 fell to tied 4th.

Spanish U18 Boys’ champion, Sebastian DESOISA +1 tied 11th, who is from Gibraltar and therefore British qualified continued to move up the leaderboard. He is one of the players invited to compete by R.C.G. Sotogrande. Seán KEELING (IRL) sits alongside Desoisa.

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Round 3 Individual Scores (Graphic: RCG Sotogrande / Golfbox)

ME

__________________________________________

18th April 2024

Round 2

SCOTLAND (-7) moved to the top of the leaderboard with a -2 team score. WALES (-6) are now tied 2nd, IRELAND (-2), who enjoyed a best of the day -7 team score, rose to 4th place whilst ENGLAND (+7) slipped to tied 9th.

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Round 2 Team Scores (Graphic: RCG Sotogrande / Golfbox)

Michele FERRERO (ITA) shot a 68 in Round 2 to move into 1st place in the Individual standings. James ASHFIELD (WAL) -6 2nd, Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) -5 3rd, Jack HEARN (IRL) -4 4th and Seán KEATING (IRL) & Will HOPKINS (ENG) -3 tied 5th are all within striking distance.

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Round 2 Individual Scores (Graphic: RCG Sotogrande / Golfbox)

ME

__________________________________________

17th April 2024

Round 1

At the end of Day 1 WALES (-6) led SCOTLAND (-5) at the top of the 2024 Men’s European Nations Championship leaderboard. ENGLAND (+4) were 5th and IRELAND (+5) tied 6th.

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Round 1 Team Scores (Graphic: RCG Sotogrande / Golfbox)

James ASHFIELD (WAL) and Gregor TAIT (SCO) shared the Round 1 Individual lead after opening with 5-under 67’s.

Tomi BOWEN (WAL) & Gregor GRAHAM (SCO) -3 tied 3rd and Jack HEARN (IRL) -2 7th were also in the top 10.

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Round 1 Individual Scores (Graphic: RCG Sotogrande / Golfbox)

ME

__________________________________________

15th April 2024

The Men’s European Nations Championship (ENC) starts on Wednesday 17th April at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande in Southern Spain.

R.C.G. Sotogrande is the permanent home of the ENC and this will be the 16th playing of the event.

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

I will be providing daily reports once the Championship commences.

Field
21 four-man teams (84 players) will play for the Team prize.

An additional seven players invited by both RCG Sotogrande and the Spanish Golf Federation will contest the Individual competition, making a total field of 91 players.

The following players have been selected to represent the four competing home nations in 2024: –

England – Will HOPKINS, Kris KIM, Dylan SHAW-RADFORD, Harley SMITH

Ireland – Hugh FOLEY, Jack HEARN, Seán KEELING, Matt MCCLEAN

Scotland – Connor GRAHAM, Gregor GRAHAM, James MORGAN, Gregor TAIT

Wales – James ASHFIELD, Tom BASTOW, Tomi BOWEN, Matt ROBERTS

A Women’s ENC, made up of three player teams, also takes place alongside the Men’s competition. Only England from the four home nations is among the ten team field this year.

Tee Times / Scores
Click here to view the – 2024 ENC Men’s Tee Times

Click here to view the – 2024 ENC Men’s Team Scores

Click here to view the – 2024 ENC Men’s Individual Scores

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday 17th – Sunny Intervals Temp.  Min. 15°C / Max. 23°C; Wind E 15mph
Thursday 18th – Sunny Intervals Temp. Min. 15°C / Max. 21°C; Wind E 15mph
Friday 19th – Sunny Intervals Temp. Min. 15°C / Max. 20°C; Wind E 30mph
Saturday 20th – Sunny Intervals Temp. Min. 15°C / Max. 19°C; Wind SE 40mph

Past ENC Winners

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

Team Competition

2023  England     2023 ENC Team Results

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Dylan Shaw-Radford, Josh Berry, John Gough & Arron Hill-Edwards (Photo: Josh Berry)

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

Past Sherry Cup Team Winners (started 1998)

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

Individual Competition

2023 Albert Hansson (SWE)     2023 ENC Men’s Individual Results

Hansson beat England’s John Gough in a sudden death play-off-to win the Individual title after both players finished on 286 (-2).

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Albert Hansson (Photo: Swedish Golf Federation)

2022 Jaime Montojo (ESP)     2022 ENC Men’s Individual Result

Montojo won the Individual competition beating teammate Luis Masaveu in a play-off after both finished on 288 (Ev).

2021  Cancelled
2020  Cancelled
2019  Tom Sloman (England)     2019 ENC Individual Results

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

2018  Todd Clements (England)    2018 ENC Individual Results

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

2017  Jack Davidson (Wales)    2017 ENC Individual Results

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

2016  Jack Hume (Ireland)    2016 ENC Individual Results

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

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

Past Sherry Cup Individual Winners

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

ME.

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

World Amateur Team Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on by

Saturday 21st October 2023

Round 4

USA (-36) won the 33rd Men’s World Amateur Team Championship by 11-shots.

The team finished the event off in style compiling the low round of the Championship; a 132 (-12), helped in no small part by a 64 from David FORD, the second lowest round in the tournament’s history.

It was the USA’s 16th win in the competition and they now will take custody of the Eisenhower Trophy until it’s next playing in 2025 at the Tenah Merah C.C. in Singapore.

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Team USA – Nick Dunlap, David Ford & Gordon Sargent (Photo: IGF)

NORWAY and AUSTRALIA (-25) tied for 2nd place with FRANCE (-24) 4th and NEW ZEALAND and ITALY (-23) tied 5th. It was Norway’s best ever finish in their 26 appearances to date.

