The St Andrews Trophy returns this week after a four year wait.

The match, normally contested every other year, is played between the best male amateur players from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) and the Continent of Europe.

The two nine-player teams will face eachother at Penati Golf Resort, Slovakia on Thursday and Friday (21 and 22 July) in the 33rd edition of the match.

Team Continent of Europe

• Yves Hofstetter (SUI) (Non-playing captain)

• Anton Albers (GER)

• Pietro Bovari (ITA)

• Martin Couvra (FRA)

• Daniel Da Costa Rodrigues (POR)

• Luis Masaveu (ESP)

• Laurenz Schiergen (GER)

• Maximilian Steinlechner (AUT)

• Adam Wallin (SWE)

• Davud Lundgren (SWE)

Team Great Britain & Ireland

• Stuart Wilson (SCO) (Non-playing captain)

• Sam Bairstow (ENG)

• Barclay Brown (ENG)

• Archie Davies (WAL)

• John Gough (ENG)

• Arron Edwards-Hill (ENG)

• Matthew McClean (IRL)

• Robert Moran (IRL)

• Mark Power (IRL)

• Calum Scott (SCO)

The match, first played in 1956, will take placee over two days. Four foursomes matches take place on both mornings, eight singles matches on the afternoon of the first day, and nine singles matches on the afternoon of the second day. With 25 total points on offer, 13 points are needed to secure victory. In the event of a tie, the trophy will be retained by the Continent of Europe, who won the last edition in 2018.

Yves Hofstetter, a former Swiss international team player, will captain the Continent of Europe team. Hofstetter has represented the Continent of Europe four times in the match. Twice as a player, and twice as a captain. He will look to captain the team to victory for a second time, having led the Continent of Europe team to a final-day comeback win in 2018.

“My players and their captain are looking forward this great match in Slovakia” said Hofstetter ahead of the match. “We thank Penati for hosting the event and are sure that we will have a hard competition in a very sportive and friendly atmosphere. Welcome to Stuart and his team”

The players will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson, who have all formerly competed in the match.

The victorious 2018 Continent of Europe St Andrews Trophy team

All eighteen players will be making their first appearance in the match, although some have already represented their respective teams. On the European side, Adam Wallin and Daniel Da Costa Rodrigues have previously represented their continent in the Jacques Léglise Trophy, the identical match for boys.

On the GB&I side, two players have already represented the team. Barclay Brown and Archie Davies both competed in the Jacques Léglise Trophy for GB&I, while the former was also selected to compete in the Walker Cup last year. Brown recently drew the spotlight in the golfing world, opening with a 68 (-4) at St. Andrews in the 150th Open to put his name amongst the leaders. The Englishman earned a spot through final qualifying, although will face a completely different challenge at Penati Golf Resort compared to the hard and fast fairways of the Old Course.

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The GB&I team look strong on paper, with three of the top-10 ranked players in the European Amateur Golf Ranking on their side. John Gough has shown excellent form this year, capturing both the Spanish Amateur and Lytham Trophy titles. Sam Bairstow, who also competed in The Open last week, is another player to look out for, having finished runner-up in The Amateur Championship just a few weeks ago.

The Nicklaus Design Legend course at Penati Golf Resort will set the stage for the first St Andrews Trophy to take place in Slovakia. The 2018 European Ladies’ Amateur Championship was played on the Heritage at the same venue, which is located an hour north of Bratislava.

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Historically, the GB&I side has dominated the contest. The majority of wins up until 2010 went to this year’s away side, although the match has been closely contested in recent editions. The Continent of Europe has won three of the last five editions, including the most recent in 2018.

The contest is jointly organized by the European Golf Association and The R&A. The EGA selects the Continent of Europe team, while the GB&I team is chosen by The R&A.

Updates, scoring and videos can be found throughout the week on the event webpage below:

Header photo credit: Martin Zilka @Photomartini