South Africa 11 clear at Eisenhower Trophy; Ireland tied 19th

Christiaan Maas of South Africa plays his tee shot at the second hole, during the third round of the World Amateur Team Championship at Tanah Merah Country Club, in Singapore on Friday, 10th of October, 2025. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)

Ireland goes into the final round tied for 19th on one under In the World Amateur Team Championships in Singapore,.

Stuart Grehan shot a one-under 71 and Caolan Rafferty a 74 as John Doyle's 75 was discarded.

South Africa holds a massive 11-stroke lead over Australia and Mexico on 26 under.

Propelled by world No. 6 Christiaan Maas’ second bogey-free round of the week, South Africa posted a 12-under 132 in the third round at Tanah Merah Country Club and enters the final round with a 26-under 406 total, 11 strokes clear of Mexico and Australia, who sit at 15-under 417.  

“Listen, that is some impressive golf. I mean, the birdies are one thing, but some of the par saves he’s made, you know, he misses the greens in the right spots and makes it easier for himself,” said Gavin Groves, South Africa’s captain this week. “It’s obviously a lot of golf to go still, 18 holes, but we’d rather be 11 ahead than 11 behind.”

Maas and Daniel Bennett, teammates at the University of Texas, were 11-under through 12 holes together before Bennett recorded a double bogey on the par-4 13th. He made both shots back on Nos. 17 and 18, finishing birdie-birdie to post a 5-under 67, while Maas tallied five consecutive pars, adding another birdie at the 18th. Teammate Charl Barnard recorded a non-counting 75.

“Yeah, I suppose we’re happy where we are. It’s not finished yet,” said Maas, who reached the Round of 32 in the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in August and is the third-highest ranked player in the field. “Hopefully, we can extend our lead tomorrow.”

Mexico, with a blemish-free, 8-under 64 from Eduardo Derbez and a counting 73 from Gerardo Gómez, managed to stay in medalist contention heading into the final round. Derbez notched six birdies in a row on the Tampines Course’s outward nine and closed out his round with an eagle on the par-5 18th. After opting to use driver on his 290-yard approach shot, he then chipped in from just off the green.

“I felt really good today, I think I didn’t miss a single fairway,” said Derbez, the third University of Texas Longhorn in the field. “I got a hot streak at the start. Made a couple putts, good iron shots… Missed a few [more] birdie opportunities but finished up with a good eagle.”

Australia’s Declan O’Donovan contributed a bogey-free round of his own, tallying four birdies en route to a 68. Billy Dowling, who was 1-over with three holes to play, nearly aced the par-3 16th, tapping in for birdie and recording two more on his way in for a tumultuous 2-under 70 that included seven birdies and five bogeys. Australia posted a second consecutive 6-under 138, with Harry Takis recording a non-counting 79.

Host country Singapore was led by 16-year-old Troy Storm in the third round, who posted his first counting score of the week after posting a 72 on Friday afternoon. Hiroshi Tai, who recorded a 7-under 65 in the first round, carded a counting 75 in the third round. Singapore currently sits T-22 and is seeking its best finish in the championship, which is solo 21st.

Quotable:

Gavin Groves, South Africa Captain: “Obviously for us, we’re a proud sporting nation and there’s a lot of great golfing heritage. To be able to put this kind of championship on the proverbial wall would be amazing. We just have to cross that bridge tomorrow afternoon.”

Billy Dowling, Australia: “[On No. 18] I thought, ‘My putting’s still good, there’s no reason I can’t hole it,’ and then I holed that one as well to finish 2-under. It felt really nice to hole that putt, finish the day at 2-under and just prove to myself that I can pull shots back when I have to and do it for the team.”

Alejandro De Castro Piera, Spain: “I thought it was going to be maybe 12 feet short, but I saw my coaches lift up their hands and screaming, and I was like, ‘Oh, I made it.’ So I just kind of went crazy. It was really fun… I’m just really excited that we got something going today and to be able to share [it] with two friends, it’s just wonderful. We may not have a chance of winning a medal, but everything counts… You’re representing the whole country, and it’s important to keep that in mind.”

Preston Stout, USA: “Playing over here is different for sure. I think I was just mentally a little better today. Got off to a slow start but just stayed in it mentally… We shot ourselves out of it like the first day. We’re just trying to claw our way back in it. [Tomorrow] we’ll just try to go and do the same thing that we did yesterday and today.”

