25th June 2022
Filippo CELLI (ITA) won the 2022 European Amateur Championship at El Saler Golf Club after rounds of 64, 74, 73 and 69.
Celli is from Rome and is a rising junior at Texas Christian University in USA.
Filippo Celli (Photo: European Golf Association)
The 2023 European Amateur Championship will be played at Pärnu Bay Golf Links in Estonia.
Round 4
A final round 69 gave Filippo Celli a 280 (-8) total and a one shot victory. Celli started nervously with a bogey 5 on his opening hole but recovered his poise quickly with four birdies following on his front nine. An even par back nine saw him safely home albeit a bogey 5 on the par 4 16th made things interesting down the stretch.
He is the fourth Italian winner of this prestigious trophy following in the footsteps of Massimo Scarpa (1992), Stafano Mazzoli (2015) and Luca Cianchetti (2016).
The victory also provides Celli with an exemption into the 150th Open Championship being played at St. Andrews in a few weeks time.
Rasmus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) produced one of three 67’s on the final day to take 2nd place on 281 (-7). Whilst he too bogeyed the first he followed it was six unblemished birdies in what was a strong finish for the Dane.
Scotland’s Calum SCOTT (-6) finished 3rd after a final round 68, which also included six birdies, lifted him up three places. Scott has enjoyed a good Freashman season at Texas Tech University and continues to trend upwards. This is the best result of his career to date.
Calum Scott, Filippo Celli and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Photo: European Golf Association)
Neergaard-Petersen, Scott and Javier BARCOS GARBAYO (ESP), who finished 4th on 283 (-5), all earned exemptions into Final Qualifying for the Open Championship as a result of their top 4 finishes.
The other GB&I players to finish in the top 50 were Harley SMITH (ENG) -1 tied 9th, Rob MORAN (IRL) Ev tied 18th, Callum BRUCE (SCO) +1 T23, James ASHFIELD (WAL) +2 tied 23rd and Josh HILL (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) & Frank KENNEDY (ENG) +5 tied 44th.
Leading Results (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)
Click here to view the full – EGA / Golfbox Leaderboard
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24th June 2022
Round 3
Filippo CELLI (ITA) recaptured the lead from compatriot Pietro BOVARI (ITA) on Day 3 after they recorded rounds of 73 and 75 respectively. Celli will start the final day on -5 with Bovari tied for 2nd, one shot further back, alongside Javier BARCOS (ESP), Sam SLATER (AUS), whose 66 was the low round of the day, Michael MJAASETH (DEN) and Yannick MALIK (GER).
South African Casey JARVIS, who has largely disappointed on Golf RSA’s European tour, crept into contention with a 68. He is now tied 6th in a group of four players which includes Calum SCOTT (SCO), GB&I’s leading player, on 214 (-2).
The other leading GB&I players are James ASHFIELD (WAL) -1 tied 10th, Harley SMITH (ENG) Ev tied 14th, Rob MORAN (IRL) +1 tied 18th and Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Olly HUGGINS (ENG) and Rory FRANNSEN (SCO), all +2 tied 27th.
There are now just 17 players on even par or better. The average score in Round 3 was 74.41, the lowest we have seen to date.
Welshman James ASHFIELD is tied 1st for the ‘most pars or better’ with 48 whilst Ben QUINNEY (ENG) leads the field in ‘most birdies or better’ with 15. In terms of the standings that matter Quinney is tied 55th on 222 (+6).
67 players made the top 60 and ties cut which fell at +6.
Leading Round 3 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)
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23rd June 2022
Round 2
Pietro BOVARI (ITA) shot a bogey free 66 in Round 2, the best round of the day by two shots, to move into the lead of the European Amateur.
Overnight leader and compatriot Filippo CELLI (ITA) slipped into 2nd place after recording a 2-over 74.
Jack INGHAM (NED) followed his opening 70 with a 69 to move up 16 places to 3rd place. For the second day running he helped his cause with an eagle on the back nine.
