There has long been a feeling within European amateur golf that the World Amateur Golf Ranking is not fit for purpose.
While it is true that some will mutter about this being some kind of conspiracy in favour of the U.S. college system, most simply acknowledge that the WAGR is compromised by the sheer complexity of its task.
Because to assign value to a vast array of tournaments would be strenuous enough if it were not for the fact that the best players rarely compete against one another.
As an ecosystem it is, to put it mildly, fractured. Moreover, suspicions linger that, because of WAGR’s flaws, a player can game his or her ranking.
And so to the Lytham Trophy, at the start of this month. On the one hand, it marked the start of a stretch of elite individual amateur tournaments in Great Britain and Ireland that continues through to the Amateur Championship in mid-June.
On the other, it was also the fifth event in this year’s inaugural European Amateur Order of Merit.
Launched by the European Golf Association in collaboration with its member federations, it has a men’s and a women’s roster of 16 and 15 events, respectively.
It is not an attempt to replace or compete with the WAGR, but it does aim to rationalise the annual schedule of elite amateur golf in Europe.
“The EAOM will offer new motivation for players and bring added coherence to the European amateur schedule.”
Michael Thannhäuser, EGA general secretary
The Order of Merit (based on a player’s six best performances across the season) will reward the top-ranked player and medallists, but there are further incentives in the form of playing opportunities on professional tours – these are assigned to the winners of the tournaments as well as early- and late-season mini-rankings. In all, there are 40 exemptions up for grabs across the first and second tiers of men’s and women’s pro golf in Europe.
“By introducing a truly European Order of Merit, we’re providing a fair, consistent, and aspirational platform for elite amateurs in Europe,” said EGA general secretary Michael Thannhäuser when launching the idea. “The EAOM will offer new motivation for players and bring added coherence to the European amateur schedule.”
Reflecting on the first month of the EAOM, Thannhäuser told GGP: “As it is still early in the pilot season, conclusions remain tentative, but initial feedback from federations, tours and other stakeholders has been very positive. There are early signs of stronger fields (based on WAGR points) across many EAOM-counting events, which may indicate that top Europe-based players are competing against each other more frequently.”
At the Lytham Trophy, coaches and officials were able to ponder how the EAOM is changing the landscape and, while there was a reluctance to speak on the record, it was less a reflection of criticism than a belief that the new initiative deserves good faith and time to develop.
The need for a European alternative to WAGR is more or less a given, as is the recognition that every idea needs to start somewhere. For those reasons, the EGA is being credited for taking that first step.
England’s Eliot Baker leads the men’s European Amateur Order of Merit.
Brian Spurlock, Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
But almost everyone has observations of early glitches.
For example, the European Nations Cup is included in the schedule, but it is an invitational event. Then the Austrian Amateur is on the schedule but not the Irish Amateur, which took place in the same week and has greater prestige. Meanwhile, the involvement of players at U.S. colleges is always going to be minimal in the early months of the year.
Most have suggestions for the future, and it was striking how quickly those making them were willing to admit the difficulties faced by those making decisions.
So a shorter, more elite schedule was liked by some, but so was an acceptance that it would hurt the championships that have enthusiastically supported the scheme from the start.
A two-tier system would be ideal, many thought, before conceding that it might add unnecessary complication.
This first year has focussed on professional starts as rewards scattered around the schedule, but if the EAOM is to really work, most felt that a version of the PGA Tour University Rankings, with a tour card on offer to the Order of Merit winner, was needed.
The immediate counter to that was that the EAOM needs to be walking before it starts running.
Moreover, many noted that the winners of this year’s pro starts need to perform to a standard that makes the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour officials believe a greater prize is deserved.
Ultimately, in these early days, there is gratitude that the EGA has got something started, and hope that the EAOM can grow into a worthwhile – and accurate – ranking of Europe’s elite amateurs.
Meanwhile, the EGA is not alone in seeking to provide opportunities for young golfers to test themselves among the professionals.
Last month England Golf announced that it has reinforced its commitment to the women’s performance pathway with an expanded collaboration with the UK-based Rose Ladies Series professional circuit for 2026.
The partnership secures a dedicated allocation of invites across the series and supports England Golf’s wider ambition to create a clearer, more sustainable transition from elite amateur golf into the professional game.
England Golf CEO Jeremy Tomlinson said of the initiative: “It builds a clear competitive bridge for emerging female players and reflects our shared commitment to growing the women’s game through opportunity, visibility and performance support.”
Within days of the announcement, England Golf’s 16-year-old Lauren Crump finished sixth in her Rose Ladies Series debut at West Lancs Golf Club. “I went there to gain experience,” she said and two days later she used it to win when the series visited Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club, finishing ahead of Germany’s LET winner Laura Fünfstück.
She was not actually a recipient of the scheme’s invites – hers were earned when she won last year’s Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship – but her success demonstrated what can be achieved from these amateur forays into the pro ranks.
Top: The European Amateur Order of Merit seeks to rank the amateurs on Europe’s leaderboards.
Steve Welsh, R&A via Getty Images
