The International Amateur – 2025 Preview & Results

18th December 2025

The inaugural International Amateur will be played between Friday 19th and Monday 22nd December 2025 at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

Formerly known as the South Beach International Amateur (SBIA), which was played on 14 occasions from 2011 onwards, the event has this year moved 300 miles north west from Miami to Tampa.

The SBIA become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions, attracting an international field, and this looks set to continue in its new guise.

This article will be updated on a daily basis once play commences.

Format

The International Amateur is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes will be played on both Innisbrook’s Copperhead and Island Courses by the full field over the first two days.

After a top 64 and ties cut (previously top 72) the final 36 holes will be played exclusively on the Copperhead Course.

The Copperhead Course (Photo: Innisbrook Resort)

Players

192 competitors (down from the historic 210) are playing having paid the $510 entry fee.

9 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field. There were 14 last year with the highest ever entry being 19 in 2018.

I’ve listed all of this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current WAGR (as at 18th December): –

Ben BOLTON (ENG) #399
Joe BUENFELD (ENG) #1,751
Henry DALY (ENG) #NR
Lewy HAYWARD (ENG) #642
Joshua PRITCHETT (ENG) #2,079
Alexander ROWLAND (ENG) #3,115
Tom SCULLION (ENG) #1,647
Jake SOWDEN (ENG) #1,150
Jamie VAN WYK (ENG) #970

Other players in the WAGR Top 200 competing include (in rank order): –

Segundo OLIVA PINTO (ARG) #84
Lev GRINBERG (UKR) #107
Camden SMITH (USA) #183

Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club

The Copperhead Course, opened in 1974, is 7,209 yards long and plays to a par of 71. It is home to the PGA TOUR’s Valspar Championship and is known for its tough ‘Snake Pit’ three closing holes.

The Island Course, opened in 1970, is 7,194 yards long and plays to a par of 72.

Both courses were designed by Larry Packard and have a slope rating of 144 off the Black Tees.

The courses are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes.

Weather Forecast (as at 18th December)

The weather generally looks good for the duration of the event.

Fri 19th Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 12mph NW / Temp. Min. 10°C, Max. 25°C.
Sat  20th Dec – Sunny / Wind 7mph NE / Temp. Min. 13°C, Max. 25°C.
Sun 21st Dec – Sunny / Wind 7mph N / Temp. Min. 13°C, Min 25°C.
Mon 22nd Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14mph NE / Temp. Min. 15°C, Max. 27°C.

2024 South Beach International Amateur

Left-handed Miles RUSSELL (USA), then 16, won the 2024 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) title with a record breaking 264 (-19) total. Russell finished tied 2nd in 2023.

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Jim McClean and Miles Russell (Photo: SBIA)

Henry GUAN (USA) -17 finished 2nd, Alex HEFFNER (USA) -15 3rd, Lev GRINBERG (UKR) -14 4th and J. Holland HUMPHRIES (USA) -13 5th.

Here are the final results of the leading players: –

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SBIA Results – Leading Players

Tom BASTOW (WAL) and Daniel HAYES (ENG) finished on -9 to secure a tied 16th result.

Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -6 finished tied 33rd and Ben BOLTON (ENG) -5 tied 36th.

Here are the 72 hole results for the GB&I players who made the cut: –

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SBIA Results – GB&I Players

Here are the GB&I 36 hole scores showing the players who missed the cut: –

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Click here to view the – SBIA 2024 Leaderboard

Historic SBIA Results

Here is a list of past winners, provided with their winning scores and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: – 

2024 – Miles RUSSELL (USA) -19 / Cut -2
2023 – Ben JAMES (USA) -12 / Cut +1
2022 – Luke CLANTON (USA) -17 / Cut Ev
2021 – Finigan TILLY (USA) -15 / Cut -1
2020 – Cole HAMMER (USA) -16 / Cut Ev
2019 – Ben SHIPP (USA) -2 / Cut +8
2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

More Information

Click here to view the – The International Amateur Website

Click here to view the – The International Amateur 2025 Leaderboard

ME.

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

South Beach International Amateur – 2024 Preview & Results

22nd December 2024

Round 4

Miles RUSSELL (USA) won the 2024 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) title with a record breaking 264 (-19) total.

As the lowest WAGR ranked player in the field 16 year old left hander Russell backed up his favourite status to enhance his reputation even further.

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Jim McClean and Miles Russell (Photo: SBIA)

Henry GUAN (USA) -17 finished 2nd, Alex HEFFNER (USA) -15 3rd, Lev GRINBERG (UKR) -14 4th and J. Holland HUMPHRIES (USA) -13 5th. 

Zach ADAMS (USA) produced the best round of the day matching Russell’s 8-under 63 from Rounds 1 and 3. A tied 6th place result was the outcome of his final day charge.

The average Round 4 score at Miami Beach from the 77 remaining players was 71.08 (+0.08).

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SBIA Results – Leading Players

Tom BASTOW (WAL) and Daniel HAYES (ENG) finished on -9 to secure a tied 16th result.

Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -6 finished tied 33rd and Ben BOLTON (ENG) -5 tied 36th.

Given the starting field of 210 players these all represent encouraging results for all four GB&I players. 

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SBIA Results – GB&I Players

Click here to view the – SBIA 2024 Leaderboard

ME.

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21st December 2024

Round 3

Miles RUSSELL (USA) produced his second 63 of the tournament at Miami Beach, the best of the day, to move into a 3-shot 54 hole lead at the SBIA on -18.

Lev GRINBERG‘s (UKR) and Henry GUAN‘s (USA) 66’s kept them firmly in the mix on -15 and -14 respectively.

Probably too far back to challenge tomorrow Cooper CLAYCOMB (USA), Alex HEFFNER (USA) and Jack SCHOENBERGER (USA) are all tied 4th on -11.

The average Round 3 score at Miami Beach from the 77 remaining players was 70.56 (-0.44).

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SBIA Round 3 Scores – Leading Players

Daniel HAYES (ENG) -9 remained in the top 10 after a third round 69.

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SBIA Round 3 Scores – GB&I Players

ME.

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20th December 2024

Round 2

Lev GRINBERG (UKR) and Miles RUSSELL (USA) share the 36 hole lead at the SBIA on 131 (-10). Grinberg posted a 65 (-5) and Russell a 68 (-2) for their second rounds at Normandy Shores.

Adam BRESNU (MOR), Henry GUAN (USA) and Drew WILSON (USA) are all tied 3rd on -9.

Julio ARRONTE (MEX), a 63 (-8) at Miami Beach, and Hugo TROMMETTER (FRA) & Deven PATEL (USA), 64’s (-6) at Normandy Beach, posted the low rounds of the day.

The average Round 2 scores at Miami Beach and Normandy Shores were 71.01 (+0.01) [Round 1: 71.39 (+0.39)] and 70.91 (-0.09) [Round 1: 69.90 (-0.10)] respectively.

77 players made the top 72 and ties 36 hole cut which fell at record low of 139 (-2).

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SBIA Round 2 Scores – Leading Players

After both recorded Round 2 68’s at Miami Beach Ben BOLTON (ENG) and Daniel HAYES (ENG) -7 finished the day tied for 10th place.

Tom BASTOW (WAL) -6, tied 19th, and Charlie FORSTER (ENG) -4, tied 37th, were the only other GB&I players to make the cut.

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SBIA Round 2 Scores – GB&I Players

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19th December 2024

Round 1

Cooper CLAYCOMB (USA) took the early lead at the SBIA with a blemish free round of 62 (-9) at Miami Beach (par 71).

Highly rated junior Miles RUSSELL (USA), the lowest WAGR-ranked player in the field at #77, is 1-shot back after his own 63 (-8) also at the main tournament course.

Henry GUAN (USA), Carter LOFFIN (USA), Cooper SMITH (USA) and Dylan TEETER (USA) all produced the best score at co-hosting Normandy Shores (par 70); a 6-under 64.

The average Round 1 scores at Miami Beach and Normandy Shores were 71.39 (+0.39) and 69.90 (-0.10) respectively. 

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SBIA Round 1 Scores – Leading Players

Tom BASTOW (WAL) -5 (NS), Ben BOLTON (ENG) -4 (NS), Daniel HAYES (ENG) -4 (NS), Tom SCULLION (ENG) -2 (MB), Jake HIBBERT (ENG) -1 (MB) and Kris KIM (ENG) -1 (NS) all made encouraging under par starts to the tournament.

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SBIA Round 1 Scores – GB&I Players

ME.

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16th December 2024

The 14th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th-22nd December 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

Screenshot 2024-12-18 at 19.26.51

First played in 2011 the SBIA has quickly become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions, attracting an international field.

This article will be updated on a daily basis once play commences.

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. by the full field over the first two days.

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

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Miami Beach Golf Club

Players

A maximum field of 210 players are permitted with the entry fee set at $465.

