The Amateur Championship
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The Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held in the United Kingdom. In the rest of the world, it is often known as the "British Amateur" or the "British Amateur Championship". It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur male golfers alongside the U.S. Amateur.
The event was founded in 1885 and has been organised by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews for most of its history. Before World War II it was regarded as one of golf's major championships, but given the modern dominance of the sport by professional golfers, this is no longer the case. Surprisingly, considering the prestige the event still carries, only one Amateur Championship winner in the post-World War II era has gone on to win a professional major—José María Olazábal.
The first stage of the Championship involves 288 players each of whom plays two rounds of 18 holes, one on each of two courses. The 64 lowest scores over the 36 holes and ties for 64th place compete in the match play stage of the Championship. Each match consists of one round of 18 holes except for the Final which is over 36 holes. The event is played in June. The winner receives invitations to two of the major championships, namely the following month's Open Championship, and the following year's Masters Tournament.
The Amateur Championship is open to golfers of any nationalility. The most famous American winner of the competition was Bobby Jones, whose 1930 victory was part of his Grand Slam.
The courses that have hosted the Amateur the most times (through 2007):
- 18 Royal Liverpool Golf Club
- 16 St Andrews Links
- 13 Royal St George's Golf Club
- 11 Prestwick Golf Club
- 10 Muirfield
[edit] Winners
[edit] Multiple winners
Sixteen players have won more than one Amateur Championship, through 2007:
- 8 wins: John Ball
- 5 wins: Michael Bonallack
- 4 wins: Harold Hilton
- 3 wins: Joe Carr
- 2 wins: Horace Hutchinson, Johnny Laidlay, Freddie Tait, Robert Maxwell, Ernest Holderness, Cyril Tolley, Lawson Little, Frank Stranahan, Trevor Homer, Dick Siderowf, Peter McEvoy, Gary Wolstenholme
Three players have won both the Amateur and the Open:
- John Ball - 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894, 1899, 1907, 1910, 1912 Amateurs; 1890 Open
- Harold Hilton - 1900, 1901, 1911, 1913 Amateurs; 1892, 1897 Opens
- Bobby Jones - 1930 Amateur; 1926, 1927, 1930 Opens
