Samuel falls at U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur semis
Lara Tennant of Portland, Ore., won 1-up against Samuel to move on to Thursday’s final round against Sue Wooster of Australia.
Tennant defeated a Senior Women’s Amateur runner-up in the semifinals, edging Terrill Samuel, 57, of Canada, 1 up. The match went to the 18th hole all square after Samuel, who lost in the championship match in 2017, birdied No. 17 with a 7-foot putt. Both players had birdie putts on No. 18, with Samuel hitting her 50-footer 6 feet past the hole. Tennant, who was co-medalist in last year’s championship before bowing out in the Round of 64, rolled in her birdie try from 25 feet to seal victory and earn a spot in Thursday’s final.
The match had its share of dramatic moments. All square on No. 11, it looked like Tennant would regain the lead after hitting her approach shot on the par 4 to less than a foot from the hole, but Samuel chipped in from just off the green to halve the hole with birdies. Tennant would then trail for the only time in the match after hitting her tee shot on the par-3 12th in the water, but she squared the match again with a birdie on the par-5 13th.
While she fell short in her bid to get to a second straight final, Samuel did gain a bit of redemption on Wednesday morning, defeating countrywoman Judith Kyrinis, 54, in the quarterfinals, 1 up. Kyrinis, the reigning champion, had defeated Samuel in the championship match a year ago.
Track your golf handicap and compete against anyone
“I’m not good enough to keep track of my handicap.”
Craig Loughry, Golf Canada’s Director of Handicap and Course Rating, is tired of hearing that.
“The purpose of the Handicap System is to make the game of golf more enjoyable by enabling players of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis,” the Golf Canada Handicap Manual states.
“If you’re playing golf regularly, you’re keeping track of your scores in some fashion,” he points out. “You’re golfing for a reason or reasons, whether it’s for the competition against yourself or others, recreation, socializing, whatever. It obviously is a significant part of your activity schedule, so why not keep track on an ongoing basis?
“If golfers didn’t care about keeping score, then courses wouldn’t need scorecards, but they seem to have to replace thousands every year.”
Loughry is right. Everyone tracks their progress in just about every other facet of their lives, so why not in their golf games? In business or other pursuits, you expect a level playing field, right? A Golf Canada handicap factor provides both for your golf life.
Additionally, you never know when not having a Golf Canada handicap factor will come back to haunt you.
Knowing zero about your handicap can find you playing off a zero handicap.
A couple of personal anecdotes…
Years ago, I was invited to play in a pro-am. When I showed up at registration, I was asked for my handicap. When I said I didn’t have one, I was told I would have to play off scratch, from the pro tees. Some of my drives barely made the tee block from where my fellow amateurs (the ones with official handicaps) were playing from. Needless to say, I started posting every score after that humiliation.
My wife (who faithfully maintains an accurate handicap factor) plays in the member-guest tournament at a friend’s club every summer. The club sends out a friendly note leading up to the event. It says, “it is the member’s responsibility to provide a handicap factor from an accredited golf association for their guest(s). Failure to do so will result in your guest(s) playing from scratch. Please note that scorecards, letters or ‘she shoots about an 85’ are unacceptable.”
If you have a Golf Canada Gold-level membership, the lengthy list of benefits includes an official handicap factor. It’s easy to post your adjusted scores online or at any Golf Canada member course and there’s even an app for your phone. It’s easy to join online even if you’re not already a member of a club and start tracking your scores right away.
Now that I’ve persuaded those of you who haven’t maintained a current and accurate factor (you must post all scores using the easy-to-understand Equitable Stroke Control system) to get on the bandwagon, here are some other handicapping notes.
Active Seasons
Regrettably, the end of the Canadian golf season is approaching. Each provincial golf association decides on what is called the “active season” for handicap posting purposes.
By province, the active seasons are:
- British Columbia March 1-Nov. 15
- Alberta March 1-Oct. 31
- Saskatchewan April 15-Oct. 31
- Manitoba April 15-Oct. 31
- Ontario April 15-Oct. 31
- Quebec April 15-Oct. 31
- Nova Scotia April 15-Oct. 31
- New Brunswick May 1-Oct. 31
- Prince Edward Island April 16-Nov. 14
- Newfoundland and Labrador April 1-Nov. 30
Going South This Winter?