14 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field, a number of whom are studying at U.S. colleges. There were also 14 last year with the highest ever entry being 19 in 2018.

I’ve listed all of this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current WAGR (as at 16th December): –

Tom BASTOW (WAL) #619
Max BERRISFORD (ENG) #N/R
Ben BOLTON (ENG) #398
Charlie FORSTER (ENG) #161
Daniel HAYES (ENG) #423
Jake HIBBERT (ENG) #2,783
Kris KIM (ENG) #380
Cameron MUKHERJEE (SCO) #1,372
Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) #1,631
Sam MUKHERJEE (ENG) #1,641
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #938
Luke POULTER (ENG) #328
Alexander ROWLAND (ENG) #2,360
Tom SCULLION (ENG) #883

Other players in the WAGR Top 200 competing include (in rank order): –

Miles RUSSELL (USA) #77
Deven PATEL (USA) #83
Jackson HERRINGTON (USA) #129
Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) #139
Lev GRINBERG (UKR) #146

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it frequently does here.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the tournament.

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Normandy Shores Golf Club

Weather Forecast (as at 16th December)

The weather generally looks good for the duration of the event albeit the wind shouldn’t be under-estimated as it normally proves to be a factor on both of these flat exposed coastal courses.

Tue 19th Dec – Thundery Showers / Wind 7 mph SE / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 26°C.
Wed  20th Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 9 mph NW / Temp. Min. 11°C, Max. 26°C.
Thu 21st Dec – Sunny / Wind 10 mph NW / Temp. Min. 9°C, Min 22°C.
Fri 22nd Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 13 mph NE / Temp. Min. 13°C, Max. 23°C.

SBIA Website Link

Click here to view the – SBIA Website

2023 South Beach International Amateur

Ben JAMES (USA) won the 2023 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) by 2 shots with a 271 (-12) total.

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Ben James (Photo: SBIA)

His nearest challengers were Michael LA SASSO (USA) and Miles RUSSELL (USA) who tied for 2nd place.

Here are the final results of the leading players: –

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SBIA Results – Leading Players

Here are the 72 hole results for the GB&I players who made the cut: –

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SBIA Results – GB&I Only After 72 Holes

Here are the GB&I 36 hole scores: –

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SBIA Scores – GB&I Only After 36 Holes

Click here to view the – SBIA 2023 Final Results

Historic Results

Here is a list of past winners, provided with their winning scores and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: – 

2024 – Miles RUSSELL (USA) -19 / Cut -2
2023 – Ben JAMES (USA) -12 / Cut +1
2022 – Luke CLANTON (USA) -17 / Cut Ev
2021 – Finigan TILLY (USA) -15 / Cut -1
2020 – Cole HAMMER (USA) -16 / Cut Ev
2019 – Ben SHIPP (USA) -2 / Cut +8
2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

ME.

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

South Beach International Amateur – 2023 Preview & Results

22nd December 2023

Ben JAMES (USA) won the 2023 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) with a 271 (-12) total.

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Ben James (Photo: SBIA)

James shot a final round 68 (-3) at Miami Beach G.C. which included four birdies to take the prestigious title by 2-shots.

His nearest challengers, Michael LA SASSO (USA) and Miles RUSSELL (USA), both shot even par 71’s to tie for 2nd place.

Four European’s, Loran APPEL (NED) & Kiko COELHO (POR)-8 tied 4th and Quentin DEBOVE (FRA) & Mats EGE (NOR) -7 tied 6th, finished in the top 10.

Pleasingly the best round of the day came from England’s Charlie FORSTER whose 64 (-7) included a back nine of just 29 shots as well as an eagle two on the 347 yard par 4 16th. A tied 13th place at the SBIA was the best result of his short career.

Scoring was much improved from yesterday with an average score of 71.77 (+0.77) seen from the 86 players who completed the final round.

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SBIA Results

There were good performances from Tom BASTOW (WAL) and Luke POULTER (ENG) both of whom went under par in the fourth round to finish tied 23rd (-2) and tied 40th (+1) respectively.

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SBIA GB&I Only Results

Click here to view the – SBIA 2023 Results

ME

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21st December 2023

Michael LA SASSO (USA) and Miles RUSSELL (USA) -10 will take a 1-shot lead over Mats EGE (NOR) and 2023 U.S. Walker Cup team member Ben JAMES (USA) into the final round of the SBIA.

Tom BASTOW (WAL) remains the leading GB&I player in the event albeit a 3-over 74 saw him fall down the leaderboard to tied 30th on -1.

Jay MENDELL (USA) shot a best of the day 65 (-6), all the more impressive when one considers that only 17 players were able to break par. 

The reduced field of 88 players generally found Miami Beach a tougher proposition in Round 3 with the average score rising to 73.49 (+2.49) as high winds in south Florida continued to add to the challenge.

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SBIA Round 3 Top 10 Leaderboard

The remaining GB&I players struggled to make any impression in Round 3 with Luke POULTER (ENG) producing the best score with his 73 (+2).

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SBIA Round 3 GB&I Only Leaderboard

ME

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20th December 2023

Michael LA SASSO (USA) moved into the lead on Day 2 after posting a 64 (-6) at Normandy Shores (NS).

15 year old Miles RUSSELL (USA) is 1-shot further back on -10 after he rose through the field with a bogey free 60 (-10), tieing the course record at NS.

Tom BASTOW (WAL) is the leading GB&I player after 36 holes; he added an even par 71 at Miami Beach (MB) to sit on -4 for the tournament.

88 players, a record for the SBIA, made the top 72 and ties cut which fell at 142 (+1).

In Round 2 MB (par 71) played to an average score of 73.34 (+2.34) and NS (par 70) to an average score of 71.70 (+1.70) as strong winds generally made scoring tougher.

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SBIA Round 2 Top 10 Leaderboard

Joseph PAGDIN (ENG) 138 -3, Charlie FORSTER (ENG) 141 Ev, Luke POULTER (ENG) 141 Ev and Harley SMITH (ENG) 142 (+1) joined Bastow in making the cut. 

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SBIA Round 2 GB&I Only Leaderboard

ME

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19th December 2023

Mats EGE (NOR) leads the South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) after an opening 64 (-7) around Miami Beach G.C (MB). The East Tennessee State Senior, who is the second highest ranked player in the field, finished his bogey free round strongly with five birdies in his closing six holes.

Marco TRSTENJAK (CAN) shot a 64 (-6) at Normandy Shores G.C. (NS), with a bogey on the par 3 17th hole, to finish his round one shot back of the leader.

Florida-based Joe PAGDIN (ENG) was the leading GB&I player after 18 holes; his 65 (-5) at NS, which included a joint best seven birdies, saw him finish the day tied 3rd.

In Round 1 MB (par 71) played to an average score of 71.67 (+0.67) and NS (par 70) to an average score of 70.83 (+0.83).

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SBIA Round 1 Top 10 Leaderboard

In addition to Pagdin Tom BASTOW (ENG) 66 -4 NS, Seán KEELING (IRL) 69 -2 MB and Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) 70 -1 MB were amongst the 80 players to break par on Day 1.

The SBIA has a 36-hole cut which sees only the top 72 and ties progress to the final two rounds on Thursday and Friday. 208 players started the competition.

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SBIA Round 1 GB&I Only Leaderboard

ME

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8th December 2023 (Updated 15th December 2023)

The 13th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th-22nd December 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

First played in 2011 the SBIA has quickly become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions, attracting a high quality international field.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available and daily once play commences.

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. by the full field over the first two days.

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

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Miami Beach Golf Club

Players

A maximum field of 210 players are permitted with the entry fee set at $450.

14 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field, a number of whom are studying at U.S. colleges. Josh HILL (ENG) was a late withdrawal. There were 16 last year with the highest ever entry being 19 in 2018.

I’ve listed all of this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current WAGR (as at 13th December): –

Tom BASTOW (WAL) #1,569
Henry DALY (ENG) #2,188
Jake FOLEY (IRL) #2,221
Charlie FORSTER (ENG) #867
Jake HIBBERT (ENG) #1,395
Patrick KEELING (IRL) #1,406
Seán KEELING (IRL) #360
Kris KIM (ENG) #387
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #1,509
Luke POULTER (ENG) #422
David SHIEL (IRL) #1,923
Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) #1,129
Harley SMITH (ENG) #872
Brandon ST JOHN (IRL) #2,468

Other players in the WAGR Top 200 competing include (in rank order): –

Ben JAMES (USA) #7
Mats EGE (NOR) #35
Connor JONES (USA) #90
Stephen CAMPBELL JR (USA) #108
Jacob SOSA (USA) #108
Owen STAMPER (USA) #126
Michael LA SASSO (USA) #131
Quentin DEBOVE (FRA) #135
Deven PATEL (USA) #158
George DUANGMANEE (USA) #163
Finn KOELLE
(GER) #167
Segundo OLIVA PINTO (ARG) #198
Blades BROWN
(USA) #200

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it frequently does here.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the tournament.

