Andy DevaneyThe R&A Boys’ and Girls’ Amateur championships produced two very different versions of pressure in Scotland: one settled by a wedge on the 37th hole, the other by a teenager who recovered from three down in the wind.
Óliver Elí Björnsson became the first Icelandic winner of the Boys’ Amateur at Gailes Links, while Marta Muñoz beat fellow Spaniard Adriana Garcia Terol 3&2 at Craigielaw.
Iceland gets its first Boys’ Amateur champion
Björnsson’s final against Sweden’s Ludwig Libera never threatened to become comfortable. The 16-year-old birdied the opening hole, but neither player led by more than one during the morning. Libera moved ahead with a 20-foot birdie at the 11th before the pair finished 18 holes all square.
The Swede, trying to become his country’s sixth winner and third in five years, built a three-hole lead around the turn in the afternoon. Then Björnsson started removing it.
A five-foot birdie at the 31st cut the deficit. At the 33rd, he escaped a greenside bunker and saved par while Libera made bogey. Two holes later Libera lost his tee shot in a bush down the left and conceded. All square again.
One wedge, 37 holes and a national first
At the 36th, Björnsson’s ten-footer for par caught the cup but stayed out. Libera then missed from just inside him. Extra holes beckoned, which is golf’s polite way of saying nobody was allowed to relax.
“We Icelandic people never give up,” added Björnsson. “When I missed the putt on the last, I thought my chance was gone and it was game over. Ludwig is such a great putter and I thought he’d hole his. But he didn’t and that gave me more hope. I’m very proud of myself.”
At the first extra hole, Björnsson clipped a wedge from around 55 yards to tap-in range. Libera’s birdie attempt went past and the concession followed.
“That shot was possibly the best of my life,” said the victor. “I’m absolutely over the moon. It was such a tight game and a real emotional ride.”
There are less stressful ways to make history. Few are as satisfying.
Muñoz overturns the ranking gap at Craigielaw
Muñoz began the all-Spanish Girls’ Amateur final ranked 1,374th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®, against Garcia Terol at 259th. Rankings supplied the pre-match hierarchy. The match itself was less obedient.
Muñoz was three down after six holes in strong early winds but reached lunch all square. In the afternoon, pars won the 25th and 27th holes before a tee shot to three feet at the par-3 28th put her three up. Garcia Terol won the 30th, but Muñoz ended matters with a 15-foot birdie to win 3&2 and become the fifth Spanish champion.
“I’m so so happy to have won this great championship because this just proves that all the work I have done this year has paid off,” said Muñoz. “Adriana is a great player and a good friend – and it can be difficult to play a good friend. We’ve known each other since we were very young so I knew it was going to be a very tough match.”
A father’s dash, then the embrace
Muñoz’s father, Jose, had his own endurance test. He flew from Madrid to Bristol the evening before, slept for four hours, connected to Edinburgh and reached Craigielaw as his daughter walked up the ninth fairway in the morning. He was there at the finish.
“My dad being here today was a big help for me. I’m means a lot that he was able to see me win this.”
Muñoz, who has committed to the University of Arizona next September, earns exemptions into Final Qualifying for the 2027 AIG Women’s Open, the 2027 Women’s Amateur and the US Girls’ Junior Amateur, plus, by tradition, an invitation to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“Since I was a little girl, I’ve thought about playing in those great championships. So being there is going to be like a dream come true. I’m so happy for myself and my family who have supported me that they will get to enjoy these experiences with me.”
Bigger stages now wait
Björnsson earns an exemption into next year’s Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush and a return to Gailes Links for Final Qualifying for The 155th Open at St Andrews.
In 2027, the Girls’ Amateur moves to Burnham & Berrow and the Boys’ Amateur to Prince’s, both from 9-14 August.
Scotland, meanwhile, has supplied two champions with rather useful memories: Muñoz’s birdie to settle a final against a friend, and Björnsson’s wedge from 55 yards — the sort of shot that can make a 37-hole day feel very short indeed.
