The Amateur Championship – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 14/06/2023 by Golf Bible

Saturday 24th June 2023

Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), who is 22, won the 128th Amateur Championship at a sun-drenched Hillside G.C., beating Ronan KLEU (SUI), 23, 3&2 in the 36 hole Final.

As the lowest WAGR-ranked player in the field of 288 players and one of the obvious pre-Championship favourites Lamprecht (#6) did remarkably well to finish top of the pile.

Kleu, who is ranked 376th, will be disappointed not to have played a little better in the Final but a runner-up result and a third place seeding after the Stroke Play Qualifying represents an excellent week’s work for him and a real boost for golf in Switzerland.

Ronan Kleu and Christo Lamprecht (Photo: Octavio Passos / R&A / R&A via Getty Images)

Four birdies in the opening nine holes helped Kleu take an early 2Up lead but Lamprecht fought back strongly with a string of birdies to close out the opening 18 holes and turn the match around.

Heading into the afternoon session with a 2Up lead the giant South African never really looked like he would be caught as he continued to overpower the course with his driver off the tee.

To Kleu’s credit he finally started to apply some pressure when all seemed to be lost, producing some world class recoveries and finally holing a few putts.

However, the Georgia Tech student wasn’t to be denied and with a great pitch on 15 for birdie and solid long two putt for par on 16 the title was his.

Fellow South African player Christiaan Maas achieved a notable double too. Last year he missed the Match Play Stage cut and caddied for the eventual champion Aldrich Potgieter. This year the same thing happened and he picked up Lamprecht’s bag and ended up again helping a teammate to victory.

It was the third South African winner in the last 6 years; Jovan Rebula also won at Royal Aberdeen in 2018.

Talking to The R&A afterwards he said “I’m over the moon. I haven’t won something big in a long time and it’s one to definitely win for sure. I’m ecstatic. I cannot kind of comprehend my feelings right now. I’m guessing South Africans like playing links golf. We kind of like being creative so I guessed that flowed over into this Championship. It’s always nice to be part of history with South Africa and enrich it.”

Christo Lamprecht v. Ronan Kleu Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

With his win Lamprecht secured exemptions into The 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool G.C., the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C. and the 2024 U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst No.2.

The 129th Amateur Championship will be played at Ballyliffin G.C. in County Donegal, Ireland on 17th-22nd June 2024.

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

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Friday 23rd June 2023

Match Play Stage – Semi-Finals (4)

Perhaps unsurprisingly after his superb scoring and putting this morning TK CHANTANANUWAT (THA) was a bit flat this afternoon and certainly not as effective on the greens. Ronan KLEU (SUI) took advantage with an outstanding performance which included five birdies in the 12 holes completed at Hillside G.C.

In a long week of golf Kleu will be pleased to get through today playing just 26 holes. He will now be hoping that the second semi-final becomes a drawn out affair.

TK Chantananuwat v. Ronan Kleu Semi-Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

In a remarkable comeback Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) fought back from 2Down with three holes to play to beat Frank KENNEDY (ENG) by 1 Hole on the 18th. It was hard on the Englishman who had played beautifully for most of the round and who has enjoyed great Championship. The Florida-based Kennedy will rue a clumsy putt from off the 16th green when he appeared to be on the verge of victory and a poor approach on the 18th which left him short-sided in a green side bunker. However, Lamprecht applied pressure just at the right time, finishing the round magnificently with a great up and down on 16, an eagle on 17 and a tap in par on the home hole.

Frank Kennedy v. Christo Lamprecht Semi-Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

Match Play Stage – Quarter Finals (8)

You could have got very good odds on Switzerland being the most represented nation in the Quarter Finals at the start of this week. Well done to Max SCHLIESING and Ronan KLEU for flying the Swiss flag so proudly at The Amateur Championship.

Max SCHLIESING performed very well in the opening Quarter Final but despite dropping no shots and recording six birdies fell to an inspired TK CHANTANANUWAT. Nine birdies including three over the closing three holes at Hillside G.C. represented a superb effort, under pressure, from the Thai star.

Max Schliesing v. TK Chantananuwat Quarter Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Schliesing’s compatriot Ronan KLEU fared better in his game against Tobias JONSSON (SWE). Kleu started well but it was Jonsson’s collapse on the back nine that ultimately handed him a comfortable victory.

Ronan Kleu v. Tobias Jonsson Quarter Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

The clash between two of our most in form players, Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG), was the highlight of the Quarter Finals from a GB&I perspective. Frank KENNEDY (ENG) won the game 3&2 with his steadier play. Given the performances and victories that Maguire has delivered in recent weeks it is perhaps no surprise that he tired a little coming down the stretch this morning.

Alex Maguire v. Frank Kennedy Quarter Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) went on his own birdie blitz to steam roller Richard TEDER (EST) who made few mistakes but simply couldn’t live with Lamprecht’s consistency and quality. Christiaan Maas, who caddied for last year’s champion Aldrich Potgieter, remains on course for a unique double having picked up Christo’s bag since his surprise early exit at the Stroke Play Qualifying stage.

Christo Lamprecht v. Richard Seder Quarter Final Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

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Thursday 22nd June 2023

Match Play Stage – Round 4 (16)

The R&A start to provide hole-by-hole scoring from the Last 16 onwards which obviously helps us to better understand all of the games that are played.

Caolan BURFORD (WAL) struggled to get going this afternoon and as a result Max SCHLIESING (SUI) was able to see out a comfortable victory.

Caolan Burford v. Max Schliesing Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

TH CHANTANANUWAT (THA) looks to have played a superb 16 holes of golf to see off Will HOPKINS by 3&2 after the Englishman had shocked him with a birdie-birdie start to go 2Up after two holes.

TK Chantananuwat v. Will Hopkins Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Ronan KLEU (SUI), who by way of reminder, shot the low round (64 -8) at Hillside in the Stroke Play Qualifying, continues to excel although Clément CHARMASSON (FRA) handed him the initiative this afternoon with some loose play on the opening nine.

Ronan Kleu v. Clément Charmasson Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

After a slow start Tobias JONSSON (SWE) quickly found his form and after three late birdies got the better of Australia’s Josh GREER in a tight game.

Joshua Greer v. Tobias Jonsson Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Ireland’s Alex MAGUIRE must surely have secured his GB&I Walker Cup team selection with this dramatic victory over Daniel RODRIGUES (POR). 1Down with two holes to play he birdied the par 5 17th hole to take the match in to overtime. Two more birdies on par 5’s saw Maguire secure victory on the 5th extra hole.

Alex Maguire v. Daniel Rodrigues Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Marc BOUCHER (IRL) and Frank KENNEDY enjoyed an exciting rollercoaster of a match which the Englishman, winner of the Lytham Trophy earlier this year, came out on top in despite some nervous play from both players down the 18th.

Marc Boucher v. Frank Kennedy Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

South Africa’s Christo LAMPRECHT was made to play his best golf to overcome Adam WALLIN (SWE), who clearly did very little wrong in the 17 holes that were played.

