28th May 2023
Liam NOLAN (IRL) won the 2023 Brabazon Trophy on Sunningdale’s New Course after shooting a final round 68 and over coming Zach LITTLE (ENG) in a sudden death play-off which lasted three holes.
Under the highest pressure Nolan demonstrated an outstanding short game as well as some clutch putting to boost his hopes of a GB&I Walker Cup berth later this year.
The 23 year old became the fourth Irish winner of this prestigious title following in the footsteps of Ronan Rafferty (1980 – tied with Peter McEvoy), Niall Kearney (2009) and Cormac Sharvin (2015).
It was Liam’s second victory of the year having won the South American Amateur Championship in Ecuador in early January. He had only returned to competitive play with a tied 18th place finish at the recent Irish Amateur Open after prioritising his education at the University of Galway, where he studies biomedical engineering, for most of 2023.
With his proud parents watching on Nolan said “The name and the history of Sunningdale Golf Club makes it one of the coolest places to win a golf tournament. There have been a lot of really good winners here in the past and to put my name on this trophy is amazing.”
“To share this moment with people who have been with you through thick and thin, especially my mum and dad, they’ve seen all the ups and downs so we’ll definitely treasure this moment for a long time.”
Liam Nolan (Photo: Golf Bible)
Whilst scant consolation after coming so close to winning the famous gold trophy Zach LITTLE (ENG) did ‘take home’ the George Henriques Salver awarded to the highest finishing U20 GB&I player.
Round 4
The final group of Seán KEELING (IRL) -6 and Liam NOLAN (IRL) -1 set off at 1.30pm. With Keeling having a 5-shot lead I chose to follow this group exclusively.
Unfortunately for the 16 year old protege he was unable to produce the start he would have wanted dropping shots in each of the first three holes. A sliced drive off the first tee, a misjudged short iron into the par 3 2nd and three putts on the third green suggested all parts of his game were feeling the pressure of the occasion.
The more experienced Nolan on the other hand made a very solid start to his round not missing a shot on the opening three holes but unable to convert a couple of good birdie chances.
Both players then missed the 4th fairway and ended up in the heather. Nolan was unable to save his par but Keeling settled himself with a good chip and putt for his first par of the round.
As the two Irish players walked to the 5th tee they passed the Zach LITTLE (ENG) and James ASHFIELD (WAL) group who had teed off at 12 noon standing on the adjacent 13th tee. News quickly filtered though that Little had chosen today to play the round of his life. The West Herts man had gone out in 29 and after pars on the opening holes of the back nine was -6 for his round and -2 for the Championship, just one shot behind Keeling and one ahead of Nolan. After he had hit a powerful drive down the left side of the par 5 the group of spectators following the final group collectively began to wonder if it may be time to walk in a different direction.
The famous 183 yard par 3 5th would with the benefit of hindsight prove to be one of the pivotal holes. After Keeling had found the centre of the green Nolan overshot it and ended up rolling down a path leading from the 6th tee. Fortunately his ball had not gone into the surrounding gorse and he was able to take a free drop. Then from fully 70 yards, to the astonishment of the crowd, he played an exquisite blind chip which landed on the edge of the green and rolled to within two feet of the hole. From looking at a potentially big number on the tee he had managed to save his par.
Whilst Nolan scrambled a par after a poor drive Keeling birdied the long par 5 6th, to move back to -4, and in fact only just missed out on an eagle after two high quality shots got him on the green. The crowd who had largely stayed with him breathed a sigh of relief that their decision may ultimately be vindicated.
Little secured his birdie on the 13th to move to -3 and with the wind noticeably strengthening at this point a gambling man would have certainly backed the Englishman to win if he could close out his round.
On the next hole Keeling, who was still leading the Championship at this point on -4, pulled his drive to the left of the fairway and ended up under a lone gorse bush. After taking a drop behind it he played up short of the green and got up and down from 40 feet for a ‘good’ bogey. It would have been confidence boosting but for the fact that Nolan facilitated a two shot swing by securing a birdie from 12 feet after finding the fairway and playing a quality iron into the short par 4.
Keeling again failed to make a par on the 8th and for the first time since the start of the Championship found himself not leading on -2. Nolan saved his par again relying on his impressive short game skills to stay at -1.
Both players played the 9th hole well but it was Nolan who left the green feeling the better after he converted a 25 foot putt from just off the back edge. Keeling, who had been closer, left his birdie attempt well short.
