1946 Amateur Championship: Jimmy Bruen wins at Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Jimmy Bruen won the 1946 Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, Merseyside, beating Robert Sweeny Jr. 4 & 3 in the final.

Updated 23 October 2026

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Edition: 51st
Dates: 27 May 1946 to 1 June 1946
Course: Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, Merseyside
Format: match play
Champion: Jimmy Bruen · age 26 · Ireland
Champion's title: 1st Amateur Championship title
Runner-up: Robert Sweeny Jr. · age 34 · United States
Final: 4 & 3 (36-hole final)
Losing semifinalists: Harry Walker and Gerald Micklem
Defending champion: Alex Kyle · lost in round of 64
Entries: 263

What happened at the 1946 Amateur Championship

Bruen, playing with a No. 7 iron borrowed from Henry Cotton after breaking two of his own, one-putted nine greens and clinched the 36-hole final 4 & 3 with a one-under-par 4 at the 517-yard 14th (32nd hole) in heavy rain.

Round of 16: Frank Stranahan, the last American left, lost 4 & 3 to Gerald Micklem (eagle 3 at the 1st) after a row with his caddie at the 6th green; the caddie walked off urging Micklem to "go beat him now".

The draw

Every match is recorded through the semifinal; earlier rounds are partial (quarterfinal (2 of 4 matches); round of 16 (1 of 8 matches); round of 32 (2 of 16 matches)).

The final, 1946 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Jimmy Bruen	def.	Robert Sweeny Jr.	4 & 3

Semifinals, 1946 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Jimmy Bruen	def.	Harry Walker	3 & 2
Robert Sweeny Jr.	def.	Gerald Micklem	5 & 4

Quarterfinals, 1946 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Robert Sweeny Jr.	def.	Hamilton McInally	won on 19th hole
Gerald Micklem	def.	Cedric Griffith	3 & 2

Round of 16, 1946 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Gerald Micklem	def.	Frank Stranahan	4 & 3

Round of 32, 1946 Amateur Championship

Winner		Beaten	Result
Frank Stranahan	def.	John Langley	4 & 2
Gerald Micklem	def.	A. Dowie	4 & 3

How this was built

Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's Amateur Championship data set (research collected through 20 October 2026). "unknown" means no source confirmed it; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the R&A's own record is used.

Values found only on Wikipedia, kept and flagged: champion_age, champion_birth_year, champion_birthplace, runner_up_age.

Data: the-amateur.json.