It’s never been easier to post out-of-country scores if you’re lucky enough to play in a warmer clime this winter.
“Essentially, all you have to do is simply change the Canadian flag icon to the international one and then start typing in the most unique part of the club/course name,” says Taylor Stevenson, Golf Canada’s manager of member services.
As well, says Loughry, the International Golf Network (IGN) allows Golf Canada members to link their golf membership (handicap record) from Canada to their U.S. club(s). What’s the advantage of that?
“You only need to post your score once and that score automatically gets posted into the other record. This is not only important now for our many members who travel and golf outside the country, but will be more so when the World Handicap System is implemented.”
We Are The World
In 2020, the new unified World Handicap System will be implemented to make handicaps truly consistent and equitable around the globe. The new system will feature more flexibility and reflect the changes in how the game is played worldwide.
For example, both competitive and recreational rounds will count for handicap purposes, the number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap will be reduced and, perhaps most importantly, the result will be a consistent handicap that is portable from courses to course and country to country.
There is even a calculation that considers the impact that abnormal course and weather conditions affected your score.
Click here for more on handicapping.
12 Canadians set to compete at U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur
VERO BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 1, 2018) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced tee times for the first two rounds of the 57th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, Saturday (Oct. 6) and Sunday (Oct.7), at 5,817-yard, par-72 Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club, in Vero Beach, Fla.
The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur consists of 36 holes of stroke play on Oct. 6 and 7, after which the field will be reduced to the low 64 scorers. There will be six rounds of match play, starting Oct. 8. The quarterfinals and semifinals are slated for Wednesday, Oct. 10. The championship is scheduled to conclude with an 18-hole final on Thursday, Oct. 11, starting at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
The 132-player field feature 12 Canadians, including defending champion Judith Kyrinis of Thornhill, Ont. Joining her is 2017 runner-up Terrill Samuel of Toronto and Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Mary Ann Hayward.
Below is the full list of Canadians competing in the 57th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur:
- Judith Kyrinis
- Terrill Samuel
- Mary Ann Hayward
- Helene Chartrand
- Gail Pimm
- Cheryl Newman
- Audrey Akins
- Alison Murdoch
- Marie-Therese Torti
- Barbara Flaman
- Jackie Little
- Rhonda Orr
Judith Kyrinis, 54, of Canada, won the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship by defeating Terrill Samuel, 4 and 3, in the final at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore. Kyrinis is a registered nurse at Toronto General Hospital and primarily preps cancer patients for surgery. She has competed in 14 USGA championships, including four Senior Women’s Amateurs. Her brother, Dan Allan, qualified for the 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship. In September, she reached the Round of 32 in the 2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis.
Audrey Akins, 51, of Canada, won the Canadian Junior Girls Championship in 1980 at age 13, making her the youngest winner in championship history. She was a member of the Canadian team that won a gold medal in the 1986 Commonwealth Games, an Olympic-style competition for countries that were traditionally associated with the former British Empire. Akins, a 1980 graduate of the University of Oklahoma who works as an English teacher, won the 2016 Michigan Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship.
Helene Chartrand, 62, of Canada, won the 2014 Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur Championship and finished runner-up in 2016. She is also the 2013 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur champion.
Mary Ann Hayward, 58, of Canada, is the manager of sports performance for the Golf Association of Ontario. The four-time Canadian Women’s Amateur champion has been inducted into the Canada, Ontario and Quebec Golf Halls of Fame. In 2005, she won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur as Mary Ann Lapointe. An eight-time member of the Canadian team in the World Amateur Team Championship, she also served as the team’s captain in 2008. Hayward advanced to the Round of 16 in last year’s Senior Women’s Amateur.
Terrill Samuel, 57, of Canada, was the runner-up in last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, losing to fellow Canadian Judith Kyrinis, 4 and 3. It was the first time in USGA history that two Canadian players met in a final match. Samuel’s 80-year-old mother, Cam, served as her caddie for the 2017 Senior Women’s Amateur. Samuel, who is competing in her seventh Senior Women’s Amateur, played in the Inaugural Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club earlier this year. She was the 2010 Ontario Mid-Amateur Champion and the 2011 Ontario Senior Champion. Samuel is a two-time Canadian Senior Champion, winning in 2012 and 2015. Samuel is a teacher and a high school volleyball coach in the Toronto School District.
