U.S. Amateur Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 09/08/2023 by Golf Bible

Sunday 20th August 2023

Nick DUNLAP (USA), 19, has won the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship beating Neal SHIPLEY (USA) by 4&3 in the 36-hole Final at Cherry Hills G.C.

Nick Dunlap with the Haveymeyer Trophy (Photo: USGA)

The match was All-Square at lunch after both players shot 5-under 65’s neither showing any signs of Championship nerves.

Dunlap pulled away on the front nine in the afternoon shooting a 5-under 30. Biridies on the 21st, 22nd and a winning par on the 25th proved to be the pivotal holes. He comfortably saw the game out over the final nine holes.

It was some turnaround for Dunlap who made a near disastrous start to the stroke play qualifying last Monday at Colorado C.C. where he found himself 5-over after seven holes. Eventually he sorted himself out and qualified for the match play in 41st place.

Dunlap, who had already been selected by the USGA for the USA Walker Cup team, extended his outstanding match play record since Spring 2021 to Played 32, Won 30, Lost 2.

He became only the second player to win both the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur Championships, following in the footsteps of Tiger Woods. Of course Woods amazingly won each Championship three times in six consecutive years between 1991-96.

Dunlap said “This is why I practice. This is why I get up early, just for moments like this. The first tee when they announce your name to the last green whether you win or lose, it’s special just to be a part of the United States Amateur and what it stands for.”

Shipley was gracious in defeat “Nick played great, and he just made a lot of putts on me this afternoon. That’s what it takes to win these things. He has what it takes, obviously, and I just didn’t play my best. I got out-dueled today.”

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MP Final Hole-By-Hole Results (Graphic: USGA)

Dunlap is a rising sophomore at the University of Alabama whilst Shipley is a graduate student at Ohio State University having transferred to Ohio from James Madison University last year.

Both finalists earned spots in the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National and 2024 U.S. Open Championship which will be played at Pinehurst Resort. In addition Dunlap will also receive an exemption into The Open Championship at Royal Troon, subject to remaining an amateur.

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Match Play Results

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Saturday 19th August 2023

Nick DUNLAP, 19, beat Parker BELL, 19, by 3&2 whilst Neal SHIPLEY, 22, overcame John MARSHALL BUTLER, 21, by 2 &1 in the Semi-Finals of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills C.C.

Shipley was 3Down after 10 holes to Butler before fighting back superbly to win with a conceded birdie on the 17th after his approach finished inches away from the island green hole.

Bell and Butler earn exemptions into the the next two U.S. Amateur Championships.

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MP Semi-Finals Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Match Play Scoreboard

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Friday 18th August 2023

USA foursome Nick DUNLAP, 19 and WAGR ranked #9, Parker BELL, 19 and ranked #534, Neal SHIPLEY, 22 and ranked #132 and John MARSHALL BUTLER, 21 and ranked #51, all came through tightly contested Quarter Finals in Denver.

Nick Dunlap has already been selected for the 2023 USA Walker Cup Team but the other three, who were not in the picture before this week, have that carrot now well and truly in front of them.

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MP Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Match Play Scoreboard

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Thursday 17th August 2023

Match Play – Round of 16

The Round of 16 games in the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship started at 2.00pm MDT (9.00pm BST) at Cherry Hills C.C. Due to darkness the final game in the series had to be completed on Friday morning.

Ten of the 16 players to make it this far were qualifiers with the remainder picking up exemptions from the USGA.

Ben JAMES’ (USA) victory over David FORD (USA) was the most noteworthy and has greatly increased his chances of making this year’s USA Walker Cup team.

Neal SHIPLEY (USA) and Andi XU (CHN) conquerors of Calum Scott and Matt McClean in previous rounds, also overcame another hurdle in the afternoon.

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MP Round of 16 Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Match Play Scoreboard

Match Play – Round of 32

Calum SCOTT (SCO) lost on the 20th Hole to Neal SHIPLEY (USA) thus ending GB&I interest in this year’s Championship. This game again demonstrated the narrow margins involved in top class match play golf.

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Calum Scott v. Neal Shipley MP Round of 32 Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: USGA)

The three co-medalists Blades BROWN (USA),16, Sampson ZHENG (CHN), 22, and Jackson BUCHANAN (USA), 21, all lost in the Round of 32.

Andi XU (CHN) and Jose ISLAS (MEX) are now the only non-American players left in the Championship.

Here are the complete Round of 32 results from Cherry Hills C.C.: –

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MP Round of 32 Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Match Play Scoreboard

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Wednesday 16th August 2023

Match Play – Round of 64

Calum SCOTT (SCO) birdied the final two holes to get the better of Bastien AMAT (FRA) by 2 Holes in what was clearly a high quality and very competitive match.

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Calum Scott v. Bastien Amat MP Round of 64 Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: USGA)

Scott is now the last GB&I man standing as Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) fell by 1 Hole to China’s Andi XU in his Round of 64 game.

Calum will be one of just six overseas players left in the Championship heading into the Round of 32.

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Andi Xu v. Matt McClean MP Round of 64 Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: USGA)

Co-medalists Blades BROWN (USA),16, Sampson ZHENG (CHN), 22, and Jackson BUCHANAN (USA), 21, all safely negotiated their first round matches.

In the ‘game of the round’ between two 2023 USA Walker Cup players from Alabama Nick DUNLAP (USA), 19, beat big hitting World No. 1 Gordon SARGENT (USA), 20, by 2&1.

Luke CLANTON (USA), Jackson VAN PARIS (USA), Karl VILIPS (AUS), who was ‘celebrating’ his 22nd birthday, Maxwell MOLDOVAN (USA), Preston SUMMERHAYS (USA) and Dylan MENANTE (USA) joined Sargent amongst the higher profile casualties on Day 1 of the Match Play Stage.

Grant SMITH (USA), 28, is now the only mid-amateur remaining in the Championship after he beat Piercen HUNT (CAN) by 1 Hole.

14 of the 32 matches went to the 18th hole with three of them requiring extra holes too.

Here are the complete Round of 64 results from Cherry Hills C.C.: –

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MP Round of 64 Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Match Play Scoreboard

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Tuesday 15th August 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

Calum SCOTT (SCO), 19, was GB&I’s leading qualifier after he produced a round of 68 (-4) at Colorado G.C. which included three consecutive birdies on his back nine. His 139 (-4) total was good enough for a tied 10th finish and the 15th seed.

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), 30, joined Calum in the MP Stage. His 143 (Ev) total saw the Northern Irishman finish in tied 50th place, taking the 58th seed.

The other GB&I competitors missed the cut by some distance. Barclay BROWN (ENG) bounced back well with a 70 (-2) at Colorado but still finished Qualifying outside the top 100.

GB&I SP Qualifying Results (Graphic: USGA)

16 year old Blades BROWN (USA) became the youngest co-medalist in Championship history after a course record sharing 64 (-8) at Colorado G.C. helped him to secure the Number 1 seeding.

Sampson ZHENG (CHN), 22, and Jackson BUCHANAN (USA), 21, shared medalist honours on 136 (-7) with all three receiving silver medals in recognition of their achievements.

Piercen HUNT (USA), Maxwell FORD (USA), Caleb SURRATT (USA) and Andi XU (CHN) finished one stroke further back on 137 (-6).

As expected the cut fell at 143 (Ev) with the USGA no doubt pleased to see a clean 64 achieve this mark. The Even par match play cut was the joint lowest ever and it was the first time since 2000 that no play-off has been required to finalise the match play field.

The average Round 2 scores were 75.25, +4.25 (Rd 1 75.55, +4.55) at Cherry Hills C.C. and 73.75, +1.75 (Rd 1 75.26, +3.26) at Colorado G.C.

GB&I SP Qualifying Top 10 Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard

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Monday 14th August 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

Despite finishing bogey-double bogey on the 8th and 9th holes at Cherry Hills Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) still posted a 71 (-2) in his opening Stroke Play Qualifying round to finish the day in tied 15th place.

Calum SCOTT (SCO) recorded a 71 (Ev) at Cherry Hills to sit tied 45th; a solid foundation to work from tomorrow.

The remaining six GB&I players will require something special to feature in the Match Play Stage after disappointing rounds.

Sampson ZHENG (CHN) leads Qualifying after a 66 (-6) at Colorado G.C. Ben JAMES (USA) and Riggs JOHNSTON (-5) were both one shot shy of him at the same course on Day 1.

After 18 holes 44 players are on -1 or better and 74 players are on Ev par or better which suggests tomorrow’s top 64 cut will fall on par (143) if playing conditions remain broadly the same.

The average Round 1 scores, taking into account the play of all 312 competitors, were 75.55, +4.55 at Cherry Hills C.C. and 75.26, +3.26 at Colorado G.C.

GB&I SP Qualifying Round 1 Scores / Round 2 Tee Times (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard

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11th August 2023

Here are the Stroke Play Qualifying tee times (MDT) for the eight GB&I players who are competing: –

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) – 7.55am (10-CH) / 1.25pm (1-CGC)
Barclay BROWN (ENG) – 1.03pm (10-CH) / 7.33am (1-CGC)
John GOUGH (ENG) – 1.03pm (10-CH) / 7.33am (1-CGC)
Hugh FOLEY (IRL) – 1.25pm (1-CH) / 7.55am (10-CGC)
Jonathan BALE (WAL) – 1.58pm (10-CH) / 8.28am (1-CGC)
Conor GOUGH (ENG) – 1.58pm (10-CGC) / 8.28am (1-CH)
Mark POWER (IRL) – 1.58pm (10-CGC) / 8.28am (1-CH)
Calum SCOTT (SCO) – 2.20pm (10-CH) / 8.50am (1-CGC)

CH – Cherry Hills G.C. / CGC – Colorado Golf Club

Denver is seven hours behind Great Britain & Ireland.

Click here to view the – U.S. Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying Tee Times

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9th August 2023 (Updated 11th August 2023)

Introduction

The 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship is being played at Cherry Hills Country Club and Colorado Golf Club, near Denver in Colorado.

Administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) the U.S. Amateur is the most important and prestigious individual competition in the amateur golf calendar.

I will be updating this article with more information as it becomes available and daily reports once play gets underway.

2023 Field

8,253 entries, a record, were received by the USGA for this year’s Championship.

312 players, who were either exempt or who came through pre-qualifying, from 23 different countries will be competing.

Exemptions were granted based on past performances in previous amateur championships, selection for the Walker Cup teams and World Amateur Golf Rankings.

91 qualifying events, all played over 36 holes, were staged between 26th June and 25th July to make up the rest of the field. Click here to view all of the – 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship Qualifying Results.

The youngest player is Sohan Patel (USA) who is 14 years old and the oldest Gene Elliott (USA) who is 61.

The USGA has already selected Nick DUNLAP 19, David FORD 20, Gordon SARGENT 20, Caleb SURRATT 19 and Michael THORBJORNSEN* 21 to it’s 2023 USA Walker Cup team and all of them are playing in the Championship. The remainder of the USA team will be announced after the Final is completed on Sunday.

*On 9th August 2023 Thorbjornsen withdrew from the U.S. Amateur and the forthcoming Walker Cup match with a stress fracture in his back.

Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), the Amateur champion, is not competing this week. He has recently undergone eye surgery and is recuperating at home in South Africa.

There are eight Great British & Irish (GB&I) players in the 2023 field. They are: –

Jonathan BALE (WAL) 35 – Qualifier: Rose Creek G.C., Oklahoma on 17th July 2023
Barclay BROWN (ENG) 22 – Exemption: U.S. Open 2023 / Walker Cup GB&I Team 2021 / WAGR Top 50 on 14th June 2023
Conor GOUGH (ENG) 20 – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2019
John GOUGH (ENG) 24 – Exemption: WAGR Top 50 on 14th June 2023
Hugh FOLEY (IRL) 26 – Exemption: U.S. Mid-Amateur Runner-Up 2022
Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) 30 – Exemption: U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion 2022
Mark POWER (IRL) 23 – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team 2021
Calum SCOTT (SCO) 19 – Exemption: WAGR Top 50 on 14th June 2023

There were 9 GB&I players at Ridgewood last year, 5 at Oakmont in 2021, 11 at Bandon Dunes in 2020, 11 at Pinehurst in 2019, 7 at Pebble Beach in 2018, 9 at Riviera in 2017 and 11 at Oakland Hills in 2016.

Format / Schedule

36-holes of stroke play (SP) will determine the top 64 match play (MP) qualifiers. Ties for the last qualifying place will be resolved by a sudden death play-off.

Six 18 hole MP rounds will then be played culminating in a 36-hole Championship Final. Extra holes will be played to resolve any halved games.

Monday 14th August – SP Qualifying Round 1 (Cherry Hills and Colorado – 18 holes)
Tuesday 15th August – SP Qualifying Round 2 (Cherry Hills and Colorado – 18 holes)
Wednesday 16th August – SP Qualifying Play-Off / MP Round of 64 (Cherry Hills – 18 holes)
Thursday 17th August – MP Rounds of 32 and 16 (Cherry Hills – 18 holes)
Friday 18th August – MP Quarter Finals (Cherry Hills – 18 holes )
Saturday 19th August – MP Semi-Finals (Cherry Hills – 18 holes)
Sunday 20th August – MP Championship Final (Cherry Hills – 36 holes)

Host Courses

Both courses, which are 23 miles apart, are located South of Denver, the state capital of Colorado.

Cherry Hills Country Club – stroke play and match play
7,405 yards (Red) / Par 71 / Course Rating 75.5 / Slope Rating 145.
Located in Cherry Hills Village it opened in 1923.
Originally deisgned by William Flynn it was restored by Tom Oak and his Renaissance Golf Design team over 10 years from 2008.
It has previously hosted the U.S. Open Championship in 1938 (Ralph Guildhall), 1960 (Arnold Palmer) and 1978 (Andy North), the PGA Championship in 1941 (Vic Ghezzi) and 1985 (Hubert Green), the U.S. Women’s Open Championship in 2005 (Birdie Kim), the U.S. Senior Open Championship in 1993 (Jack Nicklaus). the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1990 (Phil Mickelson) and 2012 (Steven Fox) and the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in 1983 (Jay Sigel).

17th Hole, Cherry Hills C.C. (Photo: Cherry Hills / Brian Walters)

Colorado Golf Club – stroke play co-host
7,560 yards (Black) / Par 72 / Course Rating 76.5 / Slope Rating 152.
Located in Parker it opened in 2007.
Designed by Bill Moore and Ben Crenshaw.
It has already hosted the Senior PGA Championship in 2010 (Tom Lehman), the Solheim Cup in 2013 (Europe) and the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in 2019 (Lukas Michel).