DCIM100MEDIA

Normandy Shores Golf Club

Weather Forecast (as at 15th December)

The weather generally looks good for the duration of the event albeit the wind shouldn’t be under-estimated as it normally proves to be a factor on both of these flat exposed coastal courses.

Tue 19th Dec. – Sunny / Wind 12mph NE / Temp. Min. 11°C, Max. 19°C.
Wed  20th Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 15mph NE / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 21°C.
Thu 21st Dec – Cloudy, Showers PM / Wind 15mph NW / Temp. Min. 17°C, Min 24°C.
Fri 22nd Dec – Showers AM, Cloudy / Wind 13mph E / Temp. Min. 16°C, Max. 25°C.

SBIA Website Links

Click here to view the – SBIA 2023 Leaderboard

Click here to view the – SBIA 2023 Pairings

Click here to view the – SBIA Website

2022 South Beach International Amateur

Luke CLANTON (USA) beat Henry GUAN (USA) on the first sudden death play-off hole with a par after 14 year old Guan found water off the tee. Both players had finished on 266 (-17) in regulation play.

Clanton, who is now a sophomore at Florida State University, added the South Beach International Amateur title to the Azalea Invitational and North and South Amateur wins which he also secured in 2022.

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Luke Clanton (Photo: SBIA)

Here is the final scoreboard from the 2022 competition: –

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The Final Results (Graphic: SBIA)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) was the leading GB&I player, tied 10th on -9.

Luke POULTER (ENG) finished tied 14th on -8, Gregor TAIT (SCO) -4 tied 33rd and Archie DAVIES (WAL) & Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) -3 41st.

Here are the final scores of the GB&I players who made the cut: –

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The Final GB&I Results (Graphic: SBIA)

Nine other GB&I players missed the cut as shown below in the 36 hole scores: –

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The Round 2 GB&I Player Scores (Graphic: SBIA)

Historic Results

Here is a list of past winners, provided with their winning scores and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: –

2022 – Luke CLANTON (USA) -17 / Cut Ev
2021 – Finigan TILLY (USA) -15 / Cut -1
2020 – Cole HAMMER (USA) -16 / Cut Ev
2019 – Ben SHIPP (USA) -2 / Cut +8
2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

ME.

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

South Beach International Amateur – 2022 Preview & Results

Thursday 22nd December 2022

Luke CLANTON (USA) beat Henry GUAN (USA) on the first sudden death play-off hole, the par 5 15th, with a par after 14 year old Guan found the water that borders the right side of the fairway.

Both players had finished on 266 (-17) in regulation play. This was after a dramatic conclusion to the 72nd hole at Miami Beach G.C. where Clanton holed a 15 footer for par before Guan birdied from 8 feet to take us into extra time.

Clanton produced a great final round 66 (-5) which included six birdies to force the play off with Guan who had started the day with a 3-shot lead. 14 year old Guan should be proud of his performance and his 69 was hugely impressive given the pressure he would have been feeling. 

Screenshot 2022-12-22 at 22.16.09

Luke Clanton’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

Clanton, who is a freshman at Florida State University, added the South Beach International Amateur title to the Azalea Invitational and North and South Amateur wins he had already earned earlier this year.

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Luke Clanton (Photo: SBIA)

The final scoreboard was understandably dominated by players from the USA.

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The Final Results (Graphic: SBIA)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) was the leading GB&I player; a 67 on the final day lifting him to tied 10th on -9.

Luke POULTER (ENG) backed up his win in last week’s Willow Cup by finishing tied 14th on -8. This was a real break-out performance for him in a high class field.

Gregor TAIT (SCO) -4 finished a creditable tied 33rd after a final round 68 with Archie DAVIES (WAL) and Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) -3 41st our only other players to complete the tournament with under par scores.

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The Final GB&I Results (Graphic: SBIA)

The average score in the final round was 71.58 (+0.58). With the course dried out there were no preferred lies in the fourth round.

Click here to view the – SBIA 2022 Results

ME.

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Wednesday 21st December 2022

86 players made the cut and following heavy overnight rain benefitted from ‘lift, clean and place’ rules for the third round.

Young Henry GUAN (USA) from Texas showed few signs of nerves as he produced a 4-under 67 to extend his lead to three shots in the South Beach International. Seven birdies were partially erased by a bogey on the 6th and a double on the par 5 10th.

Screenshot 2022-12-22 at 09.31.18

Henry Guan’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

Luke CLANTON (USA), the reigning North & South Amateur champion, -12 moved up to 2nd place with a 65 whilst George DUANGAMANEE (USA) and Deven PATEL (USA) -11, in tied 3rd, remain in striking distance.

Luke POULTER (ENG)  and Nels SURTANI (USA) produced the best two rounds of the day with superb 7-under 64’s.

The average score from the reduced field in Round 3 was 70.17 (-0.83) with 44 of the 86 players breaking par. 

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The Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: SBIA)

Luke POULTER (ENG) stole the GB&I headlines with his blemish free 64 (-7) lifting him 35 places to  tied 9th.

Screenshot 2022-12-22 at 09.14.54

Luke Poulter’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), now up to tied 33rd, continued his comeback from a lacklustre opening round with a 67 in the third round. 

Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) was the only other home player to produce an under par round on Wednesday. His 70 leaves him in tied 39th.

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The Round 3 GB&I Player Scores (Graphic: SBIA)

ME.

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Tuesday 20th December 2022

Henry GUAN (USA) posted a second consecutive 65, this time at Normandy Shores, to move into the lead on -11. Guan, who like yesterday’s co-leader Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA), is only 14 years old was bogey free and as you can see below has only one blemish on his two cards after 36 holes.

Screenshot 2022-12-21 at 08.19.50

Henry Guan’s Round 1 & 2 Scorecards (Graphic: SBIA)

Guan is one shot better off than John M. BUTLER (USA) who recorded a 67 at Miami Beach whilst the other co-overnight leader George DUANGAMANEE (USA) finished the second day in 3rd on -9. 

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The Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: SBIA)

Jack HEARN (IRL) leads the GB&I group of 16 players on -4.

Archie DAVIES (WAL) -3, Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) -3, Gregor TAIT (SCO) -3, Luke POULTER (ENG) -2, Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) -1 and Joe PAGDIN (ENG) -1 were also amongst the 86 players who made the top 72 and ties 36 hole cut. This was the second highest number of players to make the cut in SBIA history.

Nine GB&I players missed the cut. Most upset will be James CLARIDGE (ENG), who having gone out in 33 (-2) at Normandy Shores to sit nicely in the top 20, came home in 40 (+5) to miss out by 1-shot on +1.

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The Round 2 GB&I Player Scores (Graphic: SBIA)

The average score at Miami Beach on Day 2 was 72.60 (+1.60 over par) whilst it was slightly lower at Normandy Shores 71.39 (+1.39 over par). The windier conditions led to lower number of under par rounds – 61 v. 82 yesterday.

ME.

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Monday 19th December 2022

Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA), who is just 14 years old, and George DUANGAMANEE (USA) both recorded opening 64’s (-7) at Miami Beach to take the early lead in the South Beach International Amateur.

Screenshot 2022-12-20 at 11.59.53

Oscar Couilleau’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA)

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George Duangamanee’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: SBIA) 

John BUTLER (USA) recorded the lowest Round 1 score at Normandy Shores. His 64 (-6) left him tied 3rd and was one better than Ryan DUPUY (USA) and Cameron TANKERSLEY (USA) who are tied 5th. 

82 players from the field of 210 posted under par scores in Round 1. The average score at Miami Beach was 71.50 (+0.50 over par) whilst it was slightly higher at Normandy Shores 71.10 (+1.10 over par).

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The Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: SBIA)

Joe PAGDIN (ENG) and Gregor TAIT (SCO), tied 10th, are the leading GB&I players on -4. Joe shot a 67 at Miami Beach whilst Gregor took 66 at Normandy Shores.

Frank KENNEDY (ENG) and Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) -3 were just a shot further back with an encouraging overall total of 11 out of our 16 players under par after their first 18 holes. 

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The Round 1 GB&I Player Scores (Graphic: SBIA)

ME.

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14th December 2022

The 12th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th-22nd December 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

First played in 2011 the SBIA has quickly become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions. The SPWAR continues to rate it as having the 5th best field on the world amateur calendar.

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. by the full field over the first two days.

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

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Miami Beach Golf Club

Players

210 players have paid the $420 entry fee and will contest the 2022 SBIA.

16 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field, a number of whom are studying at U.S. colleges. There was 17 last year with the highest entry being 19 in 2018.

Given 2023 is a Walker Cup year a top 10 finish in an event of this magnitude would be a real selection fillip for any of our players.