Adam Wallin v. Christo Lamprecht Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Richard TEDER (EST) and Tommy MORRISON (USA) played out a high quality encounter at the back of the Last 16 field with three of the opening eleven holes halved in birdie 4’s. The Estonian finally picked up the win with a par on the first hole as they started out again.

Tommy Morrison v. Richard Teder Round 4 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

Match Play Stage – Round 3 (32)

10 became 5 after a mixed morning for the GB&I players who had made it through to Match Play Round 3 at Hillside G.C. in the Amateur Championship.

Caolan BURFORD (WAL), Will HOPKINS (ENG), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), Marc BOUCHER (IRL) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) were all victorious.

Richard TEDER (EST), largely unknown on these shores, continues to shock and surprise us. In Round 3 he beat GB&I No. 1 John GOUGH (ENG) on the 18th hole.

From the overseas players TK CHANTANAUWAT (THA), Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA) and Tommy MORRISON (USA) all ominously advanced after good wins.

Here are the Round 3 results: –

Round 3 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

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Wednesday 21st June 2023

Match Play Stage – Round 2 (64)

Ben VAN WYK (RSA) suffered the infamous ‘curse of the medalist’ in his first match play game at this year’s Championship. Van Wyk is now the third medalist in the last four years to fall at the first match play hurdle. He lost by 2 Holes to Caolan BUFORD (WAL) who enjoyed his second win of the day on the 18th hole.

Dundalk’s Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) enjoyed an impressive 4&3 win over Thom LINSSEN (NED) and continues to go from strength-to-strength.

Will HOPKINS (ENG) and Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) overcame Markus VARJUN (EST) and Jakob MELIN (SWE) respectively in tight 1 Hole contests which will hopefully have got them both fully battle ready. Maguire , who reached the semi-finals last year at Royal Lytham fought back from 3Down after 9 holes.

Arguably the best performance of the round came from James CLARIDGE (ENG) who thrashed the highly rated reigning Boys’ Amateur champion Albert HANSSON (SWE) by 5&4.

Marc BOUCHER (IRL) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) were made to work hard for their wins over the front nines before pulling away nicely later on.

Eliot BAKER (ENG) continues to enjoy himself in Lancashire. After his strong qualification he claimed the scalp of Welsh Walker Cup hopeful James ASHFIELD by 3&2 this afternoon.

Mats EGE (NOR) finally got the better of Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) in a match that required 9 extra holes.

Jon HOPKINS (ENG) also required extra time beating Frenchman Paul BEAUVY on the 20th hole.

The highest ranked player in the field 22 year old Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), now ranked 6th in WAGR, ominously remains ‘alive’ in the bottom half of the draw after getting past two strong players today.

24 year old John GOUGH (ENG) overcame 17 year old Ollie MUKHERJEE (SCO) after a slow start to secure game against stroke play runner-up Richard TEDER (EST). Mukherjee will hopefully be able to put the experience to good use as he continues to trend upwards.

Thailand’s TK CHANTANAUWAT and USA’s Tommy MORRISON also made it though the last 32 and will be difficult opponents as we now enter the business end of the Championship. Morrison, who is from Texas, said after his round “It’s my first time out of the country and my first time in England. I’ve enjoyed playing the bump and runs and am enjoying links golf short game.”

Round 2 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

Match Play Stage – Preliminary Round 1

With 85 players progressing from the Stroke Play Qualifying a Preliminary Round 1 was required.

To ensure 64 players could contest Round 2 the lowest finishing 42 players in Qualifying were needed to participate in this Round. The 24 players who finished on -2 were joined by 18 from the 22 who finished on -3 to create the necessary field.

In a potentially long week the fact that 42 of the 85 players who qualified are having to play an extra game seems a little unfair to me but then I am a long time advocate of the play-off option at this point in proceedings. Of course the winners of these early games do have the advantage of having played and seen the course ahead of their Round 2 games which immediately follow on.

A 24 players-for-3 spots play-off at Hillside would have added an exciting and interesting spectacle to the middle of the Championship.

For reasons I don’t fully understand The R&A don’t seed the Preliminary Round draw either. This means that the 18 players on -3 that are involved in the Preliminary Round will all be playing each other, which hardly seems equitable, and at the other end of the spectrum the two players seeded 84th and 85th will are drawn together.

GB&I players Caolan BURFORD (WAL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), who beat young KRIS KIM (ENG) by 2&1, James CLARIDGE (ENG), who required 20 holes in his game, Marc BOUCHER (IRL), who got the better of Jack BIGHAM (ENG), James ASHFILED (WAL), Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) were our morning success stories.

Preliminary Round 1 Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Click here to view the – Match Play Draw / Scores

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Tuesday 20th June 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 2

Round 2 of The Amateur Championship’s Stroke Play Qualifying competition again started at 7.00am with the final three-balls heading out at 3.52pm. Each competitor moved across to the other qualifying course for their second round, i.e. if they played at Hillside G.C. yesterday they would face the challenge of Southport & Ainsdale G.C. (S&A) today and vice versa.

The forecast rain arrived at 8.15am and whilst it was heavy until 10.15am thankfully abated earlier than expected, giving way to sunny intervals for the rest of the day.

Medalist honours 132 (-11) went to Ben VAN WYK (RSA), who teed off at S&A at 7.33am and therefore had to play through all of the heavy rain. He backed up his great first round with a very creditable 68, holding on to his card through the bad weather before finishing strongly when the sun came out.

Following Jonathan Broomhead’s success last year it is the second year running that a South African has won the Stroke Play Qualifying at The Amateur Championship. Wilcon Nienaber in 2018 is the only other South African medalist since this stage was introduced in 1983.

Ben Van Wyk’s Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Richard TEDER (EST) also maintained his form into Round 2. Helped by his late 2.46pm tee time at Hillside his 69 took him on to -10 and secured the 2nd seed, which is where he had started the day.

Eliott BAKER (ENG), who fired eight birdies in his 64 at S&A today, was GB&I’s leading qualifier in 3rd place. His 64 was the joint best round at S&A, matched only by Teder’s Round 1 effort. Baker finished on 133 (-10), like Teder one shot back of Van Wyk.

Eliot Baker’s Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Ronan KLEU (SUI) moved into 4th place, also on on -10, after he recorded an unblemished 64 (-8) at Hillside, the best round in Stroke Play Qualifying at this course.

Ronan Kleu’s Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), despite his limited playing schedule in 2023, continues to put his best foot forward in the race for a spot in GB&I’s Walker Cup team. One bogey in 36 holes around these two championship links courses and an 8th place seeding certainly won’t have gone unnoticed by the selectors.

Caolan Rafferty’s Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Ollie LEWIS-PERKINS (ENG) -6 16th, Jon HOPKINS (ENG) -6 18th, Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG) -5 23rd, Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) -5 30th, John GOUGH (ENG) -4 31st, Oliver MUCKHERJEE (SCO) -4 34th and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) -4 35th.

Will HOPKINS (ENG) bounced back well with a Round 2 65 at S&A to finish on -3 and 41st. His round included eight birdies including three in his closing three holes.

The average Round 2 score at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. was 72.23 (+0.23), almost identical to yesterday’s 72.26 (+0.26).