Gail Pimm, 58, of Canada, was a professional squash player for 10 years and competed in three world championships as a member of the Canadian team. Pimm was a teacher for 20 years and started playing golf in 2003.
Jackie Little, 60, of Canada, was a quarterfinalist in last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, losing to Patricia Schremmer, 2 and 1. Little, who is competing in her fourth Senior Women’s Amateur, is a five-time winner of the British Columbia Women’s Amateur and British Columbia Senior Women’s Amateur, and a three-time British Columbia Women’s Mid-Amateur champion. In 2008 and 2009, Little won both the Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur and Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) Senior Women’s Amateur, earning Senior Women’s Amateur player-of-the-year honors from both associations. She is a member of the Golf Hall of Fame of British Columbia (2009), Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame (2012) and the PNGA Hall of Fame (2017). She and her husband, Pat, formerly owned the Hollies Executive Golf Course in Canada.
Click here for more information on the championship.
Ilirian Zalli and Jennifer Gu victorious at Future Links Fall Series in British Columbia
ROBERTS CREEK, B.C. – Jennifer Gu emerged as leader in the Girls Division and Ilirian Zalli captured the Boys Division at the Future Links, driven by Acura Fall Series Championship at Sunshine Coast Golf & Country Club on Sunday.
Gu, who started the third and final round tied with the lead, carded a 1-over 73 to distance herself from the pack en route to a six-stroke victory. The West Vancouver, B.C., native finished at 7 over par in the 54-hole event.
“I knew that I had to bring my best this week to be medalist against a strong field here this week at Sunshine Coast,” said Gu. “Once I started getting a little bit of a lead I started hitting to the fat part of the greens; I was really focused on my lag putting to play safely which helped me.”
Angela Arora (Surrey, B.C.) and Emma Yang (Langley, B.C.) finished tied for 2nd at 13 over par and will advance to the Canadian Junior Girls Championship from July 29 – Aug. 2, at Lethbridge Country Club in Lethbridge, Alta.
In the Boys Division, Zalli of Burnaby, B.C., completed the wire-to-wire victory with a convincing 16-stroke win. The 2018 B.C. Junior Boys Champion closed at 14 under par (68-66-68) as the only player in the red.
“As this was the first fall series event in the west, it was more than just about winning,” said Zalli. “It was about setting the bar for years to come.”
Vancouver’s Dylan Bercan also finished with a 4-under-par 68, lifting him into a tie for runner-up with Zach Ryujin (North Vancouver) at 2 over par.
All three golfers will advance to the the 2019 Canadian Junior Boys Championship from Aug. 11-15, at Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club in Hartland, N.B.
Results for previous 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura Championships can be found here: Pacific, Ontario, Western, Quebec, Prairie, Atlantic, Fall Series Quebec.
Click here for scoring, pairings and additional information.
Four Canadians punch tickets to Drive, Chip & Putt finals at Winged Foot qualifier
MAMARONECK, N.Y. – A quartet of Canadian junior golfers became one step closer winning it all at the esteemed Winged Foot Golf Club, one of 10 regional qualifiers for the 2019 Drive Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta National.
Leading the group that advanced was Toronto’s Vanessa Borovilos, who returns for a record-tying fourth championship. The 12-year-old captured last year’s 10-11 division to become the second Canadian to win a title (Savannah Grewal won the Girls 14-15 division in 2017).
“Brooke Henderson and Tiger Woods are her idols and she wants to follow in their footsteps,” said her dad, Dino, noting that Vanessa is also a two-time winner of the U.S. Kids World Championship.
Joining Borovilos are three first-time participants: Carter Lavigne (Moncton, N.B. | Boys 7-9), Andy Mac (Candiac, Que. | Boys 10-11) and Nicole Gal (Oakville, Ont. | Girls 14-15).
“I heard that going to the Masters is a religious experience and this is pretty close,” said Darsey Lavigne, whose son Carter, from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, advanced by winning the Boys 7-9 age group.
Earlier in September, Canadian Anna Jiaxin Huang of Vancouver advanced to the final in the Chambers Bay qualifier at Chambers Bay, Wash.