16th Hole, Colorado G.C. (Photo: USGA / Russell Kirk)

Weather Forecast (as at 14th August 2023)

The weather forecast looks ideal for the whole Championship week with sunny conditions and light breezes expected.

Stroke Play Qualifying
Mon 14th August – Sunny / Wind 8mph NE / Temp. Min. 14°C, Max. 26°C.
Tues 15th August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 8mph NE / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 32°C.

Match Play Stage
Weds 16th August – Sunny / Wind 9mph W / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 34°C.
Thurs 17th August – Sunny / Wind 9mph SE / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 34°C.
Fri 18th August – Sunny / Wind 11mph W / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 34°C.
Sat 19th August – Sunny, PM Showers / Wind 7mph NE / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 32°C.
Sun 20th August – Sunny / Wind 11mph E / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 32°C.

Prizes

The 2023 U.S. Amateur champion will receive the following: –

a) A gold medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the following year;
b) An exemption to play in the 2024 U.S. Open which is being staged at Pinehurst Resort No. 2 in North Carolina;

and assuming they remain amateur,
c) An invitation to play in the 2024 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club;
d) An exemption to play in the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club;
e) An exemption to play in the 2024 – 2033 U.S. Amateur Championships;

and unofficially

f) Various invitations to play in PGA Tour and DP World Tour events.

If the champion is American they are also guaranteed a place on the 2023 USA Walker Cup Team that will travel to St. Andrews for the match against Great Britain & Ireland in September.

A Silver Medal is awarded to the runner-up and Bronze Medals to the two losing semi-finalists.

A Silver Medal is also awarded to the stroke play medalist(s).

The original silver Havemeyer Trophy was presented to the U.S.G.A. on March 1895 in honour of the Association’s first President Theodore A. Havemeyer. This was lost in a fire at Bobby Jones’ home club, East Lake, in 1925.

Bobby Jones Receives the Original U.S. Amateur Trophy in 1924

A new gold trophy was produced in 1926. This was retired in 1992 with a copy of the trophy being produced and passed from champion to champion ever since. Sadly the original gold trophy was stolen from the U.S.G.A. Museum in 2012 and has never been seen since.

US Amateur Information

Click here to view the – USGA’S U.S. Amateur Championship Official Website

Spectators / Television Coverage

Some highlights of the SP Qualifying will be shown on the USGA website and social media channels.

In the USA Peacock and Golf Channel will be covering the MP stage.

In the UK Sky Sports Golf normally takes the U.S. television feed, via the Red Button, over the final match play weekend.

2022 U.S. Amateur Championship

Sam BENNETT (USA), 22, beat Ben CARR (USA), also 22, by 1-Hole in the 36-hole Final of the 122nd U.S. Amateur Championship at The Ridgewood Country Club.

Bennett, who returned to Texas A&M University for a 5th Year in 2022/23 before turning pro in May, said: “It’s a dream come true. It means a lot to hold that trophy. I’m sure I’ll take a peek at all the names, but I know Tiger Woods’ name is on it three times, and to put my name beside him, I know it’s something special.” said the new champion afterwards.

Sam Bennett With The Havemeyer Trophy (Photo: USGA / Grant Halverson)

Sam BENNETT (USA) beat Dylan MENANTE (USA) by 1 Hole in the opening Semi-Final whilst Ben CARR (USA) overcame Derek HITCHNER (USA) by 3&2 in the other.

Three GB&I players, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) #44, Josh HILL (ENG) #35 and Mark POWER (IRL) #11, qualified for the MP Stage but sadly all fell at the first hurdle, the Round of 64. Bairstow lost 3&1 to Stewart HAGESTAD (USA) #21, Hill lost 2&1 Campbell KREMER (USA) #30 and Power lost 3&2 to Walker ISLEY (USA) #54.

The SP Qualifying concluded with 68 of the 312 competitors still involved in the Championship. 53 players on +4 and better secured their spots directly in the Round of 64 MP draw. The remaining 15, who all finished with +5 totals, needed to participate in a play-off to determine who would take the final 11 places. Walker Isley was one of the successful players.

Fred BIONDI (BRA), Luke GUTSCHEWSKI (USA), Hugo TOWNSEND (SWE) and Michael THORBJORNSEN (USA), who double bogeyed his final hole, shared medalist honours after recording 36-hole scores of 138 (-3). 2022 is the first time the Championship has produced four co-medalists.

Hugo Townsend, who was born in Ireland and now resides in and represents Sweden, is the son of the 1965 GB&I Walker Cup player Peter Townsend.

Michael Thorbjornsen, Hugo Townsend, Fred Biondi and Luke Gutschewski (Photo: USGA)

Gordon SARGENT (USA) produced the best round of the SP Qualifying competition in Round 2, a bogey free 65 (-5) at Arcola Country Club, to take the 5th seed.

Mark POWER (IRL), who was the leading GB&I player, finished his second round 68 with an eagle to secure an impressive top 10 result.

Power was joined by Englishmen Josh HILL (+3) and Sam BAIRSTOW (+4) in the MP Stage after both produced good second rounds to comfortably make the mark.

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GB&I Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – 2022 U.S. Amateur Championship Stroke Play Qualifying and Match Play Results

U.S. Amateur Championship History

The U.S. Amateur is the oldest golf championship in America and 2023 will see its 123rd playing.

It was first played in 1895, the winner being Charles B. Macdonald.

It has always been decided by match play save for an 8 year period between 1965 and 1972 when the winner was determined solely by stroke play.

Former U.S. winners include Walter Travis (1900-01-03), Jerome Travers (1907-08-12-13), Bobby Jones (1924-25-27-28-30), Francis Ouimet (1914-31), W. Lawson Little (1934-35) Arnold Palmer (1954), Jack Nicklaus (1959-61), Deane Beman (1960-63), Lanny Wadkins (1970), Craig Stadler (1973), Mark O’Meara (1979), Hal Sutton (1980), Phil Mickelson (1990), Justin Leonard (1992), Tiger Woods (1994-95-96), Matt Kucher (1997), Ryan Moore (2004) and Bryson DeChambeau (2015).

The last five winners, 2022-2018, have been Sam Bennett (USA), James Piot (USA), Tyler Strafaci (USA), Andy Ogletree (USA) and Viktor Hovland (NOR).

British players have won the Championship on six occasions but just twice in the last 100 years – H.J. Whigham (1896-97), Findlay Douglas (1898), Harold Hilton (1911), Richie Ramsay (2006) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (2013).

Matthew Fitzpatrick (Photo: U.S.G.A.)

Italy’s Edoardo Molinari (2005) and Norway’s Viktor Hovland (2018) are the only players from the Continent of Europe to have lifted the Havemeyer Trophy.

Click here to view the full list of past – U.S. Amateur Champions

Future U.S. Amateur Venues

For reasons I have never understood the USGA continue to allocate their Championship venues far out into the future: –

124th – 12-18 August 2024 – Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota
125th – 11-17 August 2025 – The Olympic Club, San Francisco, California
126th – 10-16 August 2026 – Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
127th – 09-15 August 2027 – Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, New York
128th – TBD
129th – 13-19 August 2029 – Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio
130th – 12-18 August 2030 – Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia
131st – 11-17 August 2031 – Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tennessee
132nd – TBD August 2032 – Bandon Dunes, Oregon
133rd – TBD August 2033 – Chambers Bay, University Place, Washington
141st – TBD August 2041 – Bandon Dunes, Oregon
147th – TBD August 2047 – Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
151st – TBD August 2051 – Saucon Valley Country Club, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

ME.

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 05/06/2023 by Golf Bible

11th June 2023

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

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

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

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

Alex Maguire (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

Round 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Round 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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10th June 2023

Round 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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9th June 2023

Round 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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5th June 2023

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

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

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

St Andrews Clubhouse

R&A Clubhouse, St. Andrews (Photo: R&A Website)

Competition Format

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

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

This year Round 1 will be played on the New Course and Round 2 on the Old Course. In non-Open Championship year’s the Jubilee Course normally alternates with the New for Round 1.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Field

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weather Forecast (as at Wenesday 7th June)

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

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

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

Prizes

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

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

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

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

The Open Championship

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

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

Competition Website

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

2022 St. Andrews Links Trophy

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

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

Connor McKinney (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

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

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

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

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

Past Winners

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 23/05/2023 by Golf Bible

31st May 2023

Final

FLORIDA (2) beat GEORGIA TECH (5) 3-1-0 in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Division I National Championship Final.

It was the program’s fifth national title and first since 2001 and coach JC Deacon’s first since taking over responsibility for the team from Buddy Alexander in 2014.

The Gators enjoyed a strong post-season, winning the SEC Championship before qualifying 4th in their Bath NCAA Regional Championship.

Florida (Photo: Gators Golf)

Here are the full game scores: –

Match Play Final Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2023 MATCH PLAY RESULTS – TEAM

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30th May 2023

Match Play Semi-Finals

FLORIDA (2) and GEORGIA TECH (5) overcame FLORIDA STATE (6) and NORTH CAROLINA (1) respectively to claim their place in tomorrow’s Championship match.

England’s Jack Bigham enjoyed a 6&5 win against Yuxin Lin, the 2017 and 2019 Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, but it proved to be in vain.

Florida State took a 2-0 lead after Frederik Kjettrup and Bigham won early. Cole Anderson and Luke Clanton then narrowly lost their games bringing the scores back level. In the final decisive game Brett Roberts, who was 2Up with three holes to play, succumbed to Ricky Costello on the third extra hole.

Match Play Semi-Final Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Match Play Quarter Finals

FLORIDA (2), NORTH CAROLINA (1), FLORIDA STATE (6) and GEORGIA TECH (5) were all victorious in this morning’s Quarter Final matches.

Jack Bigham’s FLORIDA STATE (6) beat ILLINOIS (3) 3-2-0 albeit Jack lost his game to Tommy Kuhl (USA).

Kuhl was the player who received a lot of publicity earlier in May after he shot a course record 62 at Illini Country Club in U.S. Open Local Qualifying only to then disqualify himself after realising he had been repairing aerated marks on the greens throughout his round.

Match Play Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2023 MATCH PLAY RESULTS – TEAM

ME.

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29th May 2023

Stroke Play Round 4

Team

An impressive final round team score of -7 helped NORTH CAROLINA secure medalist honours with a 1,114 (-6) total after the completion of the four stroke play rounds at Greyhawk G.C.

The Top 8 teams shown in the table below qualified for the Team Match Play Stage which will determine this year’s champions.

FLORIDA STATE, with Jack Bigham (ENG) in their line-up, finished 6th on +6 after they matched North Carolina’s final day score of -7.

VANDERBILT, the number 1 ranked team heading into the Nationals, were the surprise casualties of the final round as they fell out of the Match Play qualifying spots with a disappointing +8 final round.

Stroke Play Team Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Barclay Brown’s STANFORD missed out on qualification after they lost an 8th Seed Team Play-Off with ARIZONA STATE by 1-shot. After being the Californian team’s leading player throughout the Stroke Play Barclay will have been disappointed to have played his two holes in 1-over par.

8th Seed Play-Off Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Individual

Senior Fred BIONDI (BRA / Florida) won the NCAA Division 1 Men’s National Championship after a final round of 67 lifted him past a stumbling Ross STEELMAN (USA / Georgia Tech) who could only manage a 73. Steelman ended up finishing tied 2nd with Jackson BUCHANAN (USA / Illinois) who matched Bondi’s 67.

Biondi, the first South American to win the Individual title, earned an exemption in to the 2023 U.S. Open and 2024 Masters, subject to him remaining amateur. The former, being played in a couple of weeks, won’t be a problem but the latter may be because Biondi’s win also secured 2nd place in the PGA TOUR University Final Ranking which guaranteed a number of Korn Ferry Tour starts this season as well as unlimited sponsor exemptions on the same circuit. It will be interesting to see if he is prepared to give these latter opportunities up by staying an amateur so that he can play in The Masters next April.

Fred Biondi (Photo: Gators Golf)

Here are the leading Individual results: –

Stroke Play Individual Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Jack Bigham will be the only GB&I player who participates in the Match Play Stage on the back of his Florida State team’s performance.

Here are the final Individual results / finishing positions for all of the GB&I players: –

Jack BIGHAM (ENG / Florida State) 70-76-71-68 (+5) Tied 36th

Missed 72 Holes Stroke Play Cut
Barclay BROWN (ENG / Stanford) 68-71-67-69 (-5) Tied 4th

Missed 54 Holes Stroke Play Cut
Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG / ETSU) 76-73-70 (+9) Tied 74th
Luke O’NEILL (IRL / Kansas State) 75-72-74 (+11) Tied 94th
Calum SCOTT (SCO / Texas Tech) 76-72-74 (+12) Tied 106th
Paul CONROY (IRL / Chattanooga) 70-78-75 (+13) Tied 111th
Ben PARTRIDGE (ENG / San Francisco) 76-76-77 (+19) 146th
Archie DAVIES (WAL / ETSU) 83-76-76 (+25) 151st

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2023 STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

ME.

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28th May 2023

Stroke Play Round 3

Team

ILLINOIS produced another under par round to maintain their lead in the Team Stroke Play Qualifying competition at Greyhawk.

PEPPERDINE moved up three places to 2nd on Day 3 after a record breaking Greyhawk one round -11 contribution to their Team score.

FLORIDA are 3rd on -1, NORTH CAROLINA (+1) 4th and GEORGIA TECH (+2) 5th.

The 54 hole cut saw the top 15 teams, and nine individuals not on one of those teams, progressing to the final stroke play round.

Of the teams with GB&I representation only STANFORD (+10) and FLORIDA STATE (+13) progressed.

TEXAS TECH (+26) lost in a play-off to OHIO STATE for the final spot on Monday morning and therefore followed SAN FRANCISCO (+33), CHATTANOOGA (+39) tied 23rd and EAST TENNESSEE STATE (+46) 29th out of the Championship.

Defending champions TEXAS missed the 54 hole cut.

Stroke Play Round 3 Team Scores (Graphic: GolfStat)

Individual

Ross STEELMAN (USA / Georgia Tech) continues to deliver. A third round 68 has taken him to -9 and leaves him with a four shot lead with 18 holes to play over Neal SHIPLEY (USA / Ohio State) and Dylan MENANTE (USA / North Carolina).

After a lacklustre season by his high standards Barclay BROWN (ENG) continues to excel for Stanford in the Arizona desert. A 3-under 67 has moved him into tied 4th place on -4.

Barclay Brown’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: GolfStat)

Matthew ANDERSON (CAN / San Francisco) -1 T13, Ludvig ABERG (SWE / Texas Tech) +1 T19, Matthew WATKINS (USA / New Mexico) +1 T19, Drew GOODMAN (USA / Oklahoma) +3 T28, Ian SIEBERS (USA / Duke) +4 T32, Johnny KEEFER (USA / Baylor) +4 T32 and Jase SUMMY (USA /Oklahoma) +4 T32 were the seven Individuals who qualified after 54 holes.