IRELAND (-20) finished strongly to rise 11 places on the final day and secure a tied 8th finish.

ENGLAND (-14) finished tied 15th, WALES (-13) tied 17th and SCOTLAND (-10) tied 21st.

32 of the 36 teams finished the 72 holes with an under par score.

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Team Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Western Amateur champion Kazuma KOBORI (NZL) took the low Individual title with a 272 (-16) total. He rose eight places to secure the honour with a fine 65 (-7) in the final round.

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Nick DUNLAP (USA) finished 2nd on -15 with France’s Bastien AMAT and Norway’s Herman WIBE SEKNE -14 one shot further back.

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Leading Individual Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) -11 produced the best performance by a GB&I player finishing tied 8th.

Connor GRAHAM (SCO) -10 again impressed at the highest level with a very consistent performance to finish tied 14th.

Five other GB&I players finished under par for the Championship. Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -8 was tied 17th, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -6 tied 30th, Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), who came through the standings with a final day 65, -5 tied 36th, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) -3 tied 43rd and Liam NOLAN (IRL) -2 tied 50th.

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GB&I Individual Results (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – Men’s 2023 WATC Team Results

Click here to view the – Men’s 2023 WATC Individual Results

ME.

__________________________________________

Friday 20th October 2023

Round 3

A third round 136 (-8) helped USA (-24) extend their lead in the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship to 4-shots.

FRANCE & NORWAY (-20) tied 2nd are their nearest challengers, the Scandinavians posting a 134 score on Day 3.

AUSTRALIA (-19) 4th and CZECH REPUBLIC (-18) 5th round off the top 5.

Disappointingly the four home nation teams again made little progress in Abu Dhabi. SCOTLAND (-11) tied 16th and WALES, IRELAND & ENGLAND (-10) tied 19th now look destined to finish in the middle of the pack.

29 of the 36 teams are now under par, up three from the Round 2 number. NORWAY (-20), for the second day running, and SOUTH KOREA (-11) were the two biggest movers, both rising 9 places on the leaderboard. ITALY (-16) also enjoyed a good day rising 7 places in to 8th.

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Round 3 Team Scores (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

The world’s best amateur Gordon SARGENT (USA) posted a 67 in Round 3 to move to the top of the Individual standings on 204 (-12).

Herman WIBE SEKNE (NOR), Jeff GUAN (AUS), Pietro BOVARI (ITA), Bastien AMAT (FRA), Nick DUNLAP (USA) and Nicolas QUINTERO (COL) are all tied 2nd on -11.

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) is the best of the home nation players after a second consecutive 68 took him to -8 and tied 14th place. Connor GRAHAM (SCO) & Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -7 tied 16th, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) & James ASHFIELD (WAL) -5 tied 33rd, Calum SCOTT (SCO) -4 tied 38th and Barclay BROWN (ENG) -2 tied 48th are the best of the rest after 54 holes.

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Round 3 Leading Individual Scores (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

ME.

__________________________________________

Thursday 19th October 2023

Round 2

USA (-16) moved ominously into the lead on Day 2 of the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship in the Middle East. They followed up yesterday’s joint best 135 (-9) with a 137 (-7) team score today.

CHINA and FRANCE (-15) are 1-shot back in tied 2nd with CZECH REPUBLIC and AUSTRALIA (-14) tied 4th.

After 36 holes ENGLAND (-8) are tied 15th (down 11 places), SCOTLAND & WALES (-7) tied 17th down 4 and 1 places) and IRELAND (-4) tied 23rd (up 3 places) after second rounds of 143 (-1), 140 (-4), 139 (-5) and 139 (-5) respectively at the Abu Dhabi G.C.

26 of the 36 teams are now under par, up three from yesterday. MEXICO (-12) tied 8th and NORWAY (-10) tied 11th with the biggest movers rising 13 places on the leaderboard. Mexico’s Round 2 133 (-11) team score was the best we have seen so far.

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Round 2 Team Scores (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

15 year old Hugo LE GOFF (FRA), today starting on the 1st tee, again showed his liking for Abu Dhabi’s front nine. Three birdies and an eagle before a bogey on the 9th saw him post a second 32 for these holes. A 68 took up onto 135 (-9) for the Championship and into the Individual lead.

Pietro BOVARI (ITA), Zhang QIU (CHN), Nick DUNLAP (USA) and Filip JAKUBCIK (CZE) are all tied 2nd on -8.

Herman WIBE SEKNE (NOR) bounced back from an opening 73 with a Championship low 64 (-8) which included nine birdies.

Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -5 tied 19th remains the best of the 12 GB&I players competing. Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), James ASHFIELD (WAL) and Calum SCOTT (SCO) -4 tied 23rd, Tomi BOWEN (WAL) & Connor GRAHAM (SCO) -3 tied 35th and Barclay BROWN (ENG) -2 tied 45th are our other players under par at the half-way stage.

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Round 2 Leading Individual Scores (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

ME.

__________________________________________

Wednesday 18th October 2023

Round 1

FRANCE and USA have taken the early lead in the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship after posting a 135 (-9) score on Day 1.

ENGLAND (-7) are tied 4th, SCOTLAND (-3) tied 13th, WALES (-2) tied 16th and IRELAND (+1) tied 26th after their rounds at the Abu Dhabi G.C.

23 of the 36 teams finished Round 1 with an under par total score.

Play got underway at 6.30am with Ahmad Skaik (UAE), son of Akram Skaik, the Director General of the Emirates Golf Federation, given the honour of hitting the opening tee shot. Conditions were excellent all day with temperatures reaching 36ºC.

