When: 11 October 2025

What: 34th World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy

Where: Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course), Singapore

Rapid Recap:

Saturday’s final round of the World Amateur Team Championship at Tanah Merah Country Club served as a coronation round for South Africa, which finished 29-under 547, eight strokes ahead of silver-medalist Australia en route to its first victory in the championship and first podium finish in over 40 years. England earned its first bronze medal in the competition, finishing two strokes behind Australia.

“Yeah, just elated. Really proud. The guys played unbelievable golf the whole week. It's just been such a great experience being here,” said Gavin Groves, South Africa’s captain. “This has been a long time coming… it’s been a lot of near misses, a lot of very talented teams.”

World No. 6 Christiaan Maas led the way for his country all week long, carding four rounds in the 60s and registering just three bogeys across the 72 holes of play to finish 10 strokes clear on the individual leader board as well. His pace steadied in the final round, recording a 3-under 69 after rounds of 66-66-65 across the first three days of competition.

“I’m relieved, happy. It’s nice to see that my game can travel. It’s a long flight over here, different conditions,” said Maas, who was the third-highest ranked player in the field this week. “It’s a long week. I think building a lead, everybody thinks it’s all happy, but it also comes with a lot of pressure… Being in a team event, it can quickly go the other way.”

Teammate Daniel Bennett, who also plays alongside Maas at the University of Texas, added an even-par 72 to Maas’ final-round 69, giving South Africa a final-round, 3-under 141. Charl Barnard posted 5-over 77, which marked his fourth non-counting score of the week.

“I’m just happy to have such a good team,” Barnard said. “It really meant a lot for me this week [to represent South Africa]. It’s something that I can look back at when I’m done and be proud to be a part of.”

The Australians were led on Saturday afternoon by Declan O’Donovan, the reigning Canadian Amateur champion, and Harry Takis, who won this year’s Singapore Open Amateur Championship by 11 strokes. O’Donovan finished second in the individual scoring at 12-under 276 after posting a final-round, 3-under 69, while Takis added a 69 of his own to the team’s final-round total of 138.

It marked a 10-shot improvement from Takis' third-round 79 and the Australians’ third consecutive round of 6 under par.

“I went home last night, and coaches had a chat with me about keeping my head up and trying to do what I do best, and I did that today,” said Takis, who will return to Singapore to compete in the Singapore Open in November. “It’s always an honor to represent your country… we don’t take it for granted.”

The Englishmen were led by Eliot Baker in the final round, who posted a 5-under 67 for his best individual performance of the week. Charlie Forster contributed a 2-under 70 for a team 7-under 137, while Tyler Weaver posted a non-counting 73. The trio, who represented GB&I in the Walker Cup Match at Cypress Point in September, finished the championship 19-under 557.

“It was a big goal of the year to be picked for this team,” said Baker, the reigning Scottish Men’s Open champion. “It’s nice to come out here and put this performance in. Slow first few days for myself but finally got it going today.”

Defending champion USA was in position to become the first American team to finish outside of the top 10 in the history of the Eisenhower Trophy after a 6-over 150 in the first round landed it T-32 with Panama. The Americans battled back, posting three consecutive rounds of 5-under 139 to finish T-10 with Japan at 9-under 567 for the championship.

Host country Singapore finished T-18 with Norway after posting 4-under 572 for the championship, its best finish in 15 appearances. In the final round, it was 18-year-old Brayden Lee who led the way with a 3-under 69 after tallying four birdies against a single bogey. Hiroshi Tai carded a 1-under 71, while Troy Storm posted a second consecutive round of even par after starting the week with a 12-over 84 in Round 1.

Quotable:

Gavin Groves, South Africa Captain: “[The conversations were] very much to keep it going, keep the same rhythm, same routine, same recovery, same processes. I know that [Christiaan] Maas had iron in his hand on the first tee, and then he put it away and hit the driver and I said to him, ‘I was going to kill you if you hit iron off the tee.’ So, it was very much just to keep going with what worked, and it obviously worked.

Daniel Bennett, South Africa: “It's a pretty incredible first time, we've got such a great group around us, and we are very thankful to everyone back home and all the support we've had... [Christiaan] Maas has been playing good all week, and we just needed one other good score.”

Chris Zambri, USA Coach: “It was a rough first day, obviously, and I'm just glad they hung in there and did their best and gave it their all the whole time… We really wanted to come here and win this tournament. I know that South Africa played amazingly well, and that would have been a tall task no matter how well we played… In the end, we didn't have it this week like we needed to, to contend with a lot of these great players.”

