Australia has two players through to the final 32 at The Amateur Championship after Kayun Mudadana and Billy Dowling won their opening match play encounters at Royal St George’s in England.

After advancing from a field of 288 players in the stroke play qualifying on Monday and Tuesday, Mudadana (NSW) scored a 1 up victory over England’s Sam Easterbrook in round one, while Dowling (Qld) saw off Germany’s Tom Haberer 2&1.

The other Australian to advance from the stroke play section, Declan O’Donovan (NSW), finished 2 down against Finland’s Veikka Viskari.

Dowling’s win takes him into a round two tussle with Mexican Rodrigo Vazquez, while Mudadana has a match-up against South Africa’s Daniel Bennett as they try to become the first Australian to win The Amateur Championship since Bryden Macpherson in 2011.

“It would be awesome (to win),” Dowling said. “I don't even know how it would feel to be honest, but I'm sure everyone would love to do it, and we'll just wait and see.

“This is the furthest I've played in this tournament. I'll just take it one match at a time, but right now I'm feeling quite good.

“All I can do is try my best and execute as many good shots as possible. I'm just going to reevaluate how I feel like I played and what could be better for tomorrow.”

The winner of this year’s Championship gains entry to The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, the US Open and, by tradition, will earn an invitation to compete at the Masters Tournament.

In addition to three major championships, they also earn a place in the field at the British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo on the DP World Tour.

The R&A will provide live broadcast coverage of the quarter-finals and semi-finals on Friday, 20 June and the 36-hole Final on Saturday, 21 June. Livestreams are available globally on R&A TV and on The R&A’s YouTube channel.