34th Eisenhower Trophy: South Africa Takes 36-Hole Lead in Singapore
- International Golf Federation
- Oct 9
- 7 min read
34th World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy
World No. 6 Christian Maas recorded his second 6-under 66 of the week to give South Africa a four-stroke lead at 14-under 274 after the second round of the 34th World Amateur Team Championship.
Playing off No. 10 on Thursday afternoon, the University of Texas senior recorded his first and only bogey through 36 holes on the par-4 second of Tanah Merah’s Tampines Course. He tallied seven birdies on the day and was helped by his fellow Longhorn Daniel Bennett, who carded a 3-under 69 for a team 9-under 135. Teammate Charl Barnard posted a non-counting 76.
“I don’t think I hit it as good as yesterday,” Mass said. “Well, I didn’t hit my driver as good, but [it was] almost [as] good... It’s great to see that we’re up there. Hopefully we can continue doing that.”
The trio tied for second place at 9-under 279 includes Australia, England and France. Of those three, England recorded the lowest second-round score with a 7-under 137 led by Tyler Weaver and Charlier Forster, who both represented GB&I in the 2025 Walker Cup at Cypress Point and posted rounds of 4-under 68 and 3-under 69, respectively. Eliot Baker, who competed alongside Weaver and Forster in the Walker Cup, carded a non-counting 72.
“Yeah, that was a really, really solid round. I didn’t have a bogey for a long time,” said Weaver, who also competed in the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club earlier this summer. “I’ve been lucky enough to represent England quite a lot, and I love it. We know we have a good enough team to go and win this, so that’s our aim.”
Australians Harry Takis and Declan O’Donovan each turned in rounds of 3-under 69 for a team 6-under 138 in the second round, with the latter chipping in for eagle on the Tampines Course’s par-5 closing hole. Teammate Billy Dowling recorded a non-counting 71.
“Incredibly happy… shooting that round today, 6-under for Australia has put us in a really nice position going into the last two rounds,” said O’Donovan, who won the Canadian Amateur Championship in July. “Not the best through nine holes, but I really brought something together and was fortunate to finish really well.”
Oscar Couilleau, of France, tallied six birdies against a single bogey for a 5-under 67, and teammate Louis Anceaux held on for an even-par 72 to help the team finish 5-under for the day. Huge Le Goff, who represented France in the championship in 2023, recorded a non-counting 3-over 75.
Host country Singapore turned in an even-par 144 on Thursday, falling to T-12 after beginning the day tied fourth. Hiroshi Tai led the way once again with a 1-under 71, while Brayden Lee added a counting 1-over 73. Troy Storm carded a non-counting 77.
Quotable:
Benjamin Gorvett, England Captain: “Fantastic. They played really solid golf. We had three dropped shots between three players, plenty of birdies over there, few putts here and there that could have dropped… So, really good day for us. We're really pleased with where we’re sat in the field, looking forward to go into third round now tomorrow, and we're going to try to kick on again.”
Christian Maas, South Africa: “It’s pretty surprising that [South Africa hasn’t] done better, seeing how many great amateurs we’ve had. I feel like we've just not really stepped up once we get here… Daniel and I have played in some of the biggest amateur events around the world for the last three years, and we have a very competitive schedule at a collegiate level. So, it's just another event, and hopefully we can keep on playing and post some sort of record score.”
Declan O’Donovan, Australia: “I think we definitely want to win. We're loving the competition, loving the pressure, and we're having a lot of fun as well. I think the three of us, Billy, Harry and I are really, really enjoying ourselves.”
Tyler Weaver, England: “I’ve been lucky enough to represent England quite a lot, and yeah, I love it every time. Putting on the badge is an honor, and I love it… I’ve got a lot of trust in those guys to go out and play well, so that takes a lot of pressure of me as well.”
Mason Howell, USA: "We were obviously very frustrated [with] how yesterday went. But we know we all have the game to get right back in this, and hopefully this is a small step. We still need two huge days. We know what's in front of us, and I think we know we can overcome it."
Notable:
The championship sustained a 1 hour and 24-minute suspension on Thursday morning due to dangerous weather in the area.
South Africa is seeking its first victory in the Eisenhower Trophy, and a medalist finish this week would be its first since earning silver in 1980. South Africa was the bronze medalist in 1970 and 1972.
Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell turned in a bogey-free 68 to help the defending champion USA turn things around on day two, climbing 10 places. USA posted a team 5-under in the second round, helped by Ethan Fang, who won The Amateur Championship in June and recorded a 1-under 71. Preston Stout, who earned medalist honors in the U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in August, carded a non-counting 72. USA currently sits T-22 with Norway at 1-over 289.
Christian Maas, of South Africa, is the solo individual leader through 36 holes at 12 under par, four strokes ahead of Singapore’s Hiroshi Tai, a senior at Georgia Tech University who won the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Individual Championship and became the first player representing Singapore to compete in the U.S. Open and the Masters Tournament.
Ireland made the largest move of the day, jumping 14 places to T-14 after 2025 Walker Cupper Stuart Grehan posted a 4-under 68, paired with 32-year-old Caolan Rafferty’s 2-under 70. St Andrews Links Trophy runner-up John Doyle, 18, recorded a non-counting 73.
Morocco made the second-largest jump on day two, rising 11 positions to T-14 with Ireland, Wales and 2022 champion Italy. Texas Tech junior Adam Bresnu led the way with a 4-under 68. Prior to becoming a Red Raider, Bresnu played for Odessa College, a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) program, where he won nine times and tallied 30 top 10 finishes in two seasons. He earned both NJCAA Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year and NJCAA Gary Player International Golfer of the Year honors in 2025.