After regulation pars on the inviting downhill par 3 Keeling’s hopes came to a crushing end on the 11th. A hooked drive ended up in the middle of a small wood well left of the fairway. After considering his options he chose to return to the tee. His second drive ended up in the heather on the right and from there he could only scramble a 3-over 7. After he took five on the par 4 12th and had moved to +2 his Championship wining hopes were over. With the weight on his shoulders now lifted it was to his credit that he birdied both of the remaining par 5’s to finish -2 for his final six holes and limit the damage to a 76.
Despite a disappointing day, albeit one which will hopefully help further down the line, Keeling earned a lot of praise for his on course demeanour and sound temperament only once showing some frustration after a pulled approach into a bunker on 16 (which he then got up and down from spectacularly).
Seán Keeling’s Final Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
Playing in front of a sparse crowd Little, who had started the day on +4, parred in from the 14th to complete a superb round of 63 (-7) and set a challenging clubhouse target of -3 for the reminder of the field.
Zach Little’s Final Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
On the 11th and 12th holes Nolan again demonstrated the benefits of a fully functioning short game that can cope with Championship pressure, chipping close from tricky lies on both holes firstly after a pulled approach from the fairway and then from short of the next green after his tee shot with an iron went well right.
Nolan’s irons were mis-firing at this point and one back of Little he could ill afford to keep missing greens. On the 12th he pushed a long iron 40 yards right of the par 5 13th green and was fortunate to find grass and a clear line in amongst an area of trees and head high ferns. Unfortunately a weak pitch meant he had to settle for par.
Worst was to come on the par 3 14th. With the hole cut in the back right portion of the green the man from Galway over shot the green on the left and found himself on a bare lie facing a chip to a tiered green that was running away from him. His contact wasn’t pure and the ball quickly ran away finishing a good 40 feet away. His par putt got up the tier but still finished 6 feet short. He knew and everyone watching knew that this was probably make or break time. The putt went straight in the middle but he still fell 2-shots back of Little.
Critically Nolan immediately bounced back on the uphill 437 yard par 4. Having driven over the pond into a perfect spot he found the front of the green and then holed a 20 foot putt for birdie.
Nolan, now just one shot back with three holes to play, saw his approach to the 16th spin back to the front of the green and he was again left with an identical, if a little longer, uphill putt over a tier just like he had faced on the 14th. Again he was up to the task.
A regulation par on 17 left Nolan needing a birdie on the par 5 last to force a play-off with Little who had finished his round nearly two hours earlier. His drive found the fairway and a piercing long iron ran through the back of the green leaving a tricky downhill pitch to a flag on the front right.
The pitch was played to perfection, landing on the green and rolling out to a few feet short of the flag. The putt was easily holed and with Nolan reaching -3 it was time for a play-off.
Liam Nolan’s Pitch on the 72nd Hole (Video: Golf Bible)
Liam Nolan’s Final Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
The final day saw 15 under par rounds and two par 70’s.
James CLARIDGE (ENG), who recorded six birdies in his round, finished 3rd but will be rueing a double bogey 6 on the dog-leg right to left 11th. It was another excellent performance in 2023 from the West Midlander who appears to be playing his way on to our Walker Cup team.
Jack PLUMB (ENG) completed a weekend 69-67 for a 280 (Ev) total and a career best 4th place result just ahead of overnight leader Seán KEELING (IRL) who was 5th on countback.
The expected final push from GB&I No. 1 John GOUGH (ENG) didn’t materialise but his 71 left him with another top 10 finish.
Reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) finished strongly with a 66 to finish alongside University of Stirling student Will COXON (ENG) and Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI), who led the overseas contingent, on 282 (+2).
Final Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
Play-Off
The sudden death play-off was played on the 1st and 18th holes.
Little stepped up first and despite having faced a long wait to find out whether extra holes would be required, smashed a magnificent drive into perfect position on the right side of the 1st fairway.
Nolan chose to stick with his game plan and his long-iron found the fairway short of the bunker on the left hand side of the fairway.
Both players hit their approaches to the back of the green, the safe play given it slopes from back to front and it it is easy to finish short as we would see shortly. Too great putts narrowly missed going in, Zach’s stopping on the edge of the hole.
Moving onto the par 5 18th Little then hit another superb drive down the left side.
Perhaps feeling the pressure Nolan pushed his drive but luck proved to be on his side. He hit a group of trees hard and his ball bounced back out left onto the midldle of the fairway.