I’ve listed all of this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current SPWAR (as at 14th December): –

James CLARIDGE (ENG) #463
Paul CONROY (IRL) #162
Archie DAVIES (WAL) #64
Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) #37
Charlie FORSTER (ENG) #378
Alfie FOX (ENG) #966
Jack HEARN (IRL) #302
Jake HIBBERT (ENG) #1,372
Seán KEELING (IRL) #673
Frank KENNEDY (ENG) #274
Alex MAGUIRE (IRL) #137
Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) #360
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #1,126
Luke POULTER (ENG) #1,278
Harley SMITH (ENG) #156
Gregor TAIT (SCO) #182

Other players in the SPWAR Top 150 competing include (in rank order): –

Ben JAMES (USA) #32
Tommy KUHL (USA) #38
Tobias JONSSON (SWE) #44
Connor JONES (USA) #52
Luke CLANTON (USA) #59
Ramus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) #68
Brett ROBERTS (USA) #73
Luis MASAVEU (ESP) #75
Garrett BARBER (USA) #76
Martin COUVRA (FRA) #84
Marco FLORIOLI (ITA) #86
Ty GINGERICH (USA) #87
Jack WALL
(USA) #96
Drew DOYLE
(USA) #105
David NYFJÄLL (SWE) #108
Bastien AMAT (FRA) #112
Mats EGE (USA) #115
Jack LUNDIN (USA) #121
Jackson BUCHANAN (USA) #130
Alex PRICE (USA) #141
Lucas CARPER (USA) #148
Luke GUTSCHEWSKI (USA) #149

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it frequently does here.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the tournament.

DCIM100MEDIA

Normandy Shores Golf Club

Weather Forecast (as at 14th December)

The weather generally looks good for the duration of the event albeit the wind shouldn’t be under-estimated as it normally proves to be a factor on both of these flat exposed seaside courses.

Mon 19th Dec. – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14 mph NE / Temp. Min. 17°C, Max. 25°C.
Tue  20th Dec – Sunny with PM Showers / Wind 14 mph E / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 26°C.
Wed 21st Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 12 mph N / Temp. Min. 17°C, Min 26°C.
Thu 22nd Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 11 mph SW / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 28°C.

SBIA Website Links

Click here to view the – SBIA 2022 Leaderboard

Click here to view the – SBIA 2022 Pairings

Click here to view the – SBIA Website

2021 South Beach International Amateur

Finigan TILLY (USA), who was born in London but is now based in California, completed a surprise wire-to-wire victory at the 11th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA). Tilly started the week ranked #318 in the SPWAR. His 268 (-15) total was one shot off Cole Hammer’s 2020 scoring record.

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Finigan Tilly (Photo: SBIA)

Clay AMLUNG (USA) -13 finished 2nd and Jose BALLESTER (ESP) -12, after closing with two bogeys, 3rd. 

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SBIA 2021 Final Top 20 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

English left hander Sam BAIRSTOW finished 4th on -9 after a joint best final round of 67.

Callan BARROW (ENG), John GOUGH (ENG) and Jake HIBBERT (ENG) -5 also finished in the top 20. 

Of the other GB&I players who made the cut Callum BRUCE (SCO) -2 finished tied 36th, Josef HACKER (ENG) +2 tied 59th and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) +4 tied 69th.

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SBIA 2021 GB&I Final Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Click here to view the full – SBIA 2021 Results

Historic Results

Here is a list of past winners, provided with their winning scores and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: –

2021 – Finigan TILLY (USA) -15 / Cut -1
2020 – Cole HAMMER (USA) -16 / Cut Ev
2019 – Ben SHIPP (USA) -2 / Cut +8
2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2022, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

South Beach International Amateur – 2021 Preview & Results

22nd December 2021 – Round 4

Finigan TILLY (USA) completed a wire-to-wire victory at the 11th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) in Florida. Tilly, who was something of a surprise contender, showed no signs of nerves completing the opening six holes of his final round in 4-under. A double bogey on the 9th and a further bogey on the 11th were set backs but a birdie on the 12th settled the Californian and he parred in to secure the title by 2-shots. His 268 (-15) total was one shot off Cole Hammer’s 2020 record.

Tilly started the week ranked #318 in the SPWAR.

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Finigan Tilly (Photo: SBIA)

Clay AMLUNG (USA) finished 2nd, birdies on the 12th and 16th at Miami Beach G.C. lifting him on to the rostrum on -13.

A birdie on the 10th, and eagle on the 12th and a birdie on the 16th took Jose BALLESTER (ESP) to -14 and within touching distance of the leader. However, two closing bogeys saw the Spaniard drop back into 3rd place. 

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SBIA 2021 Final Top 20 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

English left hander Sam BAIRSTOW finished 4th on -9 after a joint best final round of 67. Bairstow has had an excellent 2021 and this high finish is further evidence of his increasingly world class status. 

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SBIA 2021 GB&I Final Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Callan BARROW (ENG) -5 will be disappointed with his final round, a triple bogey 7 on the 5th knocking the wind out of his sails, but should be pleased with an overall tied 17th result. John GOUGH (ENG) and Jake HIBBERT (ENG) finished with a 70 and 68 respectively to also break into the top 20. 

Of the other GB&I players who made the cut Callum BRUCE (SCO) -2 finished tied 36th, Josef HACKER (ENG) +2 tied 59th and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) +4 tied 69th.

The average score in Round 4 was 72.28 slightly lower than Round 3’s high point.

Click here to view the full – SBIA 2021 Results

ME.

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21st December 2021 – Round 3 

Finigan TILLY (USA) saw his lead reduced to 1-shot at Miami Beach G.C. on the toughest day of the tournament so far. An acceptable 70 took his total to -13 on a day where the winds were much stronger and a short suspension in play was necessary due to a risk of lightening as a storm blew across Florida.

Clay AMLUNG (USA) moved into sole 2nd place on -12 after a 69.  

A further shot back are Jose BALLESTER (ESP), Michael BRENNAN (USA), Oihan GUILLAMOUNDEGUY (FRA) and Palmer JACKSON (USA) who share 3rd on -10.

Jackson, who benefited from a hole-in-one on the 3rd hole, was one of four players to shoot 68 (-3), the low round of the day.

The average score in Round 3 was 72.68 reflecting the more challenging conditions.

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SBIA 2021 Round 3 Top 20 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Callan BARROW (ENG) is now the leading GB&I player. He will start the final round tied 7th on -7 after a 70 in Round 3.

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) -5 slipped back into a tie for 18th place with a 1-over round of 72. 

Callum BRUCE (SCO) and John GOUGH (ENG) are tied 27th on -4, Frank KENNEDY (ENG) -3 tied 34th, Jake HIBBERT (ENG) -2 tied 42nd and Josef HACKER (ENG) Ev tied 56th.

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SBIA 2021 GB&I Round 3 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

ME.

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20th December 2021 – Round 2 

23 year old Finigan TILLY (USA), a Graduate Student at University of California, Berkeley, backed up his opening round with a 65 (-6) at Miami Beach, a score which included eight birdies.

Tilly now enjoys a 2-shot lead over Clay AMLUNG (USA) -10 with Michael BRENNAN (USA), Oihan GUILLAMOUNDEGUY (FRA), Jack PARKER (USA) and Jack TURNER (USA) 1-shot further back on -9.

Both Guillamoundeguy and Turner are just 17 years old.

Wake Forest’s Brennan shot a best of the day 64 (-7) at Miami Beach whilst Kevin HUFF (USA) recorded a 62 (-8) to take the Day 2 low scoring honours at Normandy Shores. Huff bounced back superbly from an opening 74 (+3) at Miami Beach to move into the Top 20.

The average Round 2 score at Miami Beach (par 71) was 71.73 with Normandy Shores (par 70) coming in at 69.45. On a near perfect day for golf these scores were slightly lower than we saw in Round 1.

85 players made the cut which fell at 140 (-1), the lowest level in the tournament’s history.  

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SBIA 2021 Round 2 Top 20 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) and Callan BARROW (ENG) both enjoyed good rounds at Miami Beach to move on to -6 overall. They will now start Round 3 well placed in tied 12th.

John GOUGH (ENG) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) are tied 29th on -4 after a 68 at Normandy Shores and 71 at Miami Beach respectively.

Callum BRUCE (SCO) and Josef HACKER (ENG), tied 40th, both delivered at Miami Beach to comfortably make the cut on -3.

Jake HIBBERT (ENG) was the final GB&I player to make the cut coming in on the 140 (-1) mark.

img_0633-1

SBIA 2021 GB&I Round 2 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

ME.

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19th December 2021 – Round 1 

Oihan GUILLAMOUNDEGUY (FRA), Jean-Philippe PARR (CAN) and Finigan TILLY (USA) share the Round 1 lead after recording impressive 64 (-6) scores at the easier Normandy Shores course. Guillamoundeguy and Tilly recorded seven birdies in their rounds while Parr added an eagle to his five.

