2005 Amateur Championship: Brian McElhinney wins at Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Brian McElhinney won the 2005 Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, Merseyside, beating John Gallagher 5 & 4 in the final.
Updated 23 October 2026
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- Edition
- 110th
- Dates
- 30 May 2005 to 4 June 2005
- Course
- Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, Merseyside
- Stroke-play co-host
- Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club
- Format
- stroke-play qualifying (36 holes) + match play
- Champion
- Brian McElhinney · Ireland · North West
- Champion's title
- 1st Amateur Championship title
- Runner-up
- John Gallagher · age 24 · Scotland
- Final
- 5 & 4 (36-hole final)
- Match-play field
- 89
- Losing semifinalists
- Oliver Fisher and Lloyd Saltman
- Stroke-play medalist
- Damian Ulrich (135)
- Defending champion
- Stuart Wilson · lost in first (preliminary) round
What happened at the 2005 Amateur Championship
Final: Brian McElhinney beat John Gallagher 5 & 4 over 36 holes.
Brian McElhinney's closest escape: won his round of 16 match against Jamie Moul on the 19th hole.
Round of 64, Chris McDonnell v Damian Ulrich, 2 & 1. Stroke-play medalist Damian Ulrich lost his opening match to Chris McDonnell
The draw
Every match is recorded through the first round.
The final, 2005 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian McElhinney | def. | John Gallagher | 5 & 4 |
Semifinals, 2005 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian McElhinney | def. | Oliver Fisher | 1 up |
| John Gallagher | def. | Lloyd Saltman | 1 up |
Quarterfinals, 2005 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Fisher | def. | Nigel Edwards | 2 & 1 |
| Brian McElhinney | def. | Gary Lockerbie | 2 & 1 |
| Lloyd Saltman | def. | Darren Crowe | 2 up |
| John Gallagher | def. | Bryan Fotheringham | 3 & 2 |
Round of 16, 2005 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigel Edwards | def. | Heikki Mantyla | 7 & 6 |
| Oliver Fisher | def. | Richard Ramsay | 1 up |
| Gary Lockerbie | def. | Ryan Thomas | 2 & 1 |
| Brian McElhinney | def. | Jamie Moul | won on 19th hole |
| Lloyd Saltman | def. | Gary Wolstenholme | 2 & 1 |
| Darren Crowe | def. | David Horsey | won on 19th hole |
| John Gallagher | def. | Craig Watson | 1 up |
| Bryan Fotheringham | def. | Alvaro Velasco | 3 & 2 |
Round of 32, 2005 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heikki Mantyla | def. | Chris McDonnell | 1 up |
| Nigel Edwards | def. | Marc Leishman | 2 & 1 |
| Richard Ramsay | def. | Stephen Lewton | 3 & 2 |
| Oliver Fisher | def. | Matthew Cryer | 2 & 1 |
| Ryan Thomas | def. | Jonathan King | 1 up |
| Gary Lockerbie | def. | James Williams | 1 up |
| Brian McElhinney | def. | Mervyn Owens | 4 & 3 |
| Jamie Moul | def. | Tim Dykes | 3 & 2 |
| Gary Wolstenholme | def. | Tiago Cruz | 2 & 1 |
| Lloyd Saltman | def. | Lloyd Kennedy | 2 & 1 |
| David Horsey | def. | Stephan Gross | 3 & 1 |
| Darren Crowe | def. | Kevin Moore | 2 up |
| Craig Watson | def. | Adam Gee | 2 & 1 |
| John Gallagher | def. | Julien Guerrier | 1 up |
| Alvaro Velasco | def. | James Morrison | 3 & 2 |