Mateo FERNANDEZ DE OLIVEIRA (ARG / Arkansas) and Dylan MCDERMOTT (USA / Colorado) subsequently came through a 2-from-3 Individual play-off on Monday morning to join them. Matthew COMEGYS (USA / Texas Tech) bogeyed the first hole to miss out.

The Individual champion now receives an exemption into the following year’s Masters Tournament so tomorrow’s final round will be important for all of the leading players.

Here are the Round 3 Individual scores / positions for all of the GB&I players who are competing this week: –

Barclay BROWN (ENG / Stanford) 68-71-67 (-4) Tied 4th
Jack BIGHAM (ENG / Florida State) 70-76-71 (+7) Tied 55th

Stroke Play Round 3 Leading Individual Scores (Graphic: GolfStat)

The third round scoring average was 72.26, which was a full stroke lower than Saturday’s second round mark of 73.29 and Friday’s 73.24.

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2023 STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

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27th May 2023

Stroke Play Round 2

Team

First out ILLINOIS took advantage of their early morning tee time to move to the top of the Team leaderboard on -2. Their 273 -7 round score was the first under par one this week and moved them up eight places in the standings. It was also the second best round recorded at Greyhawk in the three years that the NCAA Men’s National Championship has been staged there. Pepperdine’s Round 4 271 -9 in 2021 being the best.

FLORIDA, who teed off five hours later when the conditions were much tougher, showed their class by delivering a -2 round score which lifted them five places into 2nd.

NORTH CAROLINA and GEORGIA TECH (+6) are tied 3rd after they recorded a +4 and +6 Round 2 score respectively.

Of the teams with GB&I representation, FLORIDA STATE (+11) are tied 7th, STANFORD (+16) are tied 13th, TEXAS TECH (+17) are 16th, SAN FRANCISCO (+19) tied 17th, CHATTANOOGA (+34) 27th and EAST TENNESSEE STATE (+40) 29th.

After 54 holes the first cut takes place with only the top 15 teams, and nine individuals not on one of those teams, progressing to the final stroke play round. After 72 holes only the top 8 teams qualify for the Championship match play stage.

At the moment there are 15 teams on +16 or better so all of the teams that matter to us will be under pressure to deliver a low scoring day tomorrow.

Screenshot 2023-05-28 at 05.05.07

Stroke Play Round 2 Team Scores (Graphic: GolfStat)

Individual

Ross STEELMAN (USA / Georgia Tech) produced a second under par round of 69 to move on to -7 and extend his lead in the Individual competition to 3-shots.

Two Europeans, Daniel DA COSTA RODRIGUES (POR / Texas A&M) and Adrien DUMONT DE CHASSART (BEL / Illinois), are tied 2nd on -4 with Brazil’s Fred BIONDI (Florida) -3 4th.

The Individual champion now receives an exemption into the following year’s Masters Tournament so I am sure the pressure will start to build on these leading players.

Stating on the 10th Barclay BROWN (ENG) posted a rollercoaster 71 in Round 2 to remain in the Individual top 10.

Screenshot 2023-05-28 at 05.37.03

Barclay Brown’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: GolfStat)

Here are the Round 2 Individual scores / positions for all of the GB&I players who are competing this week: –

Barclay BROWN (ENG / Stanford) 68-71 (-1) Tied 8th
Jack BIGHAM (ENG / Florida State) 70-76 (+6) Tied 67th
Luke O’NEILL (IRL / Kansas State) 75-72 (+7) Tied 84th
Calum SCOTT (SCO / Texas Tech) 76-72 (+8) Tied 96th
Paul CONROY (IRL / Chattanooga) 70-78 (+8) Tied 96th
Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG / ETSU) 76-73 (+9) Tied 108th
Ben PARTRIDGE (ENG / San Francisco) 76-76 (+12) Tied 127th
Archie DAVIES (WAL / ETSU) 83-76 (+19) Tied 154th

Screenshot 2023-05-28 at 05.06.58

Stroke Play Round 2 Leading Individual Scores (Graphic: GolfStat)

After 36 holes only 12 golfers in the 156-player field are under par. The average Round 2 score was 73.29, slightly higher than Friday’s average of 73.24.

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2023 STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

ME.

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26th May 2023

Stroke Play Round 1

Team

ACC and NCAA Salem Regional champions GEORGIA TECH (Ev) lead the Team standings after the opening 18 holes by 1-shot from PEPPERDINE and ARKANSAS.

Scoring conditions were tough on Friday with the course playing firm and fast. As per normal the afternoon wave had it harder with the course drying out and temperatures rising well into the 90’s.

TEXAS TECH (+2 Tied 4th), FLORIDA STATE (+4 8th) and SAN FRANCISCO (+5 Tied 9th), all teams with GB&I representation, are currently in the Top 15 – the 54 hole stroke play cut mark.

TEXAS (+15 27th) made a disappointing start to their title defence, albeit with four new players, including three freshman, in their line up this year’s trip to Greyhawk was always likely to be a challenge.

Screenshot 2023-05-27 at 05.39.34

Stroke Play Round 1 Team Scores (Graphic: GolfStat)

Individual

Ross STEELMAN (USA / Georgia Tech) leads the Individual standings at the the end of Round 1 after the senior used his course knowledge well to fire a bogey free 64 (-6).

Barclay BROWN (ENG) made the best start from a GB&I perspective. The Stanford senior posted a 68 (-2) to finish the day tied 6th.

Here are the Round 1 Individual scores / positions for all of the GB&I players who are competing this week: –

Barclay BROWN (ENG / Stanford) 68 (-2) Tied 6th
Paul CONROY (IRL / Chattanooga) 70 (Ev) Tied 19th
Jack BIGHAM (ENG / Florida State) 70 (Ev) Tied 19th
Luke O’NEILL (IRL / Kansas State) 75 (+5) Tied 104th
Calum SCOTT (SCO / Texas Tech) 76 (+6) Tied 115th
Ben PARTRIDGE (ENG / San Francisco) 76 (+6) Tied 115th
Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG / ETSU) 76 (+6) Tied 115th
Archie DAVIES (WAL / ETSU) 83 (+13) Tied 156th

Screenshot 2023-05-27 at 05.40.28

Stroke Play Round 1 Leading Individual Scores (Graphic: GolfStat)

18 players are under par after the opening round which saw an average score of 73.24 from the 156-player field.

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2023 STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

ME.

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23rd May 2023

The 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship starts on Friday 26th May at Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Greyhawk has staged the National Championships in each of the last two years and has in the last week hosted the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s event. The men’s Raptor Course is 7,289 yards long and plays to a par of 70. With a firm and fast set up most players struggle to break par over the 72 holes.

Greyhawk Golf Club

30 5-man teams and 6 individuals not on those teams qualified to play through six Regional events played on 15th-17th May. To learn more about these Regionals please read my earlier article – NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2023 Preview & Results.

At the National Championship 54 holes of stroke play will be played on 26th-28th May. A cut will then take place which will see the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on those teams play a final 18 holes on 29th May. After 72 holes an Individual champion is crowned with the leading 8 teams progressing to a match play stage. Seeded match play will then take place on 30th-31st May and will be used determine the Team national champions.

Team scores in the stroke play stage are based on a best four from five players cumulative total.

There are eight GB&I players competing this year; they are Jack BIGHAM (ENG / Florida State), Barclay BROWN (ENG / Stanford), Paul CONROY (IRL / Chattanooga), Archie DAVIES (East Tennessee State), Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG / East Tennessee State), Luke O’NEILL (IRL / Kansas State), Ben PARTRIDGE (ENG / San Francisco) and Calum SCOTT (SCO / Texas Tech).

Here is a list of the 30 competing teams and 6 individuals, along with their current Golfweek / Sagarin national ranking and earlier Regional site results in brackets.

The 8 players from Great Britain & Ireland are shown in blue below.

TEAMS

Alabama 16 (Norman Oklahoma, 1st)

Arizona State 5 (Las Vegas Nevada, 1st)

Arkansas 34 (Salem South Carolina, 2nd)

Auburn 10 (Auburn Alabama, 1st)

Baylor 32 (Morgan Hill California, 4th)

Brigham Young (BYU) 38 (Morgan Hill California, 2nd)*

Chattanooga 39 (Auburn Alabama, 3rd) – PAUL CONROY (IRL) #1

Colorado 56 (Norman Oklahoma, 3rd)

Colorado State 28 (Auburn Alabama, 5th)

Duke 25 (Norman Oklahoma, 5th)

East Tennessee State 29 (Las Vegas Nevada, 5th) – ARCHIE DAVIES (WAL) #3, MATTHEW DODD-BERRY (ENG) #4

Florida 6 (Bath Michigan, 4th)

Florida State 7 (Morgan Hill California, 3rd) – JACK BIGHAM (ENG) #4

Georgia 22 (Bath Michigan, 1st)

Georgia Tech 4 (Salem South Carolina, 1st)

Illinois 2 (Bath Michigan, 2nd)

Mississippi State 18 (Morgan Hill California, 1st)

New Mexico 42 (Salem South Carolina, 4th)

North Carolina 3 (Salem South Carolina, 3rd)

Ohio State University 30 (Auburn Alabama, 4th)

Oklahoma 8 (Norman Oklahoma, 2nd)

Oregon 19 (Bath Michigan, 3rd)

Pepperdine 12 (Morgan Hill California, 5th)

San Francisco 47 (Las Vegas Nevada, 4th) – BEN PARTRIDGE (ENG) #2

Stanford 11 (Las Vegas Nevada, 2nd) – BARCLAY BROWN (ENG) #3

Texas 14 (Bath Michigan, 5th)

Texas A&M 13 (Salem South Carolina, 5th)

Texas Tech 9 (Norman Oklahoma, 4th) – CALUM SCOTT (SCO) #2

Vanderbilt 1 (Auburn Alabama, 2nd)

Virginia 17 (Las Vegas Nevada, 3rd)

INDIVIDUALS

Jonas Baumgartner – Oklahoma State (Las Vegas Nevada, T5)

Will King – Kansas (Norman Oklahoma, T4)

Sam Lape – Furman (Salem South Carolina, T2)

Riley Lewis – Layola Marymount (Morgan Hill California, T2)

LUKE O’NEILL (IRL) – Kansas State (Bath Michigan, T2)

Drew Salyers – Indiana (Auburn Alabama, T4)

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2023 STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2023 MATCH PLAY RESULTS – TEAM

*BYU will play their Sunday 3rd round on Thursday 25th (the practice day) due to their school’s long-established religious policies.

PGA TOUR University Ranking

The stroke play stage of the NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship is the final tournament for the 2023 PGA Tour University ranking.

The PGA TOUR University ranks Senior players based on performances during the last two years of their collegiate careers.

The No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn PGA TOUR membership for the remainder of this season and all of next and players 1-5 (fully exempt) and 6-10 (conditional) earn Korn Ferry Tour membership. Additionally, players finishing 6th through 20th will earn fully exempt status on PGA TOUR Canada.

Ludvig ABERG (SWE / Texas Tech) enjoys a near unassailable lead in the ranking and in all likelihood will next week graduate to the PGA TOUR making his debut iat the RBC Canadian Open.

The current PGA TOUR University Ranking is shown below and was updated on the back of the 24th May 2023 WAGR release.

The Current PGA TOUR University Ranking (Graphic: PGA Tour)

Mark POWER (IRE / Wake Forest) 46th and Will HOPKINS (ENG / Kansas State) 77th are the highest ranked GB&I players in this ranking. Neither of whom have qualified to play in the National Championships.

2022 Results

TEXAS beat ARIZONA STATE 3-2 at the Greyhawk Golf Club in Arizona to win the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s National title.

Texas University (Photo: NCAA)

Texas finished fourth in the stroke play qualifying and beat Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt in the earlier match play rounds.

The Texas team consisted of Cole HAMMER, Parker COODY, Pierceson COODY, Mason NOME and Travis VICK.

Arizona State finished seventh in the stroke play qualifying and took out Oklahoma and Pepperdine in match play.

TEXAS TECH, with Calum SCOTT and Sandy SCOTT in their line up, lost to Vanderbilt in the Quarter-Finals.

Gordon SARGENT of Vanderbilt won the Individual title at the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship. He is the ninth freshman to accomplish this feat and the first since Jamie Lovemark in 2007. He beat Eugenio LOPEZ-CHACARRA (Oklahoma State), Parker COODY (Texas) and Ryan BURNETT (North Carolina) with a birdie three on the opening play-off hole after all four of them had finished their 72 holes on 280 (Ev).

Not that he knew it at the time but Sargents’s victory would earn him a special invitation to The 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National, the first amateur to receive one from the club since Aaron Baddeley in 2000.

Gordon Sargent (Photo: NCAA)

A summary of the GB&I player performances is provided below: –

GB&I Round 4 Individual Results

Sandy Scott 75-71-72-74 (+12) T43
Callum Bruce 71-70-78-74 (+13) T47
Dan Bradbury 73-75-71-78 (+17) T61
Calum Scott DNP-75-70-70

Missed 54 Holes Stroke Play Cut
Barclay Brown 76-72-75 (+13)
Archie Davies 75-76-78 (+19)
Mark Power 78-73-81 (+22)
Ben Carberry 75-77-82 (+24)
Alex Fitzpatrick DNP-65-71

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2022 MATCH PLAY RESULTS – TEAM

Click here to view the – GOLFSTAT 2022 STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

ME.

NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 04/05/2023 by Golf Bible

17th May 2023

Here is my summary of the results from the six 54-hole NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Regional Championships which were played on 15th-17th May 2022.

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

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

The 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship will be played on 26th – 31st May 2023 at Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

[Teams are listed below with their Golfweek / Sagarin national ranking in brackets]

AUBURN, ALABAMA

CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Auburn (10) -1, 2nd Vanderbilt (1) Ev, 3rd Chattanooga (45) +2, 4th Ohio State (34) +8, 5th Colorado State (30) +10

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: Maxwell Moldovan (Ohio State University) & Christoph Bleier (Colorado State) -7

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: T4 Drew Salyers (Indiana) -4

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – T7 PAUL CONROY (IRL / CHATTANOOGA) -2
Non-Qualified – T47 KILLIAN MCGINLEY (IRL / FAIRFIELD) +12, T59 JOSH ROBINSON (IRL / MARQUETTE) +15

Ireland’s Paul Conroy enjoyed a strong top 10 performance in Alabama and helped Chattanooga surprise a number of more highly ranked teams such as Tennessee (13), Washington (36) and TCU (43).