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Round 1 Team Scores (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

Starting on the 10th tee Benjamin REUTER (NED), who plays at Georgia Tech University, shot 31 on the front nine, which included three birdies and an eagle, to finish the day with a 66 (-6) to top the Individual standings.

1-shot back and tied 2nd are Hugo LE GOLF (FRA), aged 15 but surprisingly only the fifth youngest player in the field, and Gordon SARGENT (USA), who secured his PGA Tour card today by accumulating 20 points under the PGA Tour University Accelerated scheme, who both fired 65s (-5).

From the home nations Tyler WEAVER (ENG) -4 tied 4th, Barclay BROWN (ENG) -3 tied 11th, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) & Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -2 tied 26th, Calum SCOTT (SCO) -1 tied 38th and Jack BIGHAM (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) & James ASHFIELD (WAL) Ev tied 46th all started their Championships with rounds of par or better.

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Round 1 Leading Individual Scores (Photo: IGF / Golf Genius)

ME.

__________________________________________

17th October 2023

The 33rd Men’s World Amateur Team Championship (WATC), played for the Eisenhower Trophy, starts on Wednesday 18th October in Abu Dhabi.

This year the Championship will be hosted by the Emirates Golf Federation and played on the National Course at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

It was originally scheduled to be played in neighbouring Dubai on the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

It is the first time the event has been staged in the Middle East and sees it move to odd years to avoid a clash with the Summer Olympic Games in future years.

Due to the escalating costs of staging the WATC it is now being played on a single course with the field reduced to 36 teams.

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

The IGF comprises 152 national governing bodies of golf in 149 countries as well as tours and organizations that conduct championships. It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the body responsible for golf and as such, in addition to the Men’s and Women’s WATC’s it also organises the golf competitions in both the Olympics and Youth Olympics.

The WATC are hosted by rotation taking in Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, Africa and for the first time in 2023 the Middle East.

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

Competition Format

36 teams are competing in the 2023 WATC.

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

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

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

Whilst individual results are reported and the player with the lowest score is recognised at the closing ceremony there has historically been no prize awarded for this achievement.

GB&I Competitors

The home nations will be represented by the following players (WAGR as at 11th October): –

ENGLAND – Jack BIGHAM (#93), Barclay BROWN (#28), Tyler WEAVER (#188)

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England (Photo: IGF)

IRELAND – Alex MAGUIRE (#135), Matthew MCCLEAN (#57), Liam NOLAN (#124)

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Ireland (Photo: IGF)

SCOTLAND – Connor GRAHAM (#203), Calum SCOTT (#27), Gregor TAIT (#251)

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Scotland (Photo: IGF)

WALES – James ASHFIELD (#64), Tomi BOWEN (#259), Matt ROBERTS (#389)

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Wales (Photo: IGF)

The other competing nations are as follows with those highlighted expected to be the most competitive.

ARGENTINA – Joaquín Ludueña (#669), Vicente Marzilio (#221), Segundo Oliva Pinto (#200)

AUSTRALIA – Jack Buchanan (#114), Jeffrey Guan (#56), Karl Vilips (#29)

AUSTRIA – Christoph Bleier (#104), Fabian Lang (#684), Florian Schweighofer (#626)

CANADA – Piercen Hunt (#252), Ashton McCulloch (#540), Brady McKinlay (#356)

CHINA – Xiangyun Bai (#112), Zihang Qiu (#108), Ziqin Zhou (#113)

COLOMBIA – Carlos Ardila Conde (#205), Manuel Jose Merizalde Padilla (#216), Nicolas Quintero (#763)

CZECH REPUBLIC – Petr Hruby (#68), Filip Jakubcik (#87), Louis Klein (#375)

DENMARK – Gustav Frimodt (#25), Frederik Kjettrup (#15), Jacob Skov Olesen (#283)

FINLAND – Elias Haavisto (#447), Markus Luoma (#290), Jesse Saareks (#1630)

FRANCE – Bastien Amat (#116), Paul Beauvy (#234), Hugo Le Goff (#591)

GERMANY – Jonas Baumgartner (#35), Tiger Christensen (#162), Tim Wiedemeyer (#139)

GUAM – Markus Nanpei (#NR), Eugene Park (#NR), Nalapon Vongjalorn (#NR)

GUATEMALA – Juan Ricardo Davila (#401), Gabriel Palacios (#201), Alejandro Villavicencio (#154)

INDIA – Shaurya Bhattacharya (#455), Rohit Narwal (#589), Yuvraj Singh (#213)

ITALY – Pietro Bovari (#77), Riccardo Fantinelli (#382), Flavio Michetti (#596)

JAPAN – Riura Matsui (#153), Minato Oshima (#210), Yuta Sugiura (#16)

SOUTH KOREA – Seonghyeon An (#769), Sungho Lee (#950), Donghyun Moon (#629)

MEXICO – Santiago De la Fuente del Valle (#118), José Cristobal Islas (#73), Omar Morales (#226)

MOROCCO – Soufiane Dahmane (#493), El Fakori Mehdi  (#240), Hugo Mazen Trometter (#789)

NETHERLANDS – Jack Ingham (#161), Benjamin Reuter (#220), Lars van der Vight (#75)

NEW ZEALAND – Jayden Ford (#128), Samuel Jones (#106), Kazuma Kobori (#33)

NORWAY – Mats Ege (#58), Michael Mjaaseth (#59), Herman Wibe Sekne (#24)

SINGAPORE – Ryan Ang (#345), Troy Tian Storm (#NR), Hiroshi Tai (#67)

