British Boys' and Girls': Helen Briem and Kris Kim triumph

August 20, 2023 | by Royal & Ancient

Helen Briem and Kris Kim (Royal and Ancient)

Briem dominated in the final to become the first German champion. England's Kim outduels Papayoanou in extra holes

Helen Briem became the first German to win The R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship in its 104-year history as England's Kris Kim claimed the Boys’ Amateur Championship trophy at Ganton today.

Briem won the 36-hole Final of the 94th Girls’ Amateur Championship by a record 12&10 margin against Spain’s Martina Navarro Navarro.

Kim came out on top at the 38th hole in the closely contested Final of the 96th Boys' Amateur Championship against Alex Papayoanou.

Briem and Kim gain exemptions into Final Qualifying for the AIG Women’s Open and The Open as well as a range of prestigious amateur championships.

The Girls’ Amateur

In the Girls’ Amateur Final, Briem capitalized on a slow start from Navarro Navarro to win the first two holes of the match, and she moved to three-up with a birdie four at the sixth.

The 18-year-old German’s only blemish on the front nine came with an untidy double bogey at the par-5 seventh to lose the hole, but she won three of the next four holes to move to five-up by the 11th.

A birdie three at the 14th extended Briem’s lead to six holes. Navarro Navarro struggled to find a way back into the match and lost the last three holes of the morning round to leave Briem with a commanding nine-up lead.

The 15-year-old Spanish girl had a mountain to climb in the afternoon, and it got a little higher when Briem won the 20th to go ten-up. Navarro Navarro did manage to win the 21st when Briem three-putted from the front of the green, but she bogeyed the 22nd hole to fall back again.

Briem turned up the pressure with three consecutive birdies from the 24th, and when Navarro Navarro’s ten-foot putt slipped by the hole at the 26th it left Briem with a tap in to seal a dominant 12&10 victory.

“It means a lot to me to win. It was my last individual junior tournament so it’s definitely nice to end my junior career like that and I’m really happy. I just played solidly and didn’t make many mistakes so it was good," Briem said following the win.

Briem gains exemptions into Final Qualifying for the AIG Women’s Open, The R&A Women’s Amateur Championship, the US Girls’ Junior Championship and, by tradition, an invitation to compete at the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship.

The Boys’ Amateur

In the Boys’ Amateur Final, Kim took the early initiative, winning the second hole with a birdie three, but he slipped up with three bogeys in a row from the fourth, and Papayoanou was able to move to two-up by the sixth.

Kim won the eighth, but the 18-year-old from Houston produced an excellent eagle three at the ninth to restore his two-hole cushion. The 15-year-old from Walton Heath achieved his second birdie of the round at the 11th to cut the deficit back to one hole, but Papayoanou responded with a birdie three at the next to go back to two-up.

Kim’s birdie three at the 14th took him back to one-down, and when his opponent was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the 18th the match was all square going into the afternoon.

Papayoanou won the 19th with a par four, but bogeys at the 21st and 22nd proved costly and gave Kim, who won the McGregor Trophy and the Fairhaven Trophy earlier this year, the initiative as he moved to one-up at the 22nd. The match settled into a pattern around the turn with Kim edging ahead and Papayoanou pegging him back.

The American won the 31st with a birdie four to level the match, but once again Kim moved ahead with a birdie three to win the 32nd. At the 35th, Papayoanou played a delightful chip from short of the green to secure his par which was enough to level the match when Kim could only three putt from a similar position.

The match finished all square after 36 holes and went to the 38th where the American looked to be in control when he chipped to three feet from the back of the green. Kim left his first putt from the front of the green 12 feet short and his attempt from there slipped past the hole.

Papayoanou missed his putt for the Championship and then missed the return from three feet to leave Kim as the champion.

“It’s really tough round here. You can’t not strike it well and get round the course. I think it was really crucial not to take driver out that much and keep it in play," Kim said. "I feel really bad for Alex. It’s really unlucky. It was just a really tough putt for me from the front of the green downhill. I didn’t know, it was just guesswork.

Kim earns exemptions into Final Qualifying for The Open, The Amateur Championship and the US Junior Boys’ Championship.

About the British Boys Amateur

British Boys' and Girls': Helen Briem and Kris Kim triumph

256 players compete in the Championship which is match play and concludes with a 36 hole Final. Age Qualification - Under the age of 18.

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