Troy Storm, Singapore: “I’m pretty happy to make a comeback, especially after the first round, which was pretty tough… I knew that if I just trusted myself, kept trying and didn’t give up, I’d be able to play some good golf.”

Notable:

• South Africa is seeking its first victory in the Eisenhower Trophy, and it would be its first medalist finish since earning silver in 1980. South Africa was the bronze medalist in 1970 and 1972.

• Australia is looking for its second consecutive Eisenhower medal after finishing T-2 in 2023. Its last victory came in 2016, and it owns 14 total medals, the most of any country aside from the USA.  

• Mexico is seeking its second medalist finish all time in the competition – it earned silver in 2012 at Antalya Golf Club in Turkey.

• Paraguay and Spain jumped 10 and 11 places on Friday with rounds of 6-under 138 and 8-under 136, respectively. Spain’s third round was highlighted by a hole-in-one from Alejandro De Castro Piera on the par-3 6th (173 yards/158 meters), using 8-iron. De Castro Piera finished 3-under, and Álvaro Pastor Roman added a bogey-free, 5-under 67.

• Defending champion USA’s upward trend continued in the third round, led by Oklahoma State junior Preston Stout, who carded a 4-under 67.

• Mason Howell, the 18-year-old reigning U.S. Amateur champion, tallied three consecutive birdies after recording a triple-bogey 7 on No. 2, finishing with a counting 71 to help the Americans turn in a 5-under 139. Currently positioned T-14, the Americans are looking to avoid becoming the first USA team to finish outside the top 10 in the history of the Eisenhower Trophy.

• Singapore’s Troy Storm, who was the low scorer for his team in the third round after recording an even-par 72, improved from an 84 in the first round that included 10 bogeys and a double bogey.

What’s Next:

The final round begins on Saturday at 7:15 a.m. with a two-tee start on the Tampines Course at Tanah Merah Country Club. 

Results from Friday's third round of the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships, played at par-72 Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course), in Singapore. 

1      South Africa 139-135-132--406
          Christiaan Maas 66-66-65--197
          Daniel Bennett 73-69-67--209
          Charl Barnard 75-76-75--226

T2     Australia 141-138-138--417
          Declan O'Donovan 70-69-68--207
          Harry Takis 71-69-79--219
          Billy Dowling 71-71-70--212

T2     Mexico 137-143-137--417
          Carlos Astiazaran 68-71-73--212
          Gerardo Gomez 73-72-73--218
          Eduardo Derbez 69-78-64--211

4      England 142-137-141--420
          Tyler Weaver 73-68-69--210
          Charlie Forster 71-69-73--213
          Eliot Baker 71-72-72--215

5      France 140-139-142--421
          Oscar Couilleau 70-67-71--208
          Louis Anceaux 73-72-71--216
          Hugo Le Goff 70-75-72--217

T6     Denmark 144-136-143--423
          Oscar Holm Bredkjær 71-67-72--210
          Kristian Hjort Bressum 75-69-72--216
          Claes Borregaard 73-76-71--220

T6     Thailand 142-140-141--423
          Pongsapak Laopakdee 72-70-70--212
          Arsit Areephun 74-70-71--215
          Parin Sarasmut 70-74-76--220

8      Japan 145-137-143--425
          Rintaro Nakano 71-66-75--212
          Gunma Tamura 75-71-75--221
          Taisei Nagasaki 74-72-68--214

9      Italy 142-144-140--426
          Riccardo Fantinelli 73-72-70--215
          Michele Ferrero 71-72-74--217
          Filippo Ponzano 71-80-70--221

T10    Netherlands 142-143-142--427
          Nevill Ruiter 70-71-71--212
          Benjamin Reuter 73-72-77--222
          Guus Lafeber 72-78-71--221

T10    Scotland 147-140-140--427
          Connor Graham 74-67-75--216
          Niall Sheils Donegan 73-73-69--215
          Cameron Adam 76-74-71--221

T10    Argentina 146-137-144--427
          Segundo Oliva Pinto 74-68-77--219
          Mateo Pulcini 72-69-73--214
          Juan Martín Loureiro 74-75-71--220

