2013 British Open: Meet the amateurs
The highly-anticipated British Open
Championship tees off Thursday from
Muirfield.
The usual suspects are in
the hunt with Tiger Woods the
heavy odds-on favorite and Phil Mickelson
coming off a big links win this past
weekend.
But what about the amateurs in the field?
Here's a look at the seven
amateurs that reached the field and hope to
contend well into the weekend:
Ben
Stow, England: Stow recently finished his
freshman year at the
University of Kentucky. He was the runner-up
at the English Golf Union's
Champion of Champions event and won the
European Challenge Trophy in
2012. He qualified for the Open with rounds of
72-68 at Gullane No. 1.
Garrick
Porteous, England: Last month, Porteous
won the British Amateur.
Before that, he won the Scottish Stroke Play.
A recent graduate from the
University of Tennessee, Porteous may be the
hottest amateur in the field
and enters as the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com
Players Rankings World No. 1.
Jimmy
Mullen, England: Qualified for the 2013
Open with a birdie on his final
hole, which gave him a 6-under total at the
North Berwick qualifier. Mullen,
just 19, was the medalist in a field that
included Colin Montgomerie. Mullen
also has a T3 at the British Men's Open
Amateur Stroke Play Championship.
Grant
Forrest, Scotland: Just 20, Forrest is the
Scottish Amateur Champion.
He played his way into the Open, shooting 67-
65 at Dunbar local qualifying.
A member of the team at San Diego
University,
Forrest was selected to
represent his country at the European Team
Championship.
Rhys
Pugh, Wales: A 2011 Walker Cupper,
Pugh
came from four shots back to
win the 2012 European Amateur. The 38th-
ranked player in the world, Pugh
has also been part of the Welsh European
Team Championship and
Eisenhower Trophy teams.
Matthew Fitzpatrick, England: Played
his way into the British Open with
rounds of 68-72 at Gullane No. 1 and enters
as
the 2012 Boys Amateur
Championship winner thanks to a record 10-
and-8 performance in the final
match.
Steven
Fox, United States: Fox, a recent
graduate from Tennessee-
Chatanooga, enters the field via exemption
after winning the 2012 U.S.
Amateur Championship. Fox is ranked No. 14
in
the
Golfweek/amateurgolf.com World Player
Rankings.
ABOUT THE British Open
The most coveted trophy in the game and one
of the most iconic in all of sport: more
commonly referred to as the Claret Jug.
Within
minutes of winning the British Open, the
"Champion Golfer of the Year" gets his name
engraved on that cup, and a place in golfing
history.
Amateurs have played an
important role in the tournament over the
years, with players like Sergio Garcia, Justin
Rose, and more recently Alfie Plant stepping
into the international limelight with their
golfing
performances.
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