1997 Amateur Championship: Craig Watson wins at Royal St George's Golf Club
Craig Watson won the 1997 Amateur Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, beating Trevor Immelman 3 & 2 in the final.
Updated 23 October 2026
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- Edition
- 102nd
- Dates
- 2 June 1997 to 7 June 1997
- Course
- Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent
- Stroke-play co-host
- Royal Cinque Ports
- Format
- stroke-play qualifying (36 holes) + match play
- Champion
- Craig Watson · Scotland · East Renfrewshire
- Champion's title
- 1st Amateur Championship title
- Runner-up
- Trevor Immelman · age 17 · South Africa
- Final
- 3 & 2 (36-hole final)
- Match-play field
- 84
- Losing semifinalists
- Colin Edwards and David Griffiths
- Stroke-play medalist
- Matt Carver (145)
- Defending champion
- Warren Bladon · did not play
What happened at the 1997 Amateur Championship
Quarterfinal: Craig Watson beat James Clive at the 19th hole (his closest match of the week).
Final: Craig Watson beat Trevor Immelman 3 & 2; the match ended on the 34th hole.
The draw
Every match is recorded through the first round.
The final, 1997 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Watson | def. | Trevor Immelman | 3 & 2 |
Semifinals, 1997 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Watson | def. | Colin Edwards | 1 up |
| Trevor Immelman | def. | David Griffiths | 1 up |
Quarterfinals, 1997 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Watson | def. | James Clive | won on 19th hole |
| Colin Edwards | def. | Barclay Howard | 1 up |
| Trevor Immelman | def. | Sam Little | 4 & 3 |
| David Griffiths | def. | Ben Mason | 1 up |
Round of 16, 1997 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Clive | def. | Rhodri Price | 3 & 2 |
| Craig Watson | def. | Graham Fox | 2 & 1 |
| Barclay Howard | def. | David Park | 3 & 2 |
| Colin Edwards | def. | Michael Brooks | 1 up |
| Trevor Immelman | def. | Steve Sheehan | 3 & 2 |
| Sam Little | def. | Justin Rose | 7 & 5 |
| Ben Mason | def. | Brian Payne | 6 & 5 |
| David Griffiths | def. | David Gleeson | 5 & 4 |
Round of 32, 1997 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhodri Price | def. | Matt Carver | 5 & 3 |
| James Clive | def. | Jonas Torines | 3 & 2 |
| Craig Watson | def. | David Patrick | 1 up |
| Graham Fox | def. | Matthew Blackey | 1 up |
| Barclay Howard | def. | Jacques Thalamy | won on 19th hole |
| David Park | def. | Peter Hansson | 3 & 2 |
| Colin Edwards | def. | Chris Nickens | 2 & 1 |
| Michael Brooks | def. | Shaun Philipson | 3 & 1 |
| Trevor Immelman | def. | Richard Hislop | 3 & 2 |
| Steve Sheehan | def. | Matthew Allen | 2 & 1 |
| Sam Little | def. | Peter Hedges | 4 & 3 |
| Justin Rose | def. | Jose Manuel Lara | 6 & 5 |
| Ben Mason | def. | Robert Duck | 3 & 2 |
| Brian Payne | def. | Joachim Backstrom | 3 & 2 |
| David Gleeson | def. | Emmanuel Aubert | 1 up |
| David Griffiths | def. | Matthew King | 1 up |
Round of 64, 1997 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Carver | def. | Juan Carlos Aguero | 2 & 1 |
| Rhodri Price | def. | Ian Reay | 5 & 3 |
| James Clive | def. | Paul Streeter | 4 & 3 |
| Jonas Torines | def. | Mark Loftus | 2 up |
| David Patrick | def. | Alastair Forsyth | 3 & 2 |
| Craig Watson | def. | Jamie Donaldson | 5 & 4 |
| Matthew Blackey | def. | Peter Lawrie | 5 & 3 |
| Graham Fox | def. | Duncan Harris | 3 & 2 |
| Barclay Howard | def. | Pasi Purhonen | 2 & 1 |
| Jacques Thalamy | def. | Simon McCarthy | 3 & 2 |
| Peter Hansson | def. | Craig Elliot | 2 & 1 |
| David Park | def. | Lorne Kelly | 6 & 5 |
| Chris Nickens | def. | Mark Pilkington | 2 & 1 |
| Colin Edwards | def. | Simon Wakefield | 3 & 2 |
| Shaun Philipson | def. | Graham Rankin | won on 20th hole |
| Michael Brooks | def. | Stuart Martin | 1 up |
| Richard Hislop | def. | Stuart Davis | 1 up |
| Trevor Immelman | def. | Peter Fenton | 2 & 1 |
| Matthew Allen | def. | Chris Smith | 3 & 2 |
| Steve Sheehan | def. | Jody Fanagan | won on 20th hole |
| Sam Little | def. | Ilya Goroneskoul | 1 up |
| Peter Hedges | def. | Raul Quiros | 7 & 6 |
| Jose Manuel Lara | def. | John Morgan | 4 & 3 |
| Justin Rose | def. | Matthew Wilcox | 2 & 1 |
| Robert Duck | def. | Morten Orveland | 2 up |
| Ben Mason | def. | Paul Stuart | 4 & 2 |
| Brian Payne | def. | Jonathan Herbert | 1 up |
| Joachim Backstrom | def. | Gary Birch Jr | 3 & 2 |
| Emmanuel Aubert | def. | Daniel Olsson | 4 & 3 |
| David Gleeson | def. | Niels Kraay | 4 & 3 |
| David Griffiths | def. | James Bunch | 3 & 1 |
| Matthew King | def. | Paul Nelson | 1 up |
Round of 128, 1997 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Nickens | def. | Fabrice Stolear | 3 & 2 |
| Simon Wakefield | def. | Graham Homewood | 4 & 3 |
| Shaun Philipson | def. | Shaun Webster | won on 19th hole |
| Stuart Martin | def. | Carl Duke | 4 & 3 |
| Stuart Davis | def. | James Hepworth | 2 & 1 |
| Peter Fenton | def. | Philipp Neels | won on 20th hole |
| Matthew Allen | def. | Jonathan Lupton | 2 up |
| Steve Sheehan | def. | Kalle Aitala | 2 & 1 |
| Ilya Goroneskoul | def. | Nikolaus Zitny | won on 19th hole |
| Raul Quiros | def. | Jim Carter | 4 & 3 |
| John Morgan | def. | Christoph Bausek | 2 & 1 |
| Matthew Wilcox | def. | Aran Wainwright | won on 21st hole |
| Robert Duck | def. | Chris Rogers | 2 up |
| Ben Mason | def. | Matthew Houghton | 4 & 3 |
| Jonathan Herbert | def. | Jamie Little | 3 & 2 |
| Gary Birch Jr | def. | Cameron Percy | 2 up |
| Emmanuel Aubert | def. | Ian Lyner | won on 19th hole |
| David Gleeson | def. | Matthias Eliasson | 1 up |
| David Griffiths | def. | Nigel Parkinson | won on 19th hole |
| Matthew King | def. | Morten Haeraas | 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_nationality.
Data: the-amateur.json.