SOUTH AFRICA – Christo Lamprecht (#1) , Christiaan Maas (#14), Altin van der Merwe (#228)

SPAIN – Angel Ayora (#89), Jose Luis Ballester Barrio (#20), Luis Masaveu Roncal (#54)

SWEDEN – Albert Hansson (#49), Daniel Svard (#152), Tobias Jonsson (#31)

SWITZERLAND – Nicola Gerhardsen (#82), Marc Keller (#954), Maximilien Sturdza (#253)

CHINESE TAIPEI – Chi Chun Chen (#244), Chuan-Tai Lin (#72), Ching-Hung Su (#241)

THAILAND – Jiradech Chaowarat (#945), Ashita Piamkulvanich (#416), Parin Sarasmut (#1223)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Rayan Ahmed (#NR), Thomas Nesbitt (#3088), Ahmad Skaik (#1863)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Nick Dunlap (#4), David Ford (#5), Gordon Sargent (#2)

ZIMBABWE – Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa (#2715), Keegan Shutt (#1526), David Amm (#1706)

Venue

The 2023 WATC will be played on the National Course at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

The club, with its iconic ‘falcon clubhouse’, is well known to golf fans having hosted 16 consecutive editions of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship between 2006-2021 on the DP World Tour.

The course was designed by Peter Harradine and opened for play in May 2000. It was carved out of the desert and features undulating fairways, fast greens and seven large water hazards.

This week it will be set up to play to 7,552 yards – the longest in the history of the event – and will have a par of 72. It has a slope of 155.

Hole                 1           2          3           4           5          6           7          8          9         Total
Par                   4           5          4           3          4           4           3          5          4           36
Yards             405       600      439      158       440      469      200       572      456       3,739

Hole               10         11         12        13         14         15         16        17         18       Total
Par                  5          4           3          4           4           3           4           4           5          36
Yards            582      460      176       414      490       199       475       460        557     3,813

Additional Information

Click here to view the – Official IGF World Amateur Team Championships Webpage

2022 WATC

ITALY won the Eisenhower Trophy at the 32nd World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) in France.

The competition was played on the Albatross Course at Le Golf National and on the Red Course at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche.

It was the first time that Italy had won a medal, let alone gold, at the WATC.

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Team Italy (Photo: IGF / USGA / Steve Gibbons)

ITALY finished on an impressive 541 -31 total with SWEDEN, whose Women’s team had won their WATC the previous week, missing out on a rare double by 1-shot. USA finished 3rd on -27, NORWAY -25 4th and SPAIN -23 5th.

WALES (-17), tied 8th, were delighted to finish as the leading home nation team. It was the Principality’s best result at the WATC since they came in fourth in 2006 with a team that consisted of Nigel Edwards, Rhys Davies and Llewellyn Matthews.

ENGLAND (-14) 14th, IRELAND (-8) tied 19th and SCOTLAND (+2) 33rd all finished lower than they would have hoped in Paris.

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Team Results (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Tobias JONSSON (SWE) shot a final round 66 at Le Golf National to secure Low Individual honours with a 269 -17 total.

Taga SEMIKAWA (JAP), who had led from the opening day and started Round 4 with a 5-shot lead, sadly struggled to a disappointing 73 to finish second on -16.

Austin GREASER (USA) completed a consistent championship with a 67 to finish 3rd on 271 -15.

Archie DAVIES (WAL) had the best Individual score by a home nation player, finishing tied 9th with a 274 -12 result.

Looking at the our other leading home nation players Mark POWER (IRL) & Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) -6 finished tied 25th, John GOUGH (ENG) -4 tied 31st, James ASHFIELD (WAL) -2 tied 40th and Calum SCOTT (SCO) & Luke HARRIES (WAL) Ev tied 46th.

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Individual Results (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – Men’s 2022 WATC Team Results

Click here to view the – Men’s 2022 WATC Individual Results

Historic Results

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

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

Here are the historic Men’s WATC results: –

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Future WATC Events

The International Golf Federation has confirmed the following future venues for the WATC: –

34th – 2025 – Singapore

35th – 2027 – Morocco

36th – 2029 – To be determined

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2023, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

R&A Men’s Home Internationals – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on by

11th August 2023

England bounced back from their disappointing defeat against Wales yesterday to beat Ireland on the final day.

The three point margin of victory was also just enough – by 0.5 points – to lift the English in to top spot and therefore against the odds at the start of the day retain the title they won last year at Ballyliffin.

Despite losing to Scotland on the final day Wales finished 3rd. Scotland missed out by 0.5 points and had to settle for 4th place as the final table below shows. 

Screenshot 2023-08-11 at 20.16.51

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

Here is my assessment of the individual player contributions to the four teams with the star performers for each country highlighted in yellow: –

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GolfBible Individual Player Performance Analysis 

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DAY 3 

WALES v. SCOTLAND

It was perhaps ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ for the Welsh today at Machynys where the Scottish team were determined to finish off the competition with a win.

After sharing the foursomes the Scots ran away with the singles picking up five of the eight points on offer.

Andrew DAVIDSON, who was unbeaten in singles all week, finished off his competition with a big 7&5 win against Tom MATTHEWS.

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Wales v. Scotland (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

IRELAND v. ENGLAND

England bounced back from yesterday’s poor loss to Wales with a resounding tournament winning victory against the Irish.

A 3-1 morning foursomes series win laid the foundation with Charlie CROCKETT and James CLARIDGE securing an important win on the 18th hole with an eagle. It was the pairing’s third win in the format.

