Hundreds of the world’s leading amateur golfers will play one of the game’s most prestigious championships in Kent at The 122nd Amateur Championship.
The Amateur Championship will take place at Royal St George’s and Prince’s in Sandwich from 19th-24th June.
It follows the The 114th Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship which started on Monday at Pyle & Kenfig in South Wales which concludes on Saturday,
Duncan Weir, Executive Director – Golf Development at The R&A said, “We look forward to staging these two great championships for the first time since our merger with the Ladies’ Golf Union and it will be fascinating to watch the world’s leading men’s and women’s amateur golfers compete on three of Great Britain and Ireland’s finest links courses.”
“There will be some outstanding golf on display from potential stars of the future at both events. I would encourage spectators to take advantage of the free admission and enjoy these world-renowned events.”
The Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship will be contested by 144 competitors from 24 countries, including 33 players ranked in the Top 100 of the WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™ (WAGR™).
A total of 86 players will travel from overseas from countries such as Germany, Sweden and the United States while 58 players from Great Britain and Ireland will compete in the championship.
Julia Engstrom, at the age of 15, made history last year by defeating Dewi Weber on the first extra hole to become the youngest ever winner of the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship and will defend her title on the South Wales coast this week.
The Swede will be joined by several of the world’s leading women’s amateur golfers, including Ireland’s Leona Maguire, who currently holds the number one position in the WAGR™, and is bidding to win the women’s McCormack Medal for a record-equalling third successive year.
Olivia Mehaffey, who recently led Arizona State University to a win over Northwestern in the final of the NCAA Division One title at Rich Harvest Farms, St Rule Trophy and Scottish Women’s Amateur champion Connie Jaffrey and Linnea Strom, runner-up in the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship in 2015 and a Junior Ryder Cup player in 2014, are also players to watch.
Five R&A Foundation scholars, including current R&A Foundation Scholar Tournament champion Emily Toy, feature in the starting field.
The winner of the Ladies’ British Amateur Championship will earn a place in the 2017 US Women’s Open next month and the Ricoh Women’s British Open being played in August at Kingsbarns, near St Andrews. Previous winners include Anna Nordqvist, Georgia Hall, Catriona Matthew and Carlota Ciganda.
The first stage of the championship comprises two qualifying rounds of stroke play before the leading 64 players progress to the match play stage. Each match will consist of one round of 18 holes including the Final.
The Amateur Championship continues to attract the most international field in the men’s amateur game, with 288 competitors from 40 countries.
Almost two thirds of the field (65%), from 36 countries, will travel to Kent from as far afield as Australia, China, South Africa and the United States. A total of 100 players from Great Britain and Ireland will compete, including 51 golfers from host nation England.
Several members of the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup squad will feature, including last year’s beaten finalist Robert MacIntyre, who is the highest-ranked player in the field (No.6 in WAGR™), 2016 Australian Amateur champion Connor Syme, Spanish International Amateur winner Jack Davidson and Alfie Plant, who won the Lytham Trophy last year. GB&I captain Craig Watson, who won The Amateur at Royal St George’s in 1997, will play in the championship as an exempt past champion.
Newly crowned St Andrews Links Trophy champion Matthew Jordan is set to be among the contenders, while the 2017 Latin America Amateur Champion Toto Gana, 2015 Boys Amateur Champion Marcus Svensson and Alejandro Aguilera, who finished runner-up in the Boys Amateur Championship at Muirfield last year, are other notable entrants.
Fourteen R&A Foundation scholars, including the winner of this year’s R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament, Stuart Grehan, are also included in the starting field.
The reward for the winner of The Amateur Championship is a place in The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale in July and the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills. Traditionally, the Amateur Champion is also invited to compete in the Masters Tournament.
Several Champion Golfers of the Year have played in The Amateur Championship over the years including Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Louis Oosthuizen, Ernie Els, Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson. 2017 Masters Champion Sergio Garcia won The Amateur at Muirfield in 1998.
The first stage of the championship comprises two qualifying rounds of stroke play, one round on each course, before the 64 players with the lowest scores and ties for 64th place progress to the match play stage at Royal St George’s.
Each match will consist of one round of 18 holes except the Final which will be over 36 holes.
Royal St George’s is one of the world’s finest links courses and will stage The Amateur for the 14th time in its history, the last time coming in 2006 when France’s Julien Guerrier defeated Adam Gee 4&3 to win the Championship. It has hosted The Open 14 times and will be the venue for The 149th Open in 2020.
Prince’s Golf Club is located adjacent to Royal St George’s and nearby Royal Cinque Ports on the same stretch of Kent coastline and most recently co-hosted The Amateur Championship with Royal St George’s in 2006 and Royal Cinque Ports in 2013.
Last year Prince’s played host to the St Andrews Trophy and the Jacques Leglise Trophy. It has also hosted The Open on one occasion, in 1932, when Gene Sarazen won the Championship.