Nolan hit a near identical approach into the elevated green with his ball finishing within a few feet of his earlier shot on the 72nd hole. Little’s long iron finished short of the green on the right side but as he would be pitching uphill it appeared preferable to the position his opponent again found himself in.
Little played first and left his misjudged chip 8 feet short of the hole.
Nolan then stepped up again and miraculously repeated his wonder shot of just a few minutes earlier leaving his ball even closer to the hole this time. Little now needed to drop his putt to tie the hole in birdie fours and extend the play-off. He stepped up and confidently did so.
Returning to the 1st and the third play-off hole Little’s great run of drives ran out, albeit this time luck was on his side as his push was wide enough to have taken his ball into the middle of the 18th fairway. Not an ideal line in to the green but nevertheless in the circumstances a very welcome outcome. Nolan’s long iron was taken into the semi-rough on the right hand side of the sloping fairway.
Both players, maybe over reacting to their over hit approaches first time around, came up short; Little on the right side and Nolan on the left.
Unsurprisingly given the evidence of his fourth round performance and the play-off so far it was no surprise to see Nolan play another stunning chip, judging the pace and line to perfection. Just a foot way his four was assured.
Liam Nolan’s Pitch on the 1st (3rd Play-Off Hole) (Video: Golf Bible)
Little again left his uphill pitch short and unfortunately for him his 6 foot par putt to extend the play-off lipped out on the right edge.
Zach Little Lips Out His Par Putt on the 1st (3rd Play-Off Hole) (Video: Golf Bible)
Nolan tapped in and he and his caddie, fellow Irish International Joshua Hill, had won the Brabazon Trophy at one of the most famous clubs in the world. The rest of the touring Irish party quickly joined them to celebrate a memorable win.
Joshua Hill With Liam Nolan (Photo: Golf Bible)
Click here to view the – 2023 Brabazon Trophy Results
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27th May 2023
Round 3
65 players were invited back for another round at Sunningdale and they were greeted by a New Course bathed in sunshine and presented in superb condition.
The overnight leader Seán KEELING (IRL) produced another very assured round. His 1-under par 69 appeared very comfortable and ultimately extended his Championship lead to 5-shots. Two poor irons into the par 3 2nd and 10th cost him bogeys as did a drive which ran out of fairway on the dogleg 11th but these errors were offset by four birdies, three of which came on par 5’s. There was an important par save on 16 too where he two putted downhill from 40 feet judging his first putt to perfection across the tiered green. On the closing hole his long iron into the green, leaving him 8 feet for eagle, after a perfect drive down the left hand side of the fairway impressed me and I am sure will have resonated with The R&A selectors who were watching closely.
If Keeling needs a reminder that the Brabazon Trophy is far from his with 18 holes still to play he can reflect on the performance of his playing partner Kris KIM (ENG) who tumbled down the leaderboard with a 76 today. Kim was just slightly off with his irons and his putting and the New Course made him suffer.
Round 3 Leaderboard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
The big movers in Round 3 were Liam NOLAN (IRL) and Connor GRAHAM (SCO) who both scored 67’s (-3). Nolan, who was surprised to see his parents on the first tee after they flew over from Galway first thing this morning, will start tomorrow on -1 and will hope to apply some early pressure on his 16 year old compatriot who he will be paired with.
Liam Nolan’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
Graham, another outstanding GB&I junior, finished his round strongly with three birdies in his closing six holes. He will be paired in the penultimate group with Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI) who recorded his third consecutive 70.
Connor Graham’s Round 3 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
Perhaps the biggest threat to Keeling will be serial winner John GOUGH (ENG) who may need some help from the leader but is unlikely to go backwards on the final day. After dropping three shots in his opening holes – not for the first time this week – he battled back to post a 71 (-1) in Round 3 and finish the day tied for third with Graham and Gerhardsen.
Day 3 saw six under par rounds and nine even par rounds. William HORNE (ENG), who was first out with a marker, and Seb CAVE (ENG) were the two other players to record the joint best of the day score of 67.
Whilst none of them will be focussing on it tomorrow Seán KEELING -5 leads Connor GRAHAM Ev and Ben WILLIS (ENG) +1 in the U20 George Henriques Salver competition.
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26th May 2023
Round 2
It was another sunny day in Berkshire but a slightly stronger breeze and some tricky pin positions saw scoring rise in comparison with yesterday’s opening round – there were just five under par rounds and seven even par rounds.
Seán KEELING (IRL) retained the lead with a 70 to stay on -5 for the Championship. The 16 year old from Roganstown dropped two shots on consecutive holes on the front nine but showed good composure to get back on track and with two birdies on his homeward nine is very well placed at the halfway stage.