Arron EDWARDS-HILL, Matty DODD-BERRY and Zach CHEGWIDDEN secured early singles wins to ensure the match would be won. It was then just a question of whether the team could garner sufficient points to also take the overall win.

Ultimately the responsibility fell to Charlie Crockett who delivered the critical final point, beating Caolan RAFFERTY by 1 Hole, which secured the title.

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Ireland v. England (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

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

ME.

____________________________________________

10th August 2023

DAY 2 

ENGLAND v. WALES

Wales shocked England by winning six of the eight afternoon singles and coming from behind to claim a memorable 7-5 victory.

England went into the singles with a 3-1 lead after coming out on the right side of four tight foursomes games.

James ASHFIELD boosted his Walker Cup chances and set the tone with a good 2&1 win against Jack BIGHAM. 

Tomi BOWEN, Matt ROBERTS, Tom BASTOW, James NASH and Tom MATTHEWS then added their names to the Welsh roll of honour which left England’s title hopes in tatters.

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England v. Wales (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

SCOTLAND v. IRELAND

Ireland won the morning foursomes 2.5-1.5 and the afternoon singles 5.0-3.0 to complete a deserved win over Scotland.

With England losing to Wales the Irish are now in the box seat for the 2023 title.

Marc BOUCHER and Robert MORAN led the way for the Irish with two wins in the match.

Connor GRAHAM starred for Scotland with an impressive foursomes win alongside Gregor TAIT and a notable singles win against Liam Nolan.

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Scotland v. Ireland (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

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

ME.

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9th August 2023

DAY 1 

ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND

England took control of the opening match of this year’s Men’s Home Internationals with a 3-1 victory in the morning foursomes.

They also won the singles 5-3 but these were clearly hard fought with six of the eight games requiring all 18 holes to be played.

Jack BIGHAM, Zach CHEGWIDDEN and James CLARIDGE won both of their games on Day 1 for England whilst Tyler WEAVER won his foursomes and tied his singles.

Andrew DAVIDSON was the best of the Scots winning his foursomes alongside Gregor Graham  before securing a 0.5 point in his singles against Matt Dodd-Berry. Jack MCDONALD and Niall SHEILS DONEGAN won their two singles beating English Walker Cup hopefuls Arron-Edwards-Hill and Charlie Crockett respectively.

Screenshot 2023-08-09 at 20.53.29Screenshot 2023-08-09 at 20.53.08

England v. Scotland (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

IRELAND v. WALES

Ireland won the foursomes 3-1 and the singles 5-3 to also record an 8-4 victory in their opening game.

Marc BOUCHER, Liam NOLAN and Caolan RAFFERTY all finished Wednesday with two wins to their name for the Irish.

James ASHFIELD, Tomi BOWEN, Caolan BURFORD and James NASH were all unbeaten on Day 1 for the Welsh who look like they will be competitive this year. 

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Ireland v. Wales (Graphic: Golfbox / The R&A)

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

ME.

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4th August 2023 (Updated 7th August)

This year’s R&A Men’s Home Internationals will be played at Machynys Peninsula G.C. in Wales on 9th-11th August 2023.

ENGLAND will be defending the Raymond Trophy which they won at Balllyliffin G.C. in Ireland last year.

With the selection of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team expected to take place in the next few weeks this event will be the final opportunity for the players competing to impress.  

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

Combined Event

In 2022 The R&A and four Home Golf Unions decided to combine the women’s and men’s home internationals into one event.

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

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

Whilst I am all for shared venues, which ease administration and add to the overall spectacle, I remain unconvinced about the merits of mixed individual and team events and as such have never been supportive of this change.

In my opinion the separate men’s and women’s competitions, which have a lot of history and tradition, should have remained the priority and if it was felt a combined trophy was necessary this should have been the secondary add-on.

Last year The R&A failed to provides any (public) scoring for the men’s and women’s competitions but I am pleased to report that this year they are intending to do so.

Match Format

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

Each country plays every other team over the three competition days. Each match starts with a mens game and alternates with a womens game thereafter. 

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

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

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

The winning team receives the Raymond Trophy.  

The Raymond Trophy

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 82nd playing of this prestigious event.

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

In the 81 competitions played to date England have won 39, Scotland 21, Ireland 13 and Wales 1. The remaining 7 were tied before it was decided that ties would be resolved by using game points.

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The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2023 Men’s Players

The four national golf unions have selected the following male players to represent their countries this year. I have added their World Amateur Golf Rankings as at 2nd August 2023 in brackets.

ENGLAND  
Jack BIGHAM – Harpenden (95)
Zach CHEGWIDDEN – Ingrebourne Links (760)
James CLARIDGE – Enville (166)
Charlie CROCKETT – Addington Palace (131)
Matthew DODD-BERRY – Royal Liverpool (262)
Arron EDWARDS-HILL – Chelmsford (147)
Will HOPKINS – Belton Park (227)
Dylan SHAW-RADFORD – Huddersfield (345)
Tyler WEAVER – Bury St. Edmunds (341)

Barclay Brown (25) and John Gough (14) are unavailable as they are competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship (14-20 August 2023). 

IRELAND 
Marc BOUCHER – Carton House (834)
Colm CAMPBELL – Warrenpoint (510)
Paul CONROY – Enniscorthy (405)
Max KENNEDY – Royal Dublin (85)
Alex MAGUIRE – Layton & Bettystown (169)
Robert MORAN – Castle (215)
Liam NOLAN – Galway (156)
Caolan RAFFERTY – Dundalk (65)
David SHIEL – Enniscrone (2,276)

Hugh Foley (133), Matthew McClean (62) and Mark Power (93) are unavailable as they are competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.   