The average Round 2 score at Southport & Ainsdale G.C. was 72.10 (+1.10), just a little lower than Round 1’s 72.19 (+1.19).

The standard of play remained high with 122 under par rounds produced today from the field of 288 competitors.

85 players made the top 64 and ties cut, finishing on -2 or better, to progress to the Match Play Stage. 26 of these are from GB&I, albeit 15 of this number will be starting their journey’s in the Preliminary Round 1.

Ties for the match play seedings are resolved by reference to the combined back nines (then six, three and one) from each course.

Matteo CRISTONI (ITA) and James ASHFIELD (WAL), who holed a 35 foot putt having driven on to the front of the green, both eagled S&A’s 352 yard par 4 18th hole to finish on -2 and jump into the Match Play stage in style.

However, perhaps the best finish in the Stroke Play Qualifying belonged to Alex MAGUIRE (IRL). The recent East of Ireland Amateur and St. Andrews Links Trophy champion stood on the 15th tee on +1, 3-shots adrift of the anticipated -2 cut mark. He then completed his round with a birdie, eagle, par, birdie to finish tied 40th and claim the 43rd seed. Little did he know at the time that this finish would also make him the lowest seeded player to avoid the Preliminary Round 1 – which may prove to be a big bonus.

Here is the Stroke Play Qualifying leaderboard (upper half): –

Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Paul CONROY (IRL) -1, Harrison CROWE (AUS) -1, Max KENNEDY (IRL) Ev, Connor GRAHAM (SCO) Ev, Sean KEELING (IRL) Ev, Hugh FOLEY (IRL) Ev, Gregor TAIT (SCO) +1, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +1, Christiaan MAAS (RSA) +1, Archie DAVIES (WAL) +2, Robert MORAN (IRL) +2 and Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL) +2, were amongst the more notable players to miss the match play cut.

Click here to view the – Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard

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Monday 19th June 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying – Round 1

It was a lovely day in Southport on Monday with the sun shining brightly for most of it and only light winds being seen.

The 288 players were allocated to either Hillside G.C. or Southport & Ainsdale G.C. for their opening rounds, 144 playing each.

Ben VAN WYK (RSA) leads the Stroke Play Qualifying after shooting an impressive 64 (-8) opening round at the par 72 Hillside G.C. Only in his wildest dreams could he have imagined firing seven birdies in his opening nine holes of The Amateur.

Ben Van Wyk’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

However, arguably the best round of the day came from 2nd placed Richard TEDER (EST) who posted a flawless 64 (-7) at the par 71 Southport & Ainsdale G.C. Five 3’s in his last six holes certainly tidies your card up.

Richard Teder’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Calum SCOTT (SCO) -6 tied 3rd, Ben BROWN (ENG) -5 tied 5th, Jack BIGHAM (ENG) -5 tied 5th, John GOUGH (ENG) -4 tied 10th, Paul CONROY (IRL) -4 tied 10th, Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) -4 tied 10th and Thomas CRAIG (SCO) -4 tied 10th were GB&I’s best Day 1 scorers at Hillside.

Liam NOLAN (IRL) -3 tied 19th, Matty DODD-BERRY (ENG) -3 tied 19th, Jack MURPHY (IRL) -3 tied 19th, Jon HOPKINS (ENG) -2 tied 43rd, Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) -2 tied 43rd and LUKE O’NEILL (IRL) -2 tied 43rd were GB&I’s best Day 1 scorers at the slightly tougher Southport & Ainsdale.

The average Round 1 score at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. was 72.26 (+0.26) and 72.19 (+1.19) respectively.

On a great day for scoring the standard of play was high. 99 players out of the 288 starters broke par with a further 39 achieving it.

If the top 64 and ties cut was made after Day 1 68 players would progress on -2 or better. Here is the Round 1 leaderboard showing the players in prime position:-

Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: The R&A / GolfBox)

Amongst the more notable players Aaron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) +1 (SA), Charlie CROCKETT (ENG) +1 (SA), Connor GRAHAM (SCO) +2 (H), Robert MORAN (IRL) +2 (SA), Sean KEELING (IRL) +2 (H), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) +2 (H), Hugh FOLEY (IRL) +2 (SA), Will HOPKINS (ENG) +3 (H), Archie DAVIES (WAL) +3 (H), Max KENNEDY (IRL) +3 (H), Christiaan MAAS (RSA) +3 (H) and Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +6 (H) will all need a spectacular Round 2 to continue their Championships into the Match Play Stage.

Click here to view the – Stroke Play Qualifying Leaderboard

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Saturday 17th June 2023

Stroke Play Qualifying

288 competitors from 39 different countries will start the event. England are the best represented country with 62 players in the field. Ireland have 22 and Scotland 20.

Scotland’s number was boosted today by the inclusion of First Reserve Thomas CRAIG. This increases the number of players in the Championship field to 34 that contested Pre-Qualifying on Friday.

The R&A have this afternoon released the draw for the Stroke Play Qualifying Stage of The 128th Amateur Championship.

Click here to view the – Stroke Play Qualifying Tee Times

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Friday 16th June 2023

Pre-Qualifying

The 18 hole Amateur Championship Pre-Qualifying event was played today at a sunny Southport & Ainsdale G.C.

A field of 72 players teed off between 8.00am and 12.46pm.

Whilst 10 spots were originally on offer from Pre-Qualifying 23 withdrawals from the Championship field since entries closed on 25th May meant a total of 33 players (46% of the starters) had the opportunity to advance to the main event.

Kristoffer MAX (DEN), George HOLLAND (ENG) and Matthew LEVER (ENG), who all shot 4-under 67’s, were the leading qualifiers.

In form pair Andrew HASWELL (ENG) -2 and Tomi BOWEN (WAL) -1 also finished in the top 10.

Liam GOBIN (ENG), Henry DALY (ENG), Kipp POPERT (ENG) and Ben QUICK (ENG) came through a 9-for-4 sudden death play-off to finalise the 33 qualifiers.

Further withdrawals from the existing Championship field over the weekend may also open the door to one or two of the reserves (determined by count back rather than play-off) that are shown in the second graphic below. Thomas CRAIG (SCO) Res 1, Harry WATKINS (WAL) Res 2 and Harry UZZELL (ENG) Res 3 will certainly be hoping this comes to pass.

Pre-Qualifying Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Pre-Qualifying Play-Off Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox)

Click here to view the – Pre-Qualifying Results

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14th June 2023 (last updated 17th June 2023)

The 128th Amateur Championship will be played at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. in England between Monday 19th and Saturday 24th June 2022.

The Amateur is the most prestigious amateur golf event played outside of the United States and without question the highlight of the Great British and Irish (GB&I) amateur season.

I will be updating this article as more information comes to hand and providing daily reports throughout the Championship.

Championship Format

Stroke Play Qualifying

Two rounds of stroke play will be completed on Monday 19th June and Tuesday 20th June to determine the match play field.

Each contestant will play 18 holes at Hillside G.C. and Southport & Ainsdale G.C. with three-ball tee times between 7.00am and 3.52pm on both days.

The 64 lowest scores and ties for 64th place will advance to the match play stage.

