The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a
golf tournament which has been held annually in the
United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 1949 and 2019 when Ireland hosted the championship. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the
U.S. Amateur. It normally has the widest international representation of any individual amateur event, with 38 golf federations from all six continents represented in the 2018 championship.[1]
The inaugural tournament was organised by the
Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 1885. It was played on 20, 21 and 23 April and was "open to all amateur members of recognised golf clubs". The format was match-play. All players were included in the draw for each round, any extra player receiving a bye. If a match was halved after the 18 holes both players progressed to the next round, playing each other again. There were 49 entries from 12 different clubs, although only 44 were included in the draw and four of these players did not turn up. Of the 22 first-round matches, 2 were halved, meaning that there were 12 matches in the second round.[2][3] There were no more halved matches in the following rounds which meant that 3 players reached the semi-final stage.[4][5]John Ball beat his father, also called John, in the third round.[5]Allan Macfie received a bye at the semi-final stage with
Horace Hutchinson beating Ball 2 up in the only semi-final match. After his morning round, Hutchinson played badly in the afternoon and Macfie won 7&6.[6][7] Each player paid a 1 guinea entry fee. This, together with 25 guineas from the Royal Liverpool club, was used for prizes. The losing finalist received £10 with the remainder being used to buy plate for the winner.[3] The final amount for the winner was about £60[6] or £70.[7] By comparison the winner of the
1885 Open Championship received £10. For many years the 1885 event was not regarded as the first Amateur Championship. It was only in 1922 that
the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews decided "to place on record the name of
Mr. A. F. Macfie as the winner of the Amateur Championship of 1885".[8]
Despite the unusual format of the 1885 event, it was regarded as a success. A meeting was arranged in 1886 where it was decided to start an amateur championship, to be held alternately at St Andrews, Hoylake and Prestwick. A number of clubs subscribed to buy a perpetual trophy for the championship. In addition, gold and silver medals were presented to the winner and runner-up, with bronze medals for the losing semi-finalists. The format became a simple knockout, with extra holes played in case of a tie after 18 holes. Otherwise the format remained the same as for the 1885 event. Because of the late arrangements the inaugural championship was not held until late September. With 42 entries, six rounds were needed which were completed in three days with the semi-finals and final on the last day.[9][10]John Ball again lost in the semi-finals, 7&6 to
Henry Lamb, but Lamb lost the final against
Horace Hutchinson by the same score.[11]
The first stage of the Championship involves 288 players, each of whom plays two rounds of 18 holes, one on each of two courses, over the first two days. The 64 lowest scores over the 36 holes, and ties for 64th place compete in the
match play stage of the Championship, on the event's principal course, and are seeded by qualifying scores. Each match consists of one round of 18 holes, except for the Final, which is over 36 holes. Since there are generally more than 64 qualifiers from the stroke play stage, the first round of the
match play involves a small number of matches to reduce the number of qualifiers to exactly 64. Tied matches are broken by sudden death over extra holes. The event is played in June, normally with a Monday to Saturday schedule.
The winner receives invitations to three of the major championships, namely the following month's
Open Championship, and the following year's
Masters Tournament and
U.S. Open, provided he remain an amateur prior to each major. The Amateur Championship is open to amateur golfers of any nationality in good standing with their national federations. Briton
John Ball won the most career titles, with eight. Ball was still competing in the event as late as 1921 at
Royal Liverpool Golf Club.[13] In modern times, Briton
Michael Bonallack's five titles lead. The most famous American winner of the competition was
Bobby Jones, whose 1930 victory was part of his
Grand Slam.
^The final was reduced to 18 holes after mist had caused a delayed start on the Thursday and only one round was played on that day rather than the two planned.
