Castlerock named amongst R&A amateur venues for 2021

The R&A has announced the venues for its amateur championships and international matches in 2021 which include some of the most prestigious courses in Great Britain and Ireland.

Nairn, in the north of Scotland, will host The Amateur Championship for the second time following the first occasion in 1994 when Englishman Lee James triumphed over Scotland’s Gordon Sherry by 2&1 in the 36 hole final. The qualifying rounds will also be played at Nairn Dunbar.

It will be the 126th staging of The Amateur Championship which features a field of 288 world-ranked players with the winner earning a place in The Open and the following year’s US Open. Traditionally, the winner also receives an invitation to the Masters Tournament.

Hunstanton in Norfolk, England will host The Women’s Amateur Championship for a sixth time and first since 1972 when England’s Mickey Walker successfully defended her title defeating Claudine Clos-Rubin of France by two holes.

It will be the 118^th staging of The Women’s Amateur Championship which features a field of 144 world-ranked players with the winner earning a place in the AIG Women’s British Open, US Women’s Open, The Evian Championship and Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship.

Duncan Weir, Executive Director – Golf Development and Amateur Championships at The R&A, said, “We are delighted to be taking our 2021 championships to venues of the highest quality that will challenge the world’s leading men and women amateurs.”

“Our aim is to provide the opportunity for those players to compete with their international peers and to show how good they are. Selecting outstanding venues is key and we are delighted to have such a strong schedule for 2021.”

Elsewhere, 2021 will see Royal Cinque Ports, Deal and Prince’s host the R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship for the first time. The venues on the Kent coast will welcome the world’s leading boy golfers who will travel from all over the world to compete in the championship 100 years after it was first played.

The R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship will be played at Fulford in Yorkshire and the  R&A Girls’ U16 Amateur Championship will be played at Enville in the West Midlands, both venues hosting these championships for the first time.

An addition to The R&A’s schedule in 2021 will be the Men’s Home Internationals which will be played at Hankley Common in Surrey.

Elsewhere, the R&A Boys’ Home Internationals will be played at Trentham in Staffordshire, the R&A Women’s and Girls’ Home Internationals at Ganton in Yorkshire and the R&A Women’s and Men’s Senior Home Internationals at Machynys in Wales.

The R&A Senior Amateur Championship will be played at Royal Dornoch, while the R&A Women’s Senior Amateur Championship will be played at Castlerock in Northern Ireland.

On the international stage Great Britain and Ireland teams will compete against the Continent of Europe in The Jacques Leglise Trophy (boys) in Sweden, The Vagliano Trophy (women) and The Junior Vagliano Trophy (girls) both in Switzerland.  The men’s team will compete against the United States of America in the Walker Cup at Seminole, Florida.

Please see below the full schedule of amateur championships and international matches to be played in 2021: