One of the biggest weeks in the European amateur golfing calendar starts today.
546 golfers representing 29 countries and 91 different teams are ready to tee off in the 2024 European Team Championships across the continent.
Six separate tournaments are set to be contested from 9 to 13 July (Tuesday to Saturday) at five venues in five countries.
The European Team Championships have been a staple of the European golfing calendar since the first editions of the men’s and ladies’ events in 1959, and across the years have seen virtually all of Europe’s biggest golfing stars represent their countries before turning pro.
Teams will compete for the European titles at four events this week, in the men's, ladies', boys' and girls' categories, while two Division 2 tournaments, for men and boys, will also be contested for teams looking to be promoted to the first divisions of their categories.
Spain enter the week as defending champions in three of the four title championships, having won the Amateur, Ladies’ and Girls’ events in 2023.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Contested across five-days, the events are made up of two days of stroke play qualifying then three days of match play.
Each team, made up of six players, completes two individual stroke play rounds on Days 1 & 2 with five of each team's six scores counting towards their stroke play qualifying totals.
The top eight teams from the stroke play rounds of each championship qualify for the medal-contention 'Flight A' match play bracket. The next eight teams will compete in Flight B, and (where applicable) the remaining teams in Flight C.
Nations go head-to-head in match play on the last three days, with two foursomes matches in the morning and five singles matches in the afternoon.
In the match play brackets, teams are seeded based on their qualifying position, (1 vs 8, 2 vs 7 etc.). Winning teams advance in their brackets, while losing teams, and all those with no chance of winning medals, continue to play a shortened format of one foursomes match and four singles matches against other ‘defeated’ teams to determine final position.
To win the title, a team must qualify for Flight A (top-eight in the stroke play qualifying) and then win all three of its matches. Teams finishing second and third are awarded silver and bronze medals.
In the Men’s and Boys’ tournaments, the bottom three teams will be relegated to the Division 2 events for 2024.
EUROPEAN AMATEUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – ROYAL PARK I ROVERI, ITALY
Regularly ranked as one of the strongest events in Europe for strength of field (by WAGR), the tournament is also the oldest European Championship still contested today alongside the ladies’ equivalent.
The standard 16 teams will compete for the men’s European title this year near Turin in Northwest Italy at the picturesque Royal Park I Roveri Golf Club.
The Allianz course, designed by none other than Robert Trent Jones Senior in 1971, will provide the test to Europe’s elite amateur players this week.
The parkland layout is characterised by tree-lined fairways and large bunkers which defend the sometimes very small greens. Although with more rain than usual in recent weeks, the course is soft and will concede a lot of birdie chances.
The Allianz Course is regularly ranked among the top-50 golf courses on the continent and has hosted numerous prestigious events in the past, including the Italian Open, European Young Masters and most recently the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship in 2021. The club will host the European Amateur Team Champioship for the second time, having set the stage in 2008 when Shane Lowry helped Ireland to the top step on the podium.
Spain enter the week as defending champions and with a chance to make History. Having won the last two editions, at Royal St. George’s in 2022 and at Royal Waterloo in 2023, the Spaniards can become the second country in the events’ history to win the event three times on the trot. They’ll have a strong team to do it as well, with the top-ranked player in Europe and former European Amateur Champion, Jose Luis Ballester in their ranks.
The Spanish squad also features two players selected for the Continent of Europe St Andrews Trophy team, Luis Masaveu and Pablo Ereño.
Denmark finished runners-up in 2023, losing out to the defending champions in a tight final, and will look up to recently crowned amateur champion, Jacob Skov Olesen, to lead them one step higher on the podium this year.
A generally strong field will likely mean a tight contest to get into Flight A a the end of Wednesday, as well as close matches the entire week.
In addition, no less than seven players in this year's field have earned spots on the starting list for next week’s 152nd Open Championship. Alongside The Amateur Champion and Calum Scott (SCO), who won The Open Amateur Series, five players made it through final qualifying. Luis Masaveu (ESP), Jaime Montojo (ESP), Liam Nolan (IRL), Matthew Dodd-Berry (ENG) and Dominic Clemens (ENG) will all tee it up at Royal Troon next week.
European Amateur Team Championship - List of Players
EUROPEAN LADIES’ TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – REAL SOCIEDAD HÍPICA ESPAÑOLA CLUB DE CAMPO, SPAIN
Spain ended a seven-year stretch of either English or Swedish winners last year, and enter the week as defending champions. On home soil, and with five players ranked inside the world’s amateur top-30, they look like favourites on paper to come out on top again.