EAST LANSING, BATH, MICHIGAN

CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Georgia (26) -29, 2nd Illinois (2) -21, 3rd Oregon (21) -14, 4th Florida (7) -12, 5th Texas (15) -10

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: Ben Van Wyk (Georgia) -10

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: T2 LUKE O’NEILL (IRL / KANSAS STATE) -7

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – T2 LUKE O’NEILL (IRL / KANSAS STATE) -7
Non-Qualified – T25 WILL HOPKINS (ENG / KANSAS STATE) Ev, T54 ARCHIE SMITH (ENG / LITTLE ROCK) +7

Whilst his Kansas State team came up short in 6th place, 3 shots behind Texas, Luke O’Neill’s tied 2nd finish, the best by a GB&I player across the six Regionals, means he will progress as an Individual to Greyhawk. He becomes just the fourth player in the program’s history to advance to the National Championships.

Luke O’Neill (Photo: Kansas State Men’s Golf Team)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Arizona State (4) -59, 2nd Stanford (12) -57, 3rd Virginia (17) -49, 4th San Francisco (52) -45, 5th ETSU (29) -43 [they beat Northwestern (32) after a five hole team play-off]

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: Ben James (Virginia) & Matthew Anderson (San Francisco) -20

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: T5 Jonas Baumgarter (Oklahoma State) -15 [he beat Daniel Svard (Northwestern) on the 4th play-off hole]

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – T14 BARCLAY BROWN (ENG / STANFORD) -11, T25 MATTHEW DODD-BERRY (ENG / ETSU) -8, T25 BEN PARTRIDGE (ENG / SAN FRANCISCO) -8, T66 ARCHIE DAVIES (WAL / ETSU) +5
Non-Qualified – T20 CAMERON ADAM (SCO / NORTHWESTERN) -10

Whilst there were no standout GB&I Individual performances top 5 team results from Stanford, San Francisco and ETSU, who came through a play-off with Northwestern for the final spot, means Las Vegas proved to be our most fruitfiul Regional event.

MORGAN HILL, CALIFORNIA

CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Mississippi State (20) -1, 2nd Brigham Young (44) +4, 3rd Florida State (6) +7, 4th Baylor (31) +9, 5th Pepperdine (11) +11

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: Luke Clanton (Florida State) -6

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: T2 Riley Lewis (Loyola Marymount) -4 [he beat Maximilian Steinlacher (Loyola Marymount) in the 3-hole play-off]

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – T37 JACK BIGHAM (ENG / FLORIDA STATE) +7
Non-Qualified – T4 CHARLIE CROCKETT (ENG / MISSOURI) -1, T24 CONOR GOUGH (ENG / CHARLOTTE) +5, T32 SAM MURPHY (IRL / GRAND CANYON) +6, T45 MAX KENNEDY (IRL / LOUISVILLE) +10, DNS CRAIG PASSMORE (ENG / GRAND CANYON)

Sometimes a player doesn’t progress to the National Championships when arguably they deserve to. Charlie Crockett can consider himself unfortunate not to having finished tied 4th on -1 in the Individual standings. Jack Bigham, who came home tied 37th on +7, contributed three scoring rounds for Florida State to help them finish 3rd to earn a starting berth in Arizona. The biggest disappointment from a GB&I perspective was the performance of Max Kennedy, who has enjoyed an excellent Spring season in the States, but came up well short in California.

NORMAN, OKLAHOMA

CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM QUALIFIERS: 1st Alabama (16) -28, 2nd Oklahoma (9) -25, 3rd Colorado (66) -23, 4th Texas Tech (8) -22, 5th Duke (25) -21

INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST: Ludvig Aberg (Texas Tech) -14

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: T4 Will King (Kansas) -9 [he beat Hugo Townsend (Ole Miss) on the 8th play-off hole]

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – T23 CALUM SCOTT (SCO / TEXAS TECH) -3
Non-Qualified – T21 JAMES SWASH (ENG / LOUISIANA TECH) -4, T35 MARK POWER (IRL / WAKE FOREST) -1

Calum Scott battled hard all week and his final round 68 proved all important in getting his Texas Tech team over the qualifying line. Of course it also helps if you have World No. 1 Ludvig Aberg in your line-up. James Swash, playing as an Individual, did well and Mark Power fought back strongly after a disappointing 77 on Day 1 but both saw their college seasons end in Oklahoma.

SALEM, SOUTH CAROLINA

CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

TEAM LEADERS: 1st Georgia Tech (5) -53, 2nd Arkansas (35) -45, 3rd North Carolina (3) -43, 4th New Mexico (46) -42, 5th Texas A&M (14) -29 [they beat Clemson (50) after a five hole team play-off]

INDIVIDUAL LEADER: Ryan Burnett (North Carolina) -17

INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER: 2nd Sam Lape (Furman) -15

GB&I PLAYERS:
Qualified – None
Non-Qualified – 63rd THOMAS HIGGINS (IRL / CLEMSON) +4

Thomas Higgins didn’t make much of an impression but his Clemson team probably should have progressed taking him with them. A slightly disappointing final day -13 score and then a play-off loss to Texas A&M, led by their star player Sam Bennett, saw them just miss out on the Nationals.

ME.

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4th May 2023

The six 54 hole NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Regional Championships will be played on 15th-17th May 2023.

81 teams and 45 individuals, from non-qualifying teams, were selected on 3rd May 2023 to compete at these competitions.

Local Conference Championships were played across the country in April with 30 Conference team champions granted automatic qualification into the 2023 Regionals. The remaining teams progressed based on their performances throughout the season.

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

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

National Championships

5 teams and the top individual (not on one of those teams) from each Regional event will progress to the National Championship which will be played at Grayhawk G.C. in Scottsdale, Arizona on 26th-31st May 2023.

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

Texas is the defending champion after they defeated Arizona State 3-2 in the 2022 Championship Final.

Details of the six Regional Championships are shown below with each team listed in seed order with their Golfweek / Sagarin national ranking in brackets and, if they earned automatic qualification, the Conference Championship they recently won to do so.

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

20 GB&I players will be competing in the Regional Championships on Day 1.

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

Graphic- The Haskins Award

Teams
1. Vanderbilt (1)
2. Tennessee (13) – JOSH HILL (ENG) NS
3. Auburn (10)
4. Colorado State (30)
5. Ohio State (34)
6. Washington (36) – ROBERT GALLIGAN (IRL) NS, AIDAN O’HAGAN (SCO) NS
7. TCU (43)
8. Chattanooga (45) – PAUL CONROY (IRL) #1
9. Houston (53) – American Athletic Conference
10. Marquette (69) – Big East Conference – JOSH ROBINSON (IRL) #5
11. Indiana (60)
12. Augusta (123) – Southland Conference
13. Sienna (222) – Atlantic Athletic Conference

Individuals
Alex Goff, Kentucky
Brantley Scott, Troy
Erik Jansson, Jacksonville State
Tobias Jonsson, Mercer
Cameron Clarke, Southern Miss.
Brian Ma, Harvard
Jackson Skeen, Tennessee Tech
Luke Naglic, Arkansas State
Hugo Thyr, South Alabama
KILLIAN MCGINLEY (IRL), Fairfield

EAST LANSING, BATH, MICHIGAN
Course: Eagle Eye Golf Club / Host: Michigan State
CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Graphic- The Haskins Award

Teams
1. Illinois (2) – Big Ten Conference
2. Florida (7) – Southeastern Conference – JOE PAGDIN (ENG) NS, LUKE POULTER (ENG) NS
3. Texas (15)
4. Oregon (21) – DANIEL BULLEN (SCO) NS
5. Kansas State (27) – WILL HOPKINS (ENG) #1, LUKE O’NEILL (IRL) #4
6. Georgia (26)
7. Liberty (37) – ASUN Conference
8. San Diego (57)
9. Little Rock (47) – Ohio Valley Conference – ARCHIE SMITH (ENG) #3
10. Michigan State (65)
11. Wisconsin (62)
12. Illinois State (108) – Missouri Valley Conference
13. Pudue Fort Wayne (209) – Horizon League

Individuals
Barend Botha, Toledo
Ben Warren, Minnesota
Tyler Goecke, Wright State
Palmer Jackson, Notre Dame
Nathan Han, Columbia
Mikkel Mathiesen, Wright State
Caleb van Arragon, Valparaiso
Nate Stevens, Notre Dame
Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso
Jack Simon, St. John’s (New York)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Course: Bear’s Best Las Vegas / Host: University of Nevada
CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Graphic- The Haskins Award

Teams
1. Arizona State (4)
2. Stanford (12) – Pac-12 Conference – BARCLAY BROWN (ENG) #4
3. Virginia (17)
4. Oklahoma State (18)
5. Northwestern (32) – CAMERON ADAM (SCO) #5
6. East Tennessee State (29) – Southern Conference – BEN CARBERRY (SCO) NS, ARCHIE DAVIES (WAL) #3, MATTHEW DODD-BERRY (ENG) #4, JENSON FORRESTER (ENG) NS, JOSHUA PRITCHETT (ENG) NS
7. Cincinnati (40)
8. San Francisco (52) – BEN PARTRIDGE (ENG) #2
9. UNC Greensboro (51)
10. Long Beach State (58) – Big West Conference
11. Oregon State (61)
12. Davidson (99) – Atlantic 10 Conference – MEL DEASY (IRL) NS
13. Kansas City (149) – The Summit League
14. Lehigh (194) – Patriot League

Individuals
Caden Fioroni, UNLV
Mac McClear, Iowa
Aidan Thomas, New Mexico State
Garrison Smith, New Mexico State
Brady McKinlay, Utah Valley

MORGAN HILL, CALIFORNIA
Course: The Institute Golf Club / Host: San Jose Sports Authority
CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Graphic- The Haskins Award

Teams
1. Pepperdine (11)
2. Florida State (6) – JACK BIGHAM (ENG) #4
3. Mississipi State (20)
4. Arizona (19)
5. Louisville (33) – MAX KENNEDY (IRL) #1
6. Baylor (31)
7. Missouri (39) – CHARLIE CROCKETT (ENG) #1
8. Brigham Young University (BYU) (44) – West Coast Conference
9. NC State (48)
10. California (49)
11. Charlotte (80) – CONOR GOUGH (ENG) #1
12. Grand Canyon (110) – Western Athletic Conference – SAM MURPHY (IRL) #4, CRAIG PASSMORE (ENG) #6
13. Northern Colorado (189) – Big Sky Conference

Individuals
Matthew Manganello, Fresno State
Matthew Sutherland, Fresno State
Riley Lewis, LMU
Javier Barcos, Utah
Mahanth Chirravuri, Southern California
Julien Paltrinieri, Santa Clara
Caleb Shelter, San Jose State
Pono Yanagi, Washington State
Jackson Rivera, Southern California
Casey Leebrick, Sacramento State

NORMAN, OKLAHOMA
Course: Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club / Host: University of Oklahoma
CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Graphic- The Haskins Award

Teams
1. Texas Tech (8) – CALUM SCOTT (SCO) #2
2. Oklahoma (9) – Big 12 Conference
3. Alabama (16)
4. Ole Miss (23)
5. Wake Forest (22) – MARK POWER (IRL) #2
6. Duke (25)
7. LSU (38)
8. North Florida (42)
9. Colorado (66)
10. Kansas (55)
11. University of North Carolina – Wilmington (71) – Colonial Athletic Association
12. University of Louisiana – Lafayette (140) – Sun Belt Conference
13. Princeton (167) – The Ivy League
14. Arkansas – Pine Bluff (274) – Southwestern Athletic Conference

Individuals
Luke Gutschewski, Iowa State
Nathan Petronzio, SMU
Bret Gray, Sam Houston
Vicente Marzilio, North Texas
JAMES SWASH (ENG), Louisiana Tech

SALEM, SOUTH CAROLINA
Course: The Cliffsat Keowee Falls / Host: Clemson
CLICK HERE FOR THE GOLFSTAT RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

Graphic- The Haskins Award

Teams
1. North Carolina (3)
2. Georgia Tech (5) – Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Texas A&M (14)
4. San Diego State (24) – Mountain West Conference
5. Georgia Southern (28)
6. Arkansas (35) – ENRIQUE DIMAYUGA (ENG) NS
7. Purdue (41)
8. New Mexico (46)
9. Clemson (50) – THOMAS HIGGINS (IRL) #5
10. Furman (56)
11. Middle Tennessee State (70)
12. Northern Illinois (121) – Mid-American Conference
13. Long Island (186) – Northeast Conference
14. Longwood (199) – Big South Conference

Individuals
Kieron van Wyk, Charleston
Luis Carrera, Central Florida
Johnny Travale, Central Florida
Seth Taylor, Coastal Carolina
Bryce Corbett, Radford

NS – Not Selected

ME.

Jones Cup Invitational – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 04/01/2023 by Golf Bible

8th January 2023 – Round 3

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

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

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

David Ford (Photo: Jones Cup Invitational)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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7th January 2023 – Round 2

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

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

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

img_3676-1

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

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

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

img_3677-1

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

ME.

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6th January 2023 – Round 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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4th January 2023 – Preview

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

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

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

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

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

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

Format

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

Given the small field there is no cut.

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

17th Hole, Ocean Forest Golf Club (Photo: Evan Schiller)

Players

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Evan BECK (USA) #168 USA WC SQUAD

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

Course

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

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

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

13th Hole, Ocean Forest G.C. (Photo: Evan Schiller)

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

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

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

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

Weather Forecast (as at 4th January)

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

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

2022 Jones Cup Invitational

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

Palmer Jackson (Photo: Jones Cup Invitational)

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

World Amateur Team Championship – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 22/08/2022 by Golf Bible

3rd September 2022

ITALY won the 32nd World Amateur Team Championship (WATC), for the Eisenhower Trophy, in France. 2022 was the first time that Italy had won a medal, let alone gold, at the WATC.

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

Round 4

The leading teams, which included ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND and WALES, all played their final rounds at Le Golf National.

ITALY produced a 9-under par final round to move past overnight leaders SWEDEN who could only post a 7-under score. Marco FLORIOLI (-6) and Pietro BOVARI (-3) contributed the two scores that took Italy to the title. European Amateur champion Filippo CELLI, the third member of the Italian team, shot a non-counting 70 in Round 4. ITALY finished on an impressive 541 -31 total with the Swede’s, whose Women’s team won their WATC last week, missing out on a rare double by 1-shot.

USA finished 3rd on -27, NORWAY -25 4th and SPAIN -23 5th.

Early Championship leaders JAPAN perhaps deserved more than their 7th place finish but they paid the price for a flattering finish.