Calum SCOTT (SCO) is now the leading GB&I player. After rounds of 71 and 70 he sits on -3 in tied 5th place.
The other leading home players are Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Robert MORAN (IRL) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO). On 143 (-1) for the first 36 holes they are all tied 15th.
There are now 34 players on even par or better, down from the 45 seen after Round 1 had been completed. The average score in Round 2 was 75.35 (par 72), half a shot higher than the 74.84 posted by the field on Wednesday.
Leading Round 2 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)
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22nd June 2022
Round 1
Italy’s Filippo CELLI shot a spectacular 64 (-8), which included an eagle, seven birdies and surprisingly a bogey 5 on the 18th, to take a 3-shot lead in the European Amateur at El Saler.
Rasmus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN‘s (DEN) bogey free 67 (-5) on a perfect day for golf in Valencia sees him in sole possession of 2nd place.
Nine players, including Scotland’s Rory FRANSSEN, are tied for third place on -4 after recording 68’s.
15 year old Connor GRAHAM (SCO) -3 is tied 12th with Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Callum BRUCE (SCO), Olly HUGGINS (ENG), Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Mason ESSAM (ENG) -1, tied 22nd, also under par.
Hamish BROWN (DEN), also on -3, joined his compatriot Neergaard- Petersen as the only other player to go bogey free through the opening 18 holes.
45 players finished Round 1 on even par or better. The average score across all of the 144 players was 74.84 (+2.84).
Leading Round 1 Scores (Graphic: EGA / Golfbox)
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21st June 2022
The 35th European Amateur Championship will be played at El Saler Golf Club, which is located on the southern outskirts of Valancia in Spain, between 22nd-25th June 2022.
This prestigious Championship is run by the European Golf Association (EGA), assisted each year by the host nation; this year, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation.
2022 will be the third occasion that Spain has hosted the European Amateur with El Prat GC in Barcelona hosting the previous two visits.
I will be updating this article with daily reports on play during the week.
Parador El Saler Golf Club (Photo: http://www.leadingcourses.com)
Competition Format
The European Amateur is a 72-hole stroke play competition with 18-holes played daily over four days.
A cut takes place after 54 holes with the 60 lowest scores and ties qualifying for the final round.
A 3 hole aggregate score play off will decide the winner in the event of a tie. If this doesn’t separate the players then a sudden death play-off will commence over the same holes.
A card count-back is used for all other ties.
Entries
144 players contest the Championship which is traditionally played in June each year.
All of the players in the field must have handicaps of 0.0 or better with the entry ballot applied based on the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Exemptions were available to the defending champion, a single nomination from each EGA member nation, four nominated players from the host nation, Spain, competitors in the Bonallack Trophy, St. Andrew’s Trophy and Jacques Léglise Trophy matches, the 2022 South American Amateur champion and the 2022 European Mid-Amateur champion.
There are 25 GB&I entries, namely Cameron ADAM (SCO), James ASHFIELD (WAL), Callan BARROW (ENG), Jack BROOKS (ENG), Callum BRUCE (SCO), Zach CHEGWIDDEN (ENG), Archie DAVIES (WAL), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Mason ESSAM (ENG), Archie FINNIE (SCO), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), TJ FORD (IRL), Rory FRANNSEN (SCO), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Josh HILL (ENG), Olly HUGGINS (ENG), Lewis IRVINE (SCO), Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Matt MCCLEAN (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Ben QUINNEY (ENG), Matt ROBERTS (WAL), Calum SCOTT (SCO), Harley SMITH (ENG) and Matthew WILSON (SCO).
Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) and John GOUGH (ENG) were in the field but have both withdrawn presumably following their exertions at the Amateur Championship last week.
