A record number of entries were received for The 130th Amateur Championship being played at Royal St George’s and Royal Cinque Ports next week, but it’s three returning players who will likely be the men to beat.
Beginning on Monday 16 June, the Championship is set to be tightly contested again this year with a record 612 entries received – 27 more than the previous record in 2022.
The reward for the Champion is a start in The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, the US Open in 2026 and, by tradition, an invitation to the Masters Tournament.
With 288 golfers making it into the final field, and 23 of those determined at Pre-Qualifying today at Royal Cinque Ports, there are three particular individuals with scores to settle at The Amateur Championship.
Christiaan Maas of South Africa, the fourth ranked player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), world number five Tommy Morrison from the United States of America, and last year’s runner-up Dominic Clemons from England will need to get through 36 holes of stroke play qualifying to make it to the match play stages in pursuit of the prestigious trophy presented after the Final on Saturday 21 June.
Last year’s runner-up, Clemons, narrowly missed out in the Final with Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen, where he lost 4&3. He now has his sights set firmly on the top prize with the benefit of the experience of last year’s loss spurring him on.
Clemons said, “I’ve mentally got stronger following the loss in the Final – if I can take a loss like that then I can take any kind of loss, as it’s one of the worst matches to lose.
“I’m looking forward to giving it another go. It was a frustrating finish last year but it was still a great week at the same time. I’m looking forward to getting back, getting into the match play and getting some of those good feelings again. Hopefully, I’ll have a good week.”
Clemons will face stiff competition from Morrison, who has reached the match play rounds in each of his previous two showings at The Amateur Championship.
Morrison knows what it’s like to tee it up at The Open, playing at Royal Troon last year following his victory at the European Amateur Championship, where he became the first-ever American champion.
He is eager to make his way into another major championship field and believes his skills are best suited to links conditions.
Morrison said, “The Open was amazing last summer. I didn’t have my best stuff and still managed to play four rounds. I was excited about that and it gives me a lot of confidence as it’s where I want to be playing again in the future. I’m definitely hungry to get back.
“Obviously, over here with the wind and conditions, I’ve been successful with my ball control and I feel comfortable on courses like these. I just like the style of golf and believe it suits my game nicely.”
He knows the challenge ahead of him is a tough one given the strong depth of the field. Three of the top-ten and 23 of the top-100 in WAGR® are set to tee it up and Morrison knows he cannot get complacent.
He added, “I’ve come over here the last couple of summers and seen a lot of players who I haven’t seen before who have plenty of talent. Rankings aside, you have to play good golf to beat a lot of the good players, no matter where you’re playing in the world.
“I’ve just got to play some nice golf and get a little lucky with the weather. There are a ton of good competitors in the field and I need to take care of my business.”
Morrison’s college teammate, roommate and good friend, Christiaan Maas, is another who enters the week as a strong prospect.
While Morrison and his family look out for Maas in the USA, in Europe, it is Maas who is showing Morrison the ropes.
While Maas has plenty links golf experience under his belt, he has not played Royal St George’s, so is unable to share all his secrets with his Texas Longhorns teammate. Instead, he has done his research on YouTube, including the wins at The Open by Collin Morikawa and Darren Clarke in 2021 and 2011 respectively.
He said, “I watched The Open there in 2021, particularly with Louis (Oosthuizen) playing so well. I’m a big golf fanatic and I watch a lot of golf on YouTube. I’ve seen Collin’s win and Darren’s win but I haven’t played the course yet. My father has played it so I have a sense of a few of the holes but it’s difficult to gauge the course looking at a screen.”
The South African and highest-ranked player in the field this year has a unique relationship with The Amateur Championship – he has yet to make the match play stage in three attempts but has been the winning caddie twice and learned the skills required to do well.
South Africa has enjoyed rich success at The Amateur Championship recently, with Aldrich Potgieter and Christo Lamprecht winning in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Maas, who was on the bag each time, is looking to add his own name to the esteemed list of champions this year.
“Match play is a format where anything can happen,” he said. “Caddying all those rounds, you learn not to get complacent, especially when I was caddying for Aldrich as there were times where I thought he was going to win a hole and then his opponent would hole a putt or something. Being patient and playing continuous smart golf is key.
“It’s the amateur championship I want to win the most – I love links golf and it’s a long week – knowing that I’d won on a tough course with tough weather is something I look forward to every year. Hopefully this year I can start off solid and make the match play.”
The Amateur Championship is one of the biggest and most prestigious championships in the world and features a starting line-up of 288 players from 45 countries including, for the first time, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Romania and Vietnam.
The first Amateur Championship was held at Hoylake in 1885 where 44 players from 12 clubs competed. Some of golf’s greatest names have triumphed in the Championship, including Bobby Jones, José María Olazábal and Sergio Garcia.
The field will take part in the stroke play stage on Monday, 16 June and Tuesday, 17 June over 36 holes across Royal St George’s and Royal Cinque Ports. From there, 64 players will advance to the match play stage from Wednesday, 18 June to Saturday, 21 June. In the event of a tie for 64th place, a play-off will take place to determine the final match play places.
Royal St George’s, founded in 1887, is hosting The Amateur Championship for the 15th time with the most recent occasion occurring in 2017 when Harry Ellis of England defeated Dylan Perry of Australia on the 38th hole. While Royal Cinque Ports has previously hosted The Amateur on three occasions and most recently in 2013 when another Englishman, Garrick Porteous triumphed.
Spectators are welcome and can attend free of charge. For those following along at home, The R&A will provide live broadcast coverage of the quarter-finals and semi-finals on Friday, 20 June and the 36-hole Final on Saturday, 21 June. Fans in the UK can watch all the action live on Sky Sports, while livestreams are available globally on R&A TV and on The R&A’s YouTube channel.
For more information about The 130th Amateur Championship and to follow live scoring from Pre- Qualifying please click here.
Picture supplied by The R & A.