Four of the six players that lifted the trophy in Finland last year remain on the Spanish team, including the number-three ranked player in WAGR, and reigning European Ladies’ Amateur Champion, Julia Lopez Ramirez. The team recruits two winners from the Girls’ Team Championship of last year, Paula Martin Sampedro and Andrea Revuelta.
The North Course at Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo will set the stage for 19 ladies’ teams this year. Located just outside of the Spanish capital, the club is one of the oldest in Spain, tracing its roots back to 1901. The course has formely hosted the Madrid Open and will welcome its first EGA event this week.
The England team are always among the favourites in this event, although last year’s runners-up will be without world number-one, Lottie Woad, as her Augusta National Women’s Amateur victory qualified her for the Evian Masters this week (which has been moved forward this year to accommodate the Olympics).
Germany, who earned the bronze medals last year, will be led by Helen Briem who is coming off three consecutive victories on the LET Access series.
Sweden are always a team to look out for in all European Team Championships, and are particularly strong in the Ladies' category, although will be without recent team staple and former world amateur number-one, Ingrid Lindblad, who turned pro last month.
European Ladies' Team Championship - List of Players
EUROPEAN BOYS’ TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (JEAN-LOUIS DUPONT TROPHY) – DIAMOUND COUNTRY CLUB, AUSTRIA
Sweden enter the European Boys’ Team Championship as defending champions after one of the most dramatic finishes in the event’s history in Switzerland last year.
Sweden’s final with France last year was tied 3-3, with the only remaining match going to extra holes. Neo Berg (SWE) holed a 30-foot putt for birdie on the second extra hole to spark unforgettable celebrations on the 2nd green at Geneva Golf Club.
The European Boys' Team Championship is typically a tough event to pick out favourites, with six different winners in the last 10 editions. England, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Italy are amongst the regular challengers. France are always a team to watchout for as well, and with a chip on their shoulder from narrowly missing out last year and a strong team on paper, will make for tough opponents this year.
Surprisingly, the last time a GB&I team won the event was before any of the players in the field were born, 2004. England, the winners that year, bronze medalists last year, and the country with the most gold medals in the event, will likely be the favourites among the GB&I teams to end a 20-year wait for the boys' title this week.
Diamond Country Club is no stranger to big tournaments and will set the stage for the 16 teams this week. An 11-time venue to the DP World Tour and 5-time venue to European Championships will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year.
Located 30 kilometres away from Vienna, the club formerly hosted the European Boys’ Team Championship in 2016, which saw France overcome Germany in the championship match.
European Boys' Team Championship - List of Players
EUROPEAN GIRLS’ TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – GÖTEBORGS GOLF KLUBB, SWEDEN
The Girls’ Team Championship, like the Boys’, is also typically tough to call with six different winnners in the last seven editions. That said, last year Spain dominated the event, winning the stroke play qualifying and looking relatively comforatable in all of their matches.
The Spanish team looks strong on paper again this year, and could be the ones to beat.
The home side will look for inspiration from the fact that the least team to win the event on home soil was Sweden, who earned victory in 2013 at Linköpings GK. Although the last time the event was played in Sweden, at Forsgardens GK, it was Italy that came out on top.
Göteborgs Golf Klubb, the oldest golf club in Sweden, will set the stage for the girls this week. A typical parkland course, but with views of the sea, the par-70 will provide a picturesque setting for the 19 girls’ teams competing this year.
European Girls' Team Championship - List of Players
EUROPEAN AMATEUR & BOYS’ TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS, DIVISION 2 – KRAKOW VALLEY GOLF, POLAND
21 teams in the boys' and amateur division 2 tournaments, played simultaneously at Krakow Valley in Poland, will compete for spots in the Men’s and Boys’ Division 1 events for 2025.
The Division 2 championships were formerly contested in a shortened format compared to the others, with just two days of match play following the stroke play qualifying rounds as opposed to three. However this year the format has been extended to match the four titled events taking place this week with two rounds of stroke play and three rounds of match play.
11 teams will compete in the boys’ tournament, while 10 teams will compete in the men’s event.
Although medals and a trophy are awarded to the top teams, the real prize is earning promotion to the European-titled championships for the follwing year. In the Men’s tournament, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Iceland, and hosts, Poland will be teams to watch for the promotion spots, while Belgium Scotland and Portugal are some of the bigger teams on the boys’ side.
Krakow Valley formerly hosted the European Boys’ Team Championship when it was played on its own in 2017, and will set the stage for the largest event this week in terms of number of players.
Laid out over a forested, undulating landscape, Krakow Valley’s generous, wide rolling fairways are tempered by massive, steep-faced greenside bunkers that defend par on many of the holes.
European Amateur Team Championship, Division 2 - List of Players
European Boys' Team Championship, Division 2 - List of Players
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