Yago Horno, the only Spanish survivor in The Boys Amateur Championship 2025, a tournament being held at the Irish course County Louth Golf Club, north of Dublin, Ireland, has reached the grand final of the tournament after defeating Swedish player Oscar Stendahl by 2 up in the semi-finals.
The player born in Zaragoza and raised between Huelva and Sotogrande did not have a good start to the match against the Nordic golfer and was trailing until the 7th hole when he levelled the score. From that moment, the match was evenly balanced until Yago Horno took the lead on the 15th hole and sealed the victory on the 18th hole.
In the decisive match of this The Boys Amateur Championship 2025, Yago Horno will face Dutch player Guus Lafeber, who defeated American Kuan Zhou by 1 up in the semi-finals. He is the son of the professional who played for many years on the DP World Tour, Maarten Lafeber.
Regardless of what happens in that match, Yago Horno’s season can be described as outstanding, having won the Spanish Under 18 Men’s Championship and the prestigious Copa Puerta de Hierro, not to mention his victory in the English Under 16 International in 2024. The last Spaniard to win the British Boys was Adrián Otaegui in 2010. The last final was seven years ago, played by Josele Ballester, who lost in 2028. It would be the ninth Spanish victory in this tournament, which was first played in 1921.
QUARTER-FINALS
Yago Horno reached the semi-finals after defeating Irishman John Doyle in a match that had two very different halves, the first clearly for the Spaniard, and the second dominated by the Irishman. Nevertheless, Yago Horno managed to level the score on the 16th hole, and it remained tied until the 18th hole, forcing two extra holes, where the Spaniard secured another victory.
ROUND OF 16
In this round, the Andalusian golfer faced Englishman Oscar Lent, who had defeated Gonzalo Baños at the start of the tournament’s Match Play phase. With the match well on track, the Spaniard managed to take a two-hole lead; however, the Briton levelled the match on the 17th hole, a setback that did not unsettle the Spaniard, who won on the final hole to seal his victory.
ROUND OF 32
Yago Horno managed to win a tough match against Dutchman Stijn Egging in the Round of 32 thanks to a great comeback on holes 10, 11, and 12, which allowed him to level the match. Then, the Spanish golfer continued with that positive momentum and gained a two-hole advantage on holes 15 and 16 to secure the victory on the 17th hole by 2-1.
One out of five at the start of the Match Play phase
The debut of the Spanish players in the knockout round of The Boys Amateur Championship 2025 was not as hoped, as only Yago Horno managed to win his match, qualifying for the Round of 32.
The player from Cádiz had a tough time and needed to put all his determination and best game forward to defeat Swedish player Eskil Törefors on the third extra hole.
Unfortunately, the other four Spanish players did not have the same luck: Gonzalo Baños lost to Englishman Oscar Lent by 4-3; Jorge Martín could not overcome Italian Bruno Frontero and fell by 3-2, the same result that eliminated Raúl Gómez against Frenchman Alexis Barnetche, and Juan Miró completed a dismal day by losing to Dutchman Guus Lafeber by 2-1.