There are two more regional qualifiers to be conducted to fill the final field of 60 juniors.
All five juniors will look to be crowned champion at the Drive, Chip & Putt final on April 7, 2019.
Click here for scoring.
The Canadian equivalent—Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Skills Challenge National Event— will be contested on Saturday, June 1 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club. Borovilos finished 2nd in the 2017 Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event at Glen Abbey Golf Club.
Canada’s golf team announced for 2018 Youth Olympic Games
Golf Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) are proud to name the two athletes nominated to represent Team Canada in golf at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Ares, Argentina from October 6-18, 2018.
Celeste Dao, 17, of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que. will represent Canada in the girls’ golf competition while William Duquette, 17, of Laval, Que. will compete in the boys’ event.
The two golf athletes earned their spots on the Canadian Youth Olympic Team based on a collection of 2018 championship results as well as their standing on the Canadian Golf Order of Merit as of August 9th, 2018.
“We are very pleased to announce that Celeste Dao and William Duquette have been selected as the athletes to represent Canadian golf at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “Both of these talented competitors are eager to succeed in representing Canada on the international stage and have shown tremendous progress in their development.”
The Golf competition at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games will be held at the Hurlingham Club, from October 9-15. The boys’ and girls’ 54-hole individual competition runs October 9-11 with a 54-hole mixed-gender competition running October 13-15.
A total of 64 golfers are eligible to take part in the golf competition including 32 male and 32 female athletes.
Celeste Dao
Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que. is in her first year as a member of Golf Canada’s National Development Squad. She won the recent 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship as well as the 2018 Mexican Junior Girls Championship. In May, she played her way into the 2018 US Women’s Open by earning medalist honours at a Regional Qualifier. In August, she earned an exemption to compete in her first-ever CP Women’s Open at The Wascana Country Club in Regina. She was also named to one of Canada’s two entries in the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship at Camelot Golf and Country Club in Ottawa where she finished fifth in the individual competition and helped Canada One finish fourth among 19 countries.
William Duquette
A native of Laval, Que., William Duquette’s season includes a fourth place finish at the Quebec Junior Boys Championship, T29 at the Quebec Men’s Amateur, T22 at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship and T48 at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. Last season, he won the Future Links, driven by Acura Quebec Championship and had top-five finishes at both the Graham Cooke Junior Invitational and Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship.
The Quebec duo will be accompanied by Matt Wilson, Golf Canada’s Director, Next Generation and Women’s Development Team Coach.
The 2018 Games will mark the second time that the sport of golf is included in the Youth Olympic Games after making its inaugural including in the 2014 Games in Nanjing, China.
Dave Mills named 2018 IAGA Distinguished Service Award recipient
We are proud to announce the IAGA will honor our longtime Golf Ontario Executive Director Dave Mills with its Distinguished Service Award, to be presented on Nov 6th at the 2018 IAGA Annual Conference @Innisbrook Congrats from all of us Dave on your accomplishments! #golfontario pic.twitter.com/HnfNGZ2KdD
— Golf Ontario (@TheGolfOntario) September 20, 2018
Canadian golfers react to slaying of Spaniard golfer in Iowa city
AMES, Iowa – They had both recently turned 22 and were residing in the same Iowa college town but their lives couldn’t have been more different before allegedly intersecting in the most violent way.
Celia Barquin Arozamena was a top amateur golfer from Spain who was finishing her degree at Iowa State University. Collin Daniel Richards was a former inmate from small-town Iowa with a history of violence.
The Big 12 conference champion, Barquin had dreams of making the pro tour and spent hours practicing at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames. Jobless and homeless, Richards had been living in a tent in an encampment near the course and had spoken of his desire to “rape and kill a woman,” police said.
Richards was charged with stabbing Barquin to death during a random attack while she was golfing by herself in broad daylight on Monday morning. Barquin’s body was found in a pond on the course near the ninth hole after fellow golfers noticed her abandoned bag and called police. Richards was arrested within hours, suffering from injuries to his face and hand after Barquin apparently tried to fight him off, investigators said.
As Barquin’s colleagues began grieving the loss of a talented teammate and classmate, Richards was ordered jailed on a $5 million cash-only bond at the county jail and facing the rest of his life in prison. It was, said Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell, a “cowardly act of violence.”