Noteworthy overseas entries include Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE), Bastien AMAT (FRA), Christian BANKE (USA), Matthis BESARD (BEL), Frederik BIRKELUND (DEN), Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA), Hamish BROWN (DEN), Jack BUCHANAN (AUS), Christiaan BURKE (RSA), Martin COUVRA (FRA), Harrison CROWE (AUS), Kyle DE BEER (RSA), Matteo FERNANDEZ DE OLIVEIRA (ARG), Marco FLORIOLI (ITA), Jorge HAO (ESP), James HYDES (NZL), Casey JARVIS (RSA), Jerry JI (NED), Ryggs JOHNSTON (USA), Frederik KJETTRUP (DEN), Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), Connor MCKINNEY (AUS), Jaime MONTOJO (ESP), David NYFJALL (SWE), Yurav PREMLALL (RSA), David PUIG (ESP – and a member of the LIV Golf Series), Baard SKOGEN (NOR) and Kiet VAN DER WEELE (NED).
Parador Campo de Golf de El Saler, Spain
The 2022 Championship is being staged at El Saler Golf Club in Spain.
The Club was founded in 1968 with the course designed by the prominent Spanish architect Javier Arana.
Located in the Natural Park of La Albufera on the Mediterranean coast it stretches through a protected landscape of dunes and pine forests.
Parador El Saler Golf Club Course Plan (Photo: El Saler G.C.)
El Saler is 6,950 yards / 6,355 metres long and plays to a par of 72. It has a course rating of 74.2 and a slope of 136.
Highly rated the course has staged the Spanish Open in 1994, 1989, 2001, and 2013, the Seve Trophy in 2003 and it was a European Tour Qualifying School venue between 2013-2017.
Weather Forecast
Weather conditions are expected to be unchanged and near perfect throughout the week.
Weds 22nd June – Sunny. Wind 6 mph SW. Min. 19°C / Max. 32°C.
Thurs 23rd June – Sunny. Wind 6 mph SW. Min. 20°C / Max. 31°C.
Fri 24th June – Sunny. Wind 6 mph SW. Min. 19°C / Max. 32°C.
Sat 25th June – Sunny. Wind 6 mph SE. Min. 20°C / Max. 30°C.
Prizes
Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the top 3 finishers.
The silver Championship Trophy, shown below, is held by the winning player’s national golf authority.
The champion also earns an exemption into the Open Championship, this year being played at St. Andrews in Scotland.
Further Information
Click here to view the – EGA European Amateur Championship Website
2021 European Amateur Championship
Christopher BRING (DEN) won the 2021 European Amateur Championship by 2-shots with a 264 (-20) total.
Christopher Bring (Photo: European Golf Association)
Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE) finished 2nd on 266 (-18) and David PUIG (ESP) 269 (-15) 3rd. Both players are returning this year and are expected to do well again.
Due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions there were no players from Great Britain in the field at Golf Du Médoc Resort in France but Marc BOUCHER, Max KENNEDY, Robert MORAN and Michael YOUNG from Ireland all made it to the start line. However, all four missed the 54 hole cut.
Click here to view the full – 2021 European Amateur Championship Results
History
The competition was first contested in 1986 at Eindhoven G.C. Initially it was held biennially before moving to an annual fixture from 1990.
Former winners who have gone on to enjoy very successful professional careers include Stephen GALLACHER (1994), Sergio GARCIA (1995), Gregory HAVRET (1999), Carl PETTERSSON (2000), Rory MCILROY (2006), Victor DUBUISSON (2009) and Nicolai HØJGÅRD (2018).
In addition to Gallacher and McIlroy other GB&I past winners include Jim PAYNE (1991), Paddy GRIBBEN (1998), Stephen BROWNE (2001), Brian MCELHINNEY (2003), Matthew RICHARDSON (2004), Rhys PUGH (2012) and Ashley CHESTERS (2013 and 2014) and Alfie PLANT (2017).
Ashley Chesters is the only two-time winner and the only player to have retained the trophy.
Click here to view the – European Amateur Championship Past Winners and Venues
Rory McIlroy – 2006 Champion (Photo: European Golf Association)
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