Ten amateurs teed it up at Royal Birkdale this week with a single shared assignment: end the longest Silver Medal drought since the award became a fixture of Open week. No amateur has survived the 36-hole cut since 2022, and R&A CEO Mark Darbon would very much like to hand the medal out alongside the claret jug on Sunday.
Through the first day on the Southport links, the race is tight at the top of the amateur board. Ukraine's Lev Grinberg — the first Ukrainian-born player ever to compete in the Open — posted a 1-over 71 in the morning wave, a number U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell and Africa Amateur champion Jack Buchanan matched on the course in the afternoon. The three sit T58, currently inside the top-70-and-ties cut line. World No. 10 amateur Tim Wiedemeyer of Germany and Dutchman Nevill Ruiter drew late-afternoon tee times and are just getting started.
Amateur Leaderboard · Round 1
| Pos | Player | How They're In | WAGR | Score | Thru |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T58 | Lev Grinberg Low Am Ukraine · 18 |
Open Amateur Series winner | 40 | +1 | F |
| T58 | Mason Howell United States · 19 |
U.S. Amateur champion | 45 | +1 | 4 |
| T58 | Jack Buchanan South Africa · 21 |
Africa Amateur champion | 88 | +1 | 2 |
| T84 | Alejandro de Castro Piera Spain · 21 |
Final Qualifying | 52 | +2 | 12 |
| T97 | David Howard Ireland · 25 |
Final Qualifying | 1,441 | +3 | 13 |
| T108 | Stuart Grehan Ireland · 33 |
British Amateur champion | 19 | +4 | 10 |
| T118 | Fifa Laopakdee Thailand · 21 |
Asia-Pacific Amateur champion | 23 | +5 | F |
| T118 | Mateo Pulcini Argentina · 25 |
Latin America Amateur champion | 78 | +5 | F |
| — | Tim Wiedemeyer Germany · 21 |
European Amateur champion | 10 | — | 3:26 PM |
| — | Nevill Ruiter Netherlands · 24 |
Final Qualifying | 126 | — | 4:21 PM |
Scores live as of Thursday afternoon local time. Leaders at 4 under par; cut after Friday is top 70 and ties.
The Drought
The Silver Medal went out six times in eight years from 2015 through 2022 — a stretch that included winners who went on to become household names. It hasn't been awarded since. Past recipients include Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, who claimed his at Royal Birkdale's neighboring links. An amateur simply making the weekend ends the streak.
Round-by-Round Updates
Thursday · Round 1
Grinberg set the early amateur clubhouse mark with a 1-over 71, a round that keeps the 18-year-old inside the projected cut line and puts him at the front of the Silver Medal race. The St. Andrews Links Trophy winner has family following every shot from Ukraine, where his grandfather checks in daily.
Howell and Buchanan joined him at 1 over in the afternoon wave, both with plenty of golf still to play. Howell, the U.S. Amateur champion making his exemption count as the first to do so since Gunn Yang's class, is hunting his first made cut in a major after missing at the Masters and U.S. Open. Buchanan returns to Birkdale nine years after attending the 2017 Open here as a 12-year-old spectator.
Behind them, de Castro Piera sits at 2 over through 12, while Ireland's David Howard — an Audi mechanic playing his first major after a lifetime managing cystic fibrosis — is 3 over through 13. British Amateur champion Stuart Grehan is 4 over through 10, and LAAC winner Mateo Pulcini and Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Fifa Laopakdee both signed for 5-over 75s. Wiedemeyer and Ruiter go off in the day's final wave.
Meet the 10 Amateurs
Lev Grinberg (Ukraine, 18) — The first Ukrainian-born player in Open history. Left Kyiv at 11 for Belgium to chase the game, now based in France. Won the St. Andrews Links Trophy in June to punch his ticket through the Open Amateur Series.
Mason Howell (USA, 19) — The reigning U.S. Amateur champion and the first to use the exemption into the Open since 2015. Has the most major reps in the field alongside Pulcini, with starts at Augusta and the U.S. Open already this year.
Jack Buchanan (South Africa, 21) — Won the Africa Amateur by six. Plays at USC. Was in the gallery here at Birkdale in 2017, leaving with a signed Rickie Fowler glove and a hole-in-one ball from Kevin Na.
Tim Wiedemeyer (Germany, 21) — The highest-ranked amateur in the field at No. 10 in the world. European Amateur champion, three-time Jacques Leglise Trophy winner with Continental Europe, and a two-time college winner at Texas Tech.
Stuart Grehan (Ireland, 33) — The field's best story of reinvention: regained his amateur status in early 2025, won the Irish Amateur, made the GB&I Walker Cup team, then took the British Amateur at Royal Liverpool. Works as a financial advisor.
Fifa Laopakdee (Thailand, 21) — The Arizona State product stormed from six back on the final day to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur. Nicknamed for his father's love of soccer.
Mateo Pulcini (Argentina, 25) — The oldest LAAC champion ever, cashing in the third leg of the exemption trifecta after the Masters and U.S. Open.
Alejandro de Castro Piera (Spain, 21) — The 2026 Big West golfer of the year at Long Beach State, with nine top-10s in 12 starts as a senior. Earned his spot through Final Qualifying.
David Howard (Ireland, 25) — Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 7, he's playing his first Open with a purpose beyond the leaderboard. Works as an Audi mechanic.
Nevill Ruiter (Netherlands, 24) — Finished runner-up at the European Amateur, one spot shy of the automatic exemption, then went out and earned his place through Final Qualifying anyway. College of Charleston alum with a T-66 at the KLM Open this year.
AmateurGolf.com will update this tracker after every round of the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.