WALES (-17), tied 8th, will be delighted to finish in the top 10 and 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 when they arrived in Paris at the beginning of the week.

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.

Tobias Jonsson (Photo: IGF / USGA / Steve Gibbons)

Taga SEMIKAWA (JAP), who had led from the opening day and started Round 4 with a 5-shot lead, sadly collapsed 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 ther 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.

Individual Results (Graphic: IGF / Golf Genius)

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

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

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2nd September 2022

Round 3

The leading teams all played their third rounds at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche.

SWEDEN matched JAPAN‘s opening day 130 -14 salvo at Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche to snatch the 54-hole lead at the World Amateur Team Championship, finishing on 407 -23.

The Swede’s now have a narrow one shot lead over ITALY, JAPAN and USA heading into the final day. FRANCE -21, SPAIN -19 and NORWAY -18 are also still well in the fight for the Eisenhower Trophy.

WALES (-15) continued their strong performance to stay in the top ten. ENGLAND (-9) are 16th, IRELAND (+1) tied 27th and SCOTLAND (Ev) tied 30th.

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

Taga SEMIKAWA (JAP) 197 -18 will take a 5-shot lead over Filippo CELLI (ITA) into the final round after they recorded 69 and 70 respectively at Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche on Day 3.

Tobias JONSSON (SWE) produced the day’s low round with a 64 (-8) which included an eagle and eight birdies. Teammate Ludvig ABERG (SWE) also contributed a 66 (-6) to drive the Swede’s to the top of the leaderboard.

Archie DAVIES (WAL) is tied 3rd alongside Johnson on 203 -12 after he added a solid 69 to his tally

Looking at the other leading home nation players Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) -5 finished Round 3 tied 33rd, Mark POWER (IRL) -2 tied 36th, Calum SCOTT (SCO) & Luke HARRIES (WAL) -1 tied 45th and James ASHFIELD (WAL) & John GOUGH (ENG) Ev tied 52nd.

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

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1st September 2022

Round 2

JAPAN continued to enjoy their trip to France posting a strong round at Le Golf National on Day 2 of the Eisenhower Trophy. Their 264 (-22) 36-hole score sees them take a 5-shot lead into the third round.

ITALY moved up to 2nd place after an impressive 134 -10 score at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche.

FRANCE -16, USA -15 and NORWAY & SPAIN -13 are the countries battling to stay in touch with the leaders.

WALES (-10), tied 7th, jumped to the top of the home nation rankings after posting an excellent 137 -7 score at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche.

It was a disappointing over par day for the remainder of our teams. ENGLAND (-5), who were playing at Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche today, are now tied 17th, IRELAND (+1) tied 29th and SCOTLAND (+4) tied 35th. The Irish and Scots were at Le Golf National for their second rounds.

27 of the 71 teams finished Day 2 under par.

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

Taiga SEMIKAWA (JAP) 128 -15 extended his lead in the individual standings to 4-shots after a 65 -6 at Le Golf National.

European Amateur champion Filippo CELLI (ITA) 132 -11 moved into a tie for 2nd place with a 65 (-7) at Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche, finishing his round eagle-birdie.

David PUIG (ESP) also remains in 2nd place after a 66 (-5) at Le Golf National.

Tom VAILLANT (FRA) and Archie DAVIES (WAL) 134 -9 are tied 4th after recording a 65 and 69 respectively at Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche.

Adrien DUMONT DE CHASSART (BEL) produced the round of the day, a 63 at Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche, matching Semikawa’s effort in Round 1

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) and John GOUGH (ENG) 141 -2 are tied 30th and Mark POWER (IRL), Luke HARRIES (WAL) and Calum SCOTT (SCO) 141 -1 are tied 42nd with 36-holes still to play.

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

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31st August 2022

Round 1

JAPAN made a sparkling start to the 2022 Eisenhower Trophy with a barely believable 130 (-14) score around Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche’s Red Course. It was the second lowest opening round in the WATC since USA’s 128 in Japan in 2014.

SPAIN are second after recording a 136 (-8) score at the same venue.

AUSTRIA, FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, SWEDEN and SWITZERLAND 135 (-7) are all tied 3rd. France, Germany and Italy all started their Championship’s at Le Golf National and therefore led the scoring at this venue on Day 1.

ENGLAND (-6) are tied 9th and WALES (-3) tied 14th, after both played their opening rounds at Le Golf National. IRELAND and SCOTLAND (both -2) are tied 20th after starting out at nearby Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche.

The ideal playing conditions enabled 26 of the 71 teams to finish Day 1 under par.

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

Taiga SEMIKAWA (JAP) 63 -9 leads Jonas BAUMGARTNER (GER) 65 -6, Archie DAVIES (WAL) 65 -6, David PUIG (ESP) 66 -6 and Cedric GUGLER (SUI) 66 -6 in the Individual standings. Semikawa’s score was the joint lowest in the history of the WATC.

With Kohei OKADA (JAP) 67 -5, tied 6th, also posting a strong score it is no wonder Japan are leading the way by 6-shots.

Mark POWER (IRL) 69 -3, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) and John GOUGH (ENG), both 68 -3, all tied 12th, were the best of the home nation players in Round 1. Scotland’s Calum SCOTT 70 -2 was one shot further back in tied 28th.

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

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22nd August 2022

The 32nd Men’s World Amateur Team Championship (WATC), played for the Eisenhower Trophy, starts on Wednesday 31st August in Paris, France.

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 151 national governing bodies of golf in 146 countries and 22 international professional tours. 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 competition has in recent years moved by rotation around the world taking in Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe-Africa in turn. It will be played in the Middle East for the first time in 2023.

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.

The competition was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was therefore last played at Carton House, Ireland in September 2018.

I will be updating this article with reports and results information during the Championship.

Venue

The WATC will be played on the Albatross Course at Le Golf National and on the Red Course at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Brèteche.

La Golf National is well known having staged the 2018 Ryder Cup and numerous French Open Championships since 1991.

The course, which is man made with undulating fairways, fast greens and numerous water hazards, will play to 6,991 yards and a par of 71. It enjoys a slope of 155.

The 15th and 18th Greens, La Golf National (Photo: Steve Carr / Le Golf National)

Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche is an exclusive golf club which sits in rolling countryside in La Tuilerie and enjoys an 18th century manor house for a clubhouse.

The Club has hosted the Canada Cup in 1963, the French Open Championship twice and the prestigious Tophée Lancôme for 34 years on the European Tour.

The Red Course will play to 6,821 yards and a par of 72 during the Championship. It has a slope of 142.

The 1st Tees and Clubhouse, Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche

Competition Format

71 teams are competing in the 2022 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 leading 36 teams after 36 holes will play their third round at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche and their final round at Le Golf National. The other teams will do the reverse.

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 is no prize awarded for the honour.

GB&I Competitors

Each of the home nations will be represented with the following players having been selected (SPWAR as at 25th August): –

ENGLAND
Sam BAIRSTOW (#7), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (#38) and John GOUGH (#22)

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

IRELAND
Matthew MCCLEAN (#57), Robert MORAN (#62) and Mark POWER (#175)

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

SCOTLAND
Callum BRUCE (#188), Rory FRANSSEN (#106) and Calum SCOTT (#83)

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

WALES
James ASHFIELD (#159), Archie DAVIES (#85) and Luke HARRIES (#166)

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

Good luck to all of the home nation teams competing in France this week.

In addition to England and Ireland, currently our strongest nations, I expect the following teams to feature near the top of the leaderboard: –

AUSTRALIA – Harrison Crowe (#71), Hayden Hopewell (#48), Connor McKinney (#29)

FRANCE – Martin Couvre (#107), Julian Sale (#23), Tom Vaillant (#30)

ITALY – Pietro Bovari (#177), Filippo Celli (#41), Marco Florioli (#87)

JAPAN – Keita Nakajima (#31), Kohei Okada (#407), Taiga Semikawa (#100)

SOUTH AFRICA – Christo Lamprecht (#45), Christiaan Maas (#11), Aldrich Potgieter (#46)

SPAIN – Jose Ballester (#66), Luis Masaveu (#117), David Puig (N/R)

SWEDEN – Tobias Jonsson (#173), Adam Wallin (#200), Ludvig Aberg (#1)

USA – Austen Greaser (#17), Gordon Sargent (#6), Michael Thorbjornsen (#2)

Additional Information

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

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

Click here to view the – Men’s WATC Tee Times

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

Future WATC Events

33rd – 25th-28th October 2023 – Jumeirah Golf Estates (Fire Course), Dubai, United Arab Emirates

34th – 2025 – Singapore

35th – 2027 – Morocco

2023 will be the first time the event has been staged in the Middle East and will see it move to odd years to avoid a clash with the Summer Olympic Games.

Due to the escalating costs of staging the WATC it will in all future years be played at a single course with the field reduced to a minimum of 36 teams.

It is expected a new qualifying competition for the smaller and newer golfing nations will be established ahead of this Championship.

2018 WATC

DENMARK won the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship at Carton House in Ireland with a record 541 (-39) team score. The Danish team was made up of John Axelsen, Nicolai Hojgaard and Rasmus Hojgaard. This was Denmark’s first victory in the Championship. Their previous best result was second place in Argentina in 2010.

Denmark With The Eisenhower Trophy (Photo: International Golf Federation)

The UNITED STATES finished 2nd paying the penalty for a poor first day. In the final analysis they found themselves coming up 1-shot short on 542 (-38).

SPAIN were third on 544 (-36) two shots further back.

The Leading Final Team Results (Graphic: IGF)

ENGLAND were the best of the home nations finishing 8th on 549 (-31).

IRELAND finished tied 10th on 553 (-27), SCOTLAND tied 12th on 554 (-26) and WALES tied 18th on 560 (-20).

Click here to view the full – 2018 Eisenhower Trophy Team Scores

Spain’s Alejandro DEL RAY was the low individual with a superb -23 final score, beating Japan’s Takumi KANAYA by 1-shot.

Robin DAWSON and Gian-Marco PETROZZI (-14) both finished tied 13th to share low GB&I honours. Matthew JORDAN, Sandy SCOTT and Ryan LUMSDEN (-12) were a couple of shots further back.

The Leading Final Individual Team Results (Graphic: IGF)

Click here to view the – 2018 Eisenhower Trophy Individual Scores

2016 WATC

AUSTRALIA won the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship in Mayakoba, Mexico by a massive 19-shots. The team of Cameron DAVIS, Harrison ENDYCOTT and Curtis LUCK equalled the 72 hole scoring record of 534 (-38). It was the fourth time Australia had won the Eisenhower Trophy, following victories in 1958, 1966 and 1996.

Australia’ Cameron DAVIS (269 / -17) recorded the Championship’s lowest individual score. His compatriot Curtis LUCK (271 / -15) finished second, helped in no small part by a superb 63 (-9) in the third round.

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Australia – Harrison Endycott, Cameron Davis, Curtis Luck, Matt Cutler (Photo: Golf Australia)

2014 WATC

The United States of America, represented by Bryson DECHAMBEAU, Beau HOSSLER and Denny MCCARTHY won the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy in Karuizawa, Japan. The U.S. team set a new record score of 534 (-38).

In 2014 Spain’s Jon RAHM won the Individual with a record breaking 263 (-23) total.

2014 Eisenhower Trophy

U.S.A. – Bryson DeChambeau, Denny McCarthy, Jim Hyler (c) and Beau Hossler (Photo: USGA / Steven Gibbons)

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 is the full list of historic results: –

Screenshot 2022-08-22 at 17.50.10

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U.S. Amateur Championship – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 12/08/2022 by Golf Bible

21st August 2022

Match Play – Final

Sam BENNETT (USA), 22, beat Ben CARR (USA), also 22, by 1-Hole in the 36-hole Final of the 122nd U.S. Amateur Championship at The Ridgewood Country Club.

He publically said earlier this week that he was the best player in the Championship and to be fair he proved it.

Sam Bennett With The Havemeyer Trophy (Photo: USGA / Grant Halverson)

Bennett, who is returning for a 5th year at Texas A&M University, had his college coach Brian Korton on the bag. Carr had former PGA Tour pro Willy Wilcox caddying for him.

“It’s a dream come true. It means a lot to hold that trophy. I’m sure I’ll take a peek at all the names, but I know Tiger Woods’ name is on it three times, and to put my name beside him, I know it’s something special.” said the new champion afterwards.

The two finalists couldn’t have had more contrasting routes to the Final. Bennett was tasked with taking down highly ranked players in each round whilst Carr, who is also returning to Georgia Southern University for a 5th year, had mainly faced relative unknowns before coming up against Derek Hitchner in the Semi-Finals.

Neither player gave up much ground in the opening exchanges but birdies on 14 and 18 saw Bennett take a healthy 3 Up lead into lunch. Allowing for the normal match play concessions he shot a 3-under 68 compared to Carr’s 72.

Match Play – Final Round 1 – Bennett v. Carr Scores (Graphic: USGA)

Early birdies on the 2nd and 3rd holes in the afternoon saw Bennett move into an even more commanding 5 Up lead.

Any thoughts of a victory procession were dispelled by Carr who quickly responded with two 60 foot winning birdies of his own, a putt followed by a chip-in on the 5th and 6th holes.

Nevertheless Bennett still turned into the final 9 holes 3 Up and well placed to take the title. However, a combination of nerves, poor decision making and good play from Carr saw the match taken to the home hole. Thankfully for the Texan he played it perfectly to hold on for a narrow 1 Hole win.

Match Play – Final Round 2 – Bennett v. Carr Scores (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – 2022 U.S. Amateur Match Play Scores

The champion, Sam Bennett, earned an exemption / invitation to the 2023 Masters Tournament (must still be an amateur), the 2023 U.S. Open Championship and the 2023 Open Championship (must still be an amateur).

The silver medalist, Ben Carr, secured an exemption / invitation to the 2023 Masters Tournament and the 2023 U.S. Open Championship so long as he remains an amateur.

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20th August 2022

Match Play – Semi-Finals

The start of play (2.00pm EDT) was delayed by 1 hour and 20 minutes on Saturday afternoon due to inclement weather.

Sam BENNETT (USA) beat Dylan MENANTE (USA) by 1 Hole in the opening Semi-Final. Bennett, who was 2up after 13 holes but was pegged back, birdied the par 5 17th to take a narrow win.

Match Play – Semi-Finals – Menante v. Bennett Scores (Graphic: USGA)

Ben CARR (USA) overcame Derek HITCHNER (USA) by 3&2, pulling away on the back nine after two birdies on the 13th and 14th holes.