Match Play Stage

The Match Play stage will be played between Wednesday 21st and Saturday 24th June and held exclusively at Hillside G.C.

The decision to again take all ties through to match play will almost certainly necessitate a Preliminary Round 1 so that a proper 64 player Round 2 can take place.

I believe a play-off, as used in the U.S. Amateur Championship, to determine a clean 64 for Round 1 would be a more efficient solution.

Each match will consist of one round of 18 holes except the Final which will be played over 36 holes. Any tied matches will continue into sudden death extra holes to determine a winner.

Field

288 male amateur golfers will contest the Championship.

An international field will gather in Lancashire with competitors coming from 39 different countries. As at 17th June 2023 the countries represented are England (62), Ireland (22), Scotland (20), Spain (17), France (16), Australia & Sweden (14), USA (13), Netherland & Norway (11), South Africa (10), Germany (9), Wales (7), Italy & Switzerland (6), Estonia (5), Belgium, Finland, Iceland & Japan (4), Argentina, Austria & India (3), Denmark, New Zealand, Portugal & Turkey (2) and Bahamas, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Slovenia & Thailand (1).

278 competitors were offered places in the Championship when entries closed on 25th May 2023. These were drawn from 1) a number of exempt categories covering various historic Championship performances and representative team selections and 2) allocated to those highest ranked players 1st-2,000th in the WAGR as at Week 20 2023 (i.e. the Wednesday 17th May release), and then via WHS Handicap index at the date of entry.

Players that didn’t make the original line-up were offered the opportunity to play in a Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event (see below) for which the remaining 10 spots were allocated. Additional places in the Championship also become available as players withdraw before and after the PQ event has been played.

The WAGR split (based on the 14th June 2023 release) for the 288 competitors is as follows – 9 players from the top 50, 21 from the top 100, 54 from the top 250, 103 from the top 500, 145 from the top 750, 194 from the top 1,000, 235 from the top 1,250, 256 in the top 1,500 and 279 in the top 4,000. 9 players do not have a WAGR ranking.

The defending champion Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) is unable to compete as he is playing in the conflicting U.S. Open Championship using his exemption from his win at Royal Lytham & St. Annes last year.

Pre-Qualifying

For the second time The R&A ran a Pre-Qualifying (PQ) event to offer some of the players not allocated an original place in the field an opportunity to earn one.

Whilst many more players are interested The R&A limits the PQ field to 72. The event was played over 18 holes of stroke play at Southport & Ainsdale G.C. on Friday 16th June. This field is made up of the 15 highest ranked WAGR players (1,347th – 1,661st) not originally accepted into the Championship field followed by a lowest handicap ballot for the remainder (cut off +3.8).

Whilst 10 places are guaranteed from PQ significantly more players ultimately advance. By the 16th June when the PQ was played there had already been 23 withdrawals from the original Championship field since the close of entries. This meant that 33 spots need to be filled. The final 2022 Amateur Championship field ultimately included 38 players who had competed in the prior PQ competition so I assume come next Monday we will be well into the 30’s this year too.

Ties for the last qualifying place from PQ are resolved via a sudden death play-off.

However, withdrawals following PQ and before the Championship commences will be handed to players on a card count back rather than via the play-off results.

Click here to view the full – Amateur Championship Terms of Competition

Leading Players

The home GB&I players that I will be keeping a close eye on are James ASHFIELD (WAL), Jack BIGHAM (ENG), James CLARIDGE (ENG), Charlie CROCKETT (ENG), Archie DAVIES (WAL), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), John GOUGH (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Sean KEELING (IRL), Frank KENNEDY (ENG), Max KENNEDY (IRL), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL), Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL), Matt ROBERTS (WAL) Calum SCOTT (SCO) and Gregor TAIT (SCO).

Local Lancashire players Jack BROOKS (ENG / Mere), Matthew DODD-BERRY (ENG / Royal Liverpool) Jack MCPHAIL (ENG / S&A) and James NASH (WAL / Ormskirk) will all have familiarity on their side. We may also be able to add in-form Andrew HASWELL (ENG / Ormskirk) to this list if (when) he comes through Pre-Qualifying on Friday.

The overseas entries that I fancy to do well include Jose BALLESTER (ESP), Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI), Albert HANSSON (SWE), Christo LAMPRECHT (RSA), Christiaan MAAS (RSA) and Luis MASAVEU (ESP).

6ft 9″ tall Tommy MORRISON from Texas is the standout entry from the United States along with Matthew KRESS who was part of Florida’s NCAA Division I Championship winning team just a few weeks ago.

Host Courses

The two courses are situated in Southport on ‘England’s Golf Coast’.

It is the first time that these two courses have been combined by The R&A to co-host the Amateur Championship.

Hillside G.C.

7,091 yards (Black) / Par 72 / Slope Rating 138 / Course Rating 75.2

The 18 hole championship links course was built in 1923/24. It was fully renovated in the 1960’s by Fred Hawtree and in recent years the front nine has been transformed by Martin Ebert.

The front nine covers level ground before the back nine enjoys the hillier dune land for which the course is renowned.

Hillside has previously hosted the Amateur Championship in 1979, 1989 and 2011. It was the primary course in 1979 and 2011, when Jay Siegel (USA) and Greg Eason (ENG) won, and supported Royal Birkdale in 1989 when Stephen Dodd (WAL) came out on top.

The club has also recently hosted The British Masters (2019) and The Cazoo Classic (2022) on the DP World Tour.

Hillside’s club house is circled in yellow and S&A’s in red. Hillside sits to the west of the railway line, with Royal Birkdale located adjacent to it’s north, and S&A to the east of the track.

Southport & Ainsdale G.C.

6,912 yards (Black) / Par 71 / Slope Rating 145 / Course Rating 75.6

Founded in 1906, Southport & Ainsdale (S&A) is another excellent links course on England’s north west coast. It is a challenging course with heather, gorse and superb bunkering all featuring highly.

S&A supported Formby G.C. and Royal Birkdale G.C. in hosting the Amateur Championship’s stroke play qualifying in 1984 and 2005. Jose Maria Olazabel (ESP) and Brian McElhinney (IRL) were the winners in these years.

The club has famously hosted two Ryder Cup matches in 1933 and 1937.

Schedule

The R&A have laid out the following provisional schedule for the Championship: –

2023 Amateur Championship Schedule (Graphic: The R&A)

Weather Forecast (as at Friday 16th June)

The weather forecast is good with largely dry conditions and light breezes expected: –

Fri 16th – Sunny. Wind 6mph SE. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 25°C.
Mon 19th – Sunny Intervals. Wind 9mph SW. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 24°C.
Tues 20th – Showers. Wind 9mph SW. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 23°C.
Wed 21st – Sunny Intervals. Wind 8mph SW. Temp. Min. 12°C / Max. 23°C.
Thu 22nd – Sunny. Wind 9mph W. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 24°C.
Fri 23rd – Sunny Intervals. Wind 7mph W. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 25°C.
Sat 24th – Sunny Intervals. Wind 8mph W. Temp. Min. 13°C / Max. 24°C.

