Boys' Amateur Championship Returns to Barassie in 2010

The Boys' Amateur Championship was inaugurated by two members of Royal Ascot Golf Club in 1921 and played by competitors under the age of 16.  For the first year of the tournament this was played at Royal Ascot with one of the notable competitors being Henry Cotton. Next year the tournament returned to Royal Ascot and the club had hoped to continue staging the Championship, however, due to uncertainty of the future of the club the R&A decided to establish a championship rota for the event. Two of its founders, D M Matheson and Colonel T South continued to run the event.

The age limit was raised to 18 two years later and in 1948 Colonel Thomas South, one of the founders of the event, decided to retire and invited The R&A to take over the administration. Sir Michael Bonallack, past Captain and Secretary of The R&A, was Boys Champion in 1952 and went on to capture the Amateur Championship five times.

The Boys' Amateur Championship has been held on the links of Kilmarnock (Barassie) on five previous occasions – 1948, 1955, 1971, 1979 and 1987 producing some notable champions along the way.

The 1971 winner was Howard Clark who, during his professional career was an eleven- time winner on the European Tour and a member of the European Ryder Cup Team on six occasions and was on the winning team three times.

In 1979 it was the turn of Ronan Rafferty who won the Irish Amateur Championship the following year as well as the English Amateur Open Stroke Play title - all as a 16 year old. A regular winner on the European Tour between 1988 and 1993 Ronan was also victorious in tournaments played in South America, Australia and New Zealand.

Other winners were;

1948 – J D Pritchett

1955 – S C Wilson

1987 – C O’Carroll

The Format

256 players compete in the Championship which commences with 36 holes of medal play from which the leading 64 players will qualify for the knockout stage. The competition concludes with a  36 hole Final on Sunday 15th August.

Age Qualification - Under the age of 18 at 00.00 hours on 1 January 2010.

Past winner in 2009 was Tom Lewis from Welwyn Garden City who defeated Eddie Pepperell of Drayton Park. Both finalists later represented GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy.

Since 1952 a prize has also been presented to the best performing 16 year old. It is the Peter Garner Bowl and commemorates the death of a competitor who was killed in a road accident when returning from the Championship in 1951.

Previous Winners

You can have a look at all previous winners of the British Boys

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