Match Play – Semi-Finals – Carr v. Hitchner Scores (Graphic: USGA)

Here is a quick profile of each of the Quarter Finalists: –

Dylan MENANTE (USA) / Carlsbad, California / 21 years old / SPWAR #12, WAGR #8

Sam BENNETT (USA) / Madisonville, Texas / 22 years old / SPWAR #16, WAGR #3

Ben CARR (USA) / Columbus, Georgia / 22 years old / SPWAR #48, WAGR #70

Derek HITCHENER (USA) Minneapolis, Minnesota / 22 years old / SPWAR #37, WAGR #51

Hitchener, seeded #59, came through Wednesday morning’s 15-for-11 play-off to take his place in the Match Play stage.

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19th August 2022

Match Play – Quarter Finals

There were no surprises in the Quarter Finals with the higher ranked players all prevailing.

Sam Bennett’s post round interview raised a few eyebrows. He said “They’re great players, but I’m a better player. Number 3 in the rankings and I feel like I’m the best player. I’m the dog in this race. I’ve been playing the best golf leading up to here.” It will be interesting too see if he can ‘walk the talk’ over the next two days.

Match Play – Quarter Finals Results (Graphic: USGA)

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18th August 2022

Match Play – Round of 16

International interest in the 122nd U.S. Amateur Championship ended at this stage with David PUIG (ESP), Hayden HOPEWELL (AUS) and Hugo TOWNSEND (SWE) all losing their matches in the afternoon series.

Here are the results from the Round of 16: –

Match Play – Round of 16 Results (Graphic: USGA)

Match Play – Round of 32

Here are the results from the Round of 32: –

Match Play – Round of 32 Results (Graphic: USGA)

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17th August 2022

Match Play – Round of 64

The three remaining GB&I players, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) #44, Josh HILL (ENG) #35 and Mark POWER (IRL) #11, all fell at the first match play hurdle.

Bairstow handed the initiative to the experienced three time USA Walker Cup player Stewart HAGESTAD #21 by playing the opening five holes in 4-over in their Round of 64 encounter. However the Yorkshireman fought back to a Tied position after 10 holes with some solid par golf. Unfortunately parity couldn’t be retained and a bogey on the 11th followed by two birdies by the American on 16 and 17 saw the match end in a 3&1 defeat.

Round of 64 – Stewart Hagestad v. Sam Bairstow Scores (Graphic: USGA)

Josh Hill was 1-over for the 17 holes he played around the challenging Ridgewood course and therefore didn’t do too much wrong but unfortunately came up against an in-form Campbell KREMER (USA) #30 who was 2-under when the match ended.

Round of 64 – Campbell Kremer v. Josh Hill Scores (Graphic: USGA)

Mark Power couldn’t re-produce the play in his Round of 64 match that had seen him qualify strongly for the match play stage over the first two days of the Championship. 4-over for the 16 holes played was unlikely to get the job done against Walker ISLEY (USA) #54 who appears to have made few mistakes.

Round of 64 – Mark Power v. Walker Isley Scores (Graphic: USGA)

A very competitive Round of 64 saw a number of games require extra holes and numerous ‘upsets’.

Andrew VON LOSSOW‘s (USA) #63 3&2 win against co-medalist Michael THORBJORNSEN (USA) #2 was arguably the biggest surprise.

The ‘curse of the medalist’ also struck again with #64 seed Peyton SNOEBERGER (USA) taking out the #1 qualifier Luke GUTSCHEWSKI (USA) over 20 Holes.

The two other co-medalists Hugo TOWNSEND (SWE) #3 and Fred BIONDI (BRA) #4 both progressed after wins against JonErik ALFORD (USA) #62 and Frankie CAPAN (USA) #61 respectively.

Here are the full Round of 64 results: –

Match Play – Round of 64 Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – 2022 U.S. Amateur Match Play Scores

Stroke Play Qualifying – Play-Off

The 15-for-11 play-off started at 7.30am local time (12.30pm BST) on the 148 yard par 3 15th hole at The Ridgewood Country Club.

14 Americans and one Australian, Karl VILIPS, were participating in the early morning shoot out.

Walker ISLEY (USA) birdied the hole to claim the #54 seeding and a match against Ireland’s Mark POWER.

Conveniently for the USGA ten of the remaining players parred the hole (taking the #55th to #64th seedings) and four, including Vilips, bogeyed it meaning the play-off was resolved in 52 minutes with just one extra hole being necessary.

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16th August 2022

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

The Stroke Play Qualifying concluded with 68 of the 312 competitors still involved in the 122nd U.S. Amateur Championship.

53 players on +4 and better have secured their spots in the Round of 64 Match Play draw. The remaining 15, who all finished with +5 totals, will play-off tomorrow morning for the final 11 places.

Michael Thorbjornsen, Hugo Townsend, Fred Biondi and Luke Gutschewski (Photo: USGA)

Hugo Townsend, who was born in Ireland and now resides in and represents Sweden, is the son of the 1965 GB&I Walker Cup player Peter Townsend.

Gordon SARGENT (USA) produced the best round of the Stroke Play Qualifying competition in Round 2, a bogey free 65 (-5) at Arcola Country Club, to take the 5th seed.

Mark POWER (IRL), who was the leading GB&I player, finished his second round 68 with an eagle to secure an impressive top 10 result.

Screenshot 2022-08-17 at 10.14.03

Stroke Play Qualifying Results – Top 10 (Graphic: USGA)

Power was joined by Englishmen Josh HILL (+3) and Sam BAIRSTOW (+4) in the Match Play Stage after both produced good second rounds to comfortably make the mark.

Sandy SCOTT (SCO) bounced back well with a 70 at Arcola but like the other GB&I entries had simply left himself too much to do after poor opening rounds.

In Round 2 the average score at The Ridgewood (par 71) was 77.03 (Round 1: 76.52) and Arcola (par 70) 74.87 (Round 1: 75.62). Whilst a little simplistic this suggests a Ridgewood first, Arcola second draw was beneficial during the Qualifying.

19 players, one more than yesterday, broke par, although the split was very different. Five players broke par at The Ridgewood Country Club (Round 1: 11) whilst 14 achieved the feat at Arcola Country Club (Round 1: 7).

Screenshot 2022-08-17 at 10.13.20

GB&I Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: USGA)

Click here to view the – 2022 U.S. Amateur Stroke Play Qualifying Results

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15th August 2022

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

Just 18 players from a starting field of 312 broke par around the challenging host venues. Eleven came at The Ridgewood Country Club and seven at Arcola Country Club.

The five Round 1 leaders, all American, opened their accounts at The Ridgewood with 3-under 68’s. Michael THORBJORNSEN, the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur and a rising junior at Stanford University, is the standout name amongst this group.

South Africa’s Christo LAMPRECHT, a rising junior at Georgia Tech University, recorded the best round at Arcola on Day 1 with a 2-under 68.

Both courses played on average 5.5 shots over par; The Ridgewood (par 71) at 76.52 and Arcola (par 70) 75.62.

Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Leaderboard & Round 2 Tee Times (Graphic: USGA)

It was sadly not a particularly good day for the GB&I contingent. Josh HILL and Mark POWER (tied 52nd) led the way for us with 2-over scores and positions within the all important top 64.

Hill, who started his Championship at Arcola, looked on course for a better score but a double bogey on his 16th hole and a bogey on his 17th, the 6th and 7th on the course after he had teed off on the 10th, saw him not get fully rewarded for a good day’s work.

Power dropped two early shots on the 2nd and 5th at The Ridgewood but battled well to be even par for the remainder of his round, a bogey on long par 4 10th offset by a birdie on the short 12th.

For the remainder of our players it is going to take an exceptional round on Day 2 to make the match play cut, although Sam BAIRSTOW (+5 / T132) and John GOUGH (+6 / T166) are certainly not out of the running yet.

Based on the Round 1 scores it is anticipated that a maximum 145 total (+4) will be required to progress.

GB&I Round 1 Scores (Graphic: USGA)

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12th August 2022

Introduction

This year’s Championship is being played at The Ridgewood Country Club and Arcola Country Club, both of which are located in Paramus, New Jersey.

Administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) the U.S. Amateur is the most important and prestigious competition in the amateur golf calendar.

2022 Field

7,749 entries were received for the 122nd U.S. Amateur Championship.

312 players, who were either exempt or who came through pre-qualifying, from 29 different countries will be competing.

Exemptions were granted based on past performances in previous amateur championships, selection for the Walker Cup and World Amateur Golf Rankings.

94 qualifying events, all played over 36 holes, were staged between 27th June and 27th July to make up the rest of the field. Click here to view all of the – 2022 Qualifying Results.

The average age of the field this year is 22.79 with the youngest player being Thailand’s Ratchanon Chantananuwat (15, born 4th March 2007) and the oldest USA’s Jerry Gunthorpe (59, born 25th May 1963).

Chantananuwat and Spain’s David Puig have both competed as amateurs on the LIV Golf Invitational Series in recent months. Puig has earned $267,000 (2 events) and Chantananuwat $136,000 (1 event) to date both clearly via Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) contracts as the maximum allowable prize money is $1,000 per event.

There are nine Great British & Irish (GB&I) players in the 2022 field. They are: –

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) – Exemption: WAGR Top 50 as at 22nd June 2022
Ryan DIXON (ENG) – Qualifier: Riverhill C.C., Kerrville, Texas on 11th July 2022
Alfie FOX (ENG) – Qualifier: Burningtree C.C., Decatur, Alabama on 5th July 2022
John GOUGH (ENG) – Exemption: WAGR Top 50 as at 22nd June 2022
Josh HILL (ENG) – Exemption: WAGR Top 50 as at 22nd June 2022
Bobby LEOPOLD (ENG) – Qualifier: Connecticut National G.C., Putnam, Connecticut on 29th June 2022
Mark POWER (IRL) – Exemption: Walker Cup GB&I Team Member 2021
Sandy SCOTT (SCO) – Exemption: GB&I Walker Cup Team Member 2019
Sam STOREY (ENG) – Exemption: Decotah Ridge G.C., Morton, Minnesota on 28th June 2022

To put this into context there were 5 GB&I players at Oakmont last year, 11 at Bandon Dunes in 2021, 11 at Pinehurst in 2019, 7 at Pebble Beach in 2018, 9 at Riviera in 2017 and 11 at Oakland Hills in 2016.

The Ridgewood Country Club (Photo: The Ridgewood C.C.)

Format / Schedule

36-holes of stroke play will determine the top 64 match play qualifiers. Ties for the last qualifying place will be resolved by a sudden death play-off.

Six 18 hole match play rounds will then be played culminating in a 36-hole Championship Final. Extra holes will be played to resolve any halved games.

Monday 15th August – Stroke Play Round 1 (Ridgewood and Arcola – 18 holes)
Tuesday 16th August – Stroke Play Round 2 (Ridgewood and Arcola – 18 holes)
Wednesday 17th August – Match Play Round of 64 (Ridgewood – 18 holes)
Thursday 18th August – Match Play Rounds of 32 and 16 (Ridgewood – 18 holes)
Friday 19th August – Match Play Quarter Finals (Ridgewood – 18 holes )
Saturday 20th August – Match Play Semi-Finals (Ridgewood – 18 holes)
Sunday 21st August – Match Play Championship Final (Ridgewood – 36 holes)

Host Courses

The Ridgewood Country Club – stroke play and match play
7,487 yards (maximum), Par 71
Opened in 1929
Designed by A.W. Tillinghast with renovations completed by Gil Hanse in 2000

12th Hole “Scoonie”, Ridgewood Country Club (Photo: Ridgewood C.C.)

The Ridgewood C.C. has previously staged the Ryder Cup (1935), U.S. Amateur (1974), PGA Tour Barclays (2008 and 2010) and the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur (2016).

Arcola Country Club – stroke play co-host
7,256 yards (maximum), Par 70
Opened in 1909
Deisgned by Herbert H. Barker & William G. Wilkinson with subsequent renovations by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Steve Smyers.

Arcola C.C. Aerial (Photo: Jon Cavalier / @LinksGems)

Weather Forecast

The weather forecast (as at 12th August) is mixed with a fair amount of rain showers forecast for the week.

Stroke Play Qualifying
Mon 15th August – Light Rain Showers PM / Wind 9 mph SE / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 25°C.
Tues 16th August – Light Rain Showers / Wind 12 mph NE / Temp. Min. 16°C, Max. 24°C.

Match Play Stage
Weds 17th August – Light Rain Showers / Wind 10 mph N / Temp. Min. 16°C, Max. 24°C.
Thurs 18th August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 9 mph NW / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 27°C.
Fri 19th August – Sunny / Wind 9 mph SW / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 28°C.
Sat 20th August – Light Rain Showers PM / Wind 9 mph S / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 29°C.
Sun 21st August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 6 mph S / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 29°C.

Prizes

The 2022 U.S. Amateur champion will receive the following: –

a) A gold medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the following year;
b) An exemption to play in the 2023 U.S. Open which is being staged at The Los Angeles Country Club;

and assuming they remain amateur,
c) An exemption to play in the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool G.C.;
d) An invitation to play in the 2023 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club;
e) An exemption to play in the 2023 – 2032 U.S. Amateur Championships;

and unofficially

f) Various invitations to play in PGA Tour and European Tour events.

A Silver Medal is awarded to the runner-up and Bronze Medals to the two losing semi-finalists. A Bronze Medal is also awarded to the stroke play medalist(s).

Bobby Jones Receives the Original U.S. Amateur Trophy in 1924

Spectators / Television Coverage

Some highlights of the stroke play will be shown on the USGA website and social media channels.

In the USA Peacock and Golf Channel will be covering the match play stage.

In the UK Sky Sports Golf normally take the U.S. television feed, via the Red Button, over the final match play weekend.

2021 U.S. Amateur Championship

James PIOT (USA), 22, won the 121st U.S. Amateur Championship beating Austin GREASER (USA), 20, by 2&1 in the 36-hole Final at Oakmont C.C.

Greaser entered the final back nine with a 3Up lead but by the time he got to the 14th tee he was 1Down, Piot having won four consecutive holes with two birdies and two pars.

Earlier this year Piot turned professional and joined the LIV Golf series.

James Piot (Photo: USGA / Chris Keane)

Medalist honours in the Stroke Play Qualifying went to Mark GOETZ (USA), 23, after rounds of 64 and 68 at Longue View and Oakmont respectively gave him a 132 -8 total, the joint second lowest in the history of the Championship.

Mark Goetz (Photo: USGA / Chris Keane)

Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) was the only GB&I player to qualify for the Match Play Stage. He won one game before losing in the Round of 32 to Davis CHATFIELD (USA) by 1 Hole.

Not helped by the ongoing COVID-19 related travel restrictions there were only five GB&I competitors in the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship.

