The staging of The Amateur Championship in Kent this June gives golf fans a fantastic opportunity to watch some of the potential stars of the future as they battle it out for top honours in one of the game’s biggest and most prestigious amateur events in the world.
From June 19 to 24, Royal St George’s Golf Club on the east coast of the county will host the 288-man tournament competing in a mixed strokeplay and matchplay format over the six days, with the field competing two 18 hole strokeplay qualifying rounds at St George’s and Prince’s, from which the top 64 and ties will qualify for the matchplay stages. Entry into the event is free of charge over the full six days.
Although the winner of The Amateur Championship will not of course earn the thousands of pounds that go along with trophies in the professional ranks, he will earn a coveted spot in the US Masters tournament as well as The Open and US Open Championships whilst every competitor will have the opportunity to play one of England’s finest championship links course and the venue for The Open Championship in 2020.
Spanish professionals Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia, victorious at this year’s US Masters, have both won The Amateur back in 1984 and 1998 respectively and are good examples of how winners of the competition have gone on to become stars of the game.
The field for The Amateur is one of the game’s most international with all major golfing nations covering the six continents allocated entries on a quota basis so fans can expect to see some amateur golf of the highest quality over two of England’s finest championship links.
Whilst the final field for the event has not been confirmed, it will include the top amateurs in the world according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking compiled by The R&A and the USGA. Curtis Luck of Australia, who made his debut at the US Masters recently thanks to a win at the US Amateur, is currently ranked in the number one position and is likely to be in the final line-up.
England’s Scott Gregory won the event last year when it was played at Royal Porthcawl.
The staging of the 122nd Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s marks the 14th time that the club has hosted the event.
Details of the event are:
- Dates: June 19 – 24, 2017
- Venues: Royal St George’s, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9PB (June 19 – 24)
Prince’s, Sandwich Bay Kent CT13 9QB (June 19 & 20) - Time: 0800 – 2000 hrs (approx)
- Tickets: All tickets to the event are free of charge
- Parking: Available on site free of charge
Royal St George’s, recently chosen as the venue for The Open Championship in 2020, is a member of the Golf in Kent partnership that was set up between Visit Kent and some of the county’s leading clubs and hotel providers to promote the county as one of England’s premier golfing destinations.
Known as ‘a golfer’s paradise in the Garden of England’, Kent offers a wide variety of golf breaks which are easily accessible from the international airports of London and from Europe via Eurotunnel le Shuttle and the ferry port of Dover.
Source:- IAGTO
