Tim Wiedemeyer is the 2026 European Amateur Champion. The 21-year-old German closed with a 3-under 68 at Linna Golf in Finland to finish on 13-under 271, two clear of Nevill Ruiter of the Netherlands. The victory earned Wiedemeyer a place in The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale next month.
The win also settled an old score. At the same championship in Denmark in 2024, a then 19-year-old Wiedemeyer stood on the 72nd tee with the lead, needing only par to claim the trophy. A poor tee shot led to a quadruple bogey nine, and the title slipped away.
Slow Start, Sharp Recovery
Wiedemeyer’s week at Linna Golf began with a 1-over 73 that left him tied for 80th. Back-to-back rounds of 65 transformed his position, the second of which gave him a two-stroke lead heading into the final day.
That cushion vanished quickly on Saturday. Ruiter birdied the opening hole in the penultimate group while Wiedemeyer dropped a shot, and the two players were suddenly level.
Wiedemeyer responded. Back-to-back birdies on the par-4 10th and short par-4 11th rebuilt a comfortable gap, and a further birdie at the par-5 15th extended his advantage. An exceptional sand save at the 17th all but sealed the result, leaving the German to close with a steady par on 18.
“I don’t know what to think right now,” Wiedemeyer said after holing the winning putt. “It’s going to take a bit of time to sink in. I’m just so happy to get it done.”
The memory of Denmark was not far away. “Walking down the last couple of holes I was thinking about how I made that nine a couple of years ago, so it feels good to get it done and not make a nine on the last hole.”
On his approach to the week after a difficult opening round, Wiedemeyer said: “I was just trying to execute my game plan. I feel like I had a rough start to the tournament so the only thing I could do was stick to my game plan and control the things I could control, and that’s what I tried to do today.”
Ruiter, Fantinelli Complete the Podium
Ruiter, the co-leader after round two, could not find the putts in the final round and finished solo second on 11-under. Italy’s Riccardo Fantinelli produced the lowest round of the championship, a 7-under 64, to climb from a tie for 31st into third place on 7-under.
Two Roads to Royal Birkdale
Wiedemeyer’s title comes with an exemption into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. “It’s a dream come true to play a major,” he said. “I’m just going to try and learn as much as possible and whatever happens there, happens.”
He will not be the only amateur from this week heading to Merseyside. France’s Lev Grinberg, the round-one leader at Linna Golf and recent St Andrews Links Trophy champion, secured his own Royal Birkdale place as winner of The Open Amateur Series.
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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.