The Scottish Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship is the national amateur

stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

championship in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Entry is open to all amateur golfers. It has been played annually since 1967 and is organised by the

Scottish Golf Scottish Golf is the governing body for amateur golf in Scotland. It was formed in 2015 as a merger between the Scottish Golf Union, the governing body for men, and the Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association, the equivalent body for women. Its pred ...

. The format is 72-hole stroke-play contested over three days. After 36 holes the leading 40 competitors and ties play a further 36 holes on the final day.

History

The event was started in 1967, based on the format of the

Brabazon Trophy The English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy is the national amateur stroke play golf championship in England (although entry is open to overseas golfers). It has been played annually since 1947 and is organised ...

which had been played in England since 1947. It was held on 1 and 2 July with 36 holes played each day. Two courses,

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...

and Gullane No. 1, were used on the first day after which the leading 40 and ties played 36 holes at Muirfield on the final day.

Bernard Gallacher Bernard Gallacher, OBE (born 9 February 1949) is a Scottish professional golfer. Early life and amateur career Gallacher was born in Bathgate, Scotland. He took up golf at the age of eleven. In 1965 he won the Lothians Golf Association Boys C ...

win with a score of 291, five strokes ahead of Charlie Green. A similar format was generally used in following years, with two courses used on the opening day. Starting in 1968 the championship was played in June for many years.

Ronnie Shade Ronald David Bell Mitchell Shade, MBE (18 October 1938 – 10 September 1986) was a Scottish professional golfer. Life and career Shade was born in Edinburgh and grew up playing golf at Duddingston Golf Club in that city. He enjoyed unrivalled ...

won by six strokes in 1968 at

Prestwick Prestwick ( gd, Preastabhaig) is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, an ...

. There was another Scottish winner in 1969, Scott Macdonald, although two English golfers, Peter Benka and

Rodney Foster Rodney Foster (born 13 October 1941) is an English amateur golfer. He was one of the leading British amateurs of the 1960s and early 1970s. He represented Great Britain and Ireland in five successive Walker Cup matches from 1965 to 1973 and twice ...

were runners-up. 1970 saw the first non-Scottish winner, when the South African

Dale Hayes Dale Hayes (born 1 July 1952) is a South African professional golfer. Career outline Hayes won the 15–17 Boys category at the Junior World Golf Championships in 1969. He turned professional the following year and quickly became a successful p ...

won by four strokes.

Ian Hutcheon Ian Colin Hutcheon (born February 1942) is a Scottish amateur golfer. He was one of the leading British amateurs of the 1970s. As an individual, he won the Scottish Amateur in 1973 and was Scottish Amateur Stroke Play Champion three times. He r ...

won in 1971 and would win again in 1974 and 1979. Bert Nicholson won in 1972 while 1973 produced the only tie in the event, when Gordon Clark, from England, and David Robertson finished level. There was no playoff. the experienced Charlie Green won in 1975 while Steve Martin won by a record 11 strokes in 1976. There were further Scottish winners in 1977 and 1978 with Paul McKellar and Alistair Taylor. Mike Miller was a runner-up three times between 1975 and 1978 but never won the championship.

Gordon Brand Jnr Gordon Brand Jnr (19 August 1958 – 31 July 2019) was a Scottish professional golfer. He played on the European Tour, winning eight times, and later the European Senior Tour, winning twice. He played in the 1979 Walker Cup and played twic ...

win in 1980 when the event was reduced to 54 holes by heavy rain on the first day. The 1980s produced two overseas winners. In 1981,

Philip Walton Philip Joseph Walton (born 28 March 1962) is an Irish professional golfer. Walton attended Oklahoma State University in the United States and played for Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup in 1981 and 1983. According to Ronan Rafferty, W ...

, from Ireland, won by a stroke from defending champion

, while in 1989 Frenchman

François Illouz François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

won by two strokes. Charlie Green won for the second time in 1984, while

Colin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scotland, Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour PGA European Tour#Order of Merit winners, Order of Merit titles, including a stre ...

won by five strokes in 1985. The 1990 event was reduced to 36 holes by

harr Harr is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Burke Harr (born 1971), American politician *Harry R. Harr (1921–1945), United States army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient *Jonathan Harr, American writer *Karl Erik Harr (born 194 ...

. 1996 saw the first playoff in the championship.

Alastair Forsyth Alastair Forsyth (born 5 February 1976) is a Scottish professional golfer. Amateur career Forsyth was born in Glasgow, Scotland and grew up supporting Rangers. He was a member of a winning Great Britain & Ireland Jacques Léglise Trophy team ...

and South African

Hennie Otto Hendrik Johannes "Hennie" Otto (born 25 June 1976) is a South African professional golfer. Otto was born in Boksburg. He has played golf on the European Tour since 2000 having graduated from the Challenge Tour, but has only finished within the ...

were tied on 279 and it took nine sudden-death holes before Forsyth won. there were further playoffs in 2000 and 2001 won by Simon Mackenzie and the Australian John Sutherland.

Gary Wolstenholme Gary P. Wolstenholme MBE (born 21 August 1960) is an English professional golfer, known for his long amateur career, who now plays on the European Senior Tour. Wolstenholme was born in Egham, Surrey. His father was Guy Wolstenholme a profession ...

won the 2003, the first English winner since 1973.

Richie Ramsay } Richie Ramsay (born 15 June 1983) is a Scottish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. Ramsay played in the 2005 Walker Cup and, in 2006, became the first British golfer in almost a century to win the U.S. Amateur. Ramsay turned ...

won in 2004 with a record score of 269, but there was another English winner in 2005,

Robert Dinwiddie Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 ...

. Wallace Booth won in 2008, a contest reduced to 54 holes.

Tommy Fleetwood Thomas Paul Fleetwood (born 19 January 1991) is an English professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and European Tour. He has won six times on the European Tour. Background and amateur career Fleetwood was born on 19 January 1991 in Southpo ...

won in 2009 with a new record score of 268, eight strokes ahead of the field. Pre-qualifying, for players without a guaranteed place, was introduced in 2022. A single round was played a few days before the championship.

Winners

Source:

References

{{reflist

External links

Scottish GolfList of winners
Amateur golf tournaments in the United Kingdom Golf tournaments in Scotland 1967 establishments in Scotland Recurring sporting events established in 1967 Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom

History

Winners

See also

References

External links