Italy's Filippo Celli wins the 2022 European Amateur Championship

June 25, 2022 | by European Golf Association

Filippo Celli (European Golf Association photo)

Celli's 1-shot victory over Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark earns him a spot in The 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews

Filippo Celli ended the day where be began, on top of the leaderboard at the 2022 European Amateur Championship at Parador El Saler, Spain.

Celli crafted a 3-under 69 in his final round at Parador El Saler to earn a one-shot victory over Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark, capping off the biggest win of the young Italian's career.

Playing in the final group with Spain's Javier Barcos Garbayo, the Italian started the day on -5 and with a one-shot lead. His advantage was quickly erased after making bogey on the first hole, slipping into a five-way tie for the lead on 4-under.

Celli quickly recovered, however, with birdies on the third, fifth, and sixth holes to regain the top spot on the leaderboard.

A near pitch-in would lead to a fourth birdie of the day on the eighth, opening up a two-stroke lead for the Italian.

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, playing in the fifth to last pairing, was Celli's closest challenger. The Dane made six birdies in a round of 67 (-5), setting -7 as the number to beat in the clubhouse.

Celli remained solid on the back-nine, parring holes 10 through 14 despite the wind picking up, firm greens, and tricky pin positions. The Italian then extended his advantage to two strokes with a birdie on 15, but quickly dropped the shot he gained on the following hole.

With Neergaard-Petersen in the clubhouse just one shot behind, the leader needed two pars on the closing holes to secure the European title.

Two greens in regulation and two pars sealed the victory for Celli. He becomes the fourth Italian player to lift the trophy, and the third in six years after Stefano Mazzoli in 2015 and Luca Cianchetti in 2016.

"I don't have too many words. I'm just feeling so happy. Really really happy" said Celli after his round. "I've been waiting to win a trophy like this all of my life, I don't have the words to describe my feelings right now."

"This morning I woke up and told myself, Filippo, enjoy the day. You are living for competition and to feel under pressure and I love to feel the pressure. So I just said have fun and see what happens. And this is what happened."

Celli's victory earns him a place in The 150th Open Championship, to be played in St. Andrews in under three weeks' time.

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen took home the silver medal, one stroke behind Celli with a score of 7-under, while Scotland's Calum Scott took third place outright with a total of 6-under.

Spanish players, Javier Barcos Garbayo and reigning European Young Masters champion, Jorge Siyuan Hao, finished fourth and fifth respectively. The latter carded a 5-under-par 67 to earn his top-five finish.

The European Amateur Championship will return in 2023 for a 36th edition, at Pärnu Bay Golf Links in Estonia.

Results: European Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Filippo Celli	, Italy	1200	64-74-73-69=280
2	Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen	, Denmark	900	67-77-70-67=281
3	Calum Scott	, Scotland	700	71-70-73-68=282
4	Javier Barcos Garbayo	, Spain	700	72-69-71-71=283
T5	Jorge Siyuan Hao	, Spain	700	68-75-74-67=284

View full results for European Amateur

About the European Amateur

Italy's Filippo Celli wins the 2022 European Amateur Championship

The premier championship in Europe, conducted by the European Golf Association, which is comprised of 38 member countries. 72 hole stroke play format. After 54 holes the field is cut to the leading 60 players and ties. The winner earns a spot in the ...