LIVE SCORES

A cluster of the world’s leading amateurs will converge on Victoria Golf Club in the Melbourne sandbelt for the prestigious Australian Master of the Amateurs championship starting on Tuesday.

The men’s field of 78 includes world No. 7 Ricky Castillo from the United States, a University of Florida scholarship-holder who is a two-time AJGA first-team All-American and last year represented the USA at the Junior Ryder Cup.

The field also includes Benjamin Schmidt, England’s No. 2 ranked player, brilliant Japanese player Keita Nakajima, and New South Wales star Nathan Barbieri, who is ranked No. 2 in Australia, as well as Germany’s Jannik De Bruyn and New Zealand’s top-ranked male amateur Jared Edwards.

Eleven countries are represented in the women’s field – the third year that the women’s tournament has been played, with a string of national No. 1-ranked players headed by Japan’s Tsubasa Kajitani, New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey and Malaysia’s Alyaa Abdulghany.

Australia’s Doey Choi is the No. 2-ranked player in her home country and will be among the top local hopes. Australian junior champion Maddison Hinson-Tolchard from Perth is also in the field, along with defending champion Stephanie Kyriacou from Sydney.

The Master of the Amateurs is celebrating its 23th year having played its part in spawning the likes of Australia’s Jason Day, England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler. Day, who went on to be a world No. 1 player, won the title in 2006 at Royal Melbourne.

Plenty is on the line. The men’s winner receives an exemption to play in the New South Wales Open, Britain’s Amateur Championship and a string of North American events including the Porter Cup, the Players Amateur, the Dogwood Invitational and the Canadian amateur.

The women’s green jacket champion also gets a start in the NSW Open, as well as the Western Amateur in America, the porter Cup and the Canadian Amateur.

The 72-hole event begins on Tuesday morning at Victoria. Entry is free for spectators.

The last last two days of the Championship - Thursday and Friday - will be live-streamed on the AMOTA Facebook page and website, click here to view.

Round one tee times

For more information, visit the championship website.