The university had planned to honour Barquin at its football game Saturday for being its female athlete of the year – news that had brought Barquin to tears, according to athletic director Jamie Pollard. Instead, football players will wear helmet decals with her initials to mourn the loss.
“We’re all devastated and heartbroken,” said Pollard, who choked back tears at a news conference.
The golf course issued a statement calling Barquin an amazing young woman with an infectious smile who “made the people around her better.”
Barquin was a top golfer in Spain as a teenager and came to Iowa State to pursue her career, drawn by its facilities, coaches, and picturesque campus. She became one of the best in school history and was completing her civil engineering degree after exhausting her athletic eligibility earlier this year. She recently won an amateur tournament in Europe and competed in the U.S. Women’s Open Championship.
Richards had lived in small towns throughout western Iowa, residing with his mother, father and grandparents at various times. He ended up in Ames in January 2017 when he was placed in a halfway house there after violating his probation, court records show. By then, he had convictions for burglary, theft, criminal mischief and harassment. A judge revoked his probation, and he was sent to prison in November 2017.
Richards left a state prison in southeastern Iowa in June after completing the sentence. Soon he was back in Ames, arrested weeks later after being found passed out at a liquor store and admitting that he drank heavily after taking antidepressants.
Police Cmdr. Geoff Huff said homicides are rare in the city, and it’s “very troubling for something like this to happen in broad daylight.”
Police said officers recovered a knife that Richards had given to acquaintances after the slaying, as well as bloody clothing from his belongings.
Officers were called to the course around 10:20 a.m. Monday to investigate a possible missing female player. They found Barquin’s body in the pond with several stab wounds to her upper torso, head and neck, according to the complaint filed Tuesday against Richards.
A police dog tracked Barquin’s scent to a homeless encampment along a creek near the golf course where Richards had been living in a tent, the complaint said. Officers found Richards with several fresh scratches on his face consistent with fighting and a deep laceration in his left hand that he tried to hide, it said.
“What did he do to her?” an acquaintance of Richards allegedly asked officers who were searching the area.
That man told investigators Richards had said in recent days that he had “an urge to rape and kill a woman,” the complaint said. A second acquaintance told police that Richards arrived at his nearby home on Monday appearing “disheveled and covered in blood, sand and water” before bathing and leaving.
Paul Rounds, a public defender representing Richards, declined comment.
Court records show that since 2014, Richards had been charged with abusing a former girlfriend, stealing a pickup truck after wrecking his own vehicle, using a baseball bat to smash a car window and burglarizing a gas station. In one case, the Iowa State Patrol seized a long knife from him during a traffic stop. In another, he threatened to return to a convenience store to shoot clerks after they caught him shoplifting.
Barquin’s former team announced Tuesday it was pulling out of the East & West Match Play in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to grieve their loss. Women’s golf coach Christie Martens said Barquin was an “outstanding representative of our school.”
Professional golfer Sergio Garcia, one of Barquin’s favourite players, tweeted that he was heartbroken by the news.
Heartbroken over what happened to #CeliaBarquinArozamena I had the pleasure of meeting her and I know she was a special person. Sending my thoughts and prayers to her family and loved ones in this difficult time
— Sergio Garcia (@TheSergioGarcia) September 18, 2018
Garcia wasn’t the only golfer to take to social media to express their condolences. Several Canadian golfers also shared their thoughts.
You can’t even explain such lose. RIP Celia???? https://t.co/pGbxEYUYxh
— Lorie Kane (@loriekanelpga) September 18, 2018
So heartbreaking?… As a former college golfer and student, if there was any place that was safe, the golf course was just that. My heart goes out to the family, friends and teammates. RIP Celia https://t.co/LBlrtcnEU6
— Brittany Marchand (@Britt_Marchand) September 18, 2018
This really brings tears to my eyes. Cannot believe such a horrible thing could Happen to such a nice person. Can’t even describe in words how I’m feeling right now. RIP Celia. https://t.co/4oV3N1o8HC
— Albin Choi (@AlbinChoi) September 19, 2018
I cannot imagine why this would happen to anyone. To her family, friends and teammates you are in my thoughts. Rest In Peace Celia. https://t.co/HV6QDkOhkI
— Alisha Lau (@alishalau13) September 19, 2018
How many times have we enjoyed the solitude of playing a round on our own? Early morning, late evening, just you and the course. I can’t fully wrap my head around something like this happening. RIP https://t.co/2m67vHYQZP
— Jessica Wallace (@JessWGolf) September 19, 2018
Canada sits T12 after opening-round of 2018 Men’s World Amateur Championship
Denmark, with John Axelsen shooting 8-under 64 and Rasmus Hojgaard firing 4-under 68, posted a 12-under-par 132 to slide past host Ireland for a two-stroke first-round lead.