GB&I Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: USGA)

*Conor GOUGH (ENG) shot a 74 +4 around Longue View in his opening round and was lying tied 140th before withdrawing overnight.

Click here to view the – 2021 US Amateur Stroke Play Qualifying and Match Play Results

U.S. Amateur Championship History

The U.S. Amateur is the oldest golf championship in America and 2022 will see its 122nd playing.

It was first played in 1895, the winner being Charles B. Macdonald.

It has always been decided by match play save for an 8 year period between 1965 and 1972 when the winner was determined solely by stroke play.

Matthew Fitzpatrick (Photo: U.S.G.A.)

Italy’s Edoardo Molinari (2005) and Norway’s Viktor Hovland (2018) are the only players from the Continent of Europe to have lifted the Havemeyer Trophy.

Future U.S. Amateur Venues

For reasons I have never understood the USGA continue to allocate venues far out into the future: –

14-20 August 2023 – Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
12-18 August 2024 – Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota
11-17 August 2025 – The Olympic Club, San Francisco, California
10-16 August 2026 – Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
09-15 August 2027 – Oak Hill Country Club, Pittsford, New York
13-19 August 2029 – Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio
12-18 August 2030 – Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia
11-17 August 2031 – Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tennessee
TBD August 2032 – Bandon Dunes, Oregon
TBD August 2041 – Bandon Dunes, Oregon
TBD August 2047 – Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

ME.

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

Posted on 01/08/2022 by Golf Bible

5th August 2022

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

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

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

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

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

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.55.04

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.41.35

Day 3 Matches

Scotland 7.5 v. Wales 4.5

Ireland 5.5 v. England 6.5

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

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

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 20.41.48

ME.

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4th August 2022

Day 2 Matches

England 7.5 – Scotland 4.5

Wales 3.0 – Ireland 9.0

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

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

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 10.53.15

ME.

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3rd August 2022

Day 1 Matches

England 9.0 – Wales 3.0

Scotland 3.0 – Ireland 9.0

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

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

Screenshot 2022-08-05 at 10.46.50

ME.

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2nd August 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ballyliffin Golf Club (Photo: Ballyliffin Golf Club)

Format Change

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Raymond Trophy

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

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

Since 1952 the winning team has received The Raymond Trophy.

In the 80 competitions played to date England have won 38, Scotland 21, Ireland 13 and Wales 1. The remaining 7 were tied before it was decided that ties would be resolved by using game points.

The Raymond Trophy (Photo: Ayrshire Golf Blog)

2022 Men’s Players

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

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

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

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

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

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

Venue – Ballyliffin Golf Club

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

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

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

Ballyliffin Golf Club (Photo: Ballyliffin Golf Club)

2022 Weather Forecast (as at 2nd August 2022)

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

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

2021 R&A Men’s Home Internationals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Historic Results

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

ME.

The St. Andrews Trophy – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 20/07/2022 by Golf Bible

22nd July 2022

Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) won the 33rd St. Andrews Trophy match in Slovakia, beating Continent of Europe by 14.5-10.5.

GB&I have now won the St. Andrews Trophy 26 times with Continent of Europe having six outright wins to their name.

Great Britain & Ireland (Photo: The R&A)

I would imagine that both sides are relatively pleased with the outcome. GB&I obviously because they won but Continent of Europe because they were competitive throughout despite fielding by no means their strongest potential team.

Click here to view the full – 2022 St. Andrews Trophy Results

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Mark POWER (IRL) and Calum SCOTT (SCO) were unbeaten for GB&I whilst Anton ALBERS (GER) was the best performer for the Continent of Europe.

Screenshot 2022-07-22 at 22.11.42

Day 2 PM Singles

GB&I headed into the final series with an 11-5 advantage and therefore simply needed just two wins from the nine singles to regain the trophy.

Whilst they achieved this modest feat it was Continent of Europe who got the better of the Singles winning it 5.5-3.5.

Only Mark POWER (IRL), Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) were able to deliver a full point for the visitors in the afternoon games.

Day 2 PM Singles Results (Graphic: European Golf Association / Golfbox)

Day 2 AM Foursomes

The GB&I team won the Day 2 Foursomes series 3-1 to put themselves firmly in the box seat in the St. Andrews Trophy match.

GB&I’s habit of winning or at least not losing close foursomes games, often on the 18th hole, has been a feature of the match and may ultimately prove to be the difference between the two sides.

GB&I captain Stuart Wilson re-jigged his order and introduced Archie DAVIES (WAL) to his line-up this morning. However, the Davies and John GOUGH (ENG) pairing was not successful with the Swedish pair of Adam WALLIN and David LUNDGREN taking the spoils in the opening game.

The Continent of Europe went with the same players but swapped their first and third pairs from Day 1 around.

GB&I won the other other three games with Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) and Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL) again winning their foursomes on the 18th green.

Captain Wilson will be pleased to see that the Mark POWER (IRL) & Barclay BROWN (ENG) and Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) & Calum SCOTT (SCO) pairings came through unbeaten for him over the two days. Both tied their games yesterday but won today.

Day 2 AM Foursomes Results (Graphic: European Golf Association / Golfbox)

ME.

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21st July 2022

Day 1 PM Singles

GB&I won the afternoon Singles series 6-2 to take an overnight 8-4 lead over Continent of Europe into the final day.

There were wins for John GOUGH (ENG), Mark POWER (IRL), Barclay BROWN (ENG), Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) and Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG).

Archie DAVIES (WAL), who debuted for GB&I this afternoon in place of Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), tied his match as did CALUM SCOTT (SCO), who won the 18th to secure an important half-point for the visitors.

Martin COUVRA (FRA), who lost to John Gough in the opening game, came into the Continent of Europe’s line up with Laurenz SCHIERGEN (GER) stepping down.

Day 1 PM Singles Results (Graphic: European Golf Association / Golfbox)

Day 1 AM Foursomes

GB&I were a little fortunate to come out of the opening foursomes series with a 2-2 scoreline and no doubt will take heart from a good comeback.

The Continent of Europe looked on course for a comfortable overall victory, 3-1 at worse, across the four games for much of the round. GB&I unusually mixed the home nations up with no players from the same country paired together. Only the Bairstow and McClean pairing appeared to gel with the others all struggling for long periods.

However, Europe slipped up down the home stretch and a battling GB&I team were good enough to take advantage in the final three games, halving two and winning the final one.

David LUNDGREN (SWE), who replaced Kiet VAN DER WEELE (NED) on the eve of the match, was brought straight into the Continent of Europe’s starting line up.

Archie DAVIES (WAL) and Martin COUVRA (FRA) were left out of the opening Foursomes by the respective GB&I and Europe captains.

Day 1 AM Foursomes Results (Graphic: European Golf Association / Golfbox)

ME.

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20th July 2022

The 33rd St. Andrews Trophy match will be contested on Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd July at Penati Golf Resort in Slovakia.

18th Green and Clubhouse, Legend Course, Penati Golf (Photo: Top 100 Golf Courses)

This amateur men’s team match has been played biennially between Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) and the Continent of Europe since 1956.

It was originally established by The R&A to give more European players the chance to play at the highest level and GB&I players more team match play experience for the Walker Cup which is held in alternate years with this competition.

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

I will be updating this article with daily reports and results once play commences.

2022 Teams

Each team has nine players.

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

Continent of Europe

Yves HOFSTETTER (Switzerland) will be the Non-Playing Captain of the European team for the second match.

His team was announced by the European Golf Association (EGA) on 13th July and is listed below. Each player’s nationality, their current SPWAR and their regional position is also provided.

Anton ALBERS – Germany #88 (15th)

Pietro BOVARI – Italy #184 (44th)

Martin COUVRA – France #93 (20th)

Daniel DA COSTA RODRIGUES – Portugal #205 (49th)

David LUNDGREN* – Sweden #309 (72nd)

Luis MASAVEU RONCAL – Spain #122 (29th)

Laurenz SCHIERGEN – Germany #145 (34th)

Max STEINLECHNER – Austria #118 (28th)

Adam WALLIN – Sweden #247 (58th)

* David Lundgren replaced Kiet Van Der WEELE, Netherlands #92 (17th), on the eve of the match.

Continent of Europe Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

It is disappointing that none of the team are in the SPWAR’s Continent of Europe top 10 and surprisingly just four of the final team are in the current top 30. It is clear that the EGA are increasingly struggling to attract their very best players to the match.

The leading European players in the SPWAR, none of whom are playing, are Ludvig ABERG (Sweden) #1, Julien SALE (France) #14, Adrien Dumont De CHASSERT (Belgium) #18, Tom VAILLANT (France) #22, Jiri ZUSKA (Czech Republic) #27 , David PUIG (ESP) #30, Filipo CELLI (Italy) #37, Hamish BROWN (Denmark) #44, Jose BALLESTER (Spain) #60 and Hugo TOWNSEND (Sweden) #65.

Great Britain & Ireland Team

The R&A Selection Committee, including Non-Playing Captain Stuart WILSON (Scotland), announced their nine man team on 12th July. Each player’s nationality, their current SPWAR and their GB&I regional position is also provided.

Sam BAIRSTOW (24) – England #3 (1st)

Barclay BROWN (21) – England #54 (5th)

Archie DAVIES (21) – Wales #72 (7th)

John GOUGH (24) – England #13 (2nd)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (23) – England #42 (3rd)

Matthew MCCLEAN (29) – Ireland #59 (6th)

Robert MORAN (23) – Ireland #52 (4th)

Mark POWER (22) – Ireland #193 (20th)

Calum SCOTT (19) – Scotland #74 (8th)

Non-Travelling Reserves
James ASHFIELD (21) – Wales #175 (19th) and Olly HUGGINS (24) – England #126 (15th)

Great Britain & Ireland Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

Unlike the European Team above it is hard to argue with The R&A’s GB&I selection. Mark POWER is at face value a current ranking anomaly but he has a lot of goodwill on his side given previous Boys’ and Men’s GB&I team performances.

Match Format

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

Thursday 21st July AM – Foursomes x 4
Thursday 21st July PM – Singles x 8
Friday 22nd June AM – Foursomes x 4
Friday 22nd June PM – Singles x 9

The additional Singles on Day 2 was first played in 2016.

With a maximum total of 25 points available and one point awarded for each match a team will be required to accumulate 13 points to secure an outright victory. As the holders Continent of Europe can retain the Trophy by reaching 12.5 points.

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

Venue – Penati Golf Club, Slovakia

Penati Golf Resort was opened in 2012 near the town of Senica in western Slovakia. It is now a 36-hole golf resort with a Legend Course and Heritage Course.

The Legend Course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and built to USGA specifications, is the one being used this week. It cuts through forests of scots pines and silver birch.

Summary: Yards 7,151 / Par 72 / Course Rating 74 / Slope 145

The 15th, a par 6, is noteworthy as it has eleven different tees and can be stretched out to around 780 yards. The par 4 18th, shown above, plays to an island green situated in front of the clubhouse and is the course’s signature hole.

Penati has hosted a number of Championships in the recent past; the European Mid-Amateur (2013), D+D REAL Slovakia event on the Challenge Tour (2014-16), European Men’s Amateur (2015) and European Ladies Amateur (2018).

Penati Golf Club

Weather Forecast

The weather forecast for Slovakia looks very good for both competition days, albeit the afternoon sun may prove problematic: –

Thur 21st July – Sunny. Wind 5mph E. Temp. Max. 39°C / Min 19°C.
Fri 22nd July – Sunny. Wind 10mph E. Temp. Max. 39°C / Min 20°C.

2022 Match – Royal Porthcawl, Wales

The 2020 St. Andrews Trophy match, scheduled to be played at Royal Porthcawl G.C. in South Wales, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Porthcawl will now host the next match on 25th and 26th May 2024.

2018 Match – Linna Golf, Finland

The Continent of Europe beat Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) 15.5 – 9.5 in the 32nd St. Andrews Trophy match played in 2018 at Linna Golf in Finland.

GB&I entered the final day leading 7 – 5 but were comprehensively outplayed by an inspired European team who won the Day 2 games 10.5 – 2.5. GB&I were thrashed 7.5 – 1.5 in the Singles.

This was just the sixth time Europe had won the match and the 6 point margin represented their biggest ever victory.

Looking at the individual performances Matias HONKALA (FIN) was the star man for Europe winning all four of his matches. Stefano MAZZOLI (ITA) didn’t play in the Day 1 Singles but won all three of the other matches he was selected for.

Matthew JORDAN (ENG) was comfortably GB&I’s star man winning three of his four games.

Click here to view the – 2018 St. Andrews Trophy Match Results

The Continent of Europe Team (Photo: European Golf Association)

Past Results

To date GB&I have won the St. Andrews Trophy 25 times. However, their last outright win came in 2014.

Europe now have six wins to their name with three of them coming recently in 2010, 2012 and 2018.

2016 was the first time the match had been halved. This arguably represents another win for GB&I, who were the trophy holders, but I have excluded it from the above numbers.

Europe have won only once on GB&I soil in the history of the match, at Portmarnock GC in 2012.

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

ME.

NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship – 2022 Preview & Results

Posted on 25/05/2022 by Golf Bible

1st June 2022

Match Play Final

TEXAS beat ARIZONA STATE 3-2 in the Final to win the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship.

Texas University (Photo: NCAA)

Texas finished fourth in the stroke play qualifying and previously beat Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt in match play.

Arizona State finished seventh in the stroke play qualifying and took out Oklahoma and Pepperdine in the earlier match play rounds.

Interestingly Texas’s two previously unbeaten players Cole Hammer and Mason Nome both lost their games in the Final with the longhorns relying on Parker Coody, Pierceson Coody and Travis Vick to secure the title.

Arizona State’s David Puig (ESP), who announced on the day of the final he would be competing in the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf series, won his match.

Final Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Click this link to view the – GOLFSTAT 2022 MATCH PLAY RESULTS – TEAM

ME.

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31st May 2022

Match Play Semi-Finals (PM)

ARIZONA STATE beat defending champions PEPPERDINE 4-1 in the opening Semi-Final. Mason Andersen, Preston Summerhays and Cameron Sick maintained their unbeaten records. James Leow was substituted in for Jose Ballester this afternoon but suffered the team’s only defeat.

TEXAS will play Arizona State in the final having beat VANDERBILT 3-1-1 in their Semi-Final. Cole Hammer has won both of his games whilst Mason Nome remains unbeaten with one win and one draw to his name.

Semi-Final Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Match Play Quarter Finals (AM)

GB&I interest ended with TEXAS TECH‘s 3-2 loss to Vanderbilt. Sandy SCOTT beat William Moll 2&1 but Calum SCOTT bogeyed the 18th to hand Reid Davenport a 1 Hole victory.

