The Boys Amateur Championship, one of the most established and prestigious men's tournaments on the international calendar, proved unfavorable for Spanish players this year, as all three who qualified for the Match Play stage failed to advance past the first round. The tournament was won by Sweden's Viggo Olsson Mörk, who defeated Dutchman Scott Woltering 4/3 in the final.
After qualifying among the top 64 in the Stroke Play phase, Jan Farré, Íñigo Aguirre and Jorge Hao faced the first elimination round, the 1/32 final, from which they have not managed to emerge victorious.
Jan Farré, the best Spaniard in the preliminary phase, faced Englishman Harry Cox, but could not beat the Briton, falling by a score of 4/3.
Iñigo Aguirre also failed to achieve his goal, after being defeated by the Dutchman Scott Woltering by 5/3.
And the third Spaniard in the competition, Jorge Hao, was the closest to victory, extending his match to the 19th hole, where he finally succumbed to the Icelander Skúli Gunnar Agustsson.
Thus, the Spanish adventure in this important tournament has come to an end, and the tournament will continue until Saturday at the Moortown Golf Club in Alwoodley, near Leeds.
Three out of eleven after the Stroke Play round
A total of eleven Spanish players traveled to England to compete in this year's edition of The Boys Amateur Championship, and of all of them, three achieved the first objective, which was none other than to finish among the top 64, positions that gave access to the Match Play phase.
These were Jan Farré, Íñigo Aguirre, and Jorge Hao. The Catalan was the highest-ranked Spaniard, finishing in 31st place with a total of 147 strokes (+5), while the two from Madrid finished in 48th and 57th place with 148 strokes (+6) and 149 strokes (+7) respectively.
The best in this first phase, and therefore the first seeds, were the Dane Mads Heller and the Finn Leevi Hellberg.
Adrián Otaegui, last Spanish winner
The Spanish record in this event includes a total of eight victories, the last one in 2010 with the brilliant victory of Adrián Otaegui, who defeated the German Max Rottluf in the final (4/3).
Earlier, in 2007, Emilio Cuartero fueled the Spanish harvest at Royal Porthcawl (Wales) by beating the Scot Fraser Fotheringhram by 1up.
Previously, Jesús López (1981), José María Olazábal (1983), Francisco Valera (1991), Sergio García (1997), Alfonso Gutiérrez (1999) and Pablo Martín (2001) had accomplished this feat.
See results and additional information below, in the Related Links section.