SCOTLAND 
Angus CARRICK – Cragielaw (702)
Andrew DAVIDSON – Crail (427)
Connor GRAHAM – Blairgowrie (192)
Gregor GRAHAM – Blairgowrie (485)
Jack MCDONALD – Roxburghe (953)
Oliver MUKHERJEE – Loretto School (470)
Niall SHEILS DONEGAN – Mill Valley (859)
Gregor TAIT – Aldeburgh (270)
Matthew WILSON – Forres (566)

Calum Scott (34) is unavailable as he is competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.  

WALES
James ASHFIELD – Delamere Forest (83)
Theo BAKER – Celtic Manor (3,552)
Tom BASTOW – Isle of Purbeck (1,586)
Tomi BOWEN – Welshpool (335)
Caolan BURFORD – Rhuddlan (455)
Archie DAVIES – Carlisle (113)
Tom MATTHEWS – Aldersley Green (2,349)
James NASH – Ormskirk (498)
Matt ROBERTS – Royal Porthcawl (387)

Jonathan Bale (707) is unavailable as he is competing in the U.S. Amateur Championship.

Since the team selections were announced the English, Scottish and Welsh Closed Amateur Championships have been played. Interestingly the three champions, Ben Brown, Cameron Adam and Max Weaver respectively, are all conspicuous by their absence.  

Venue – Machynys

The Monk’s Island course at Machynys opened in 2005 and is located west of Swansea, near Llanelli.

It is a Nicklaus (Gary rather than Jack) designed 7,121 championship links, albeit the front nine has more of a parkland feel.

It plays to a traditional par of 72; two 36’s with two par 3’s and par 5’s on each side.

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R&A Home International Websites

R&A Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals

Golfbox R&A Men’s Home Internationals Results

Golfbox R&A Women’s Home Internationals Results

Golfbox R&A Women’s & Men’s Home Internationals Results

2023 Weather Forecast (as at 7th August 2023)

The forecast is looking reasonably good for the opening two days but a little challenging for the decisive final day: –

Wed. 9th Aug. – Cloudy / Wind 11 mph SW / Temp. Min 15º, Max 20º
Thurs. 10th Aug. – Sunny / Wind 15 mph SE / Temp. Min 16º, Max 23º
Fri. 11th Aug. – Light Rain / Wind 22 mph SW / Temp. Min 15º, Max 18º

2022 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

ENGLAND won the Men’s Raymond Trophy last year at Ballyliffin G.C. in Ireland.

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

Day 1 Results
England 9.0 – Wales 3.0
Scotland 3.0 – Ireland 9.0

Day 2 Results
England 7.5 – Scotland 4.5
Wales 3.0 – Ireland 9.0

Day 3 Results
Scotland 7.5 v. Wales 4.5
Ireland 5.5 v. England 6.5

Here’s the final Men’s Home Internationals Results Table.

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.41.48

Here is my Men’s Individual Performance table which confirms that England’s Arron EDWARDS-HILL was the most successful player in the 2022 Raymond Trophy contest.

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Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.41.35

ENGLAND also won the inaugural R&A Trophy for the combined Women’s and Men’s Home Internationals match.

IRELAND won the Women’s International Shield.

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

Historic Results

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

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2023, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

European Men’s Amateur Team Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

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15th July 2023

Match Play Flight A (1-8) – Final and 3rd & 4th Place Match

Spain (2) beat Denmark (1) 4-3 to win the 2023 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship Final at Royal Waterloo G.C. in Belgium.

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The Victorious Spanish Team (Photo: EGA)

Spain’s two morning foursomes wins proved pivotal, particularly the one by Masaveu and Ayora on the 22nd Hole, as their top order struggled in the early singles before he late recovery saw them home.

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Denmark v. Spain Championship Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Ireland (4) beat England (3) 6-1 to win the bronze medal in a one-sided 3rd and 4th Place Match.

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Ireland v. England 3rd & 4th Place Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Here are the full Flight A Match Play results and upper half final standings: –

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Flight A Match Play Results and Final Standings (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Click here to view the – Match Play Flight A Final Scores

Match Play Flight B (9-16) Day 3

Finland (10) beat Wales (12) 3-2 in the Flight B Final to earn 9th place in the Championship.

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Wales v. Finland 9th & 10th Place Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Here are the full Flight A Match Play results and lower half final standings: –

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Flight B Match Play Results and Final Standings (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Click here to view the – Match Play Flight B Day 3 Scores

Here is my assessment of the Individual performances from the 18 home nation players that were competing.

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Barclay BROWN (ENG) and James ASHFIELD (WAL) were my three star men.

Screenshot 2023-07-15 at 16.57.50

ME.

14th July 2023

Match Play Flight A (1-8) – Semi-Finals

Denmark (1) proved to be too strong for Ireland (4) in the opening semi-final beating them 4.5-2.5.

Whilst the morning foursomes were shared the Dane’s comfortably took the singles. Only Liam NOLAN was able to win a game for the Irish in this series.

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Denmark v. Ireland Semi-Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

In a tighter match England (3) lost 4.5-2.5 to Spain (2) in the second semi-final. Having lost both of the morning foursomes England needed a big bounce back in the singles to progress. In the end only Barclay BROWN and James CLARIDGE were able to produce wins which left the team short.

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 England v. Spain Semi-Final Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Click here to view the – Match Play Flight A Semi-Final Scores

Match Play Flight B (9-16) Day 2

Wales (12) beat Switzerland (9) 3-2 to reach the Flight B Final. James NASH and Caolan BURFORD  continued their strong partnership in the foursomes before good wins from James ASHFIELD and Matt ROBERTS in the singles sealed the deal.

