Top boys set for East Lothian

World’s best young male golfers have a 2016 date with both Muirfield and The Renaissance

MUIRFIELD and The Renaissance will welcome some of the world’s brightest rising stars when they host the Boys Amateur Championship for the first time in 2016

Muirfield, the venue for Phil Mickelson’s thrilling Open Championship victory earlier this year, has been used to host several R&A events down the years, including 11 editions of the Amateur Championship. However, the staging of the Boys Amateur Championship will be a first in the East Lothian links’ long and distinguished history.

Announcing the course as a co-host of the tournament, taking place from August 9-14, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said: “Muirfield is one of the finest links courses in the world and will provide a stern challenge for the leading boy golfers in the Boys Amateur Championship.”

The Renaissance, situated next door to Muirfield, will co-host the event, which will be its first-ever R&A Championship. The club only opened in 2008 and has undergone some notable upgrades over the past two seasons, including course improvements and the construction of a new clubhouse.

CONTESTED

The Boys Amateur Championship is one of the most prestigious events on the international amateur schedule and has been contested by the likes of Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald down the years.

The 2012 champion, Matthew Fitzpatrick, went on to win the Silver Medal as the leading amateur at this year’s Open Championship, as well as the US Amateur Championship and the McCormack Medal as the world’s leading male amateur champion.

Fitzpatrick recently announced his desire to pursue a full-time amateur career  in England after leaving university in the USA.

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