Kris KIM (ENG), who is even younger than Seán at 15, is 2nd, two shots further back, after a 71. After a double bogey on the downhill par 3 17th he finished his round off well with a closing birdie.
John GOUGH (ENG) also shot a +1 71 on Day 2 albeit a closing bogey 6 will have stung.
Overnight co-leader Jean Leon AESCHLIMANN (SUI) fell back into tie with Gough in 3rd on -1 after a 74.
Fellow Swiss player Nicola GERHARDSEN is tied with Tiverton’s Eliot BAKER (ENG) in tied 5th place after they recorded a 70 and 72 respectively.
Round 2 Leaderboard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
67’s (-3) from Nick DAY (ENG), tied 7th, Conor GOUGH (ENG), tied 21st, and Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA), tied 30th, were the joint best efforts on Friday.
Nick Day’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
Conor Gough’s Round 2 Scorecard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
65 players made the top 60 and ties cut which fell at 147 (+7). Conor GRAHAM (SCO) 69, Altin VAN DER MERWE (RSA) 67, Frazer JONES (ENG) 69, Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) 70, Vincent STJERNFELDT (SWE) 71, Patrick KEELING (IRL) 71 and Jaapo JÄMSÄ (FIN) 71 all bounced back well to make the cut.
I don’t know if three sets of brothers have ever made the cut at the Brabazon Trophy before but for the record Ireland’s Keeling’s, Patrick and Seán, Scotland’s Graham’s, Patrick and Connor, and England’s Gough’s, John and Conor, all made the cut.
.Jack BROOKS (ENG) +8, Gregor TAIT (SCO) +8, Harley SMITH (ENG) +8, Josh BERRY (ENG) +9, Joshua HILL (IRL) +11, Caolan BURFORD (WAL) +12, Rob MORAN (IRL) +14 and Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) +15 were amongst the casualties.
Seán KEELING (-5) and Kris KIM (-3) lead Jenson FORRESTER and Ben WILLIS (ENG) (+1) in the U20 George Henriques Salver competition.
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25th May 2023
Round 1
Jean Leon AESCHLIMANN (SUI) and Seán KEELING (IRL) lead the Brabazon Trophy after they both opened their accounts at Sunningdale with impressive 65’s (-5).
Keeling started out at 9.40am on the New Course and enhanced his growing reputation with a flawless performance.
Aeschlimann, who has struggled a little in 2023, produced a scintillating back nine 30 in the afternoon to move rapidly to the top of the leaderboard.
Jean Aeschlimann and Seán Keeling’s Round 1 Scorecards (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
Kris KIM (ENG), recent winner of the Fairhaven Boys’ Trophy, is third on -4. After starting with two bogeys he produced seven birdies over his remaining holes to hand in a 66.
Ben WILLIS (ENG), who qualified last week at Kedleston Park, is 4th after a 67; two closing birdies finishing off a very good day’s work for another young player.
Eliot BAKER (ENG), who finished in the top 15 at Saunton last year, Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), John GOUGH (ENG), who started with three consecutive birdies before recovering strongly, Jenson FORRESTER (ENG), Alex FORD (ENG) and Matt ROBERTS (WAL), who is performing very consistently this year, all finished Round 1 on 68.
At the close of play there were 16 players under par with a further 14 on Even par.
Round 1 Leaderboard (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
Notable players who have work to do tomorrow to make the cut include Jack BROOKS (ENG), Rob MORAN (IRL), James ASHFIELD (WAL) & Harley SMITH (ENG) +3, Tyler WEAVER (ENG) & Conor GRAHAM (SCO) +4, Joshua HILL (IRL) +5, Josh BERRY (ENG) +6, Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) +7 and Caolan BURFORD (WAL) +9.
Seán KEELING also leads the race for The U20 George Henriques Salver although Kris KIM, Ben WILLIS, Dylan SHAW-RADFORD and Jenson FORRESTER, who are all in the top 5 after Round 1, all qualify for this competition too.
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17th May 2023 – updated 24th May 2023
The 77th English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy will be played on the New Course at Sunningdale Golf Club between Thursday 25th and Sunday 28th May 2023.
Three Qualifying Tournaments were played on 16th May 2022 to help England Golf, the organisers, complete the field (see below).
Format
The competition consists of 72 holes of stroke play golf with 18 holes being played over four days.
Play on the opening two days will commence at 7.30am with the final three-ball heading out at 3.40pm.