The Danish pair, playing the Montgomerie Course, combined to tie for the second-lowest first-round score in Eisenhower Trophy history, just one behind the record of 131 set by the USA in Turkey in 2012.
“Everything just worked today,” said Axelsen, a University of Florida sophomore, who won the Danish Amateur in 2017 and 2018. “I was going up to the ball and just feeling like this is going to be close.”
Host Ireland, playing in the first group of the morning off the second nine, made a home-course statement with a 10-under par total of 134.
India and Switzerland shared third place at 9 under, followed by New Zealand and Japan in fifth at 7 under and Thailand, Spain, England, Portugal and Republic of Korea tied in seventh at 6 under.
Canada’s team, comprised of Hugo Bernard, 23, of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., Joey Savoie, 24, of La Prairie, Que., and Garrett Rank, 30, of Elmira, Ont., sit T12 at 141.
Rank sits as the leading Canadian in individual play. The full-time NHL referee is T12 after firing a 4-under par 68.
France to host World Amateur Team Championships in 2022
COUNTY KILDARE/DUBLIN, Ireland – France has been selected as the site of the 2022 World Amateur Team Championships (WATC), the International Golf Federation (IGF) announced at its Biennial Meeting.
This will mark the third time the championships have been played in France. Previously, both the 1994 championships were played at Le Golf National (and La Boulie for the Eisenhower Trophy) and the inaugural Espirito Santo Trophy competition was played at St. Germain G.C. in 1964.
Le Golf National, site of the 2018 Ryder Cup Match, and Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche near Paris, will be the courses used for the championships.
The 30th women’s championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy and the 33rd men’s championship for the Eisenhower Trophy will be hosted by the French Golf Federation.
“Bringing the World Amateur Team Championships to France in 2022 is a direct reflection of its ability and commitment to host global golf events and a fantastic precursor to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” said IGF Executive Director Antony Scanlon. “We are quite sure the players will have a great experience in France.”
“Hosting major sporting events is in the DNA of France,” said Jean-Lou Charon, President of the French Golf Federation. “After the Ryder Cup in 2018, and before the Olympics Games in 2024, France will be very proud to host the WATC in 2022. The hosting of the WATC, one of the world’s most famous and legendary competitions, will be both a fantastic lever and a unifying event for all those involved in the development of the game of golf.
“The French Golf Federation’s commitment is total. Paris, Versailles, Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche Golf Club, Le Golf National, and the fervor of the general public as well as that of the 800,000 French golfers who are all eager to share their enthusiasm with the national golfing delegations from all over the globe.”
Both championships feature the world’s leading amateurs and are played over 72 holes of stroke play. Each country is represented by a team of two or three players.
The men’s competition of the 2018 World Amateur Team Championships, hosted by the Golfing Union of Ireland and the Irish Ladies Golf Union, will be played 5-8 September at Carton House (O’Meara and Montgomerie Courses) in County Kildare/Dublin, Ireland with 72 teams competing.
The 2018 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship concluded on 1 September with the United States of America claiming its 14th Espirito Santo Trophy, by 10 strokes over Japan. A record total of 57 teams competed in the championship. Canada finished 7th after battling back from a tie for 39th.
The 2020 Championships will be played in Hong Kong, China.
The World Amateur Team Championships are a biennial international amateur golf competition conducted by the International Golf Federation, which comprises 151 national governing bodies of golf in 146 countries, and 22 international professional tours and organizations conducting major championships.
The IGF is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international federation for golf. In addition to the World Amateur Team Championships, the IGF also organizes the golf competitions at the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games.