Click here to view the – Latest BBC Weather Forecast For Southport

Tee times between 7.00am and 3.52pm mean changes in the weather during the opening two days can have a material impact on the stroke play qualifying competition.

Prizes / Exemptions

A momento (a framed championship flag) is presented by The R&A to the leading player in the stroke play qualifying competition, with any ties for this prize decided on the lowest aggregate score for the second nine holes on both courses (or the last six or three or one if necessary).

The winner of the match play stage will become the Amateur Champion receiving the Championship Trophy and a Gold Medal.

The runner-up receives a Silver Medal and each losing semi-finalist a Bronze Medal.

The winner of The Amateur Championship, on the basis they remain an amateur, will receive the following exemptions / invitations into: –

a) the 151st Open Championship being staged a few miles south of Hillside and S&A at Royal Liverpool G.C., England in July 2023;

b) the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National G.C.;

c) the 2024 U.S. Open Championship which will be held at Pinehurst No.2, North Carolina; and

d) a DP World Tour event to be determined.

The Runner-Up and two losing Semi-Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will receive an invitation to compete in a Challenge Tour event to be determined and will be exempt into the Final Qualifying for the 2023 Open Championship.

The losing Quarter Finalists, on the basis they are still an amateur, will also receive exemptions into Final Qualifying for The Open.

The Open Championship Amateur Series Winner

In a further boost to this year’s Amateur Championship The R&A announced a new exemption category for the 2023 Open Championship back in February.

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.

2023 Walker Cup

Should a Great Britain & Ireland player win the Amateur Championship they are guaranteed a place on this year’s GB&I Walker Cup team.

More Information

Click here to view the – R&A Amateur Championship Official Website

2022 Amateur Championship

Match Play Stage

Aldrich POTGIETER (RSA) won the 127th Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C., beating Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) 3&2 in the 36 hole Final.

Potgieter became the third South African winner after Bobby Cole at Carnoustie in 1966 and Jovan Rebula at Royal Aberdeen in 2018. He was also the second youngest winner in history after Matteo Manassero’s win at Formby in 2009 when he was just 16.

Aldrich Potgieter (Photo: The R&A / Getty Images)

The 17 year old South African built a 7Up lead in the morning round with a near flawless display of golf and despite not playing as well in the afternoon was sufficiently composed to see out the match. On the few occasions he got out of position his short game and putting quickly got him back on track.

Bairstow v. Potgieter Hole-by-Hole Scores (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Please click here to view the – Golfbox Match Play Results

Stroke Play Qualifying

Jonathan BROOMHEAD (RSA) earned medalist honours at the 2022 Amateur Championship with a 36 hole score of 135 (-7).

Jonathan Broomhead’s Stroke Play Qualifying Scorecard

Barclay BROWN (ENG) finished on the same score after a 65 (-7) at St. Annes Old Links, taking second place on count back. After their last nine holes on both courses were the same (aggregate 69) it came down to the last six holes. Broomhead recorded a total score of 46, two better than Brown’s 48.

79 players on 143 (+1) or better made the 64 lowest scores and ties cut to advance to the match play stage.

The lowest 30 players, i.e. those finishing in 50th to 79th place, were required to play in a Preliminary Round 1. The 15 winners of this Preliminary Round 1 then joined the highest finishers, i.e. those finishing in 1st to 49th place, in Round 2.

Here is the 2022 Stroke Play Qualifying leaderboard: –

Stroke Play Qualifying Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

Please click here to view the – Golfbox Stroke Play Qualifying Results

Pre-Qualifying

Gregor TAIT (SCO) won the inaugural 18 hole Pre-Qualifying (PQ) competition which was played at St. Annes Old Links. His 67 (-5) included eight birdies and three bogeys.

A minimum of 10 places were originally allocated to PQ by The R&A. However, as there had been 20 withdrawals from the main field, after the close of entries and prior to PQ starting, this number increased to 30 on the day of PQ.

31 players ultimately finished on 73 (+1) or better. As eight of them were on +1 there was an 8-for-7 play-off to determine which player missed out.

Following further withdrawals prior to the Championship starting an additional eight players were called up from the Reserve List. So in the end the final field included 38 players who had competed in the PQ event.

Here is the 2022 Pre-Qualifying competition leaderboard: –

img_1848-1

Pre-Qualifying Results (Graphic: The R&A / Golfbox Scoring)

For more information on this championship please click here – The Amateur Championship – 2022 Preview & Results Article

A Short History of The Amateur

The Amateur Championship was first played in April 1885 at Royal Liverpool G.C. Allan Macfie (SCO) was the first champion beating Horace Hutchinson (ENG) 7&6 in the Final.

Up until the Second World War it was a hugely prestigious event and in many of these early years was afforded a much higher standing in the game than The Open Championship. Players like Johnny Ball (ENG), Harold Hilton (ENG) and Freddie Tait (SCO) were all amateurs and as good if not better than most of the professionals of the day.

With only modest rewards available in the professional game many of the better players simply stayed amateur. The great American Bobby Jones, who won The Amateur in 1930 on the way to his Grand Slam, remains the most well known career amateur.

Even after the war players remained amateur for much longer and famous names like Frank Stranahan (USA), Joe Carr (IRE), Sir Michael Bonallack (ENG) and Peter McEvoy (ENG) all built their reputations on Amateur Championship wins.

With the growth and transformation of the professional game from the early 1980s onwards both the better players and the media increasingly started to turn their backs on the amateur game.

Save for exceptional cases like Gary Wolstenholme (ENG) all continuity has been lost over the last 30 years and most of the young golfing stars of today rarely play any more than 2 or 3 Amateurs before being lured into the pro ranks by the potentially huge rewards on offer.

Past Winners

The greatest player in the history of The Amateur is Johnny Ball. The Hoylake man won the Championship a record 8 times between 1888 and 1912.

Only three other players have won the competition more than twice; Sir Michael Bonallack (5), Harold Hilton (4) and Joe Carr (3). Bonallack amazingly won it three years in a row between 1968-1970. The last person to retain The Amateur was Peter McEvoy in 1977 and ’78.

Prior to Aldrich Pogieter’s win in 2022 the previous 10 winners of The Amateur Championship were: –

2021 Laird Shepherd (ENG) – Nairn G.C.
2020 Joe Long (ENG) – Royal Birkdale G.C.
2019 James Sugrue (IRL) – Portmarnock G.C.
2018 Jovan Rebula (RSA) – Royal Aberdeen G.C.
2017 Harry Ellis (ENG) – Royal St. George’s G.C.
2016 Scott Gregory (ENG) – Royal Porthcawl G.C.
2015 Romain Langasque (FRA) – Carnoustie G.L.
2014 Bradley Neil (SCO) – Royal Portrush G.C.
2013 Garrick Porteous (ENG) – Royal Cinque Ports G.C.
2012 Alan Dunbar (IRL) – Royal Troon G.C.

A great achievement and honour for all of the players listed above. However, looking through the names reminds us of how incredibly tough golf is and that wins in the biggest amateur events are no guarantee of success in the professional game.

Click here to view a complete list of – Past Amateur Championship Winners

Click here to view a complete list of – Past Amateur Stroke Play Qualifying Medalists

ME.