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 Switzerland v. Wales Match Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Click here to view the – Match Play Flight B Day 2 Scores

ME.

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13th July 2023

Match Play Flight A (1-8) – Quarter Finals

All four Quarter Finals went the way of the highest seeded teams.

Each Flight A match consists of two foursomes and five singles.

Here’s a summary of the Quarter Final results: –

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Flight A Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Ireland (4) beat France (5) 4.0-3.0 in a tighter match. Two late singles wins from Matt MCCLEAN, who had earlier also won his foursomes with Caolan RAFFERTY, and Alex MAGUIRE helped the Irish over the line.

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Ireland v. France Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

England (3) beat Netherlands (6) 5.5-1.5 winning both of the foursomes and three of the five singles. John GOUGH and Jack BIGHAM paired up successfully in the morning before going on to both win their singles in the afternoon.

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England v. Netherlands Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Click here to view the – Match Play Flight A Quarter Finals Scores

Match Play Flight B (9-16) Day 1

Wales (12) beat Germany (13) by 4.5-0.5 as they seek to finish as high up the rankings as they can and more importantly extinguish any possibility of relegation to Division 2.

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Wales v. Germany Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Click here to view the – Match Play Flight B Day 1 Scores

ME.

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12th July 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

Denmark (-32) earned medalist honours in the 36 hole Stroke Play Qualifying competition at the European Men’s Amateur Team Championship.

The lowest five scores from each six-man team counted towards each countries round and total scores at Royal Waterloo Golf Club in Belgium.

Spain (-29), England (-27), Ireland (-23), France (-20), Netherlands (-17), Italy (-16) and Sweden   were the other teams to qualify for the all-important top 8 Flight A Match Play Stage which will determine who takes home the trophy and medals later this week.

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Team Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

England (-27) finished 3rd with round scores of 350 and 343.

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England Team Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)

Barclay BROWN (ENG) -10 finished 2nd in the Individual rankings and was therefore the leading GB&I player in the field.

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Barclay Brown’s Stroke Play Qualifying Rounds 1 & 2 Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Ireland (-23) finished 4th with round scores of 352 and 345.

Caolan RAFFERTY (-7) 5th and Max KENNEDY (-7) 8th were their leading contributors over the two days.

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Ireland Team Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Wales (-5) finished 12th with round scores of 350 and a disappointing 365 which sadly saw them tumble out of contention.

Matt ROBERTS (-7) 10th can be pleased with his efforts in the Stroke Play Qualifying.

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Wales Team Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Here are the leading Individual scores from Belgium with the recent European Men’s Amateur champion José BALLESTER (ESP) -11 again showing his class: –

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Individual Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Top 30 (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

The average score from the 96 players was 72.16 (+.16) in Round 2.

Click here to view the Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboards – Team and Individual

ME.

__________________________________________

11th July 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

Denmark (-15) and Spain (-15) delivered the best Round 1 scores on the opening day of the Stroke Play Qualifying competition at Royal Waterloo G.C.

England (-10) and Wales (-10) are 6th and 7th respectively, after a applying the sixth player score to break the tie, and Ireland (-8) 10th.

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Team Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Tiger CHRISTENSEN (GER) produced the lowest Round 1 score with a 64 (-8). European Amateur champion José BALLESTER (ESP) and Jack INGHAM (NED) 65 (-7) were one shot further back on a low scoring day.

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Individual Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Scores – Top 30 (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

The lowest GB&I round came from England’s Barclay BROWN who posted a 66 (-6) which included an eagle and six birdies.

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Barclay Brown’s Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Welsh pair James ASHFIELD and Matt ROBERTS both recorded 68’s (-4) with Liam NOLAN (IRL), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG) and Max KENNEDY (IRL) nearly as impressive with 3-under 69’s.

The average score from the 96 players was 71.80 (-0.2) in Round 1.

Click here to view the Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboards – Team and Individual

ME.

__________________________________________

10th July 2023

Introduction

The 40th European Men’s Amateur Team Championship will be played between Tuesday 11th and Saturday 15th July 2023 at Royal Waterloo G.C. in Belgium.

England, Ireland and Wales will all be competing this week. Scotland were relegated to Division 2 at last year’s Championship.

In a Walker Cup year the performances of the chosen players will be carefully scrutinised by The R&A selectors.

Spain are the defending champions having beaten Sweden in last year’s final at Royal St. George’s G.C. in England.

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The 2022 Spanish Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

The European Ladies’, Boys’ and Girls’ Team Championships are also being played elsewhere in Europe this week.

I will provide daily updates on play in the Men’s event on this page throughout the competition and score links to all of the other Championships on the Results page of this website and on Twitter and Threads.

2023 Teams

16 national teams of 6 players will contest the 2023 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship.

The teams competing are Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.

Just two of these teams, Estonia and Wales, will be represented by their top six ranked players in the latest WAGR list.

On paper Spain, Ireland, England, Germany, France, Denmark and Sweden appear to be the strongest teams likely to challenge for the medals.

The 2023 home nation teams are made up of the following players: –

ENGLAND – Jack BIGHAM, Barclay BROWN, James CLARIDGE, Arron EDWARDS-HILL, John GOUGH, Dylan Shaw-RADFORD

The English selectors have remained loyal to Arron Edwards-Hill and Dylan Shaw-Radford when some would have opted for one or both of Charlie CROCKETT and Will HOPKINS, two U.S. college players who have arguably shown better recent form.

img_5788 The 2023 English Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

IRELAND – Max KENNEDY, Alex MAGUIRE, Matt MCCLEAN, Liam NOLAN, Mark POWER, Caolan RAFFERTY

Hugh FOLEY found his form too late to break into this line-up which combines experience and quality nicely and should finish in the medals. Alex Maguire, playing off +7.8, has the lowest handicap in the field.