While no country is fielding the same three players from the 2023 edition of the championship, Panama’s Omar Tejeira, Miguel Ordoñez and Raúl Carbonell competed together in 2022. Ordoñez is competing in his third WATC, and Panama currently sits 34th.
What’s Next:
Round 3 begins Friday at 7:15 a.m. with a two-tee start on the Tampines Course at Tanah Merah Country Club.
Results from Thursday's second 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--274
Christiaan Maas 66-66--132
Daniel Bennett 73-69--142
Charl Barnard 75-76--151
T2 Australia 141-138--279
Billy Dowling 71-71--142
Harry Takis 71-69--140
Declan O'Donovan 70-69--139
T2 England 142-137--279
Charlie Forster 71-69--140
Tyler Weaver 73-68--141
Eliot Baker 71-72--143
T2 France 140-139--279
Hugo Le Goff 70-75--145
Oscar Couilleau 70-67--137
Louis Anceaux 73-72--145
T5 Mexico 137-143--280
Gerardo Gomez 73-72--145
Carlos Astiazaran 68-71--139
Eduardo Derbez 69-78--147
T5 Denmark 144-136--280
Claes Borregaard 73-76--149
Kristian Hjort Bressum 75-69--144
Oscar Holm Bredkjær 71-67--138
T7 Sweden 141-140--281
Alfons Bondesson 76-71--147
Simon Hovdal 72-72--144
Filip Fahlberg Johnsson 69-69--138
T7 Czechia 141-140--281
Filip Jakubčík 72-68--140
Štěpán Plášek 75-78--153
Timotej Formánek 69-72--141
T9 Japan 145-137--282
Taisei Nagasaki 74-72--146
Rintaro Nakano 71-66--137
Gunma Tamura 75-71--146
T9 Thailand 142-140--282
Arsit Areephun 74-70--144
Pongsapak Laopakdee 72-70--142
Parin Sarasmut 70-74--144
11 Argentina 146-137--283
Segundo Oliva Pinto 74-68--142
Mateo Pulcini 72-69--141
Juan Martín Loureiro 74-75--149
T12 Singapore 141-144--285
Hiroshi Hirahara Tai 65-71--136
Brayden Lee 76-73--149
Troy Storm 84-77--161
T12 Netherlands 142-143--285
Benjamin Reuter 73-72--145
Nevill Ruiter 70-71--141
Guus Lafeber 72-78--150
T14 Ireland 148-138--286
John Doyle 75-73--148
Caolan Rafferty 75-70--145
Stuart Grehan 73-68--141
T14 Wales 146-140--286
Tomi Bowen 77-68--145
Jonathan Bale 73-72--145
Caolan Burford 73-78--151
T14 Italy 142-144--286
Filippo Ponzano 71-80--151
Michele Ferrero 71-72--143
Riccardo Fantinelli 73-72--145
T14 Morocco 147-139--286
Adam Bresnu 71-68--139
Hugo Mazen Trommetter 76-71--147
Alex El Khomri 81-73--154
T18 Scotland 147-140--287
Connor Graham 74-67--141
Cameron Adam 76-74--150
Niall Sheils Donegan 73-73--146
T18 Canada 144-143--287
Ashton McCulloch 70-76--146
Isaiah Ibit 75-70--145
Justin Matthews 74-73--147
T20 New Zealand 144-144--288
Zackary Swanwick 73-71--144
Cooper Moore 76-77--153
Robby Turnbull 71-73--144
T20 People's Republic of China 144-144--288
Zi Qin Zhou 71-76--147
Hao Yi Wang 74-74--148
Qi You Wu 73-70--143
T22 Norway 146-143--289
Michael Mjaaseth 69-70--139
Joachim Tegner 77-73--150
Emil Børrestuen Herstad 77-80--157
T22 United States of America 150-139--289
Mason Howell 75-68--143
Preston Stout 75-72--147
Ethan Fang 75-71--146
24 Paraguay 142-148--290
Erich Fortlage 70-74--144
Benjamin Fernandez 75-74--149
Franco Fernández 72-74--146
T25 Brazil 146-145--291
Andrey Borges 73-75--148
Herik Oliveira 73-76--149
Eduardo Ferreira 74-70--144
T25 Colombia 147-144--291
Carlos Ardila 73-72--145
Emilio Velez 76-73--149
Tomas Restrepo 74-72--146
T25 Germany 148-143--291
Emil Riegger 75-73--148
Wolfgang Glawe 78-70--148
Tim Wiedemeyer 73-73--146
28 Spain 144-149--293
Alvaro Pastor Roman 74-73--147
Sergio Jimenez Romero 73-77--150
Alejandro De Castro Piera 71-76--147
29 Guatemala 146-148--294
Alejandro Villavicencio 75-77--152
Sebastian Barnoya 75-77--152
Gabriel Palacios 71-71--142
T30 Vietnam 149-146--295
Ho Anh Huy 76-76--152
Nguyen Anh Minh 73-70--143
Nguyen Duc Son 76-76--152
T30 Estonia 151-144--295
Kevin Jegers 76-72--148
Mattias Varjun 75-72--147
Richard Teder 77-75--152
T30 India 145-150--295
Rakshit Dahiya 72-72--144
Arin Ahuja 75-78--153
Deepak Yadav 73-79--152
33 Indonesia 149-148--297
Asa Najib 78-76--154
Randy Bintang 75-73--148
Amadeus Susanto 74-75--149
34 Panama 150-150--300
Miguel Ordoñez 76-75--151
Raul Carbonell 74-75--149
Omar Tejeira 78-77--155
35 Guam 156-152--308
Redge Camacho 82-84--166
Ivan Sablan 81-76--157
Markus Nanpei 75-76--151
36 Zimbabwe 155-161--316
Munesu Chimhini 80-81--161
Elton Zulu 83-80--163
Darlington Chikanyambidze 75-83--158
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