A 36 hole cut will take place with only the leading 60 competitors and ties progressing to the two remaining rounds.
In the event of a tie for the Championship there will be a sudden death play off.
All other places will be determined by a card countback, starting with the final round and working backwards from there.
Field
144 competitors from 19 different countries will contest the 2023 Brabazon Trophy Championship.
The majority of this number were exempt with starting places offered to a number of national golf federations and to those players who have performed well in other recent Championships.
Amongst the 87 exempt players, and therefore arguably the favourites for the title, are James ASHFIELD (WAL), Josh BERRY (ENG), Tomi BOWEN (WAL), Jack BROOKS (ENG), James CLARIDGE (ENG), Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG), Hugh FOLEY (IRL), Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI), John GOUGH (ENG), Connor GRAHAM (SCO), Seán KEELING (IRL), Alex MAGUIRE (IRL), Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL), Robert MORAN (IRL), Liam NOLAN (IRL), Dylan SHAW-RADFORD (ENG), Harley SMITH (ENG) and Gregor TAIT (SCO).
England’s Frank KENNEDY, who recently won the Lytham Trophy, didn’t enter choosing to take up ‘invites’ on the Challenge Tour. He played in The Netherlands the week before the Brabazon but subsequently withdrew from the conflicting Denmark event.
The overseas players appearing this year do not appear to be as strong collectively as we have seen in previous years, although we were spoilt by a world class South African touring party last year.
Three regional qualifying tournaments were staged on 16th May 2023 to determine the remainder of the field with 54 spots initially made available. Three further players have been taken from the Qualifiers to cover for withdrawals.
Qualifying Events
Three 18 hole stroke play events, each with a field of 120 players, were staged.
18 players automatically qualified from the Midland, Northern and Southern Qualifiers. A few more players will probably end up making the final start sheet after being called up from the Reserves list.
Ties for the last qualifying place at each venue were determined by card countback.
Here is a summary of the Qualifier results and a list of all the players who progressed: –
MIDLAND – Kedleston Park G.C., Derbyshire – Results
6,674 yards – Par 72 – Slope Rating 129
120 players / 19 Qualifiers
Medalist – Mark STOCKDALE (ENG) 67 -5
Qualifiers – Jenson Forrester (ENG), Jack Severn (ENG), David Razinskas (ENG), Joshua Ashton (ENG), Daniel Butteriss (ENG), Jake Sowden (ENG), Levi Desmond (ENG), Joe Jones (WAL), Jake Plumb (ENG), Robert Holden (ENG), Tom Osborne (ENG), Will Harvey (ENG), Mark Porter (ENG), Ben Willis (ENG), Alex Ford (ENG), Reece Goodyear (ENG), James Isley (ENG), Res 2 Theo Baker (WAL)
Reserves – Charlie Box (ENG), John Kemp (ENG)
NORTHERN – Delamere Forest G.C., Cheshire – Results
6,588 yards – Par 72 – Slope Rating 131
120 players / 18 Qualifiers
Medalist – Ross LAIRD (SCO) and Ruben LINDSAY (SCO) 66 -6
Qualifiers – George Cannon (SCO), Mackenzie Holmes (SCO), Patrick Keeling (IRL), Luke Kelly (ENG), Padraig O’Dochartaigh (IRL), Jamie Van Wyk (ENG), Jake Hibbert (ENG), Thomas Barnes Grimes (ENG), Marc Boucher (IRL), Edward Featherstone (ENG), Daniel Bardsley (ENG), Jonny Cossar (ENG), Rhys McIlroy (SCO), Greg Holmes (ENG), Ellis Willott (ENG), Tom Matthews (WAL)
Reserves – William Sandoz (WAL), Andrew Davidson (SCO), Cameron Mukherjee (SCO)
SOUTHERN – Golf at Goodwood, West Suusex – Results
6,921 yards – Par 72 – Slope Rating 136
120 players / 20 Qualifiers
Medalist – Tim HOLLIS (ENG) 70 -2
Qualifiers – Enrique Dimayuga (ENG), Alex Stubbs (ENG), Benjamin Humphrey (ENG), Ollie Smith (ENG), Shay McQueen (ENG), George Mills (ENG), Steve Mitchell (ENG), Daniel Roberts (ENG), Shaun Mills (ENG), Iestyn McAvoy (WAL), George Ackerman (ENG), James Pinhorn (ENG), Kris Kim (ENG), Tom Scullion (ENG), Edward Mason (ENG), William Horne (ENG), Jonathan Exon-Taylor (ENG), Res 1 Cole Sedgwick (ENG), Res 3 George Saunders (ENG)
Reserves – Stan White (WAL)
Prizes
The Winner receives the magnificent gold Brabazon Trophy shown below.