The St. Andrews Links Trophy – 2023 Preview & Results

Posted on 05/06/2023 by Golf Bible

11th June 2023

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

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

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

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

Alex Maguire (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

Round 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Round 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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10th June 2023

Round 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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9th June 2023

Round 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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5th June 2023

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

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

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

Competition Format

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Field

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weather Forecast (as at Wenesday 7th June)

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

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

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

Prizes

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

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

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

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

The Open Championship

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

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

Competition Website

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

2022 St. Andrews Links Trophy

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

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

Connor McKinney (Photo: St. Andrews Links Trust)

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

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

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

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

Past Winners

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

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

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

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

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

ME.

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

ME.

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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

ME.

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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.

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.

The Peter McEvoy Trophy – 2021 Preview & Results

Posted on 24/08/2021 by Golf Bible

26th August 2021

Olivia LEE from Gerrards Cross G.C. won The 40th Peter McEvoy Trophy at Copt Heath G.C. with a 273 (-11) total.

It was the first year that entry had been open to girls and three of them, all England Internationals, dominated the event from start to finish. It’s remarkable how easy golf can look when you hit fairways, find greens and putt smoothly which all three of them largely did throughout the two days.

Olivia Lee Receives The Peter McEvoy Trophy From Mr. McEvoy (Photo: GolfBible)

Lee shot a 67 in Round 3, finishing with two birdies on the 8th and 9th, to take a 5-shot lead on -12 into the afternoon final round.

Lottie WOAD and Davina XANH (-7), who recorded a 67 and 73 respectively in the morning, were to be her nearest challengers.

With Lee having never won a national title before it was unlikely to be a ceremonial procession in Round 4 and so it proved.

Lee started the final round well getting up and down for par from the front of the 1st green, picking up the expected birdie at the short par 5 2nd hole and nearly holing her tee shot on the 3rd. However, soon after she started to lose her distance control with her irons and putting, perhaps unsure whether to attack or defend with her big lead.

By the time she failed to get up and down out of a green side bunker on the 13th she was back to -9 and with Lottie Woad now sitting at -10 up ahead and with two holes left to play the title was well and truly back up in the air.

Olivia Lee’s Round 4 Scorecard (Graphic: Copt Heath GC / Intelligent Golf)

Whilst Woad would par in comfortably the question was whether Lee could regain control of both her game and her inward emotions, in time to save the day. It should be noted Olivia played with a smile on her face and an impressively even temper.

A good birdie on the par 5 15th provided a positive initial answer as the Hertfordshire player moved back into a tie for the lead. A solid par on the 16th where an aggressive first putt left more work than she would have liked also provided encouragement for the task ahead.

However, on the 17th she pulled her tee shot between the two copse of trees on the left, partially blocking herself out. I am sure that in the same circumstances, with the Trophy on the line, 100% of the boys competing and probably most of the girls and spectators who were following the final group, would have attempted to draw a low recovery shot over the cross bunker and up the green. To the surprise of many Lee very conservatively chipped out 40 yards sideways back into the middle of the fairway. When her 75 yard pitch came up 20 feet short of the flag leaving a left to right severely up hill putt most observers feared the worse. A few minutes later when the putt was holed a huge cheer went up from the gallery as much in shock as admiration.

Olivia Lee’s Par Save on the 17th Hole (Video: GolfBible)

Lee then found the 18th fairway and pitched onto the home green again around 20 feet over the pin. She had a putt to win The McEvoy. Amazingly, with Woad practicing her putting behind the green in anticipation of a play-off, she then rolled this one in as well.

Olivia Lee’s Birdie Putt on the 18th Hole (Video: GolfBible)

It was a comeback under the pressure of competition and in front of a sizeable gallery that will live long in the memory.

Xanh, who had played so well on Day 1, couldn’t get the putts to drop today and finished third on -8, +1 for the final 36 holes.

Zach LITTLE (-7), Sam EASTERBROOK (-6) and Sebastian CAVE (-4) all finished strongly to secure the minor places.

McEvoy Trophy Results Extract (Graphic: Copt Heath GC / Intelligent Golf)

(l-r) Sam Easterbrook, Zach Little, Sebastian Cave, Peter McEvoy, Olivia Lee, Lottie Woad and Davina Xanh (Photo: GolfBible)

Sebastian Cave won the Malcolm Reid Salver for the lowest aggregate score in the U18 Boys’ Carris Trophy and McEvoy Trophy. I think this may have been the first time this prize has been awarded at Copt Heath as normally the McEvoy is played in April, a few months ahead of the Carris.

Sebastian Cave with the Malcolm Reid Salver (Photo: GolfBible)

Finally, a quick note on Lottie Woad who shot a best of the day combined 8-under with a 66 and a 68 to make her friend Olivia Lee earn the win. The Round 3 66 was also the lowest round of the second day (shown below).

Lottie Woad’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: Copt Heath GC / Intelligent Golf)

Click here to view the – 2021 Peter McEvoy Trophy Results

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25th August 2021

At the end of Day 1 Davina XANH leads the McEvoy Trophy on 133 (-9) after rounds of 64 and 69.

Her 7-under par first round 64 was the lowest round of the day. The putts didn’t drop as easily in the afternoon but with only a single bogey she was still able to post a very acceptable 69.

Davina Xanh Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Copt Heath GC / Intelligent Golf)

A strong group of girls generally took advantage of a 5,455 yard set up which seemed to favour them a little over the boys who were playing Copt Heath’s full 6,541 yards.

Xanh’s England Girls international team mate Olivia LEE is in 2nd place on 134 (-8) which included a 65 and 69.

Lee’s morning 65 also included seven birdies but came with a single bogey. In the afternoon she briefly moved into the lead on -10 after three consecutive birdies on the 9th to 11th holes but bogeys on 13 and 17 meant she ultimately had to settle for a 69 too.

Olivia Lee Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Copt Heath GC / Intelligent Golf)

Round 1 started at 6.45am with William McGhie from Lancaster G.C. hitting the opening tee shot. It was a cloudy day but remained dry throughout and with only a modest breeze blowing low scores were always going to be possible.

Sebastian CAVE and William GREEN both shot two 69’s for a 138 (-4) total and will start the final day 5-shots behind the leader.

Will COXON and Tom STEPHENS are a further shot back on 139 (-3).

13 players finished the day under par (see below) with a total of 41 players making the top 40 and ties cut which fell at +6.

McEvoy Trophy Day 1 Leading Scores (Graphic: Copt Heath GC / Intelligent Golf)

ME.

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24th August 2021

The 40th Peter McEvoy Trophy will be played on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th August at Copt Heath Golf Club in Solihull, England.

I will be updating this article with the score links and daily reports during the week.

Copt Heath Golf Club (Photo: Copt Heath GC)

Competition Format

The McEvoy Trophy is a 72 hole scratch stroke play medal competition played over two consecutive days by boys, and for the first time this year girls, aged under 18 (before 1st January 2021).

The McEvoy is arguably the most prestigious Great British and Irish (GB&I) amateur event to adopt a mixed entry and competition to date.

