Stuart Grehan of Ireland and Matt Moloney of the United States will meet in the 36-hole final of The 131st Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool on Saturday, teeing off at 8:32am.
Grehan, ranked 46th on the World Amateur Golf Rankings, beat Estonia’s Richard Teder 2&1 in the semi-finals. Moloney, ranked 677th, edged Germany’s Emil Riegger by one hole.
It is the second consecutive Irish-American final. Last year at Royal St George’s, Ethan Fang of the USA defeated Ireland’s Gavin Tiernan. Moloney, a 20-year-old University of Georgia student and friend of Fang’s, is bidding to deliver back-to-back American victories for the first time in 50 years.
The winner earns exemptions into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale next month, the US Open, and, by tradition, an invitation to the Masters Tournament.
Grehan’s chip-in on 11
Grehan’s semi-final with Teder was tight throughout, never separated by more than one hole. A chip-in birdie from below the par-3 11th green proved a pivotal moment, with Teder missing his putt to halve.
Grehan lost the 14th when his approach hit the slope and rolled back, but regained the lead with a birdie on the 16th. Teder had a three-footer to halve the 17th and extend the match but missed, ending his run.
“It was a really tight, tight match there,” Grehan said. “Richie, I know him very well, so I knew he would produce some good stuff, which he did. Luckily I produced some good stuff myself.”
Earlier in the day, Grehan dispatched England’s Edward Featherstone 5&4 in the quarter-finals after going four-up through five holes.
Moloney’s battling run
Moloney’s route to the final has been testing. Four of his match play wins came on the 18th green, with another decided on the 24th hole.
Against Riegger, Moloney built a three-hole lead through 11 and held firm despite the German pulling one back with a birdie on 16. Riegger missed makeable putts on both the 13th and 15th that could have changed the complexion of the match.
“I can’t say I was in control, but I did have the lead the whole time, which was nice,” Moloney said. “It felt good to have a little bit of a cushion.”
In the morning quarter-final, Moloney overcame compatriot Kihei Akina, ranked 12th in the world, by two holes after Akina had levelled the match with an eagle on the 13th. Moloney sealed it with a birdie on 18.
The final can be watched free of charge on-site at Royal Liverpool or live on R&A TV and YouTube.
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.