Guus Lafeber advanced to the second round of The 131st Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool on 17 June after defeating Walker Cup player Connor Graham on the 19th hole of a tense match-play contest.

The Dutchman, who won The R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship in 2025, is pursuing a combination few players have completed: winning both The Boys’ Amateur and The Amateur Championship. The R&A described it as “a rare R&A double” in its post-match release. Getting past Graham, a two-time Walker Cup player from Scotland, was a notable result in the opening round of match play.

Lafeber, the son of former Dutch Open winner Maarten, held the advantage for much of the round but could not shake his opponent. The match was all square playing the 18th, where Lafeber knocked a wedge from the middle of the fairway to within eight feet. Graham was in the right-hand rough but produced a strong recovery, rolling his approach inside Lafeber’s ball. Both made birdie, and the match went to extra holes.

On the 19th, the two players found similar positions off the tee but diverged from there. Lafeber found the right side of the green while Graham had to come up a slope from the left. Lafeber’s long putt finished within gimme distance. Graham ran his well past the flag and missed the return, handing the Dutchman victory.

“That was so nerve-wracking. I played great. It was important to get off to a fast start and that’s what I did. But I knew it would be tough. Connor also played some really good golf. It was a really good match. I’m just glad that I’ve done it.”

He pointed to the experience his earlier title success gives him in this format. “I have my win in The Boys’ Amateur too,” he said. “I definitely know what it takes to win in match play.”

Lafeber also credited Dutch coach and former DPWT player Reiner Saxton, who was on site at Hoylake. “He knows how to win this tournament,” Lafeber said. “He’s a great man to lean on.”

First-round results across the draw

The match-play stage at Royal Liverpool followed two rounds of stroke-play qualifying held across Royal Liverpool and West Lancashire, with the top 64 players progressing. The championship was first held at Hoylake in 1885.

Top qualifier Wilhelm Ryding of Sweden survived a scare against Loran Appel of the Netherlands. Appel was two-up after the turn and still one ahead with three holes to play, but hit his tee shot out of bounds on the 16th. On the 17th, his putt up the slope rolled back to his feet, and Ryding took the lead. Ryding closed the match on the 18th after Appel hooked his drive into the rough.

“It was a battle the whole way,” Ryding said. “Come the 16th I was still hitting first and just to see the ball in the fairway there was great.”

Ireland’s Stuart Grehan beat fellow GB&I Walker Cup teammate Eliot Baker 3&2 in a match between last year’s foursomes partners. Grehan lost the opening hole but chipped in for eagle on the second and birdied the third to seize a lead he never gave back. He estimated he played to five or six under par.

Germany’s Emil Riegger emerged from a 21-player sudden-death playoff for the final ten match-play spots, then went on to beat Louis Klein of the Czech Republic by one hole. Riegger had been through a similar playoff at last year’s US Amateur and failed to advance on that occasion.

The match-play stage continues at Royal Liverpool through 20 June, with the final contested over 36 holes. Lafeber’s bid for the double remains intact.