ARIZONA STATE beat OKLAHOMA 3-2. Chris Gotterup, who later in the day collected the Haskins Award which is handed out to the outstanding male collegiate golfer, was notably thrashed 7&5 by Preston Summerhays.

Defending champions PEPPERDINE got the better of NORTH CAROLINA 3-2 whilst TEXAS beat OKLAHOMA STATE 3-2 in the final match of the series.

Quarter Final Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

ME.

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30th May 2022

Stroke Play Round 4

Gordon SARGENT of Vanderbilt won the Individual title at the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship.

He beat Eugenio LOPEZ-CHACARRA (Oklahoma State), Parker COODY (Texas) and Ryan BURNETT (North Carolina) with a birdie three, his first of the day, on the opening play-off hole. Sargent shot a 4-over 74 in the final round as all four players finished their 72 holes on 280 (Ev).

Chris GOTTERUP (Oklahoma) missed out on the play-off with a bogy on his 72nd hole.

Sargent is the ninth freshman to accomplish this feat and the first since Jamie Lovemark in 2007.

Gordon Sargent (Photo: NCAA)

Calum SCOTT again delivered the best round by a GB&I player adding another 70 (Ev) to his Championship resume. Whilst older brother Sandy SCOTT‘s 74 wasn’t required their TEXAS TECH team produced a 284 (+4) total for the day to qualify for the match play stage in 8th place on +33.

The other seven qualifiers were VANDERBILT, OKLAHOMA and NORTH CAROLINA (+14), who shared medalist honours, TEXAS (+17) who enjoyed a 277 -3 final round, OKLAHOMA STATE (+21), PEPPERDINE (+26) and ARIZONA STATE (+28).

The eight qualifying schools were all ranked in the top 8 heading into the Championships.

Final Team Results (Graphic: GolfStat)

Callum BRUCE (Kansas) and Dan BRADBURY (Florida State), playing the final round as Individuals, were unable to make much progress up the leaderboard on Day 4.

GB&I Round 3 Individual Scores

Sandy Scott 75-71-72-74 (+12) T43
Callum Bruce 71-70-78-74 (+13) T47
Dan Bradbury 73-75-71-78 (+17) T61
Calum Scott xx-75-70-70

GolfStat Score Links

Click these links to view the – GOLFSTAT 2022 STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking

The second season of the PGA TOUR University Ranking concluded after the completion of the Stroke Play Stage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship.

As expected long time leader Pierceson COODY (Texas) secured the top spot in the 2021/22 ranking.

Pierceson Coody (Photo: Taylor Crosby / PGA TOUR)

Coody was joined in the all-important top 5 by Jacob BRIDGEMAN (Clemson), Logan MCALLISTER (Oklahoma), RJ MANKE (Washington) and Cole HAMMER (Texas). These five players have earned Korn Ferry Tour membership and are exempt into all full field events from 9th June. They are also fast tracked into the Final Stage of this year’s Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School tournament.

Alex FITZPATRICK (Wake Forest) finished in sixth place to earn membership on one of the PGA TOUR’s International Tours and an exemption into the 2022 Second Stage of this year’s Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School tournament.

ME.

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29th May 2022

Stroke Play Round 3

Calum SCOTT delivered the best round by a GB&I player in Round 3. His 70 (Ev) along with his brother’s Sandy SCOTT‘s 72 (+2) helped their TEXAS TECH team qualify for Day 4 in tied 9th place.

The top 15 teams and 9 individuals not on those teams progressed to the final stroke play round which will be played on Monday.

After 54 holes OKLAHOMA (-1) lead the Team competition with a 4-from-5 total score of 839 (-1). OKLAHOMA STATE (+3) are second, VANDERBILT (+5) third, NORTH CAROLINA (+9) fourth and defending champions PEPPERDINE (+13) fifth.

BRIGHAM YOUNG (+37) were 23rd in the Team standings after 36 holes. Due to religious observances the Cougars do not play on Sundays so they played their third round last Thursday, after everyone else had practiced. Each member of their team played as a single with a marker. They posted a 290 (+10) team score which three days later helped them jump up two places to tied 21st in the standings on +47.

Round 3 Team Scores (Graphic: GolfStat)

After 54 holes Sandy SCOTT +8 tied 44th is the leading GB&I player.

Callum BRUCE and Dan BRADBURY, +9 tied 49th, also qualified for the final round as leading individuals not on one of the top 15 teams.

Alex FITZPATRICK followed up his second round 65 with a 71. On -4 for his two rounds he potentially should be contesting the Individual title but having missed the first round due to illness he is unfortunately now on his way home.

After 54 holes Gordon SARGENT (Vanderbilt) -4 leads the Individual standings. Chris GOTTERUP (Oklahoma) -3 is second, Eugenio LOPEZ-CHACARRA (Oklahoma State) -2 third and Patrick WELCH (Oklahoma) -1 fourth. Welch shot the round of the week in Round 3; an outstanding 63 which included seven unblemished birdies.

GB&I Round 3 Individual Scores

Sandy Scott 75-71-72 (+8) T44
Dan Bradbury 73-75-71 (+9) T49
Callum Bruce 71-70-78 (+9) T49
Calum Scott xx-75-70

Missed Cut
Barclay Brown 76-72-75 (+13)
Archie Davies 75-76-78 (+19)
Mark Power 78-73-81 (+22)
Ben Carberry 75-77-82 (+24)
Alex Fitzpatrick xx-65-71

ME.

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28th May 2022

Stroke Play Round 2

Alex FITZPATRICK made a triumphant return to the Wake Forest line up by shooting a bogey free, joint best of the week 65 (-5). He replaced Clay Stirsman in the Deacs team. However, by missing the first round due to illness he is obviously now excluded from the Individual competition.

Callum BRUCE maintained his momentum with an even par 70 which included three birdies, two of them coming on his opening two holes, the 10th and 11th. He finished the day on 141 +1 in tied 9th place.

The next best placed GB&I player is Sandy SCOTT who followed up his opening 75 with a 71. On 146 +6 he sits in tied 42nd place.

Calum SCOTT replaced Andy Lopez in the Texas Tech line up and contributed a counting 75 on Day 2.

The course remains tough to score on with only 10 players breaking par in Round 2 out of the 156 starters.

After 36 holes Cole SHERWOOD (Vanderbilt) -3 leads Aman GUPTA (Oklahoma State) and Gordon SARGENT (Vanderbilt), both -2, in the Individual standings.

OKLAHOMA (+2) came through the field to take the lead in the Team competition with a Round 2 4-from-5 score of 275 -5, the lowest of the week. VANDERBILT (+4) are second, OKLAHOMA STATE (+6) third, NORTH CAROLINA (+9) fourth and defending champions PEPPERDINE (+16) fifth.

GB&I Round 2 Individual Scores
Callum Bruce 71-70 (+1) T9 (up 7)
Sandy Scott 75-71 (+6) T42 (up 40)
Barclay Brown 76-72 (+8) T65 (up 36)
Dan Bradbury 73-75 (+8) T65 (down 23)
Mark Power 78-73 (+11) T97 (up 34)
Archie Davies 75-76 (+11) T97 (down 15)
Ben Carberry 75-77 (+12) T109 (down 27)

Alex Fitzpatrick xx-65
Calum Scott xx-75

ME.

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27th May 2022

Stroke Play Round 1

Alex FITZPATRICK and Calum SCOTT, having originally been selected for Round 1 by their Wake Forest and Texas Tech coaches respectively didn’t make it to the first tee. Fitzpatrick had a stomach bug whilst Coach Greg Sands appears to have had a late change of heart and gone with Sandy SCOTT rather than his younger brother in the Texas Tech line up.

Likewise Callum BRUCE was called upon for the first round to play for Kansas University having initially travelled as the No. 6 Reserve.

With temperatures rising to 100 degrees the course played firm and fast and proved a challenge for all of the competitors. Just seven players out of the 156 starters broke par.

Harry HILLIER (Kansas) and Brendan VALDES (Auburn) lead the Individual standings after shooting 68’s (-2).

VANDERBILT (+2) lead OREGON and AUBURN (+5) and KANSAS and ARIZONA (+6) in the team competition.

GB&I Round 1 Individual Scores
Callum Bruce 71 (+1) T16
Dan Bradbury 73 (+3) T42
Archie Davies 75 (+5) T82
Sandy Scott 75 (+5) T82
Ben Carberry 75 (+5) T82
Barclay Brown 76 (+6) T101
Mark Power 78 (+8) T131

Alex Fitzpatrick xx
Calum Scott xx

ME.

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25th May 2022

The 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship starts on Friday 27th May at Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona with Arizona State University hosting the competition.

Greyhawk staged the National Championships last year and has just finished hosting the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s event. The course is 7,289 yards long and plays to a par of 70. With a tough set up always assured few players are understandably able to break par over the 72 holes.

Greyhawk Golf Club

30 5-man teams and 6 individuals not on those teams qualified to play through six Regional events played on 16th – 18th May. To learn more about the Regionals please read my earlier article – NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2022 Preview & Results

At the National Championship 54 holes of stroke play will be played on 27th – 29th May. A cut will then take place which will see the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on those teams play a final 18 holes on 30 May. After 72 holes an Individual champion is crowned with the leading 8 teams progressing to a match play stage. Seeded match play will then take place on 31 May – 1 June and will be used determine the Team national champions.

Team scores in the stroke play stage are based on a best four from five players cumulative total.

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There are seven GB&I players competing this year – Dan BRADBURY (Florida State), Barclay BROWN (Stanford), Ben CARBERRY (East Tennessee State), Archie DAVIES (East Tennessee State), Alex FITZPATRICK (Wake Forest), Mark POWER (Wake Forest) and Calum SCOTT (Texas Tech).

Callum BRUCE (San Diego State) and Sandy SCOTT (Texas Tech) will start the week as No. 6 substitute players for their respective teams but will probably see some action in due course. At the start of each stroke play and match play round reserves can be introduced by team coaches to cover for illness, injuries and / or loss of form.

Here is a list of the competing teams and individuals, along with their current GolfStat 2021/22 Season Rankings and earlier Regional site results in brackets: –

TEAMS

Arizona 26 (Texas, 1st)
Arizona State 4 (California, 1st)
Arkansas 14 (Ohio, 4th)
Auburn 17 (Oklahoma, 2nd)
Brigham Young 41 (California, 3rd)
College of Charleston 49 (Florida, 5th)
East Tennessee State 30 (Ohio, 5th)
Florida 10 (Florida, 3rd)
Florida State 18 (Florida 2nd)
Georgia 15 (Texas, 5th)
Georgia Tech 11 (Ohio, T1)
Georgia Southern 44 (Connecticut, 5th)
Kansas 25 (Texas, 5th)
Liberty 38 (California, 5th)
North Carolina 5 (Connecticut, 2nd)
North Florida 33 (Connecticut, T3)
Ohio State University 32 (Ohio, 3rd)
Oklahoma 1 (Oklahoma, 1st)
Oklahoma State 2 (Ohio, T1)
Ole Miss 23 (Oklahoma, 3rd)
Oregon 27 (California, 4th)
Pepperdine 6 (Texas, 2nd)
South Florida 31 (Florida, 4th)
Stanford 13 (California, 2nd)
Texas 7 (Oklahoma, 4th)
Texas A&M 12 (Texas, 3rd)
Texas Tech 8 (Connecticut, T3)
Utah 47 (Oklahoma, 5th)
Vanderbilt 3 (Florida, 1st)
Wake Forest 16 (Connecticut, 1st)

INDIVIDUALS

Carson Barry – Oregon State (Texas)
Zach Byers – Gardner-Webb (Florida)
Thomas Giroux – Oakland (Ohio)
Evans Lewis – South Carolina (Oklahoma)
RJ Manke – Washington (California)
Adrian Vagberg – VCU (Connecticut)

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PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking

The stroke play stage of the NCAA Championship is the final tournament for the 2022 PGA Tour University ranking.

Players finishing 1st-5th earn membership on the Korn Ferry Tour and players finishing 6th-15th secure membership on one of the PGA TOUR’s international tours.

The Current PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking

Coody, McAllister and Bridgeman are already very likely to finish in the top 5 but any of the eight players ranked 4th-13th, shown above, who qualified for the Championships could still join them.

Using a target average points score of 1061 (which would be No. 5 in the current Ranking) the above table shows where each of the challenging players needs to finish to get one of the big prizes. From a GB&I perspective Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) will need a minimum top 9 finish to secure a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour.

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Weather Forecast

Unsurprisingly the weather forecast for Scottsdale, Arizona is perfect for tournament week. Perhaps a little warm in the early days for the GB&I players.

Fri 27th May – Sunny / Wind 9 mph SW / Temp. Min. 25°C / Max. 40°C,
Sat 28th May – Sunny / Wind 12 mph SW / Temp. Min. 24°C / Max. 38°C
Sun 29th May – Sunny / Wind 15 mph SW / Temp. Min. 23°C / Max. 36°C
Mon 30th May – Sunny / Wind 16 mph SW / Temp. Min. 21°C / Max. 32°C
Tue 31st May – Sunny / Wind 16 mph SW / Temp. Min. 21°C / Max. 32°C
Wed 1st Jun – Sunny / Wind 15 mph W / Temp. Min. 21°C / Max. 34°C

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2021 Results

Pepperdine University beat Oklahoma University 3-2 at the Greyhawk Golf Club in Arizona to win the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s National title.

It was the second time in their history that the Malibu, California based team had lifted the National Championship trophy. They previously won in 1997.

Pepperdine Team and Coaches (Photo: Pepperdine Men’s Golf Team)

The team consisted of Clay FEAGLER, a fifth year senior, junior Joe HIGHSMITH, sophomore Dylan MENANTE, sophomore William MOUW and senior Joey VRZICH.

Pepperdine finished 3rd in the stroke play stage of the competition whilst Oklahoma came in 4th.

Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Oklahoma, Illinois, Florida State, Vanderbilt and North Carolina were the eight teams to advance to the match play stage.

With rounds of 68, 67, 68 and 70 (-7) Turk PETTIT of Clemson University won the NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Championship. He finished 1 shot ahead of Bo JIN who was representing Oklahoma State with Ryggs JOHNSTON from Arizona State a further shot back.

Turk Pettit (Photo: NCAA)

Alex FITZPATRICK (Wake Forest) was GB&I’s highest finisher. A final round 76 saw him have to settle for a +9 total and a tied 39th finish. After a poor opening round of 78 John MURPHY (Louisville) settled well. His final +11 total was good enough for a tied 52nd.

Click this link to view the – GOLFSTAT 2021 MATCH PLAY RESULTS – TEAM

Click these links to view the – GOLFSTAT 2021 STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

ME.

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