Tyler GOECKE‘s (USA) 67 (-4) was the best score on day 1 at Miami Beach.

The average Round 1 score at Miami Beach (par 71) was 72.03 with Normandy Shores (par 70) coming in at 70.21.  

img_0628

SBIA 2021 Round 1 Top 20 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

In addition to Finigan Tilly, Frank KENNEDY (ENG) -4 NS tied 7th, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) -3 NS tied 17th, Callan BARROW (ENG) NS, John GOUGH (ENG) MB & Luke HARRIES (WAL) NS all -2 tied 29th and Callum BRUCE (SCO) NS & Jake HIBBERT (ENG) MB -1 tied 52 have all made encouraging under par starts.

Gough and Hibbert can be particularly pleased having started their tournaments at Miami Beach.

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SBIA 2021 GB&I Round 1 Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

ME.

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19th December 2021

The 11th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th-22nd December 2021 in Miami Beach, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

First played in 2011 the SBIA has quickly become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions. The SPWAR continues to rate it as as having the 5th best field on the amateur calendar.  

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic rearing its ugly head again in recent weeks the field appears to be strong with a number of leading GB&I and other international players competing alongside some top USA talent. 

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. by the full field of 210 players over the first two days.

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

img_0623

Miami Beach Golf Club

Players

210 players have paid the $410 entry fee and will contest the 2021 SBIA.

17 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field, a number of whom are studying at U.S. colleges. The highest number to date was 19 in 2018.

I’ve listed all of this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current SPWAR (as at 19th December): –

Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) #51
Callan BARROW (ENG) #144
Marc BOUCHER (IRL) #302
Callum BRUCE (SCO) #133
Paul CONROY (IRL) #413
John GOUGH (ENG) #77
Josef HACKER (ENG) #739
Luke HARRIES (WAL) #480
Jake HIBBERT (ENG) #2,302
Jon HOPKINS (ENG) #775
Frank KENNEDY (ENG) #516
Andrew NI (SCO) #276
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #147
Jamie ROBERTS (SCO) #1,167
Niall SHIELS DONEGAN (SCO) #715
Harley SMITH (ENG) #158
Joe SULLIVAN (ENG) #564

Other players in the SPWAR Top 150 competing include (in rank order): –

Karl VILIPS (AUS) #31
Matthew SHARPSTENE (USA) #32
Palmer JACKSON (USA) #40
Garrett BARBER (USA) #43
Michael BRENNAN (USA) #46
Ben CARR (USA) #56
John BUTLER (USA) #68
Ryan GERARD (USA) #76
Cade BREITENSTINE (USA) #78
Marco FLORIOLI (ITA) #82
Mark GOETZ (USA) #83
Tom VAILLANT (FRA) #88
Aman GUPTA
 (USA) #95
Julien SALE
 (FRA) #101
Ben JAMES (USA) #103
Josh GILKISON (USA) #146
A. Segundo OLIVA (ARG) #147
Noah NORTON (USA) #147

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it frequently does here.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the tournament.

DCIM100MEDIA

Normandy Shores Golf Club

Weather Forecast (as at 19th December)

The weather generally looks good for the duration of the 2021 event albeit the wind seems to be swirling around on a daily basis this week.

Sun 19th Dec. – Sunny Intervals / Wind 12 mph N / Temp. Min. 18°C, Max. 28°C.
Mon  20th Dec – Sunny / Wind 9 mph E / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 27°C.
Tue 21st Dec – Sunny with PM Showers / Wind 16 mph SW / Temp. Min. 17°C, Min 27°C.
Wed 22nd Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 14 mph NW / Temp. Min. 11°C, Max. 24°C.

SBIA Website Links

Click here to view the – SBIA 2021 Leaderboard

Click here to view the – SBIA 2021 Pairings

Click here to view the – SBIA Website

I will be updating this article as the tournament progresses with daily reports.

2020 South Beach International Amateur

Cole HAMMER (USA) won the 2020 South Beach International Amateur by 5-shots with a record breaking 267 (-16) total. 

image

Cole Hammer (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Pierre VIALLANEIX (FRA) -11 finished second with Kelly CHINN (USA) and Zach TAYLOR (USA) -9 tieing for third place.

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SBIA 2020 Final Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Archie DAVIES (WAL) -4 was the highest placed GB&I player in tied 15th in what proved to be a largely disappointing event for our entrants. 

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SBIA GB&I 2020 Final Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Click here to view the complete 2020 Final Results – SBIA 2020 Leaderboard

Historic Results

Here is a list of past winners and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: –

2020 – Cole HAMMER (USA) -16 / Cut Ev
2019 – Ben SHIPP (USA) -2 / Cut +8
2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2022, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

South Beach International Amateur – 2020 Preview & Results

22nd December 2020 – Round 4 

Cole HAMMER (USA) won the 2020 South Beach International Amateur with a 267 (-16) total. He completed the tournament with a final round 69 at Miami Beach G.C. to extend his victory margin to 5 shots.

Four under par rounds in the 60’s, on his way to breaking Pierceson Coody’s 2018 winning score record by 5-shots, must have impressed a watching USA Walker Cup captain Nathanial Crosby.

image

Cole Hammer (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Pierre VIALLANEIX (FRA) -11 finished second with Kelly CHINN (USA) and Zach TAYLOR (USA) -9 tieing for third place.

Archie DAVIES (WAL) -4 was the highest placed GB&I player in tied 15th. In the 5th strongest field of 2020 according to the SPWAR this was arguably a career best performance for the Welshman. 

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SBIA Final Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Dan BRADBURY (ENG) finished strongly with a 68 to secure a tied 41st finish on Even par.

Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG) and Joe PAGDIN (ENG) were our only other players to make the cut with neither able to push on during the final 36 holes.

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SBIA GB&I Final Results (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Click here to view the complete Final Results – SBIA 2020 Leaderboard

ME.

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21st December 2020 – Round 3 

Cole HAMMER (USA) took control of the SBIA after a best of the day 62 (-9) in Round 3 at Miami Beach G.C.

Hammer was afforded the final tee time at Normandy Shores G.C. on Saturday after attending the USA Walker Cup team session in Orlando which finished on Friday. His decision to then travel south, the only member of the squad to do so, now looks like being a very good one. After a relatively lacklustre summer a win tomorrow will almost certainly secure his place in the USA team. 

Cole now leads Kelly CHINN (USA), the AJGA Rolex Player of the Year, Zack TAYLOR (USA) and Pierre VIALLANEIX (FRA) by 4-shots heading into the final round. Given his experience Hammer should go on to win but nothing can be taken for certain around the demanding Miami Beach course.  

Archie DAVIES (WAL) fell back to tied 11th after a 72 on Monday. As on Day 1 he again struggled on Miami Beach’s opening holes, particularly the 4th and 5th which have collectively now cost him 6-shots over two rounds. Nevertheless he showed his battling skills by getting back to even par before a bogey on the 18th took the edge off his back nine comeback. 

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SBIA Round 3 Leaderboard (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG), Dan BRADBURY (ENG) and Joe PAGDIN (ENG) stayed in the pack after all struggling to over par rounds in Round 3. 

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SBIA Round 3 GB&I Leaderboard (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

ME.

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20th December 2020 – Round 2 

Frankie CAPAN (USA) and Ben SMITH (USA) share the 36 hole lead at the SBIA on 133 (-8) after recording second rounds of 65 and 63 at Normandy Shores G.C.

Archie DAVIES (WAL) extended his run of bogey free holes to 31 with his own 65 at Normandy Shores and heads into Round 3 alone in 3rd place.

Conditions were near perfect on Sunday and many of the players scored well. Michael ROME’s (USA) 61 at Normandy Shores, which included nine birdies with 6 coming in his final 7 holes, was the highlight.

The 72 players plus ties cut fell at Even par (tied 65th place) with 74 players progressing. 

Miami Beach (par 71) played to an average score of 73.77 on Day 2, up by 1.5 shots on Round 1, and Normandy Shores (par 70) to an average score of 70.55, down by 0.61 shots on the opening round. To the extent these things can be assessed a Miami Beach then Normandy Shores draw therefore appears to have been favourable. 

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SBIA Round 2 Leaderboard (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG), Dan BRADBURY (ENG) and Joe PAGDIN (ENG) all joined Davies in the latter stages of the tournament. With 36 holes still to play and the field tightly bunched they still have every opportunity to achieve a high finish. 

Bradbury’s 69 included a homeward nine of 34 (-2) to comfortably make the cut on -2 overall. 

Jake HIBBERT (ENG), Tom MCKIBBIN (IRL) and Max O’HAGAN (ENG) all missed the cut by one shot. Hibbert was perhaps the most unfortunate shot a battling 70 (-1) at Miami Beach on Day 2.

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SBIA Round 2 GB&I Leaderboard (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

ME.