Bobby Jones – 1930 Amateur; 1926, 1927, 1930 Opens
Stroke-play qualifying
Stroke-play qualifying was introduced in 1983. 36 holes are played, using two courses, with the leading 64 and ties advancing to the match-play stage. From 1983 to 1985 exactly 64 players qualified, ties for the final places being decided on countback. In 2020 qualifying was reduced to one round. The leading qualifiers are given below:
+ Number one seed. If two or more players are tied, the seeding is decided on countback using the combined scores on the last 9 holes of both qualifying rounds.[116]
Host courses
The Amateur has been played at the following courses, listed in order of number of tournaments hosted (as of 2023):
The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a
golf tournament which has been held annually in the
United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 1949 and 2019 when Ireland hosted the championship. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the
U.S. Amateur. It normally has the widest international representation of any individual amateur event, with 38 golf federations from all six continents represented in the 2018 championship.[1]
The inaugural tournament was organised by the
Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 1885. It was played on 20, 21 and 23 April and was "open to all amateur members of recognised golf clubs". The format was match-play. All players were included in the draw for each round, any extra player receiving a bye. If a match was halved after the 18 holes both players progressed to the next round, playing each other again. There were 49 entries from 12 different clubs, although only 44 were included in the draw and four of these players did not turn up. Of the 22 first-round matches, 2 were halved, meaning that there were 12 matches in the second round.[2][3] There were no more halved matches in the following rounds which meant that 3 players reached the semi-final stage.[4][5]John Ball beat his father, also called John, in the third round.[5]Allan Macfie received a bye at the semi-final stage with
Horace Hutchinson beating Ball 2 up in the only semi-final match. After his morning round, Hutchinson played badly in the afternoon and Macfie won 7&6.[6][7] Each player paid a 1 guinea entry fee. This, together with 25 guineas from the Royal Liverpool club, was used for prizes. The losing finalist received £10 with the remainder being used to buy plate for the winner.[3] The final amount for the winner was about £60[6] or £70.[7] By comparison the winner of the
1885 Open Championship received £10. For many years the 1885 event was not regarded as the first Amateur Championship. It was only in 1922 that
the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews decided "to place on record the name of
Mr. A. F. Macfie as the winner of the Amateur Championship of 1885".[8]
Despite the unusual format of the 1885 event, it was regarded as a success. A meeting was arranged in 1886 where it was decided to start an amateur championship, to be held alternately at St Andrews, Hoylake and Prestwick. A number of clubs subscribed to buy a perpetual trophy for the championship. In addition, gold and silver medals were presented to the winner and runner-up, with bronze medals for the losing semi-finalists. The format became a simple knockout, with extra holes played in case of a tie after 18 holes. Otherwise the format remained the same as for the 1885 event. Because of the late arrangements the inaugural championship was not held until late September. With 42 entries, six rounds were needed which were completed in three days with the semi-finals and final on the last day.[9][10]John Ball again lost in the semi-finals, 7&6 to
Henry Lamb, but Lamb lost the final against
Horace Hutchinson by the same score.[11]
The first stage of the Championship involves 288 players, each of whom plays two rounds of 18 holes, one on each of two courses, over the first two days. The 64 lowest scores over the 36 holes, and ties for 64th place compete in the
match play stage of the Championship, on the event's principal course, and are seeded by qualifying scores. Each match consists of one round of 18 holes, except for the Final, which is over 36 holes. Since there are generally more than 64 qualifiers from the stroke play stage, the first round of the
match play involves a small number of matches to reduce the number of qualifiers to exactly 64. Tied matches are broken by sudden death over extra holes. The event is played in June, normally with a Monday to Saturday schedule.
The winner receives invitations to three of the major championships, namely the following month's
Open Championship, and the following year's
Masters Tournament and
U.S. Open, provided he remain an amateur prior to each major. The Amateur Championship is open to amateur golfers of any nationality in good standing with their national federations. Briton
John Ball won the most career titles, with eight. Ball was still competing in the event as late as 1921 at
Royal Liverpool Golf Club.[13] In modern times, Briton
Michael Bonallack's five titles lead. The most famous American winner of the competition was
Bobby Jones, whose 1930 victory was part of his
Grand Slam.
^The final was reduced to 18 holes after mist had caused a delayed start on the Thursday and only one round was played on that day rather than the two planned.
Bobby Jones – 1930 Amateur; 1926, 1927, 1930 Opens
Stroke-play qualifying
Stroke-play qualifying was introduced in 1983. 36 holes are played, using two courses, with the leading 64 and ties advancing to the match-play stage. From 1983 to 1985 exactly 64 players qualified, ties for the final places being decided on countback. In 2020 qualifying was reduced to one round. The leading qualifiers are given below:
+ Number one seed. If two or more players are tied, the seeding is decided on countback using the combined scores on the last 9 holes of both qualifying rounds.[116]
Host courses
The Amateur has been played at the following courses, listed in order of number of tournaments hosted (as of 2023):