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The 2023 Irish Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

WALES – James ASHFIELD, Tomi BOWEN, Caolan BURFORD, Archie DAVIES, James NASH, Matt ROBERTS

The Welsh team picked itself and is as strong as I can remember for many years. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them perform well in Belgium this week.

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The 2023 Welsh Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

Format / Schedule

The Championship is run by the European Golf Association, this year in partnership with The Royal Belgian Golf Federation.

Two rounds of stroke play qualifying are completed on the first two days, with the lowest five scores from each team counting. All ties will be broken by using the two non-counting scores.

These results then determine a seeded match play draw. The top 8 qualifying teams will play in a first flight (A), which will determine the medalists, and the next eight a second flight (B).

Fight A therefore starts off with 1st v. 8th, 2nd v. 7th, 3rd v. 6th and 4th v. 5th. Winning teams advance in their brackets while losing teams play against other defeated nations to determine the final positions 1-19.

The teams in Flight A play 2 foursomes and 5 singles whilst losing teams and those in Flight B play 1 foursomes and 4 singles.

A win earns 1 point, a draw half a point and a loss no points in all of the individual games that make up a match.

The teams that finish 14th to 16th in the match play stage will be relegated to the Division 2 Championship for 2024.

Royal Waterloo G.C., Belgium

Royal Waterloo Golf Club, situated 20 miles south of Brussels, was founded in 1923 and is therefore celebrating it’s centenary this year.

The Club moved to Lasne in 1960 and now has 45 holes in play; the La Marache (18), Le Lion (18) and Le Bois-Héros (9) courses.

The Championship is being played on the La Marache course which was designed by the English architect Fred Hawtree and opened in 1961. Fred’s son Martin oversaw the renovation of the greens to USGA specification in 2004/05 with the bunkers also completely rebuilt in 2022.

An undulating, tree lined course it plays to 6,859 yards off the Black Tees and has a par of 72. It has a Course Rating of 73.6 and a Slope Rating of 133.

This is the third time the European Men’s Amateur Team Championship has been staged in Belgium. Waterloo is following in the footsteps of Brussels in 1961 (when Sweden won) and Royal Antwerp in 1995 (when Scotland won).

Weather Forecast

This week’s weather forecast for Belgium looks very good with good playing conditions currently expected throughout the week.

Tue 11th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 11 mph SW. Temp. Min. 15°C / Max. 28°C.
Wed 12th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 15 mph SW. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 22°C.
Thur 13th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 12 mph N. Temp. Min. 11°C / Max. 22°C.
Fri 14th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 7 mph W. Temp. Min. 16°C / Max. 25°C.
Sat 15th July – Sunny Intervals. Wind 11 mph N. Temp. Min. 15°C / Max. 27°C.

EGA Website Links – 2023 Scores / Information

Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboards – Team and Individual

Match Play Draw / Results – Flight A and Flight B

Full Player List

European Golf Association Championship Website

2022 European Men’s Amateur Team Championship

Match Play Flight A

Spain (1) beat Denmark (5) 4.5-2.5 last year to win the European Men’s Amateur Team Championship at Royal St. George’s G.C.

Denmark (5) beat England (3) 5-2 to secure 3rd place with the hosts having to settle for 4th.

Ireland defeated Italy 3-2 to take 5th place.

Click here to view the – Flight A Match Play Results

Match Play Flight B

Wales (12) beat Belgium (15) 4-1 to finish in 13th place in the Championship.

Click here to view the – Flight B Match Play Results

Match Play Flight C

Scotland (17) beat Czech Republic (18) 3-2 in the final match of the three team ’round robin’ event to secure 17th place in the Championship.

It was of course a hollow victory as Scotland had already joined the Czech Republic and Portugal in being relegated to Division 2 following the Stroke Play Qualifying.

Click here to view the – Flight C Match Play Results

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Stroke Play Qualifying

Spain secured the top seeding for the Flight A Match Play competition with a 693 (-7) total.

England (-5) finished 2nd and Ireland (+4) 8th to also make the all-important Flight A which determines the medalists.

Wales (+15) were 12th so contested the Flight B competition.

Scotland (+26) were a hugely disappointing 17th and ended up in Flight C and certain relegation to Division 2 for the 2023 competition.

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Team Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Julien SALE (FRA) shot two rounds of 67 to head the Individual standings on -6.

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) -4 was the leading GB&I player over the 36 holes finishing in 5th place.

John GOUGH (ENG) -3 6th, Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) -2 8th – including a best of the competition 65 in Round 2, Mark POWER (IRL) -1 15th, Calum SCOTT (SCO) -1 21st, Olly HUGGINS (ENG) Ev 29th and Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) Ev 33rd were all par or better for their respective teams.

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Individual Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Top 30 (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox) 

Click here to view the Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Team and Individual

____________________________________________

In overall terms Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG), Liam NOLAN (IRL), James ASHFIELD (WAL) and Calum SCOTT (SCO) were the leading home nation players in 2022.

Screenshot 2022-07-10 at 07.50.57

History / Previous Results

The European Men’s Amateur Team Championship was first played in 1959.

It was played every second year until 2007. Since then it has been played annually save for 2012 when no Championship was held.

To date England have won 11 times, Scotland 8, Ireland 6, Spain 5, Sweden 3 and Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Wales once each.

Click here to view the full list of – European Men’s Amateur Team Championship Past Winners 

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2023, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.