| Bryan Fotheringham | def. | Elliot Saltman | 2 & 1 |
Round of 64, 2005 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris McDonnell | def. | Damian Ulrich | 2 & 1 |
| Heikki Mantyla | def. | Jordan Findlay | won on 19th hole |
| Nigel Edwards | def. | Jonathan Evans | won on 19th hole |
| Marc Leishman | def. | Lloyd Campbell | 1 up |
| Richard Ramsay | def. | Glenn Campbell | 6 & 5 |
| Stephen Lewton | def. | Sean McTernan | 3 & 2 |
| Matthew Cryer | def. | Chris Cousins | 6 & 5 |
| Oliver Fisher | def. | Christopher Evans | 6 & 5 |
| Jonathan King | def. | Heidar Bragason | 3 & 2 |
| Ryan Thomas | def. | Craig Evans | 3 & 1 |
| Gary Lockerbie | def. | Ricardo Santos | 3 & 2 |
| James Williams | def. | Andrew McArthur | 4 & 3 |
| Brian McElhinney | def. | Edoardo Molinari | 1 up |
| Mervyn Owens | def. | Keir McNicoll | won on 19th hole |
| Tim Dykes | def. | William Johnson | 7 & 5 |
| Jamie Moul | def. | Bryan Innes | 6 & 4 |
| Tiago Cruz | def. | Kevin Freeman | 1 up |
| Gary Wolstenholme | def. | Ben Parker | 2 & 1 |
| Lloyd Saltman | def. | Jamie McLeary | 2 & 1 |
| Lloyd Kennedy | def. | Robert Leonard | 4 & 3 |
| Stephan Gross | def. | Florian Praegant | 1 up |
| David Horsey | def. | Charles Ford | 5 & 3 |
| Kevin Moore | def. | Duncan Stewart | 4 & 3 |
| Darren Crowe | def. | Michael McGeady | 5 & 4 |
| Adam Gee | def. | John Parry | 1 up |
| Craig Watson | def. | Llewellyn Matthews | 1 up |
| John Gallagher | def. | Michael Hunt | 3 & 2 |
| Julien Guerrier | def. | Tommy Hunter | 2 up |
| Alvaro Velasco | def. | Lawrence Dodd | 3 & 2 |
| James Morrison | def. | Taco Remkes | 6 & 5 |
| Bryan Fotheringham | def. | Graeme Brown | 3 & 1 |
| Elliot Saltman | def. | James Ruth | 1 up |
Round of 128, 2005 Amateur Championship
| Winner | Beaten | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Fisher | def. | Craig Fort | 2 & 1 |
| Jonathan King | def. | Sebastien Clement | 4 & 3 |
| Craig Evans | def. | James Freeman | 3 & 2 |
| Gary Lockerbie | def. | Jamie Howarth | 7 & 5 |
| James Williams | def. | Stuart Wilson | 5 & 4 |
| Edoardo Molinari | def. | Ignacio Sanchez-Palencia | 1 up |
| Mervyn Owens | def. | Andrew Clarke | 2 up |
| William Johnson | def. | Daniel Belch | won on 19th hole |
| Jamie Moul | def. | Stefan Kirstein | 3 & 2 |
| Kevin Freeman | def. | Matthew Cox | 2 up |
| Gary Wolstenholme | def. | Mark Halliday | 1 up |
| Lloyd Saltman | def. | Ryan Vallely | 3 & 1 |
| Robert Leonard | def. | Richard Kilpatrick | 2 & 1 |
| Florian Praegant | def. | Jonathan Poulton | 3 & 2 |
| Charles Ford | def. | Michael Skelton | 2 up |
| Kevin Moore | def. | Martin Rominger | 3 & 2 |
| Michael McGeady | def. | Zachariah Gould | 6 & 4 |
| Adam Gee | def. | Wallace Booth | 5 & 3 |
| Craig Watson | def. | Kevin Harper | 1 up |
| Michael Hunt | def. | Gavin O'Neill | 1 up |
| Tommy Hunter | def. | Mark Haastrup | 1 up |
| Alvaro Velasco | def. | Robin Swane | 3 & 2 |
| James Morrison | def. | Martin Kaymer | 5 & 4 |
| Graeme Brown | def. | Simon Cedergren | 1 up |
| Elliot Saltman | def. | Thomas Robinson | 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.
Values found only on Wikipedia, kept and flagged: champion_nationality, runner_up_nationality.
Data: the-amateur.json.