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19th December 2020 – Round 1

Calvin MCCOY (USA) from Colorado leads the SBIA at the end of Round 1. Playing at Miami Beach G.C. he shot a 65 (-6) which included eight birdies but also a double bogey on the 13th.  

Keller HARPER (USA), Jake MAPLES (USA) and Julien SALE (FRA) are all 1-shot further back. Maples’ 65 (-5) was the lowest round recorded at Normandy Shores G.C. on Day 1.

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s top 72 cut 92 players finished Round 1 on Even par (tied 63rd) or better. On Sunday all of the players will play their second round on the other host course.

Miami Beach (par 71) played to an average score of 72.27 (+1.27) in Round 1 and Normandy Shores (par 70) to an average score of 71.16 (+1.16).

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 SBIA Round 1 Leaderboard (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG), now a sophomore at nearby Florida Atlantic University, leads the way in tied 5th for the GB&I contingent after a 66 (-4) at Normandy Shores. Enrique’s round included 6 birdies including four in a strong finish over his last eight holes. 

Archie DAVIES (WAL) showed excellent fighting spirit on Day 1. 4 over par after 5 holes he produced six unblemished birdies in the remainder of his round at Miami Beach to more than recover his position.

Joe PAGDIN (ENG), playing at Normandy Shores, is tied 43rd on -1. 5 birdies were offset by 4 bogeys on an up and down day for the Walker Cup squad man.

Pleasingly Dan BRADBURY (ENG), Eric MCINTOSH (SCO), Tom MCKIBBIN (IRL), Max O’HAGAN (ENG), all on Even par, and John HOPKINS (ENG) on +1 are all still well within sight of the likely cut line.  

Here is a summary of all of the GB&I Round 1 scores / positions: –

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 SBIA Round 1 GB&I Leaderboard (Photo: southbeachinternationalamateur.com)

ME.

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17th December 2020

The 10th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th – 22nd December 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

First played in 2011 the SBIA has quickly become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions.

Unfortunately this year the organisers have been hampered by the USGA holding a USA Walker Cup practice session on 16th – 18th December, the Arnold Palmer Cup being rescheduled for 21st – 23rd December and the COVID-19 pandemic. As such the field appears a little weaker than we have seen in recent years. 

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. over the first two days.

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

Players

A field of 210 players have paid the $395 entry fee and will contest the 2020 SBIA.

10 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field, most of whom are studying at U.S. Colleges. The highest number to date was 19 in 2018 and there were 18 last year.

I’ve listed all of this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current SPWAR (as at 17th December): –

Dan BRADBURY (ENG) #250
Archie DAVIES (WAL) #623
Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG) #141
Jake HIBBERT (ENG) #1,212
Jon HOPKINS (ENG) #1,484
Eric MCINSTOSH (SCO) #778
Tom MCKIBBIN (N.I.) #66
Max O’HAGAN (ENG) #986
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #171
John PATERSON (SCO) #647

Tom McKibbin and Joe Pagdin are both members of the 2021 GB&I Walker Cup Squad and will be hoping for high finishes to boost their selection hopes.

Other players in the SPWAR Top 150 competing include (in rank order): –

William HOLCOMB (USA) #15
Ben SHIPP (USA) #20 – defending champion
Parker COODY (USA) #21
Travis VICK (USA) #25
Trent PHILLIPS (USA) #26
Cole HAMMER (USA) #30
Aman GUPTA (USA) #43
Chris GOTTERUP (USA) #49
Karl VILIPS (AUS) #62
Ryan GRIDER (USA) #69
James PIOT (USA) #79
Frankie CAPAN (USA) #94
Julien SALE
(FRA) #108
David FORD
(USA) #111
Matt MCCARTY
(USA) #114
Jamie WILSON
(USA) #116
Max MOLDOVAN (USA) #129
Ben CARR (USA) #131
Connor SCHMIDT (USA) #136
Kelly CHINN (USA) #137

Cole Hammer is the only member of the 16-man 2021 USA Walker Cup Squad that is competing. The SBIA is played just down the coast from Seminole G.C. where the match will be contested next May.

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it frequently does.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the tournament.

Weather Forecast (as at 17th December)

The weather looks good for the duration of the 2020 event with sun throughout and only moderate breezes blowing.

Sat 19th Dec. – Sunny / Wind 12 mph E / Temp. Min. 13°C, Max. 24°C.
Sun  20th Dec – Sunny / Wind 9 mph SE / Temp. Min. 16°C, Max. 26°C.
Mon 21st Dec – Sunny with AM Showers / Wind 13 mph S / Temp. Min. 13°C, Min 26°C.
Tue 22nd Dec – Sunny Intervals / Wind 13 mph NE / Temp. Min. 15°C, Max. 25°C.

SBIA Website Links

Click here to view the – SBIA 2020 Leaderboard

Click here to view the – SBIA 2020 Pairings

Click here to view the – SBIA Website

I will be updating this article as the tournament progresses with daily reports.

2019 South Beach International Amateur

Ben SHIPP (USA) won the 2019 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) after a play-off with Garett REBAND (USA). Both players finished on 281 (-2). This was the highest winning score in the history of the event reflecting the unusually wet and windy conditions.  

Ben Shipp (Photo: SBIA)

From a GB&I perspective Jake BOLTON (ENG) finished 4th on 283 (Ev), Ben JONES (ENG) 5th on 284 (+1) and Tom MCKIBBIN (IRL) 8th on 287 (+4).

Click here to view the – SBIA 2019 Results

Click here to view the – SBIA 2018 Results

Click here to view the – SBIA 2017 Results

Here is a list of past winners and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: –

2019 – Ben SHIPP (USA) -2 / Cut +8
2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2020, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

South Beach International Amateur – 2019 Preview & Results

22nd December 2019

Ben SHIPP (USA) won the 2019 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) after a play-off with Garett REBAND (USA).

Ben Shipp (Photo: SBIA)

Reband three putted his 72nd hole to finish on 281 (-2) and fall back into a tie with Shipp whose 70 (-1) was the lowest round of the final group. Shipp then went on to win the tournament on the second play-off hole.

With late afternoon storms forecast the organisers took the decision to implement a two tee start with players asked to play off the 1st and 10th tees in fourballs from 7.30am. Conditions remained dry for most of the day and the wind receded to more manageable levels when compared with the speeds seen on the first three days.

Reband shot a final round 73 whilst co-leader at the start of the day Karl VILIPS (AUS) could only manage a disappointing 75. Vilips ultimately had to settle for 3rd place on 282 (-1).

Jake BOLTON (ENG), the reigning Scottish Open Amateur champion, finished 4th on 283 (Ev) after a 71. He was the leading GB&I player this week and continues to rise up the amateur rankings (he’s now 37th in the SPWAR).

Ben JONES (ENG) was 5th on 284 (+1). Ben enjoyed a strong weekend, recording a joint best round of the day and the week today with a 67 which included 5 birdies. His 5th place lifted him to 13th spot in the SPWAR meaning he will finish the year as the highest ranked GB&I player.

Tom MCKIBBIN (IRL) also finished well today. His 69 saw him finish on 287 (+4) and he can be pleased with his tied 8th finish.

Barclay BROWN (ENG) finished tied 18th on +6 after a final round 72.

Joe PAGDIN (ENG) never quite got going at Miami Beach this week after a solid opening round at Normandy Shores and had to fight hard for his +9 total score and tied 25th finish.

Olly HUGGINS (ENG) climbed a few places with a final round 71. His 295 (+12) saw him finish in tied 37th.

Angus FLANAGAN (ENG) +16 and Andy GIBSON (SCO) +20 finished tied 58th and tied 72nd respectively.

Click here to view the – SBIA 2019 Results

ME.

__________________________________________________

21st December 2019

The 80 players who made the cut enjoyed a dry but windy day. Just 8 of the starting 18 GB&I players made it through for the two weekend rounds at Miami Beach.

Karl VILIPS (AUS) shot a 67 to move into a tie with overnight leader Garett REBAND (USA) on -5. Late birdies on 15 and 16 enabled Reband to post a 69 to draw back level with the Australian who finished a few groups ahead of him.

Four shots further back is Ben SHIPP (USA) who equalled Vilips’ 67, the two lowest scores at Miami Beach this week.

Jake BOLTON (ENG) remained well in the mix with a one-under 70 in Round 3. He heads into tomorrow’s final round on Even par and in sole 4th place.

Ben JONES (ENG) 71 and Barclay BROWN (ENG) 73 are on +5 tied 13th.

Tom MCKIBBIN (IRL) 76 and Joe PAGDIN (ENG) 73 are one shot further back in tied 17th on +6.

Andy GIBSON (SCO) and Angus FLANAGAN (ENG) could only manage a 75 and 78 respectively so fell back to tied 49th on +11. Olly HUGGINS‘ (ENG) 77 sees him in tied 56th on +12.