T10    Czechia 141-140-146--427
          Filip Jakubčík 72-68-74--214
          Timotej Formánek 69-72-73--214
          Štěpán Plášek 75-78-73--226

T14    Paraguay 142-148-138--428
          Franco Fernández 72-74-69--215
          Erich Fortlage 70-74-73--217
          Benjamin Fernandez 75-74-69--218

T14    United States of America 150-139-139--428
          Mason Howell 75-68-71--214
          Ethan Fang 75-71-73--219
          Preston Stout 75-72-68--215

T14    Sweden 141-140-147--428
          Filip Fahlberg Johnsson 69-69-73--211
          Alfons Bondesson 76-71-74--221
          Simon Hovdal 72-72-77--221

T17    Norway 146-143-140--429
          Michael Mjaaseth 69-70-68--207
          Joachim Tegner 77-73-75--225
          Emil Børrestuen Herstad 77-80-72--229

T17    Spain 144-149-136--429
          Alvaro Pastor Roman 74-73-67--214
          Alejandro De Castro Piera 71-76-69--216
          Sergio Jimenez Romero 73-77-73--223

T19    Morocco 147-139-145--431
          Adam Bresnu 71-68-70--209
          Hugo Mazen Trommetter 76-71-75--222
          Alex El Khomri 81-73-76--230

T19    Ireland 148-138-145--431
          Stuart Grehan 73-68-71--212
          Caolan Rafferty 75-70-74--219
          John Doyle 75-73-75--223

T19    New Zealand 144-144-143--431
          Zackary Swanwick 73-71-70--214
          Robby Turnbull 71-73-73--217
          Cooper Moore 76-77-73--226

T22    Wales 146-140-146--432
          Tomi Bowen 77-68-79--224
          Jonathan Bale 73-72-74--219
          Caolan Burford 73-78-72--223

T22    Canada 144-143-145--432
          Isaiah Ibit 75-70-80--225
          Justin Matthews 74-73-72--219
          Ashton McCulloch 70-76-73--219

T22    Singapore 141-144-147--432
          Hiroshi Hirahara Tai 65-71-75--211
          Brayden Lee 76-73-75--224
          Troy Storm 84-77-72--233

25     Colombia 147-144-143--434
          Tomas Restrepo 74-72-70--216
          Carlos Ardila 73-72-75--220
          Emilio Velez 76-73-73--222

T26    Brazil 146-145-144--435
          Eduardo Ferreira 74-70-73--217
          Andrey Borges 73-75-71--219
          Herik Oliveira 73-76-77--226

T26    People's Republic of China 144-144-147--435
          Qi You Wu 73-70-79--222
          Hao Yi Wang 74-74-76--224
          Zi Qin Zhou 71-76-71--218

T26    Germany 148-143-144--435
          Wolfgang Glawe 78-70-73--221
          Tim Wiedemeyer 73-73-72--218
          Emil Riegger 75-73-72--220

T26    Guatemala 146-148-141--435
          Gabriel Palacios 71-71-70--212
          Sebastian Barnoya 75-77-71--223
          Alejandro Villavicencio 75-77-73--225

30     Estonia 151-144-144--439
          Mattias Varjun 75-72-72--219
          Kevin Jegers 76-72-72--220
          Richard Teder 77-75-74--226

T31    Indonesia 149-148-144--441
          Randy Bintang 75-73-73--221
          Amadeus Susanto 74-75-71--220
          Asa Najib 78-76-75--229

T31    Vietnam 149-146-146--441
          Nguyen Anh Minh 73-70-75--218
          Nguyen Duc Son 76-76-73--225
          Ho Anh Huy 76-76-73--225

33     India 145-150-150--445
          Rakshit Dahiya 72-72-76--220
          Arin Ahuja 75-78-83--236
          Deepak Yadav 73-79-74--226

34     Panama 150-150-147--447
          Raul Carbonell 74-75-75--224
          Miguel Ordoñez 76-75-76--227
          Omar Tejeira 78-77-72--227

35     Guam 156-152-154--462
          Markus Nanpei 75-76-78--229
          Ivan Sablan 81-76-76--233
          Redge Camacho 82-84-79--245

36     Zimbabwe 155-161-154--470
          Elton Zulu 83-80-77--240
          Munesu Chimhini 80-81-80--241
          Darlington Chikanyambidze 75-83-77--235