Murray Smit, Singapore Captain: “I think it was a really good final day for us today... I think [T-18 is] another milestone achievement and something we can really build on from here. I think most importantly, I’m just really proud of all three players; they all chipped in at various points.”

Alejandro Villavicencio, Guatemala: “Well, it's a blessing, really, and an honor to be in the top two or three players in my country eight times now. I just love golf, love this game, and it's given me a lot. So it's really an incredible experience for me to be able to – year after year – keep competing with the young guys back home and be able to qualify for these types of events.”

Darlington Chikanyambidze, Zimbabwe: “I didn't see it go in, but I just saw people shouting and saying, ‘hole-in-one, hole-in-one.’ So yeah, that's how I did it... For me, it's good to be here, and I really enjoyed [the WATC]. And I put [in] all my effort here. So, it was a great week for me. You know, it's not easy, but for my first time, I can appreciate what I did.”

Notable:

• Christian Maas’ 72-hole score of 266 ties the second-lowest individual mark in championship history. France’s Victor Perez, Australia’s Lucas Herbert and Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti all recorded the same score in Japan in 2014, where Spain’s Jon Rahm set the lowest 72-hole total in championship history at 263.
• South Africa’s previous best finish in the Eisenhower Trophy was its silver medal in 1980. Before that, its only podium finishes were bronze in 1970 and 1972.
• In 33 appearances, the Australians have won 15 medals, the most of any country outside of the USA. With its silver on Saturday, Australia now owns four gold, five silver and six bronze.
• England’s bronze medal on Saturday was its second podium finish, and it now owns two medals as a country in the Eisenhower Trophy, having earned silver in 2016. England has finished inside the top 10 nine times.
• Mexico finished solo fourth, registering its first top-five finish in the Eisenhower Trophy since earning silver in 2012, its only medalist performance in the championship.
• For USA, which has competed in all 34 editions of the championship, T-10 marks its lowest finish on the leader board all time (previously 9th in 1996).
• The Dutchmen posted the low final round at 9-under 135, propelling the Netherlands to a sixth-place finish, which is its best performance since winning in 2006 and its sixth top-10 finish all time.
• Darlington Chikanyambidze, of Zimbabwe, recorded a hole-in-one on the par-3 6th (173 yards/158 meters) on Saturday morning, using 8-iron. It was technically his second of the week on that hole, having recorded a hole-in-one on No. 6 during Monday’s practice round as well.
• Alejandro Villavicencio, of Guatemala, was the oldest player in the field this week and was making his eighth appearance in the championship, the most of anyone competing. He is one appearance away from matching the fourth-most appearances in the championship with Austria’s Klaus Nierlich.

What’s Next:

The 2027 World Amateur Team Championships will be hosted by the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation and will be played at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.

Media Contacts

Adrian Godoy – agodoy@usga.org

International Golf Federation – communications@igfmail.org

# # #

About the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC)

The World Amateur Team Championships are a biennial international amateur golf competition conducted by the International Golf Federation. The women contest the Espirito Santo Trophy while the men compete for the Eisenhower Trophy. This year marks the 31^st edition of the women’s WATC which was first played in 1964 in France. The men’s Championship was first played in 1958 on the Old Course of St. Andrews and 2025 is its 34^th edition.

About the International Golf Federation (IGF)

The IGF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international federation for golf. In addition to the World Amateur Team Championships, the IGF also organises the golf competitions at the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games. The IGF is composed of 153 member federations from 150 countries.

About the Singapore Golf Association (SGA)

The SGA is the National Sport Association governing the game of golf in Singapore. Its objective is to encourage and promote the game of golf in Singapore. The SGA is currently comprised of 11 Full Members, 7 Associate Members and 6 Affiliate Members. It is a member of the International Golf Federation, Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, ASEAN Golf Federation, Asia Golf Leaders Forum and the Singapore National Olympic Council.

About Tanah Merah Country Club

As one of Singapore’s and Asia’s most prestigious clubs, Tanah Merah Country Club has built a distinguished reputation for excellence since its official opening in 1984. Its two championship courses, the Garden Course and Tampines Course, are celebrated for their masterful design, impeccable year-round maintenance, and commitment to sustainability—both proudly holding the prestigious GEO Certified® accreditation. Renowned for hosting world-class tournaments, Tanah Merah Country Club has a rich history of staging international events, including the Johnnie Walker Classic, Lexus Cup, and HSBC Women’s Champions. More recently, the club welcomed the Asian Tour’s International Series Singapore (ISS), and the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open (HFGSWO). With numerous industry accolades and affiliations with top foreign clubs, Tanah Merah Country Club remains the premier destination for championship tournaments, as well as exclusive private and corporate golf events.