Amateur Golf — Final Round

Leeds, England — Tom Osborne led the 80th Brabazon Trophy from the first hole to the last, closing with a level-par 71 on Sunday to win the English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship by two shots at Moortown Golf Club.

The 24-year-old from Lindrick finished at 16-under-par 268 for the week, a wire-to-wire victory built on a course-record 9-under 62 in Thursday's opening round that he never let slip. Rounds of 66 and 69 followed, and although the final day brought the only blemish on his card — a 71 that matched par — the cushion he had built was never realistically threatened.

Eliot Baker pushed hardest. The Tiverton man — like Osborne, a member of the England Golf men's squad — closed with a 4-under 68 to finish alone in second at 14 under (270). The two friends had been paired together in the final group on Saturday and again on Sunday, a familiar match-up for a pair who meet constantly in match play and team golf. Baker also lost to Osborne in the final of the Spanish Amateur in March, a runner-up finish that once more came with the same name above his on the sheet.

Osborne had spoken before the final round about the unusual dynamic of chasing a title alongside a close friend. “It's interesting playing stroke play against someone you play so much match play and team stuff with,” he said. “At the same time you feel comfortable though because it's one of your mates, and I'd much rather be paired with him than not, so I can keep an eye on what he's doing.”

“I know if he goes out there and plays the way he has been, it's almost impossible to chase him — but perhaps be a bit more aggressive, try and make birdies everywhere and see what happens.”
— Eliot Baker, runner-up

Baker's plan never quite caught fire. He generated chances but could not stitch together the run he needed, and Osborne — tidy and patient, exactly as advertised — gave nothing back. “He's a solid player, he doesn't do a lot wrong and he's not giving much away,” Baker had said of his rival. It proved an accurate forecast of how Sunday would unfold.

Hungary's Bence Bertenyi was the standout international performer, climbing to third on the back of metronomic scoring — 69-69-69-68 — to finish at 9 under (275). Oliver Lewis-Perkins took fourth at 8 under (276), and a four-way tie for fifth at 7 under (277) included Harley Smith, who recovered from a second-round 74 with a closing 67, alongside Jack Diment, Jake Sowden and the Netherlands' Melvin Muller.

Ireland's John Doyle, the 19-year-old from Fota Island, had surged into the top five on Saturday with a 4-under 67 and was in pole position for the George Henriques Salver, awarded to the leading GB&I player under the age of 20. He carried a one-stroke advantage in that race over Wentworth's Kris Kim into the final round.

For Osborne, the result was as fitting as it was emphatic. A Yorkshireman, he won the Yorkshire County Championship over this same Moortown layout in 2022, and his familiarity with the Alister MacKenzie heathland design showed all week. Reflecting on his third-round play, he had noted room to be braver: “I was a bit defensive in some areas and I could have gone at a few more pins, so I think I need to bear that in mind and build on that.” He did enough. The Brabazon caps a standout amateur season that already included the Spanish Amateur title at El Rey and a role in England's international win over France at Chantilly. With plans to turn professional at the end of the year, Osborne signs off the amateur game with one of its most prestigious prizes.

The victory also carries tangible rewards beyond the gold trophy. As the Brabazon counts toward the inaugural European Amateur Order of Merit, Osborne banks valuable ranking points, and as champion he receives an exemption into a HotelPlanner Tour professional event later in the year — a timely springboard for a player about to make the leap.

First played in 1947 and named for Lord Brabazon of Tara, the championship was contested this year by 144 players from 17 countries, with new headline backing from Turkish Airlines. Moortown, founded in 1909 and the host of the first Ryder Cup played on British soil in 1929, staged the Brabazon for a sixth time. Osborne joins a champions roll that includes Sir Michael Bonallack, Sandy Lyle, Peter McEvoy and Ronan Rafferty, along with future tour winners Ignacio Garrido, Peter Hanson, Charl Schwartzel and Jordan Smith.

Final leaderboard