ME.

__________________________________________________

20th December 2019

Friday saw all of the competitors play their second course, be it Miami Beach or Normandy Shores depending on where they were sent for Round 1. The rain largely stayed away but the strong winds remained.

Garett REBAND (USA), a Senior at Oklahoma, retained the lead on -3 with a 1-under par round of 70 at Miami Beach.

Lucas ABRIAL (FRA), who was 2nd overnight, collapsed to an 81 at Miami Beach and ended up missing the cut.

Jannik De BRUYN (GER) and Garrett MARTIN (USA) moved up to tied 2nd on -2 after they both recorded 69’s (-2) at Miami Beach. The always impressive Karl VILIPS (AUS) finished the day 4th on -1 after a 68 at Normandy Shores.

Tom MCKIBBIN (IRL) starred for GB&I on Day 2; he’s now tied 5th after a 70 (-1) at Miami Beach. The score didn’t tell the full story though with his card including two double bogeys, two bogeys and seven birdies, including five in a row on his front nine.

Jake BOLTON‘s (ENG) level par round at Normandy Shores, which included four birdies, sees him go into the weekend playing alongside McKibbin in tied 5th on +1.

Barclay BROWN (ENG) +3 for the tournament is tied 13th. A double bogey on his final hole at Normandy Shores left him signing for a 71 (+1) and rueing what could have been.

Joe PAGDIN (ENG) and Angus FLANAGAN (ENG) both found the going tougher on Day 2 at Miami Beach. Pagdin stumbled to a 75 (+4) whilst Flanagan posted a 73 (+2). Nevertheless the Englishmen will go into the weekend still well placed in tied 20th on +4.

Ben JONES‘s (ENG) 71 (+1) at Normandy Shores included 15 pars. A couple more scores around par over the weekend, where he starts in tied 28th on +5, should lift him further up the leaderboard.

80 players, tied 61st or better, made the top 72 cut which fell at +8. The second highest cut mark in the 9 years the tournament has been played. It was +11 in 2011, the SBIA’s inaugural year.

Olly HUGGINS (ENG) +6 tied 37th and Andy GIBSON (SCO) +7 tied 47th were the two other GB&I players to progress.

Ben SCHMIDT (ENG) +9, Charlie THORNTON (ENG) +9, Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG) +12, Archie DAVIES (WAL) +14, Philip ROWE (ENG) +15, Sam ROOK (ENG) +16, Max MARTIN (ENG) +17, Jack BROOKS (ENG) +20, Curtis KNIPES (ENG) +20 and Jake HIBBERT (ENG) +23 all missed the cut.

ME.

__________________________________________________

19th December 2019

The main news on Day 1 was the weather. It rained most of the day with scoring conditions not helped by a 20mph north easterly wind which blew strongly across the two host courses.

Garett REBAND (USA) shot a 68 (-2) at Normandy Shores to take the outright lead on Day 1. Lucas ABRIAL (FRA) managed a 69 (-1) at the same course to secure 2nd place.

Joe PAGDIN (ENG) was the leading GB&I player in tied 4th after a scrambling 70 (Ev) at Normandy Shores.

Jake BOLTON‘s (ENG) 71 (+1) at the tougher Miami Beach was arguably an even better round given the conditions. Likewise Barclay BROWN (ENG) will be pleased to have left there with a 73 (+2).

Back at Normandy Shores Tom MCKIBBIN (IRL) and Angus FLANAGAN (ENG) both recorded 72’s (+2) to also do themselves no harm in the early stages.

Unfortunately many competitors, including a number from GB&I, played themselves out of the tournament on Day 1 unable to cope with the challenging conditions on two tough courses.

ME.

__________________________________________________

3rd December 2019

The 9th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th – 22nd December 2019 in Miami Beach, Florida (GMT -5 hours).

img_0206

First played in 2011 the SBIA has quickly become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions.

It has always attracted an international field and many of the world’s leading amateurs will again be competing this year.

I will continue to update this article once play commences.

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. over the first two days.

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

img_0214

Miami Beach Golf Club (Photo: Miami Beach GC)

Players

A field of 210 players have paid the $385 entry fee and will contest the 2019 SBIA.

The SBIA is expected to have one of the strongest fields in amateur golf in 2019. Only the U.S. Amateur (1st), The Amateur (2nd), Western Amateur (3rd) and NCAA Division I National (4th) will have been better.

Historically around 50% of the players are drawn from overseas with around 30 countries normally represented.

18 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are in this year’s starting field. The highest number to date was 19 in 2018. I’ve listed this year’s GB&I entries below (in alphabetical order) along with their current SPWAR (as at 16th December): –

Jake BOLTON (ENG) #103
Jack BROOKS (ENG) #276
Barclay BROWN (ENG) #700
Archie DAVIES (WAL) #468
Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG) #447
Angus FLANAGAN (ENG) #95
Andrew GIBSON (SCO) #1,493
Jake HIBBERT (ENG) #1,096
Olly HUGGINS (ENG) #201
Ben JONES (ENG) #18 – the highest ranked player in the field / Finished T2 in 2017
Curtis KNIPES (ENG) #124
Max MARTIN (ENG) #918
Tom MCKIBBIN (N.I.) #333
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #164
Sam ROOK (ENG) #780
Philip ROWE (ENG) #3,280 – Assistant Coach UNLV, 1999 GB&I Walker Cup (P3 W3)
Ben SCHMIDT (ENG) #80
Charlie THORNTON (ENG) #227

Other players in the SPWAR Top 200 competing include (in rank order): –

Karl VILIPS (AUS) #19
Garett REBAND (USA) #20
Jack TRENT (AUS) #23
Philip BARBAREE (USA) #25
Koen KOUWENAAR (NED) #32
Austin HITT (USA) #53
Ryan GERARD (USA) #54
Thomas HUTCHISON (USA) #63
Alex SCHAAKE (USA) #70
Julien SALE (FRA) #82
Ben SHIPP (USA) #83
Julian PERICO (PER) #97
Jannik DE BRUYNE (GER) #99
Palmer JACKSON (USA) #105
Marc HAMMER (GER) #120
Chris GOTTERUP (USA) #121
Charles LARCELET (FRA) #125
Blake TAYLOR (USA) #139
Rasmus NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) #144
Jamie WILSON (USA) #145
Carl FOSAAS (NOR) #163
Alexandre FUCHS (FRA) #166
Blake WAGONER (USA) #179
Tim WIDING (SWE) #193

The United States has 85 players in the SPWAR Top 200 so it is interesting that just 12 of them have entered this year’s SBIA. The Junior President’s Cup match taking place the week before in Australia will certainly have impacted the field. The non-entrants include the defending champion Pierceson COODY #15.

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it frequently does.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71.

img_0211-e1545084987917.jpg

Normandy Shores G.C. (Photo: miamibeachguest.com) 

Weather Forecast (as at 19th December)

The weather looks interesting with cool conditions forecast and a shifting wind set to make play interesting.

Thur 19th Dec. – Light Rain / Wind 19 mph NE / Temp. Min. 19°C, Max. 23°C.
Fri  20th Dec – Thick Cloud / Wind 21 mph NE / Temp. Min. 21°C, Max. 25°C.
Sat 21st Dec – Light Cloud / Wind 19 mph E / Temp. Min. 22°C, Min 26°C.
Sun 22nd Dec – Thundery Showers / Wind 20 mph SE / Temp. Min. 20°C, Max. 26°C.

SBIA Website Links

Click here to view the – SBIA 2019 Leaderboard

Click here to view the – SBIA Website

2018 South Beach International Amateur

The 2018 South Beach International Amateur was played in windy conditions with play on Day 3 ultimately having to be suspended.

Pierceson COODY (USA), a Freshman at the University of Texas and the grandson of 1971 Masters Champion Charles Coody, won the competition with a 272 (-11) total.

A fast finishing Manuel TORRES (VEN), who studies at the nearby Lynn University, shot an impressive 33 on his final back nine for a 66 (-5) to finish one shot back.

Jake BURNAGE (ENG) finished 3rd on 275 (-8). Jake shot a 64 (-6) at Normandy Shores on Day 1 to share the lead before playing very consistently throughout the remainder of the tournament; rounds of 70, 70 and 71 at Miami Beach enabling him to place.

Four other Englishmen made the cut. Jake BOLTON (+1) finished tied 21st, Joe PAGDIN (+3) tied 26th, Ben JONES and Max MARTIN (both +10) tied 62nd.

19 players from Great Britain and Ireland competed last year.

Click here to view the – SBIA 2018 Results

Click here to view the – SBIA 2017 Results

Here is a list of past winners and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: –

2018 – Pierceson COODY (USA) -11 / Cut +3
2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – Juan Pablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2019, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

December 2018 Men’s Amateur Rankings

5th January 2019

Throughout the year I analyse the two main amateur golf rankings, the SPWAR and the WAGR, to help us assess the performances of Great Britain and Ireland’s leading players.