Traditionally held in April each year the COVID-19 pandemic meant last year’s competition, which was also going to be open to girls, was cancelled and this year’s has been put back to August.

All competitors will play the first 36 holes on Day 1, playing in groups of three. The leading 40 players (and ties) then return for the final 36-holes on the following day, which is played in two-balls.

In the event of a tie the result will be decided by a ‘sudden death’ play-off, utilising holes 18, 1 and 9. The winner receives a small replica salver and a voucher.

All other places will be decided on the 72 hole total score with ties equally placed. Players finishing in 2nd-8th also normally receive a voucher.

PM Trophy

The Peter McEvoy Trophy (Photo: GolfBible)

2021 Entries & Draw

A maximum of 84 players, 12 more than normal, was originally set by the organisers and despite initial entries easily exceeding that number a final field of 68 currently looks set to start the tournament; made up of 60 boys and 8 girls.

The playing of the Jacques Léglise Trophy (Europe v. GB&I U18 Boys match) in Sweden, the English Boys’ County Finals, the Faldo Series Wales Girls’ and Boys’ and the Ulster U18 Boys’ Open at Royal Portrush this week have inevitably impacted entries.

The handicap spread across the confirmed field is 0.1 to -5.5 indicating that a strong field will nevertheless still be gathering in Solihull.

On Day 1 all players will start from the 1st tee, which means Round 1 will commence at 6.54am and Round 2 at 11.54am, before a two tee start is adopted on Day 2.

Click here to view the McEvoy Trophy Day 1 Start Sheets

The players I expect to do well this week include (in alphabetical order):-

Hugh Adams (Hagley GC, England) – the 2018 U14 Reid Trophy winner has been playing steadily this year with top 10s in the Carris Trophy U18 (T8), McGregor Trophy U16 (T3), Scottish U16 Open (T8) and English Mixed U18 (T8).

Joshua Berry (Doncaster GC, England) – an unbeaten performance at the Boys’ Home Internationals (P4 W4) a few weeks ago came on the back of a good set of 2021 results, McGregor Trophy U16 (2nd), Scottish U16 Open (T2), Lagonda Trophy (T10), Willett Salver (T11) and Cleveland Salver (T7).

Seb Cave (The Belfry, England) – has come through strongly this year and is Warwickshire’s No. 1 amateur. His 2021 results include R&A British Boys (Rd of 16), Warwickshire Boys U16 (Champion), Carris Trophy U18 (T17), England Golf Midlands Men’s County Qualifying (Medalist), Warwickshire Amateur (Champion) and England Golf Midlands Boys’ County Qualifying (Medalist).

Matthew Dodd-Berry (Royal Liverpool GC, England) – perhaps his big breakthrough could come this week. 2021 results include R&A British Boys (SP T15), Faldo Series Midlands (T9), English Amateur (Rd of 32), Carris Trophy U18 (T4), Wilmslow Crow (T7), Cheshire Amateur (T9) and English Mixed U18 (T14).

Sam Easterbrook (Wishaw G&CC, England) – arrives on the back of winning the North of England U16 Open Amateur SP last week at Heswall and having got to the Rd of 16 in the English Amateur and winning the Scottish U16 Open Amateur Championship.

Jenson Forrester (Walsall GC, England) – having won the inaugural English Mixed U18 at Farnham earlier this year Jenson has also finished T8 at the Carris Trophy U18, won the Midland Boys Closed and finished T5 at the England Golf Midlands Boys’ County Qualifying.

Cormac Sharpe (Blairgowrie GC, Scotland) – there has never been a Scottish winner of the McEvoy but Cormac has every chance. This year he has played well in the Scottish Men’s Amateur (SP T4 / Rd of 16), Scottish Boys’ Amateur (3rd), East of Scotland Open Amateur (T4), ProDream USA Pollock Junior Masters (4th) and Stephen Gallacher Foundation Trophy (T2).

Lottie Woad (Farnham GC, England) – there are a number of impressive girls playing this year but Lottie is the best of the group. She finished 5th at the English Women’s SP Championship last week at Wallasey, was unbeaten at the R&A Girls’ Home Internationals (P6 W6), came 10th at the English Girls’ SP Championship, 1st at Sunningdale’s Critchley Astor Salver and 6th at the St Andrews St Rule Trophy earlier in 2021.

Few local players normally feature in The McEvoy but the West Midlands is well represented this year. Adams, Cave, Easterbrook and Forrester will all have the benefit of sleeping in their own beds and perhaps having played the course once or twice before.

Copt Heath Golf Club

Copt Heath Golf Club is the permanent home of The Peter McEvoy Trophy.

Copt Heath, despite its name, is essentially a parkland course. The current course was designed and built in 1913 by Harry Colt, the famous architect, and is predominantly flat but well protected with around 95 deep bunkers.

13th hole, Copt Heath Golf Club (Photo: Copt Heath GC)

The men’s white tee course measures 6,541 yards and has a par of 71, made up of 2 par 5’s, 13 par 4’s and 3 par 3’s. The front nine is shorter at 3,216 yards (par 35) but is tighter. The more expansive back nine is played over 3,325 yards (par 36).

The setting up of a course for a mixed event is a new challenge for tournament organisers, one made even harder in the first year of a tournament’s playing where there is no past scoring evidence to fall back on.

The girls will primarily be playing off the ladies red tees, save for shorter 7th and 16th holes, and a course measuring 5,455 yards. The par will also be a 71.

In modern parlance the boys and girls will both be playing a course with an identical handicap index of 72.3 and a Slope of 133.

Weather Forecast

The weather forecast looks very promising for both competition days – dry with a gentle breeze.

Wednesday 25th August – Light Cloud / Wind 8 mph NE / Temp. Min. 14°C, Max. 19°C.
Thursday 26th August – Sunny Intervals / Wind 11 mph N / Temp. Min. 11°C, Max. 19°C.

Competition Background

Legendary British Amateur golfer Peter McEvoy OBE has been a member of Copt Heath for 56 years. If you would like to learn more about his career then click this link for my profile – Peter McEvoy.

Following Peter’s Amateur Championship victories in 1977 and 1978 Copt Heath made him an honorary life member. He was also invited to suggest a way in which the Club could commemorate his achievements. He chose a 72 hole boys competition to be held annually at Copt Heath. It should be noted that Peter has been very keen to embrace the mixed format in recent years as this concept has taken off.

PM Amateur Champion

Peter McEvoy – 1977 Amateur Champion at Ganton GC

Starting in 1981, The Peter McEvoy Trophy was originally held during August. In 1985, at the request of the English Golf Union, it was moved to April, where it has stayed up until this year. This request was prompted by a wish for an early season national competition to assist the home nations with the selection of their teams ahead of the Boys Home Internationals and European Championships held later in the summer.

As Peter McEvoy’s playing achievements and influence grew, culminating with him becoming a Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) boys’ and men’s selector and Jacques Léglise Trophy and Walker Cup captain, so has the prestige of the competition. Of course having a strong past winner’s list also adds to the gravitas. The McEvoy remains one of the leading British junior golf events to this day.

2019 Results

With the 2020 event cancelled due to COVID-19 the last playing of the McEvoy Trophy came in 2019.

