Amateur Golf — Tournament Update
Leeds, England — Tom Osborne has put the 80th Brabazon Trophy on a leash, opening a commanding seven-shot lead through 36 holes of the English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Moortown Golf Club.
Note: confirm scores against the official leaderboard before filing — figures below reflect play through Round 2 on May 22.
The 24-year-old Englishman, a member of Lindrick and a product of nearby Yorkshire, opened with a course-record 9-under 62 on Thursday and followed it Friday with a 5-under 66 to reach 14 under par. Eliot Baker is his nearest pursuer at 7 under after the joint-low round of the day, a bogey-free 65.
Osborne's command of the MacKenzie heathland layout is no accident. He won the Yorkshire County Championship over the same course in 2022, and he arrives in form, having captured the Spanish Amateur at El Rey earlier this season and helped England defeat France in an international match at Chantilly last week. He has signaled plans to turn professional at the end of the year, which would make a Brabazon title a fitting close to his amateur career.
Baker, an England squad member who lost to Osborne in the final of the Spanish International Amateur in March, climbed from a sluggish opening round into solo second. Australia's Chase Oberle matched the day's best 65 to move into a tie for ninth, while Kris Kim, Oliver Lewis-Perkins, Lewy Hayward and Jack Diment share third at 6 under.
The day was not without attrition. Wales' Jamie Dean, who had shared second place after an opening 65, withdrew with an injury before the second round.
The 36-hole cut fell at 2 over (144), advancing 66 players — the low 60 and ties — into the weekend. Round three begins Saturday with the leaders off in the early afternoon, after which the field is re-drawn for Sunday's closing 18 holes. A tie for the title is settled by sudden death; all other placings are decided on card countback from the final round backward.
The Brabazon, first played in 1947 and named for Lord Brabazon of Tara, who donated the current trophy in 1948, drew a field of 144 players from 17 countries this year, a mix of exempt entries and qualifiers from three regional events. The championship carries new headline sponsorship from Turkish Airlines, counts toward the inaugural European Amateur Order of Merit, and rewards its winner with an exemption into a HotelPlanner Tour professional event. Defending champion Biagio Andrea Gagliardi of Italy, the first Italian to win the title, is in the field.
Two subsidiary awards are also in play: the George Henriques Salver for the leading GB&I player under 20, and the Philip Scrutton Jug for the best combined total across the Brabazon and the Berkshire Trophy, the latter won last week by England's Aaron Moody.
Moortown, founded in 1909 and designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie, is hosting the Brabazon for the sixth time. Best known as the site of the first Ryder Cup played on British soil, in 1929, the course stretches to 7,001 yards at a par of 71, with firm fairways, heavy heather and contoured greens. Past Brabazon champions include four-time winner Sir Michael Bonallack, Sandy Lyle, Ronan Rafferty and Peter McEvoy, along with future tour winners Ignacio Garrido, Peter Hanson, Charl Schwartzel and Jordan Smith.
Mid-tournament update written May 22, 2026. Verify all scores against the official leaderboard and add round three coverage once Saturday's play concludes.