This information is maintained on the Rankings page of the GolfBible website and is updated quarterly.

This is a short note to subscribers to flag up that the latest update covering the December 2018 Quarter period has now been added.

I also select a Player of the Quarter.

For Quarter 4 2018 I have chosen England’s Jake BURNAGE. Jake finished 3rd in the South Beach international Amateur in Florida in early December.

There are few significant events between October and December so it normally takes something exceptional at the South Beach International Amateur, now one of amateur golf’s leading events, to justify the award being made. Jake has followed in the footsteps of Ben JONES (ENG) who finished 2nd in 2017 to pick up the award last year.

img_0227

Jake Burnage (Photo: Burnage Family)

Pease click this link to be redirected to my Rankings page – GolfBible Rankings

ME.

Copyright © 2019, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

South Beach International Amateur – 2018 Preview & Results

22nd December 2018 – Results

Pierceson COODY (USA), a Freshman at the University of Texas and the grandson of 1971 Masters Champion Charles Coody, won the 2018 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) with a 272 (-11) total.

The pre-tournament weather forecast suggested conditions would be challenging for the 210 players in the field, particularly on Days 2 and 3 when very strong winds were expected. That certainly proved to be the case with winds of 25mph gusting to 50 mph recorded.

Coody made a solid start to the competition with a 67 (-3) at Normandy Shores (NS) on Day 1 before backing it up with a joint best of the day 67 (-4) at Miami Beach (MB). However, the SBIA was won in Round 3. Benefitting from his late tee time and the subsequent suspension of play due to the high winds he was able to complete his third round in the calmer conditions of this morning. His 64 (-7) at Miami Beach, which included eight birdies, was four shots better than any other player managed.

Despite taking a 6 shot lead into the final round a fast finishing Manuel TORRES (VEN) made the Texan sweat. Torres, who studies at the nearby Lynn University, shot an impressive 33 on the back nine for a 66 (-5) but was left rueing a final hole bogey.

Coody played the front nine in Round 4 in even par but started to leak oil on the back side. When he also bogeyed the last he was left signing for a 74 (+3) and relieved to hear he had secured a narrow one shot victory.

Ranked 183rd in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR) at the start of the week Coody now sits 40th after the biggest win of his career.

Jake BURNAGE (ENG) was our leading performer, finishing a clear 3rd on 275 (-8). Jake shot a 64 (-6) at Normandy Shores on Day 1 to share the lead before playing very consistently throughout the remainder of the tournament; rounds of 70, 70 and 71 at Miami beach testament to that.

I assume all of those rounds on the exposed links of Saunton G.C. came in useful when the wind started to blow in South Florida. With six birdies on his card in Round 4 and Torres’ late run he probably feels a little frustrated not to have been closer to the win and certainly the runner-up spot.

Nevertheless this is notable result for Jake who now sits 44th in the SPWAR. Just a handful of points behind Harry Hall amortisation over the next few days may still see him finish as GB&I’s leading golfer by the year end. Not a bad place to be going into a Walker Cup year.

img_0227

Jake Burnage at Miami Beach G.C. (Photo: Burnage Family)

Fellow Englishmen Jake BOLTON 71 NS, 70 MB, 74 and 69 (+1) finished tied 21st and Joe PAGDIN 68 NS, 73 MB, 74 and 71 (+3) was tied 26th.

The two other GB&I players to make the cut found the going harder over the final two rounds finishing tied 62nd on +10. Max MARTIN recorded rounds of 66 NS, 75 MB, 80 and 72 and Ben JONES, who finished tied 2nd last year, 71 NS, 71 MB, 74 and 77.

74 players made the 36 hole cut on Thursday which fell at 144 (+3) with each competitor having played a round at Miami Beach G.C. (par 71) and Normandy Shores G.C. (par 70).

The remaining GB&I players in the field all missed the cut: –

145 (+4)
Sam ROOK (ENG) – 71 NS 74 MB
Charlie THORNTON (ENG) – 71 NS 74 MB
David LANGLEY (ENG) – 68 NS 77 MB

146 (+5)
Robin WILLIAMS (ENG) – 71 NS 75 MB
Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG) – 67 NS 79 MB
Michael YOUNG (IRE) – 75 MB 71 NS

147 (+6)
Conor GOUGH (ENG) – 72 NS 75 MB
Conor RICHARDS (ENG) – 71 NS 76 MB
Tom MCKIBBIN (N.I.) – 74 MB 73 NS

149 (+8)
Daniel O’LOUGHLIN (ENG) – 74 NS 75 MB
Bradley BAWDEN (ENG) – 70 NS 79

150 (+9)
Thomas PLUMB (ENG) – 75 NS 75 MB 150 (+9)

152 (+11)
John GOUGH (ENG) – 70 NS 82 MB 152 (+11)

155 (+14)
Eoin LEONARD (IRE) – 74 NS 81 MB 155 (+14)

Click here to view the – SBIA 2018 Results

ME.

______________________________________________

17th December 2018

The 8th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th – 22nd December 2018 in Miami Beach, Florida.

First played in 2011 it has within a few years become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions.

It has always attracted an International field and many of Europe’s leading amateurs will again be competing this year.

Format

The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.

18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. over the first two days. Tee times between 7.30am and 12.19 pm (GMT -5 hrs).

After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.

Players

A field of 210 players have paid the $385 entry fee and will contest the 2018 SBIA.

In 2017 the SBIA was ranked 5th in terms of field quality by the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR). Only the U.S. Amateur (1st), The Amateur (2nd), Western Amateur (3rd) and NCAA Division I National (4th) were stronger. It is likely to be 6th in 2018 as the World Amateur Team has been played this year too.

A review of the 2018 entries suggests it will retain its status after this latest edition.

Historically around 50% of the field has been drawn from overseas with as many as 30 countries represented.

This year the highest ranked player competing is Tyler STRAFACI (USA) who is 19th in the SPWAR. Floridian Tyler is a junior at Georgia Tech. He was medalist at the 2017 U.S. Amateur, qualified for the 2018 U.S. Open and reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Western Amateur.

There are 19 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) playing this year. The previous highest number was 13 in 2014. I’ve listed them all below with their current SPWAR: –

Bradley BAWDEN (ENG) #404
Jake BOLTON (ENG) #483
Jake BURNAGE (ENG) #121
Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG) #2,949
Conor GOUGH (ENG) #338
John GOUGH (ENG) #267
Ben JONES (ENG) #123
David LANGLEY (ENG) #140
Eoin LEONARD (IRE) #295
Maxwell MARTIN (ENG) #1,053
Tom MCKIBBIN (N.I.) #1,067
Daniel O’LOUGHLIN (ENG) #191
Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #321
Thomas PLUMB (ENG) #136
Conor RICHARDS (ENG) #1,558
Sam ROOK (ENG) #510
Charlie THORNTON (ENG) #609
Robin WILLIAMS (ENG) #199
Michael YOUNG (IRE) #2,526

This event starts the countdown for me to the 2019 Walker Cup match and a high finish in Miami this week will certainly be rankings enhancing and lay down a nice early marker to the GB&I selectors.

In 2017 Ben JONES was our leading finisher, securing tied 2nd with an impressive -12 total. Harry HALL (ENG) -7 was tied 10th and Joe PAGDIN -4 tied 19th.

Click here to view the – SBIA 2017 Results

Courses

Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.

They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it often does.

Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the SBIA.

Weather Forecast

As one would expect the weather forecast looks generally good for the duration of the competition, albeit strong winds are expected to move around from day to day.

Wed 19th Dec. – Sunny / Wind 13 mph SE / Temp. Min. 20°C, Max. 27°C.
Thur 20th Dec – Thundery Showers PM / Wind 24 mph S / Temp. Min. 20°C, Max. 29°C.
Fri 21st Dec – Sunny / Wind 28 mph W / Temp. Min. 11°C / Min 22°C.
Sat 22nd Dec – Sunny / Wind 11 mph NW / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 21°C.

SBIA Website Links

Click here to view the – SBIA 2018 Tee Times

Click here to view the – SBIA 2018 Leaderboard

Click here to view the – SBIA website

History

Here is a list of past winners and the 36 hole cut marks for each year: –

2017 – Jacob BERGERON (USA) -3 / Cut Ev
2016 – Danny WALKER (USA) -4 / Cut +1
2015 – Jorge GARCIA (VEN) -5 / Cut +6
2014 – Gabriel LENCH (USA) -4 / Cut +3
2013 – Greg EASON (ENG) -5 / Cut +6
2012 – JuanPablo HERNANDEZ (MEX) -10 / Cut +3
2011 – Kelly KRAFT (USA) -4 / Cut +11

Following in the footsteps of Greg EASON it would be great to see a second GB&I winner in 2018.

ME.

Copyright © 2018, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.