Golf is open to all
Girls' and Boys' Am
Kim chasing historic second Boys’ Amateur title
11 Aug 25
5 mins
Ireland’s Adam Fahey, Theophile Archer of France, Ukrainian Lev Grinberg and Noah Peens of South Africa share the lead on six-under-par after 66s in the opening qualifying round of the Boys’ Amateur Championship at County Louth, just north of Dublin.
They hold a one-shot lead, but one of the chasing pack might be favourite. England’s Kris Kim is hoping to record a feat in the Boys’ Amateur that hasn’t been achieved in 61 years – win the prestigious title for a second time. Kim, the 2023 Champion, returned an opening 67 to lie in joint-fifth place. Fahey rode an eagle, four birdies and no dropped shots to finish all square with Archer and Grinberg. The 17-year-old used local knowledge to get round the Baltray links. “I used to be a member here when I was young and I know this course well,” Fahey said. “I was fourth here in the East of Ireland in June in much worse conditions than today.’ Fahey will have support this week and would be a popular winner. No Irish player has won the Boys’ title since 1986. Archer is making his Boys’ Championship debut with limited links experience. Yet he looked like he had been playing seaside golf all his young life. “Everything was good today,” said the 17-year-old, who lives near St Malo in France. “I struck the ball really well, my putter was working and I had no bogeys. I shot 66 in my first Boys’ Amateur so I am very happy, especially on probably the best course I’ve played.” Grinberg made five birdies in his opening nine, and then played the back nine in one-under to reach the top of the leaderboard. He is Ukraine’s number-one player but does not live in his country because of the situation there. He currently lives in Antwerp, but is moving to Paris to be near the French Golf Federation’s national performance centre at Le Golf National. “I haven’t been in Ukraine for a few years. I’m lucky to be out and fortunate to be able to play in these tournaments,” he admitted. You have to go back to 1964 to find a player who doubled as Boys’ Amateur Champion. Peter Townsend of Porters Park took that year’s title two years after lifting the trophy. Kim made headlines in professional golf last year when he made the cut in the CJ CUP Byron Nelson on the PGA Tour, becoming the youngest player at age 16 to make the cut in a PGA Tour event since 2016. He now divides his time between professional and amateur golf. He has played eight pro tournaments in his last 20 starts. “I love this tournament and would love to win it again because it’s my last year,” he said. In the Girls’ Amateur Championship at Conwy, Giselle Zhao of France produced a thrilling burst of birdies as she set a brisk early pace in the opening qualifying round.
Over the firm, fiery and delightfully presented links, Zhao reeled off seven birdies in a row en route to a six-under-par 67 and a healthy advantage at the top. After a stream of early pars, Zhao knocked a nice approach into ten feet on the 6th and rolled in the birdie putt.
That provided the catalyst for a purposeful push and the reigning French Women’s Amateur champion claimed six more birdies as she surged to the top of the leaderboard.
“It’s the first time I’ve been on a run like that,” she said of her bag of birdies. “I’ve had lots of birdies in rounds before but never seven in a row. I really enjoyed this test. It’s my first experience of proper links golf and it’s super fun. I hit it straight which really helps, and I can get my ball rolling a lot.”
A posse of players, including Fairhaven Trophy winner Elizabeth Wilson and the former Florida State Amateur Champion Sophia Dyer, are sitting on two-under while Spain’s Martina Navarro Navarro, a beaten finalist in the 2023 Championship, opened her qualifying campaign with a one-under 72.