The Champion’s Prize and The Brabazon Trophy (Photo: Golf Bible)
Prize vouchers will be awarded to those players finishing in the top five.
Two other prizes are connected to the Brabazon Trophy competition: –
The George Henriques Salver is awarded to the leading GB&I player in the Championship under the age of 20.
The Philip Scrutton Jug is awarded to the player returning the best aggregate scores in The Brabazon Trophy and The Berkshire Trophy (which will be played on 17-18 June).
Sunningdale Golf Club
Located in Berkshire, England, Sunningdale is one of the world’s finest golf clubs and enjoys two of the best heathland courses, the Old and the New.
The New Course was designed by renowned architect and former club secretary Harry Colt.
It was opened on 10th November 1923, 22 years after the Old Course, and is therefore celebrating it’s centenary this year – hence the visit from England Golf.
Holes 6-10 were replaced, on less undulating land, in 1934 with architect Tom Simpson originally designing these. However, his work proved to be unpopular with the members so Colt and his then partner John S.F. Morrison returned in 1939 to re-design them. The course has changed little since then.
The New Course (Blue Tees) includes five par 3’s, ten par 4’s and three par 5’s.
With fewer bunkers and a little more space than it’s near neighbour the New plays to a challenging par of 70 over 6,716 yards.
New Course Scorecard (Graphic: Sunningdale G.C.)
Weather Forecast – last updated at 11.30am on Wednesday 24th May 2023
The weather forecast is looking excellent with sunny conditions and only light breezes expected throughout the week.
Thur 25th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph NE / Temp. Min. 8°C, Max. 20°C.
Fri 26th May – Sunny / Wind 11 mph E / Temp. Min. 6°C, Max. 18°C.
Sat 27th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph NE / Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 21°C.
Sun 28th May – Sunny / Wind 10 mph NE / Temp. Min. 7°C / Max. 21°C.
2022 Brabazon Trophy
18 year old Christiaan MAAS (RSA) won the 2022 Brabazon Trophy after recording rounds of 65, 70, 67 and 68 for a 270 (-14) total.
He was the third South African winner of this prestigious title following in the footsteps of Charles Schwartzel (2002, Royal Cinque Ports) and Kyle McClatchie (2017, Woodall Spa).
Christiaan Maas (Photo: GolfBible)
Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG) -9 finished 2nd, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) -8 3rd, Sam BAIRSTOW (ENG) -6 4th and Swiss pair Maximilien STURDZA and Nicola GERHARDSEN (-4) 5th and 6th on count back.
Final Results (Graphic: England Golf / Golf Genius)
Eliot BAKER (ENG) 288 +4, who finished tied 14th, secured the George Henriques Salver, the prize awarded to the leading Great British & Irish player in the Championship under the age of 20.
Click here to for more information on the 2022 Championship – Brabazon Trophy – 2022 Preview & Results
Recent Results
Click below to view the results over the last three years: –
Saunton – 2022 Brabazon Trophy Results
Ganton – 2021 Brabazon Trophy Results
Sherwood Forest – 2020 Brabazon Trophy Results
History, Past Winners and Records
The English Amateur International Trophy competition was first played in 1947.
In 1957 the official title was changed to the English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship.
The current trophy was donated by Lord Brabazon of Tara in 1948 and the event has come to be widely known as the Brabazon Trophy.
Click here to view the full list of – Brabazon Trophy Past Winners
The first player to successfully defend the title was Ronnie WHITE who won at Birkdale in 1950 and nearby Formby in 1951.
Shortly afterwards Philip SCRUTTON won the Brabazon three times in four years (1952, ‘54 & ‘55).
Sir Michael BONALLACK has four wins to his name. The first came at Royal Cinque Ports in 1964 and the last at Hillside in 1971. At Moortown in 1969, with play-offs having been discarded at this time, he shared the title with Rodney FOSTER.
Other well known British winners of the Brabazon include Gordon BRAND Jnr, Sandy LYLE (2), Peter MCEVOY, Ronan RAFFERTY and Ronnie SHADE (3).
Other notable recent winners include well known pros Ignacio GARRIDO (1992), Peter HANSON (1998) and Charl SCHWARTZEL (2002).
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