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The Amateur
History beckons as The Amateur Championship arrives at iconic venues
13 Jun 25
Long Read
Leading amateur golfers from across the globe will aim to emulate some of the game’s greatest names when The 130th Amateur Championship takes place at Royal St George’s and Royal Cinque Ports next week (16 – 21 June).
Bobby Jones, José María Olazábal and Sergio Garcia are among the champions of years gone by, and the talented field converging on Sandwich this time around will have designs on making their own mark on the game. Last year it was Jacob Skov Olesen who lifted the title – becoming the first Danish player to do so – after a thrilling 36-hole showdown with Dominic Clemons at Ballyliffin. With Skov Olesen now plying his trade in the professional game on the DP World Tour, who will step forward to write their own chapter in this famous Championship?Players to watch
A truly international field packed with talent will grace two of the most famous venues in golf when the Championship gets underway on Monday. Among those teeing it up will be South African Christiaan Maas and Tommy Morrison from the USA, both ranked in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) top five.
Christiaan Maas will hope to be in contention at The Amateur Championship.
Maas has established himself as a rising star of the game, and he’ll be hoping to become the fourth South African winner of the Championship since 2018, following in the footsteps of countrymen Christo Lamprecht, Aldrich Potgieter and Jovan Rebula. The 21-year-old has seen first-hand what it takes to win the Amateur, having caddied for Lamprecht and Potgieter en route to victory, and is fresh from a 6th-place finish at the St Andrews Links Trophy. Add this to the 4th place he managed in a professional event at the Investec South African Open Championship earlier this year, and Maas has plenty of reason to be optimistic ahead of a week on the Kent coast.
Meanwhile, Morrison, who stands at 6ft 9ins, will be looking to build on a stellar 2024. The 20-year-old competed in The 152nd Open at Royal Troon after his triumph at the European Amateur Championship, while also putting in strong performances at The Amateur Championship and US Amateur Championship. He arrives at Royal St George’s with form for performing on the big stage.
Other contenders
2024 runner-up Dominic Clemons responded superbly to the bitter disappointment of missing out to Skov Olesen, sealing his spot at The 152nd Open a week later through Final Qualifying. However, the Englishman will be keen to go one better at The Amateur this time around, while Luke Poulter – son of Ian – will be desperate to bounce back from heartache of his own after narrowly missing out on a US Open place earlier this month. Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup stars Connor Graham, who at the age of 17 was the leading qualifier at The 129th Amateur Championship, and Jack Bigham, a former Boys’ Amateur Champion, will also be plotting charges when play gets underway on Monday.
Connor Graham was the leading qualifier in 2024.
Teenager Bryan Newman will be looking to contend after victory in the Africa Amateur Championship at Leopard Creek earlier this year, while Matthew Dodd-Berry – a quarter-finalist last year – was another to come through Final Qualifying for The Open soon after to earn a place at Royal Troon.
Two iconic venues
Widely regarded one of the world’s leading golf courses, Royal St George’s will provide a great test of golf throughout the week. A host of The Open on 15 occasions, the venue previously welcomed The Amateur Championship in 2017 when Englishman Harry Ellis was victorious and was more recently the setting for Collin Morikawa’s Open triumph in 2021. Royal Cinque Ports also boasts a rich history – having hosted golf’s original Championship in 1909 and 1920 – and The Amateur more recently in 2013 when Garrick Porteous won. The testing links, which runs along the coast of Sandwich Bay – on the same stretch of coastline as Royal St George’s - will also be one of the Regional Qualifying venues for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush this summer. Along with competing for one of the most prestigious trophies in the amateur game, the winner will also book places at The 153rd Open, the 2026 US Open and The 2026 Masters Tournament along with a DP World Tour event. In addition, the championship is included in The Open Amateur Series where the best performing player across a sequence of three elite amateur championships gains an exemption for Royal Portrush. The Amateur Championship provides a unique platform, and some of the game’s most promising talents are primed to step up and emulate the stellar names to have come before.- The first two days will comprise a strokeplay format across both Royal St George’s and Royal Cinque Ports.
- From here the leading players will emerge into the match play rounds, taking place from Wednesday to Saturday at Royal St George’s.
- The 36-hole final will be held on Saturday at Royal St George’s.