1979 Amateur Championship: Jay Sigel wins at Hillside Golf Club
Jay Sigel won the 1979 Amateur Championship at Hillside Golf Club in Southport, Merseyside, beating Scott Hoch 3 & 2 in the final.
Updated 23 October 2026
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- Edition
- 84th
- Dates
- 9 June 1979
- Course
- Hillside Golf Club, Southport, Merseyside
- Format
- match play
- Champion
- Jay Sigel · age 35 · United States
- Champion's title
- 1st Amateur Championship title
- Runner-up
- Scott Hoch · age 23 · United States
- Final
- 3 & 2 (36-hole final)
- Losing semifinalists
- Tony Gresham and Doug Roxburgh
- Defending champion
- Peter McEvoy · lost in round of 64
What happened at the 1979 Amateur Championship
Semi-final: Hoch won the first three holes against Tony Gresham; at the 14th he angered the crowd by asking Gresham to hole a putt of about 22 cm before conceding, then holed a 10-metre putt at the 15th to win 3 and 2.
Third round: defending champion Peter McEvoy, a seed, was beaten 3 and 2 by Ian Bradshaw.
Final, Jay Sigel v. Scott Hoch, 3 & 2. All-American 36-hole final at Hillside won by Sigel 3 and 2.
Semifinal, Scott Hoch v. Tony Gresham, 3 & 2. Hoch won the first three holes; jeered at the 14th for asking Gresham to hole a 22 cm putt; holed a 10-metre putt at the 15th.
Round of 64, Ian Bradshaw v. Peter McEvoy, 3 & 2. Defending champion and seed McEvoy beaten in the third round.
The draw
Every match is recorded through the round of 16; earlier rounds are partial (round of 32 (8 of 16 matches); round of 64 (1 match: defending champion)).
The final, 1979 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Sigel | def. | Scott Hoch | 3 & 2 |
Semifinals, 1979 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Hoch | def. | Tony Gresham | 3 & 2 |
| Jay Sigel | def. | Doug Roxburgh | 6 & 5 |
Quarterfinals, 1979 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Hoch | def. | Ian Bradshaw | 2 & 1 |
| Tony Gresham | def. | Brian Marchbank | 3 & 2 |
| Jay Sigel | def. | Stuart Robson | 5 & 3 |
| Doug Roxburgh | def. | Lakshman Singh | won on 19th hole |
Round of 16, 1979 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Hoch | def. | Alan Ferguson | 4 & 3 |
| Ian Bradshaw | def. | Keith McIntosh | 5 & 3 |
| Brian Marchbank | def. | Stephen Andrews | 1 up |
| Tony Gresham | def. | M. Walls | 5 & 4 |
| Stuart Robson | def. | Doug Fischesser | 1 up |
| Jay Sigel | def. | Griff Moody | 3 & 2 |
| Doug Roxburgh | def. | David Whelan | won on 20th hole |
| Lakshman Singh | def. | S. Cipa | 6 & 5 |
Round of 32, 1979 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Hoch | def. | R. Van Niekerk | won on 20th hole |
| Tony Gresham | def. | Jim Holtgrieve | 7 & 5 |
| Doug Fischesser | def. | Paul Hood | 1 up |
| Griff Moody | def. | Wayne Player | won on 20th hole |
| Jay Sigel | def. | Michael Bonallack | 2 up |
| Lakshman Singh | def. | David Blakeman | 2 up |
| David Whelan | def. | Mike Peck | 3 & 1 |
| Doug Roxburgh | def. | Tudor Williams | 5 & 3 |
Round of 64, 1979 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Bradshaw | def. | Peter McEvoy | 3 & 2 |
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.
Data: the-amateur.json.
Sources
- The Canberra Times 1979-06-11 p.22 (Sporting details: quarter-finals, semi-finals)
- The Canberra Times 1979-06-11 p.24 (AAP-Reuter: Sigel won "yesterday" 3 and 2 in the 36-hole final)
- The Canberra Times 1979-06-10 p.20 (AAP, "Gresham's run of wins ends")
- The Canberra Times 1979-06-08 p.16 (Sporting details: British amateur men's championship, second and third rounds)