​SOUTHPORT, England — R&A CEO Mark Darbon will announce the Champion Golfer of the Year on Sunday at Royal Birkdale, the honorific given to the winner of the Open Championship along with the claret jug. But moments before doing, Darbon hopes to hand out the Silver Medal awarded to the low amateur through 72 holes at the Open, a keepsake earned by such notable golfers over the years as Frank Stranahan, Joe Carr and Sir Michael Bonallack, Jose Maria Olazabal, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick.But that’s the catch: One of the 10 amateurs in the field this week must make the cut in order to claim the prize. For the last three years, the silver medal has grown cobwebs, after being handed out six out of the eight previous years from 2015 to 2022.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSo who’s the most likely candidate to claim the award in 2026? Take a look at the 10 amateurs competing, and if you’re like us, you’ll be rooting for several of these inspiring stories.More From Golf Digest Decisions, Decisions British Open 2026: The decision tour pros face as they stand on the tee at Royal Birkdale British Open British Open 2026: The winner who’d produce the best story at Royal Birkdale is hiding in plain sight British Open Preview British Open 2026: Your vibes-only guide to the top 41 contenders at Birkdale Jack Buchanan2259729225Tyrone Winfield/R&AAge: 21 Country: South Africa WAGR: 88 How he qualified: Africa Amateur champion Skinny: Was a six-shot winner of the Africa Amateur in this year. Plays college golf at USC. Attended the 2017 Open at Birkdale as a 12-year-old, where he got a signed glove from Rickie Fowler and a golf ball that Kevin Na made a hole-in-one with during a practice round.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlejandro de Castro Piera2284036009Alex Burstow/R&AAge: 21 Country: Spain WAGR: 52 How he qualified: Final Qualifying Skinny: Finished his college golf career at Long Beach State, where he posted nine top-10 finishes in 12 starts and won 2026 Big West golfer of the year honors.Stuart Grehan2286187817Stuart Franklin/R&AAge: 33 Country: Ireland WAGR: 19 How he qualified: British Amateur champion Skinny: Got his amateur status back early in 2025 and proceeded to win the Irish Amateur, then qualify for the 2025 GB&I Walker Cup team. Built on that momentum to win the British Amateur over American Matt Moloney at Royal Liverpool. Works as a financial advisor in Ireland.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLev Grinberg2281000534Oisin Keniry/R&AAge: 18 Country: Ukraine WAGR: 40 How he qualified: Open Amateur Series winner Skinny: Was born in Kyiv, becoming the first Ukrainian-born golfer to compete in the Open. Started playing the game there, but moved to Belgium at 11 to have more access to the game. He since moved to France, and this year changed his sports nationality to France for international events.) Won the St. Andrews Links Trophy in June. His grandfather