Tom MCKIBBIN (IRL) won the 39th Peter McEvoy Trophy after chipping in for a birdie on the second sudden death play-off hole. Aaron MARSHALL (IRL) and Melan DHAUBHADEL (ENG), who also finished on 277 (-7), were his unlucky opponents back in April 2019.

Tom became the third Irish winner following in the recent footsteps of Gavin Moynihan (2012) and Mark Power (2016). Now a professional Tom would notably fly out to America to win the Sage Valley Invitational the following week after his Copt Heath triumph.

Tom McKibbin (Photo: GolfBible)

Click here to view the – 2019 McEvoy Trophy Results

ME.

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Past Winners

The Peter McEvoy Trophy has an enviable list of former winners, reflecting both the quality of the annual entry but also the fair challenge presented by the course for players of this age.

A number of the players in the full list of past winners below have gone on to play in the Walker Cup and many more have enjoyed successful professional careers: –

1981 Rob Sallis (Wollaton Park)
1982 Jeremy Robinson (Woodhall Spa)
1983 Peter Baker (Lilleshall)
1984 Wayne Henry (Redbourn)
1985 A Morley (Belton Park)
1986 Cameron Mitchell (Copt Heath)
1987 Wayne Henry (Porters Park)
1988 Peter Sefton (Camberley Heath)
1989 David Bathgate (Sandiway)
1990 Paul Sherman (Ashford)
1991 Lee Westwood (Worksop)

PM Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood with the McEvoy Trophy in 1991 (Photo: Copt Heath GC)

1992 Brian Davis (East Herts)
1993 Steve Webster (Atherstone)
1994 Jamie Harris (Nevill)
1995 Carl Duke (Porters Park)
1996 Mark Pilkington (Nefyn & District)
1997 Philip Rowe (West Cornwall)
1998 Justin Rose (North Hants)

Justin Rose with the McEvoy Trophy (Photo: Tom Ward / Copt Heath GC)

In 2013 Justin Rose became the first McEvoy Trophy winner to win a Major Championship, when he won the U.S. Open at Merion GC. He of course went on to also win Gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

1999 David Porter (Stoneham)
2000 Zane Scotland (Woodcote Park)
2001 Ben Harvey (Dudsbury)

Ben Harvey (Photo: Andy Windsor)

2002 Matthew Richardson (Pinner Hill)
2003 Tommy Hunter (Ilford)
2004 John Parry (Harrogate)
2005 Tom Sherreard (The Ridge)
2006 Luke Goddard (Hendon)

Luke Goddard (Photo: Tom Ward)

2007 Matt Haines (Rochester & Cobham Park)
2008 Stiggy Hodgson (Sunningdale)

Stiggy Hodgson (Photo: Tom Ward)

2009 Max Smith (Newbury Racecourse)

Max Smith (Photo: Tom Ward)

2010 Rhys Pugh (Vale of Glamorgan)

Rhys Pugh (Photo: Tom Ward)

2011 Nathan Kimsey (Woodhall Spa)

Nathan Kimsey (Photo: Tom Ward)

2012 Gavin Moynihan (The Island)

Gavin Moynihan (Photo: GolfBible)

2013 Bradley Moore (Kedleston Park)

Bradley Moore (Photo: GolfBible)

2014 Haydn McCullen (Delamere Forest)

PM McEvoy Trophy

Haydn McCullen (Photo: GolfBible)

2015 Marco Penge (Golf at Goodwood)

Marco Penge PM 2015

Marco Penge (Photo: GolfBible)

2016 Mark Power (Kilkenny)

Mark Power McEvoy Trophy 2016

Mark Power (Photo: GolfBible)

2017 Charlie Strickland (Ham Manor)

Charlie Strickland with Peter McEvoy (Photo: GolfBible)

2018 Harrison Arnold (Castle Royle)

Peter McEvoy with Harrison Arnold (Photo: GolfBible)

Peter McEvoy Trophy Records

Most Wins
2 Wayne Henry (1984 Redbourn / 1987 Porters Bar)

Wayne Henry pictured with Seve Ballesteros at the 1984 Open at St. Andrews

Youngest Winners
Wayne Henry 15 years [exact birthday not known] (1984)
Bradley Moore 15 years, 7 months and 15 days (2013)
Mark Power 15 years, 10 months and 6 days (2015)

Lowest 72-hole winning score
272 (-12) – John Parry 2004 (68, 68, 68, 68)
272 (-12) – Nathan Kimsey 2011 (69, 67, 69, 67)
272 (-12) – Marco Penge 2015 (65, 71, 70, 66)

Highest 72-hole winning score
300 – Jamie Harris 1994 (73, 75, 75, 77)

Lowest Day 1 opening 36 holes score
132 – Melan Dhaubhadel 68 64 (-10)
132 – Aaron Marshall 65 67 (-10)
133 – Jake Amos 68 65 (-9)

Lowest 18 hole score
61 – Dermot McElroy 2011 (Course Record)

Best McEvoy Trophy Record
Bradley Moore – 4th (283 -1, 2012), 1st (287 +3, 2013), 2nd (281 -3, 2014), 2nd (280 -4, 2015).

Notable Former Competitors

In addition to the winners listed above many other notable amateur and now professional golfers have competed over the years.

These include (in alphabetical order): – David Boote, Jamie Bower, Barclay Brown, James Byrne, Stuart Cage, Paul Casey, Ashley Chesters, Lee Corfield, Mark Crossfield (@4golfonline), Paul Cutler, Jack Davidson, Joe Dean, Nick Dougherty, Luke Donald, Bradley Dredge, Scott Drummond, Paul Dunne, Simon Dyson, Greg Eason, Jamie Elson, Harry Ellis, Oliver Farr, Kenneth Ferrie, Oliver Fisher, Angus Flanagan, Tommy Fleetwood, Mark Foster, Ewen Ferguson, Grant Forrest, Conor Gough, Scott Gregory, Harry Hall, Tyrrell Hatton, Calum Hill, David Horsey, David Howell, Jack Hume, Simon Hurd, Andrew Johnston, Ben Jones, Simon Khan, Nathan Kimsey, Matty Lamb, Tom Lewis, David Lynn, Nick Marsh, Jack McDonald, Dermot McElroy, Ross McGowan, Robert MacIntyre, John Morgan, James Morrison, Jimmy Mullen, Bradley Neil, Max Orrin, John Parry, Jim Payne, Eddie Pepperell, Van Phillips, Alfie Plant, Tom Plumb, Garrick Porteous, Iain Pyman, Robert Rock, Jamie Savage, Chris Selfridge, Jack Senior, Callum Shinkwin, Jack Singh Brar, Lee Slattery, Tom Sloman, Jordan Smith, Michael Stewart, James Sugrue, Andy Sullivan, Graeme Storm, Connor Syme, Ben Taylor, Jonathan Thomson, Ashton Turner, Euan Walker, Sam Walker, Anthony Wall, Danny Willett, Oliver Wilson, Tom Whitehouse and Chris Wood.

ME.

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Tag Archives: Matthew Dodd-Berry

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