The EGA is delighted to confirm the medallists of the 2023 European Men’s and Women’s Amateur Golf Rankings.
The three men and three women receive formal recognition for their achievements in the form of EGA medals.
The final 2023 European rankings, which filter European players from the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), were taken the day before the start of DP World Tour Qualifying School on 28 August.
MEN
1) John Gough (ENG)
2) Frederik Kjettrup (DEN)
3) Jose Luis Ballester (ESP)
John Gough (ENG) has been awarded an EGA gold medal for finishing the season as the top-ranked amateur player in Europe. The Englishman represented Europe at the Bonallack Trophy earlier this month and received a call up for the GB&I Walker Cup team this week.
Gough won twice in 2023, in the first week of the year at the Australian Master of the Amateurs, and earlier this summer at the Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship. He also finished runner-up at the Copa Sotogrande, and co-led the Betfred British Masters at the halfway stage.
Denmark’s Frederik Kjettrup, who takes home the silver medal, also represented Europe in the Bonallack Trophy this summer. The Dane climbed the WAGR rankings earlier this year after strong performances in US College events. The Florida State player won the Watersound Invitational in February, which he immediately followed up with back-to-back second-place finishes.
One of Kjettrup’s strongest performances of the year came at his home DP World Tour event, Made in Himmerland, where he finished in the top-25 and as lowest amateur.
Jose Luis Ballester (ESP) has been awarded the European Men’s Ranking bronze medal. The Spaniard had an electric summer which saw him win the European Amateur Championship and the European Amateur Team Championship in the space of two and a half weeks. The Arizona State Sun Devil earned three top-10 finishes in US College events this year, and narrowly missed the cut at The 151st Open.
WOMEN
1) Ingrid Lindblad (SWE)
2) Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (ESP)
3) Julia Lopez Ramirez (ESP)
In the European Women’s Amateur Ranking, Ingrid Lindblad (SWE) has finished the season as the top amateur player for a record fourth consecutive year. The 2021 European Ladies’ Amateur Champion also won the Mark H. McCormack Medal this month for finishing the season as the top-ranked amateur player in the world.
The Swede helped the Continent of Europe to victory in the Vagliano Trophy this summer, as well as earning top-five finishes in the Women’s NCAA D1, The Women’s Amateur, and the European Ladies’ Amateur Championships.
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (ESP) has finished the season as the number-two ranked player in Europe and the world. The Spaniard helped Team Europe to a first ever Patsy Hankins Trophy win this summer, as well as winning the Vagliano Trophy alongside the other two players on the women’s ranking podium.
Fernandez Garcia-Poggio was also instrumental in Spain’s European Ladies’ Team Championship victory in July and finished in the top-five of both the Portuguese International Ladies’ Amateur and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championships this season.
Julia Lopez Ramirez (ESP) will take home the bronze medal in the women’s ranking. The Spanish player broke the Tegelberga Golf Club course record on her way to winning the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship in July.
Ramirez was also part of the victorious Spanish ladies’ side in Finland, and the winning Vagliano Trophy team at Royal Dornoch in June. The Spanish player’s excellent summer followed many strong performances for Mississippi State, which included victories at the SEC Women’s Golf Championship and the NCAA Westfield Regional.
ABOUT THE EUROPEAN AMATEUR GOLF RANKING
The European Amateur Golf Rankings classify European players using the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) system. The top three players in both the men’s and women’s European Amateur Golf Rankings are awarded EGA medals at the end of the season, which is taken one day before the start of the first stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School.
The latest European Men’s and Women’s Amateur Rankings can be found here:
