(Buenos Aires, Argentina) – Felix Bouchard of Otterburn Park, Que. and Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta., led Team Canada to victory in the 51st edition of the Tailhade Cup at Los Lagartos Country Club.

With a total of 422 strokes, Canada clinched their fourth title, finishing four strokes ahead of Denmark and Switzerland. Their strong performance was attributed to Bouchard and McKinlay’s combined rounds of 142, 137, and 143 strokes.

In the Individual Ranking, Spain’s Luis Roncal Masaveu finished first with 205 strokes at -8, with Bouchard closely following behind by three strokes, ending the tourney at -5.

Mckinlay finished tied for 8^th at 1-over, 214.

Team scoring

Individual scoring

Alena Sharp has won the bronze medal after finishing the 2023 PanAmerican (PanAm) Games at 7-under, following a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s final round at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.

This marks Canada’s second bronze medal in golf all-time at the PanAm Games. At Lima 2019, Team Canada consisting of, Austin Connelly, Mary Parsons, Joey Savoie and Brigitte Thibeault won the bronze medal, in the mixed team event, its first Pan Am Games medal in golf.

Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. recorded three birdies during her final round, but the highlight came on the par-3 15th hole. Sharp chipped on with her second shot leaving a 30-foot putt, which she drained to save par. Sharp went on to par the final three holes to close with six consecutive pars to secure the bronze. Sharp finished with rounds of 67-73-70-71-281.

“I’m kind of shocked a little bit, I thought I would be in a playoff. I had a lot of good luck this week and I’m floored and to the moon to take home a medal for Canada. I’ve played in two Olympics and this and it’s nice to walk away with a medal,” said Sharp following her round on Sunday.

. @AlenaSharp secured a 🥉 podium finish for 🇨🇦 at the 2023 Pan Am games pic.twitter.com/YQXXnJBLCd

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) November 5, 2023

Sofia Garcia of Paraguay completed the wire-to-wire victory to win the gold medal. Garcia shot an even par 72 on Sunday to stay at 14-under and win by four shots over Maria Uribe of Colombia who won the silver medal. Uribe finished with a 4-under 68 in the final round to finish the tournament at 10-under.

Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont. closed with a 3-over 75 on Sunday. Costabile finished the tournament in 18th at 14-over (77-76-74-75-302).

Women’s Final Top 3 Standings following the 2023 Pan Am Games

GOLD	Sofia Garcia	Paraguay	65, 70, 67, 72 – 274	-14
SILVER	Maria Uribe	Colombia	69, 73, 68, 68 – 278	-10
BRONZE	Alena Sharp	Canada	67, 73, 70, 71 – 281	-7

Étienne Papineau battled right to the end and came up just short finishing in a tie for fourth.

Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 16-under (63-71-67-71-272) just one shot back of a podium finish.

“I didn’t really make anything today, I would say nothing really went my way to be honest. I had a bad break on 10 which cost me a bogey. The ball flew to the hole and bounced 30 yards backwards so that was kind of hard on me mentally a little bit, but I tried to stay in it, with birdies 13 and 15 to get back into it. I had a chance on 17 and on 18 I just didn’t take advantage of it. It is what it is. It stinks a little bit, but it’s part of the game,” said Papineau.

Abraham Ancer of Mexico fired a final round 5-under 67 to jump ahead of Sebastian Muñoz of Colombia to win the gold medal. Ancer closed the tournament at 21-under, one shot better than Munoz who finished 20-under. Dylan Menante of the United States closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday to pull into third and win the bronze medal, finishing at 17-under.

Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S. closed the tournament with a 3-under 69 on Sunday to finish at 8-under (73-68-70-69-280), tied for 11th. Creighton carded three birdies on the front nine and closed with nine straight pars on the back nine during Sunday’s final round.

Men’s Final Top 3 Standings following the 2023 Pan Am Games

GOLD	Abraham Ancer	Mexico	68, 67, 65, 67 – 267	-21
SILVER	Sebastian Muñoz	Colombia	66, 66, 68, 63 – 268	-20
BRONZE	Dylan Menante	United States	66, 69, 70, 66 – 271	-17

Golf joined the Pan Am Games program at Toronto 2015. Santiago 2023 featured individual events only in golf with 32 men and 32 women competing over 72-holes of stroke play. The 2027 Pan Am Games will be held in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Étienne Papineau heads into the final round of 2023 PanAmerican (PanAm) Games one shot back of leaders Sebastian Muñoz and Abraham Ancer, following a 5-under 67 on Saturday at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.

With another strong round, Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. moved to 15-under for the tournament, while Munoz and Ancer are at 16-under. Papineau recorded six birdies in his round, with three on the front nine and three on the back and had a share of the lead before an unfortunate bogey on the par 5 18th.

Muñoz of Colombia held a two-shot lead heading into the final round and recorded a 4-under 68 on Saturday, while Ancer of Mexico fired his way into tie for the lead with a 7-under 65 to join Muñoz at 16-under.

Independent Athletes Team member Jose Toledo moved up to fourth place at 12-under following a 5-under 67 on Saturday. Dylan Menante of the United States rounds out the top five at 11-under after shooting a 2-under 70.

Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S. followed up his solid second round with a 2-under 70 on Saturday. Creighton carded two birdies on the front nine and went on to record 10 consecutive pars on holes seven through 16. Following a bogey on 17, Creighton quickly grabbed a stroke back closing with a birdie on 18. Creighton now moves to 5-under and sits 13th.

Men’s Top 5 Standings following the third round of the 2023 Pan Am Games

T1	Sebastian Muñoz	Colombia	66, 66, 68	-16
T1	Abraham Ancer	Mexico	68, 67, 65	-16
3	Étienne Papineau	Canada	63, 71, 67	-15
4	Jose Toledo	Independent Athletes Team	70, 67, 67	-12
5	Dylan Menante	United States	66, 69, 70	-11

Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. improved to 6-under for the tournament following a round of 2-under 70 on Saturday and is tied for third, eight shots back of leader Sofia Garcia of Paraguay who sits at 14-under after three rounds.

Sharp recorded four of her five birdies on the back nine during her round to pull back under par. Garcia meanwhile takes a seven-shot lead over Valery Plata of Colombia in Sunday’s final round following a 5-under 67 on Saturday.

Maria Uribe of Colombia is tied with Sharp for third place at 6-under. Uribe recorded a 4-under 68 in round three. Magdalena Simmermacher of Argentina and Anna Davis of the United States are tied for fifth at 1-under.

Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont. recorded her best round of the tournament with a 2-over 74 on Saturday. Costabile is now at 11-over and sits tied for 19th.

Women’s Top 5 Standings following the third round of the 2023 Pan Am Games

1	Sofia Garcia	Paraguay	65, 70, 67	-14
2	Valery Plata	Colombia	70, 70, 69	-7
T3	Alena Sharp	Canada	67, 73, 70	-6
T3	Maria Uribe	Colombia	69, 73, 68	-6
T5	Magdalena Simmermacher	Argentina	73, 71, 71	-1
T5	Anna Davis	United States	73, 74, 68	-1

Golf joined the Pan American Games program at Toronto 2015. At Lima 2019, Team Canada consisting of, Austin Connelly, Mary Parsons, Joey Savoie and Brigitte Thibeault won the bronze medal, in the mixed team event, its first Pan Am Games medal in golf.

Santiago 2023 features individual events only in golf with 32 men and 32 women competing over 72-holes of stroke play. Sunday’s final round will begin at 7:00 a.m. local time, 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. PT.

Étienne Papineau and Alena Sharp both find themselves in second place in their respective divisions after two rounds of the 2023 Pan American (Pan Am) Games at the Price of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.

Papineau followed up his opening round 63 with a 1-under 71 on Friday and is two-shots back of Sebastian Muñoz of Colombia who shot a 6-under 66 for the second straight day to move to 12-under for the tournament.

“Obviously not as good as yesterday but we’re still in it, just some bad luck on par 5’s today on 14 and 9 outside of that it was ok, I guess. I will work on some things on the range but we’re still in it, obviously not the round I wanted today but as I said we’re still in it and there’s 36 more holes to play so I’ll do my best and then we’ll see after Sunday,” said Papineau.

Papineau of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. began his round on the back nine on Friday and exchanged two birdies and two bogeys for an even 36. Finishing up on the front nine, Papineau opened with two pars, followed by an eagle on the third hole and a run of five consecutive pars before dropping a stroke on the ninth hole to finish with a 71.

Myles Creigton of Digby, N.S. responded with a solid 4-under 68 on Friday to improve to 3-under for the tournament and sits 12th, carding six birdies during his round.

“I really struggled yesterday, just wasn’t hitting it great and shot as good as I probably could have shot…was all over the place and this course exposes you a little bit if you’re just a little off so worked on it a little bit yesterday and came out with a better round today. I got off to a bad start with a bogey and fought pretty hard from there with not my full game but was able to get around today,” said Creighton.

Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer of Mexico and Dylan Menante are in a three-way tie for third after two rounds and sit three shots back of Muñoz at 9-under.

Men’s Top 5 Standings following the second round of the 2023 Pan Am Games

1	Sebastian Muñoz	Colombia	66, 66	-12
2	Étienne Papineau	Canada	63, 71	-10
T3	Carlos Ortiz	Mexico	71, 64	-9
T3	Abraham Ancer	Mexico	68, 67	-9
T3	Dylan Menante	United States	66, 69	-9

Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. finished her second round with a 1-over 73, dropping one stroke to sit 4-under and is tied for second with Valery Plata of Colombia. Plata recorded a second consecutive round of 2-under 70, both Sharp and Plata are five shots back of Sofia Garcia of Paraguay who leads at 9-under. Garcia followed up an opening round 65 with a 2-under 70 on Friday. Alexandra Swayne of the Virgin Islands and Maria Uribe at tied for fourth at 2-under.

Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont. shot a 4-over 76 on Friday and sits 21st at 9-over.

Women’s Top 5 Standings following the second round of the 2023 Pan Am Games

1	Sofia Garcia	Paraguay	65, 70	-9
T2	Alena Sharp	Canada	67, 73	-4
T2	Valery Plata	Colombia	70, 70	-4
T4	Alexandra Swayne	Virgin Islands	70, 72	-2
T4	Maria Uribe	Colombia	69, 73	-2

Golf joined the Pan American Games program at Toronto 2015. At Lima 2019, Team Canada consisting of, Austin Connelly, Mary Parsons, Joey Savoie and Brigitte Thibeault won the bronze medal, in the mixed team event, its first Pan Am Games medal in golf.

Santiago 2023 features individual events only in golf with 32 men and 32 women competing over 72-holes of stroke play. Saturday’s third round will begin at 8:00 a.m. local time, 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. PT.

Étienne Papineau is one of four players set to represent Canada, joining Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., and Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S. for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

The 27-year-old from St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que. has enjoyed a successful 2023 season earning three professional tournament wins. Included in the three was the PGA TOUR Canada season opening tournament, the Royal Beach Victoria Open in June. Papineau went on to add five top-10 finishes with 16 of 21 tournament cuts made. In addition, he finished the season as the top Canadian on PGA TOUR Canada’s Fortinet Cup standings, placing fourth and earning his 2024 Korn Ferry Tour card.

The games are now well underway with golf set to be contested over 72-holes of individual stroke play beginning on Thursday, November 2 through to Sunday, November 5 at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago.

Golf Canada caught up with Papineau to look back on his successful season and his preparations ahead of the Pan Am Games.

Étienne, while the 2023 season was a successful one for you, the off-season involved knee surgery and rehabbing through injuries. Talk about the recovery process and preparing for the season…
Last winter was probably not my best one. I went through one surgery and a couple other injuries, so it was definitely a long winter for me, but you know I went through the motions, went through the process, went through rehab and everything went well in terms of recovery from my injuries. But the hardest part was trusting my body again, which was the hardest part for me mentally, especially for the first couple weeks…just to trust my body, trust my recovery and once I went through that phase of trusting my body again, I was good to go.

You earned your first professional win at the Belleville Classic as part of the Toronto Players Tour in May. What did that mean to you to win your first professional tournament after a long off-season?
It wasn’t a big field, only 30-35 players but just getting a win under my belt before the PGA TOUR Canada season started was really big for me. As I said it was a long winter, took a little bit of time for me to trust my body and I wanted to play as many events as possible before the PGA TOUR Canada season started. Getting that win was really big for me, momentum wise and confidence wise so I was really happy with that, and I was really excited going into the season with that win a couple weeks before the season started on the PGA TOUR Canada.

A couple weeks after your win in Belleville the PGA TOUR Canada season opens with the Royal Beach Victoria Open and you win that tournament as well. What can you say about the win and that stretch between May and June?
It was crazy in the sense that if you told me that two months before that tournament that I was going to win, I would have told you that that was crazy. It was a great feeling to start the season with a win like that. I think that win in Belleville two weeks before and playing in the RBC Canadian Open the week before then gave me a lot of momentum and made me feel extremely ready for the season and I showed up there and played some great golf. It was a crazy week, and I was really excited to get that win and start the season on the right foot. It was definitely a great moment in my young career.

Speaking of the RBC Canadian Open, you made your first appearance in Canada’s National Open and finished 1-over, narrowly missing the cut. What was your experience like at Oakdale Golf & Country Club?
It was definitely a really fun experience for me. I got to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open the year before in February 2022, so I got a little bit of experience and a taste of how it works and see the best players in the world up close. Playing in the Canadian Open was a really fun experience for me…playing in my home country, I had a lot of family and friends that came to watch me play. As I said, it gave me a lot of momentum for the season. Obviously it’s always great to play in your country’s open and I was really grateful that I got my exemption from Golf Canada…it was awesome.

Fast forward to August and the Coupe Canada in Victoriaville. You earned your third win of the season but I’m sure that one was quite special being in Québec?
It was definitely a tournament that I circled in my calendar when the schedule for PGA TOUR Canada came out, it fit right in the two weeks off we had, so I definitely wanted to play that one. It’s always a fun event, there’s always a lot of people watching, especially the final round and I was in the final group that last day and I had a lot of family and friends that came to watch me get my first professional win in Québec. Celebrating with family and friends was extremely fun. It’s always fun to win a tournament but winning one in Québec, in my home province makes it feel a little bit better.

You finished as the top Canadian in the Fortinet Cup standings and fourth overall, earning your Korn Ferry Tour card for 2024. What can you say about your season on the PGA TOUR Canada…
It’s been a crazy journey so far, hopefully it’s just the beginning. I currently have my Korn Ferry Tour card and I’ll get ready for the next season and get out there and play some good golf and we’ll see what happens. It’s been a crazy last two years, year and a half…as I said, if you would have told me six to seven months ago that I’d have my Korn Ferry Tour card, I don’t think I would have believed you with all the injuries that I went through…but I got through it, I did the work that I had to do and had a great season and here we are now a couple months away from the Korn Ferry Tour season and I’m really excited…hopefully it’s just the beginning.

With the season now over, focuses shifts to the Pan Am Games. What did it mean to you to receive the call that you would be heading to Santiago?
I was really excited. I wasn’t sure at first that I was going to go because there are a lot of other Canadian players in front of me, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to get picked to go. I was definitely going to be ready for it and when I got the call from Golf Canada, I was really pumped, really excited. It’s definitely going to be a fun week with Myles, Selena and Alena. I’ve never experienced something like this…I went to the Canada Summer Games ten years ago but I’m pretty sure it’s a totally different story. It’s definitely going to be awesome, and I’m going to enjoy it and go out there with the goal of getting a medal.

What have your preparations been like since the end of the season and ahead of Santiago?
We finished the PGA TOUR Canada season in the second week of September, so I took a couple weeks off to recovery from the end of the season fatigue, but everything is good. I started up again the first week of October. This month has been a lot of golf and I’ve been in the gym a lot more the past month then the last four or five (months) because I was on the road so much. Being home and spending time with family and friends was great but the last month has been gym and golf focused, so we’re ready to go.

What can you say about the look for Team Canada in Santiago?
We got our uniforms a couple weeks before and they’re great and I think Canada is going to look good in our uniforms. We’ve received some great stuff and I’m excited to wear it and represent Canada.

Finally, you’ve been a member of Team Canada for six years. What does it mean to you to wear the Maple Leaf and represent Canada?
As a kid you always dream to represent your country in your sport, and this is a dream for me to wear the Maple Leaf at the Pan Am Games. It was definitely a goal of mine, and I didn’t think about it until mid-season of PGA TOUR Canada, with that win. I knew maybe I’d be in the selection process at least and when I got the call, I was really pumped, really excited and to go out there and represent my country means a lot to me. I’m going to enjoy the week, enjoy the competition and hopefully bring a medal back home.

World No. 4 Minsol Kim’s 4-under 68 and a 71 from Kyrorim Seo led the Republic of Korea to the gold medal in the 30th World Amateur Team Championship Saturday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. It is Korea’s fourth Espirito Santo Trophy victory in the last seven competitions and their fifth all time.

Korea jumped out to a solo lead early in the round and never surrendered it. Kim, who was the runner-up in the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific, made back-to-back birdies on the par-5 second and par-4 third holes and again on the eighth and ninth.

Korea’s 72-hole score of 22-under-par 554 was four strokes better than silver-medal winning Chinese Taipei and five better than the bronze medal winners Spain.

Chinese Taipei, which began the day three back from the leaders, leaped into silver position after a birdie-birdie finish from Huai-Chien Hsu, a sophomore at the University of Texas. After missing the green left on the par-4 17th, Hsu chipped in from 18 yards for a three and followed with a 9-footer for birdie on the last hole to post a team score of 558.

This is Chinese Taipei’s first medal in its 16 Women’s World Amateur Team appearances.

Spain, the 54-hole co-leader, could not find its form of earlier in the week and posted a fourth-round 144, which included a 2-under 70 from Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and a 74 from Carla Bernat Escuder.

The Spaniards managed to get within two shots of Korea with two holes to play but found heartbreak on the 72nd hole for the second year in a row. All three players bogeyed the par-5 18th hole to drop Spain from silver position to bronze at 559.

England had a share of the lead with Korea at one point Saturday afternoon after a batch of birdies from Florida State University teammates Lottie Woad and Charlotte Heath. Woad birdied every par 4 on the front nine to post a 31 at the turn but would cool off on the back nine as England finished with a 4-under 140 to post 560 alongside Thailand, one shot shy of the bronze behind Spain.

Australia and the United States of American finished in a tie for sixth at 561. Megan Schofill led the USA with a bogey-free 5-under 67 and Anna Davis added a 69 as the Americans posted the low-round of the day. Canada was eighth at 564 and New Zealand finished ninth at 565.

Canada finished the tournament at 12-under following a combined 4-under 140 in Saturday’s final round. Katie Cranston of Oakville, Ont. finished the tournament strong with a 3-under 69 to finish at 5-over following rounds of 74-75-75-69-293. 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur winner, Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. closed her tournament with a 1-under 71 to finish T8 in the individual standings at 8-under. Kim posted rounds of 69-72-68-71-280. Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont. finished with an even par 71 in the final round to finish at 1-under with rounds of 69-72-74-72-287.

Korea receives custody of the Espirito Santo Trophy until the next World Amateur Team Championship, which will be held in 2025 at Tenah Merah Country Club’s Tampines Course in Singapore. Members of the winning team receive gold medals; members of the second-place team receive silver medals; and members of the third-place team receive bronze medals.

Although there is no official recognition, Chinese Taipei’s Huai-Chien Hsu was the low individual scorer at 13-under 275.

Notable:

• Korea now has nine medals in their 17 WWATC appearances – five gold, two silver and two bronze. Its previous four gold medals came in 1996, 2010, 2012 and 2016. This is Korea’s seventh consecutive top-10 finish in the Espirito Santo Trophy.
• Spain’s bronze medal gives them six total medals and the first since their silver-medal performance in 2008.
• Minsol Kim tied for 10th in her LPGA Tour debut at the BMW Ladies Championship last October. She was inside the top two after both 18 and 36 holes, and played in the final group in both the second and third rounds.
• Spain’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio finished in second place in the individual scoring at 11-under after she tied for seventh in 2022. She is the only player to finish in the top 10 both years.
• Thailand, competing in its 10th WWATC, earned its third top-10 finish and best showing since 2016.
• New Zealand finished in ninth place for its first top-10 showing since 2012 and its fifth top-10 in its 29 appearances.
• India (16th place) registered its best finish in a WWATC after placing T17 in 2014.

What’s Next:

The 2025 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy will be held at Tenah Merah Country Club in Singapore.

Results from Saturday’s final round of the 2023 Women’s World Amateur Team Championships, played at par-72 Abu Dhabi Golf Club (National Course), in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

1      Republic of Korea 140-137-138-139–554
        Minsol Kim 73-70-71-68–282
        Kyorim Seo 69-67-71-71–278
        Hyosong Lee 71-70-67-74–282

2      Chinese Taipei 144-139-135-140–558
        Huai-Chien Hsu 72-68-66-69–275
        Ting-Hsuan Huang 76-71-75-71–293
        Hsin Chun Liao 72-72-69-79–292

3      Spain 137-138-140-144–559
        Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio 68-69-70-70–277
        Carla Bernat Escuder 70-70-77-74–291
        Julia Lopez Ramirez 69-69-70-76–284

T4     England 144-137-139-140–560
        Lottie Woad 72-70-69-68–279
        Charlotte Heath 72-76-70-72–290
        Caley McGinty 77-67-74-73–291

T4     Thailand 141-134-141-144–560
        Eila Galitsky 72-70-69-70–281
        Suvichaya Vinijchaitham 72-69-75-74–290
        Navaporn Soontreeyapas 69-65-72-75–281

T6     Australia 141-134-144-142–561
        Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 72-66-71-71–280
        Caitlin Peirce 77-73-74-71–295
        Justice Bosio 69-68-73-73–283

T6     United States of America 142-139-144-136–561
        Megan Schofill 72-73-72-67–284
        Anna Davis 73-68-72-69–282
        Rachel Kuehn 70-71-72-71–284

8      CANADA 138-144-142-140–564
        Katie Cranston 74-75-75-69–293
        Lauren Kim 69-72-68-71–280
        Monet Chun 69-72-74-72–287

9      New Zealand 148-135-141-141–565
        Fiona Xu 74-67-69-69–279
        Vivian Lu 74-71-74-72–291
        Eunseo Choi 74-68-72-74–288

10     Italy 143-147-137-141–568
        Francesca Fiorellini 73-75-65-67–280
        Matilde Partele 75-82-72-74–303
        Natalia Aparicio 70-72-72-77–291

T11    Germany 140-142-143-144–569
        Celina Sattelkau 71-73-75-71–290
        Helen Briem 72-69-69-73–283
        Esther Poburski – – – —

T11    Scotland 141-142-143-143–569
        Hannah Darling 70-72-76-71–289
        Carmen Griffiths 71-70-69-72–282
        Lorna McClymont 73-73-74-73–293

T13    Ireland 139-145-141-146–571
        Sara Byrne 68-75-72-73–288
        Beth Coulter 71-77-74-73–295
        Aine Donegan 74-70-69-74–287

T13    Norway 143-142-146-140–571
        Silje Torvund Ohma 73-68-72-70–283
        Mia Lussand 70-76-74-70–290
        Anna Krekling 74-74-75-76–299

T13    Sweden 142-147-138-144–571
        Meja Ortengren 71-73-74-71–289
        Kajsa Arwefjall 71-74-72-76–293

16     India 140-142-143-148–573
        Avani Prashanth 68-68-71-72–279
        Nishna Patel 75-80-74-76–305
        Mannat Brar 72-74-72-85–303

17     France 146-146-141-142–575
        Adela Cernousek 72-72-71-69–284
        Louise Uma Landgraf 74-74-74-73–295
        Vairana Heck 75-74-70-75–294

18     Hong Kong, China 145-142-143-146–576
        Sophie Han 74-71-72-72–289
        Arianna Lau 71-71-71-74–287
        Hoi Ki Lau 79-74-76-77–306

19     Philippines 143-146-140-149–578
        Rianne Malixi 74-74-69-70–287
        Junia Louise Gabasa 69-73-71-79–292
        Grace Pauline Quintanilla 80-73-73-79–305

T20    Singapore 145-148-144-142–579
        Inez Ng 72-70-68-69–279
        Aloysa Atienza 73-82-76-73–304
        Xingtong Chen 75-78-80-79–312

T20    Colombia 142-147-147-143–579
        María Hoyos 71-75-76-70–292
        Cristina Ochoa 71-76-71-73–291
        Ana Sofía Murcia 71-72-77-76–296

T20    Mexico 144-145-143-147–579
        Lauren Olivares 75-73-68-71–287
        Cory Lopez 73-79-77-76–305
        Vania Simont 71-72-75-77–295

T23    Morocco 144-145-145-147–581
        Sofia Cherif Essakali 70-73-72-73–288
        Rim Imni 80-72-75-74–301
        Malak Bouraeda 74-77-73-77–301

T23    Switzerland 144-151-142-144–581
        Caroline Sturdza 71-82-73-71–297
        Yana Beeli 77-75-72-73–297
        Victoria Levy 73-76-70-74–293

25     Finland 148-149-143-142–582
        Katri Bakker 75-74-69-70–288
        Emilia Vaisto 75-75-75-72–297
        Henni Mustonen 73-78-74-72–297

26     Japan 145-141-147-150–583
        Mamika Shinchi 68-73-74-75–290
        Mizuki Hashimoto 77-69-73-75–294
        Miku Ueta 78-72-78-75–303

27     South Africa 149-144-146-145–584
        Megan Streicher 76-73-80-72–301
        Caitlyn Macnab 73-71-70-73–287
        Kajal Mistry 76-74-76-77–303

28     Denmark 151-146-145-143–585
        Natacha Host Husted 78-77-73-71–299
        Olivia Grønborg 76-71-74-72–293
        Cecilie Leth-Nissen 75-75-72-75–297

29     Netherlands 147-148-145-147–587
        Rosanna Boere 75-77-71-73–296
        Anne den Dunnen 72-71-74-74–291
        Lynn van der Sluijs 77-78-75-76–306

T30    Czechia 143-148-149-148–588
        Veronika Kedronova 73-75-73-74–295
        Denisa Vodickova 72-75-76-74–297
        Patricie Mackova 71-73-76-78–298

T30    People’s Republic of China 152-142-149-145–588
        Zixin Ni 79-78-74-72–303
        Xinyu Cao 73-69-75-73–290
        Tong An 80-73-77-78–308

32     Belgium 144-153-147-151–595
        Sophie Bert 71-77-73-75–296
        Savannah De Bock 73-76-74-76–299
        Celine Manche 73-78-77-80–308

33     United Arab Emirates 150-153-145-152–600
        Jamie Camero 78-77-71-73–299
        Lara El Chaib 74-77-75-79–305
        Intissar Rich 76-76-74-79–305

34     Chile 153-161-150-149–613
        Michelle Melandri 78-77-77-72–304
        Carolina Alcaino 75-84-73-77–309
        Amelia Ruiz 78-88-82-77–325

35     Pakistan 151-156-159-162–628
        Humna Amjad 73-78-79-WD–WD
        Parkha Ijaz 78-78-80-79–315
        Rimsha Ijaz 84-84-85-83–336

36     Bolivia 162-164-160-167–653
        Victoria Suarez 82-81-78-82–323
        Florencia Cuellar Gutierrez 87-83-82-85–337
        Connie Quiroga 80-86-82-90–338

Lauren Kim fires 4-under round to sit three shots back in individual standings

Hyosong Lee, 14, posted a 5-under 67 on Friday to propel the Republic of Korea into a share of the lead with Spain after Round 3 of the 30th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship. The Koreans, who started the day two shots off the lead, and the Spaniards stand at 17-under-par 415, with Thailand one stroke back in solo third.

Lee, the winner of the last two Korean Women’s Amateurs, rode a hot putter with six birdies against one bogey while besting the field with 10 one-putts. Korea, which is seeking its fourth Espirito Santo Trophy in the last seven competitions, added a 71 from Minsol Kim, No. 4 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, to bring the team’s third round tally to a 6-under 138. Kyorim Seo carded a non-counting 71 as only two of each team’s best three scores count toward the day’s total.

The three co-leaders heading into Friday’s third round struggled to get anything going during their opening nine holes. Australia, Spain and Thailand all made the turn with team scores at even par or 1 under, while Korea emerged as the solo leader with a nine-hole total of 4 under par.

Lopez Ramirez and world No. 2 Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio led a back-nine charge for the Spaniards, combining for three birdies on the final three holes to jump back into a share of the lead. Spain is seeking its first Espirito Santo Trophy since 1992 and first medal since 2012.

Also making a run on the back nine was Thailand. Reigning Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific champion Eila Galitsky birdied the par-4 17th and par-5 18th to post a 3-under 69 in addition to a 72 from Navaporn Soontreeyapas, who co-leads the individual scoring race.

Chinese Taipei had the lowest team score on Friday and climbed six spots into fourth place (418) on the strength of a 6-under 66 from Huai-Chien Hsu and a 69 from Hsin Chun Liao. Australia, the 36-hole co-leader, dropped into fifth place after an even-par 144, followed by England, who sits in sixth at 12-under 420.

Thailand’s Soontreeyapas shares the individual lead with Chinese Taipei’s Hsu at 10-under 206. They are one stroke ahead of Spain’s Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, Avani Prashanth, of India, and Korea’s Seo.

Canada posted a 2-under 142 to remain in a tie for seventh with New Zealand at 8-under for the tournament. 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. had the low round of the day for Canada firing a 4-under 68 on Friday to move to 7-under for the tournament and now sits T8, just three shots back of Soontreeyapas and Hsu in the individual standings.

Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont. shot a 2-over 74 and is now T30 at 1-under. Katie Cranston of Oakville, Ont. finished the day with a 3-over 75 and is at 8-over after three rounds.

Notable:

• Hyosong Lee, 14, is the third-youngest player in the field this week. Last December, she won the Malaysian Amateur Open.
• Avani Prashanath went 42 consecutive holes without a bogey (or worse) before surrendering her first on the par-3 seventh hole. Prashanath posted her third sub-par round of the competition (68-68-71).
• Francesca Fiorellini, of Italy, posted a bogey-free 7-under 65 to tie the low individual round of the competition and propel the Italians into a tie for 14th heading into the final round.
• No. 1-ranked amateur Ingrid Lindblad, of Sweden, carded a 6-under 66, including an eagle 3 on the par-5 18th to lead the defending champions to a third-round score of 138. The Swedes sit in a tie for 14th place with Italy.
• The United States of America, last year’s silver medal winner, sits in a tie for ninth place at 7-under.
• Japan’s Mizuki Hashimoto is a past champion at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. She won the 2021 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific held on the club’s National Course.
• Spain is vying to become the eighth wire-to-wire champion in Espirito Santo Trophy history, and the first since Sweden accomplished the feat in 2008.
• Thailand, competing in its 10th WWATC, is seeking its second medal in team history after winning silver in 2002.
• India (T-9) is in position for its best-ever Espirito Santo finish. Its current best (T-17) came in 2014.

What’s Next:

The final round begins Saturday at 6:30 a.m. local time with a two-tee start on the National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The leading teams of the Republic of Korea, Spain and Thailand will occupy the final tee times of 12:06, 12:17 and 12:28 p.m. off the first tee.

Results from Friday’s third round of the 2023 Women’s World Amateur Team Championships, played at par-72 Abu Dhabi Golf Club (National Course), in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

T1     Spain 137-138-140–415
          Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio 68-69-70–207
          Julia Lopez Ramirez 69-69-70–208
          Carla Bernat Escuder 70-70-77—217

T1     Republic of Korea 140-137-138–415
          Hyosong Lee 71-70-67–208
          Kyorim Seo 69-67-71–207
          Minsol Kim 73-70-71—214

3      Thailand 141-134-141–416
          Eila Galitsky 72-70-69–211
          Navaporn Soontreeyapas 69-65-72–206
          Suvichaya Vinijchaitham 72-69-75—216

4      Chinese Taipei 144-139-135–418
          Huai-Chien Hsu 72-68-66–206
          Hsin Chun Liao 72-72-69–213
          Ting-Hsuan Huang 76-71-75—222

5      Australia 141-134-144–419
          Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 72-66-71–209
          Justice Bosio 69-68-73–210
          Caitlin Peirce 77-73-74—224

6      England 144-137-139–420
          Lottie Woad 72-70-69–211
          Charlotte Heath 72-76-70–218
          Caley McGinty 77-67-74—218

T7     New Zealand 148-135-141–424
          Fiona Xu 74-67-69–210
          Eunseo Choi 74-68-72–214
          Vivian Lu 74-71-74—219

T7     CANADA 138-144-142–424
          Lauren Kim 69-72-68–209
          Monet Chun 69-72-74–215
          Katie Cranston 74-75-75—224

T9     Germany 140-142-143–425
          Helen Briem 72-69-69–210
          Chiara Horder 69-74-74–217
          Celina Sattelkau 71-73-75—219

T9     Ireland 139-145-141–425
          Aine Donegan 74-70-69–213
          Sara Byrne 68-75-72–215
          Beth Coulter 71-77-74—222

T9     United States of America 142-139-144–425
          Anna Davis 73-68-72–213
          Rachel Kuehn 70-71-72–213
          Megan Schofill 72-73-72—217

T9     India 140-142-143–425
          Avani Prashanth 68-68-71–207
          Mannat Brar 72-74-72–218
          Nishna Patel 75-80-74—229

13     Scotland 141-142-143–426
          Carmen Griffiths 71-70-69–210
          Lorna McClymont 73-73-74–220
          Hannah Darling 70-72-76—218

T14    Sweden 142-147-138–427
          Ingrid Lindblad 71-75-66–212
          Kajsa Arwefjall 71-74-72–217
          Meja Ortengren 71-73-74—218

T14    Italy 143-147-137–427
          Francesca Fiorellini 73-75-65–213
          Natalia Aparicio 70-72-72–214
          Matilde Partele 75-82-72—229

16     Philippines 143-146-140–429
          Rianne Malixi 74-74-69–217
          Junia Louise Gabasa 69-73-71–213
          Grace Pauline Quintanilla 80-73-73—226

17     Hong Kong, China 145-142-143–430
          Arianna Lau 71-71-71–213
          Sophie Han 74-71-72–217
          Hoi Ki Lau 79-74-76—229

18     Norway 143-142-146–431
          Silje Torvund Ohma 73-68-72–213
          Mia Lussand 70-76-74–220
          Anna Krekling 74-74-75—223

19     Mexico 144-145-143–432
          Lauren Olivares 75-73-68–216
          Vania Alicia Simont 71-72-75–218
          Cory Lopez 73-79-77—229

T20    Japan 145-141-147–433
          Mizuki Hashimoto 77-69-73–219
          Mamika Shinchi 68-73-74–215
          Miku Ueta 78-72-78—228

T20    France 146-146-141–433
          Vairana Heck 75-74-70–219
          Adela Cernousek 72-72-71–215
          Louise Uma Landgraf 74-74-74—222

22     Morocco 144-145-145–434
          Sofia Cherif Essakali 70-73-72–215
          Malak Bouraeda 74-77-73–224
          Rim Imni 80-72-75—227

23     Colombia 142-147-147–436
          Cristina Ochoa 71-76-71–218
          María Hoyos 71-75-76–222
          Ana Sofía Murcia 71-72-77—220

T24    Singapore 145-148-144–437
          Inez Ng 72-70-68–210
          Aloysa Atienza 73-82-76–231
          Xingtong Chen 75-78-80—233

T24    Switzerland 144-151-142–437
          Victoria Levy 73-76-70–219
          Yana Beeli 77-75-72–224
          Caroline Sturdza 71-82-73—226

26     South Africa 149-144-146–439
          Caitlyn Macnab 73-71-70–214
          Kajal Mistry 76-74-76–226
          Megan Streicher 76-73-80—229

T27    Netherlands 147-148-145–440
          Rosanna Boere 75-77-71–223
          Anne den Dunnen 72-71-74–217
          Lynn van der Sluijs 77-78-75—230

T27    Finland 148-149-143–440
          Katri Bakker 75-74-69–218
          Henni Mustonen 73-78-74–225
          Emilia Vaisto 75-75-75—225

T27    Czechia 143-148-149–440
          Veronika Kedronova 73-75-73–221
          Patricie Mackova 71-73-76–220
          Denisa Vodickova 72-75-76—223

30     Denmark 151-146-145–442
          Cecilie Leth-Nissen 75-75-72–222
          Natacha Host Husted 78-77-73–228
          Olivia Grønborg 76-71-74—221

31     People’s Republic of China 152-142-149–443
          Zixin Ni 79-78-74–231
          Xinyu Cao 73-69-75–217
          Tong An 80-73-77—230

32     Belgium 144-153-147–444
          Sophie Bert 71-77-73–221
          Savannah De Bock 73-76-74–223
          Celine Manche 73-78-77—228

33     United Arab Emirates 150-153-145–448
          Jamie Camero 78-77-71–226
          Intissar Rich 76-76-74–226
          Lara El Chaib 74-77-75—226

34     Chile 153-161-150–464
          Carolina Alcaino 75-84-73–232
          Michelle Melandri 78-77-77–232
          Amelia Ruiz 78-88-82—248

35     Pakistan 151-156-159–466
          Humna Amjad 73-78-79–230
          Parkha Ijaz 78-78-80–236
          Rimsha Ijaz 84-84-85—253

36     Bolivia 162-164-160–486
          Victoria Suarez 82-81-78–241
          Connie Quiroga 80-86-82–248
          Florencia Cuellar Gutierrez 87-83-82–252

Australia and Thailand posted a pair of 10-under 134’s to surge into a three-way tie with Spain halfway through the 30th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The Aussies and the Thais jumped six spots on the leader board for a share of the top spot at 13-under 275 after Round 2.

The Australian duo of Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and 2023 South Australia Women’s Amateur champion Justice Bosio combined for 10 birdies and no bogeys. Hinson-Tolchard, a senior at Oklahoma State University who won the Big 12 Conference individual title last spring, led the Aussies with a 6-under 66.

Navaporn Soontreeyapas led a late-afternoon charge for Thailand, birdieing four of her final seven holes to post a 7-under 65, the lowest round of the competition thus far. Soontreeyapas, the 2023 Singapore Open Amateur champion, holds a two-shot advantage on the individual leaderboard at 10-under-par 134.

Thailand, which finished tied for 20th a year ago in France, added a bogey-free, 3-under 69 from Suvichaya Vinijchaitham.

Spain’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, who holds a World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR® of No. 2, and Julia Ramirez, No. 5 in WAGR®, both posted 69s, while teammate Carla Bernat Escuder added a non-counting 70. Spain, which held the first-round lead by one stroke, is the only team with all three players inside the top 10 of the championship’s individual scoring.

The Republic of Korea remains in solo fourth place at 11-under 277, two shots off the leaders, with England and the United States of America sharing fifth at 7-under 281.  

After starting the day in 17th position, England made the biggest move among the morning wave behind a 5-under 67 from Caley McGinty, a redshirt senior at Ohio State University, and a 2-under 70 from world No. 9 Lottie Woad. After opening with a 77 on Wednesday, McGinty, a member of the last two Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup Teams, rattled off six birdies in windy morning conditions, including three of the four par-3s.

The USA added a 4-under 68 from world No. 6 Anna Davis and a 71 from Rachel Kuehn, who is competing in her third WWATC and her second as a member of the USA team following a silver-medal finish last year in France.

Canada, which began the day one stroke off the lead in solo second, posted an even-par 144 to position itself in a tie for seventh with India and Germany.

“They’re doing a great job staying steady and giving themselves opportunities,” said Canadian Captain Salimah Mussani. “That’s kind of our theme for the week is ‘give yourself opportunities.’ There’s 18 a day so take advantage of as many as you can.”

2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont. and 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. both recorded rounds of even par 72 to remain at 3-under for the tournament and are both T10 in the individual standings. Katie Cranston of Oakville, Ont. finished the day with a 3-over 75 and is at 5-over after 36-holes.

Quotable:

Captain Salimah Mussani, Canada: “In the morning, the conditions were a little tougher. It was obviously raining and a lot windier and gusting from different directions, but I think they managed pretty good. A lot of positives going into the weekend. It’s nice that there’s two days left for sure.”

Notable:

• Thailand’s Soontreeyapas (10-under) leads the individual scoring by two strokes over Kyorim Seo, of the Republic of Korea, and Avani Prashanath, of India. Prashanath posted her second straight bogey-free 68 on Thursday. She is the only player in the field yet to make a bogey or worse.
• Eila Galitsky celebrated her 17th birthday on Thursday with a non-counting 2-under 70 for co-leading Thailand. Galitsky won the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific and competed in three professional majors this year, including a low-amateur (T28) finish in the Chevron Championship in April.
• Grace Pauline Quintanilla made the only eagle on Day 2. Quintanilla made a 3 on the par-5 8th hole en route to a 1-over 73 for the Philippines.
• The United States of America is seeking to win the Espirito Santo and the Eisenhower trophies together in the same year for the eighth time. The U.S. is the only country to accomplish this feat and last did so in 1984. Last week, the American team of Nick Dunlap, David Ford and Gordon Sargent won the men’s championship by 11 strokes.
• The National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club is playing to a yardage of 6,497 yards/5,940 meters this week for the Espirito Santo Trophy, which makes it the longest course in WWATC history. 
• Thursday was the coolest day of the week thus far at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and included the first precipitation. Light to moderate rain trickled in and out of the area throughout the morning with wind gusts up to 26 mph, while temperatures hovered between 25-30 degrees Celsius (77-86 degrees Fahrenheit).
   

What’s Next:

Round 3 begins Friday at 6:30 a.m. local time with a two-tee start on the National Course.

Results from Thursday’s second round of the 2023 Women’s World Amateur Team Championships, played at par-72 Abu Dhabi Golf Club (National Course), in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

T1     Thailand 141-134–275
        Suvichaya Vinijchaitham 72-69–141
        Navaporn Soontreeyapas 69-65–134
        Eila Galitsky 72-70—142

T1     Australia 141-134–275
        Justice Bosio 69-68–137
        Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 72-66–138
        Caitlin Peirce 77-73—150

T1     Spain 137-138–275
        Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio 68-69–137
        Carla Bernat Escuder 70-70–140
        Julia Lopez Ramirez 69-69—138

4      Republic of Korea 140-137–277
        Minsol Kim 73-70–143
        Hyosong Lee 71-70–141
        Kyorim Seo 69-67—136

T5     United States of America 142-139–281
        Anna Davis 73-68–141
        Rachel Kuehn 70-71–141
        Megan Schofill 72-73—145

T5     England 144-137–281
        Charlotte Heath 72-76–148
        Caley McGinty 77-67–144
        Lottie Woad 72-70—142

T7     Germany 140-142–282
        Helen Briem 72-69–141
        Chiara Horder 69-74–143
        Celina Sattelkau 71-73—144

T7     India 140-142–282
        Mannat Brar 72-74–146
        Nishna Patel 75-80–155
        Avani Prashanth 68-68—136

T7     CANADA 138-144–282
        Monet Chun 69-72–141
        Katie Cranston 74-75–149
        Lauren Kim 69-72—141

T10    Scotland 141-142–283
        Hannah Darling 70-72–142
        Carmen Griffiths 71-70–141
        Lorna McClymont 73-73—146

T10    New Zealand 148-135–283
        Eunseo Choi 74-68–142
        Vivian Lu 74-71–145
        Fiona Xu 74-67—141

T10    Chinese Taipei 144-139–283
        Hsin Chun Liao 72-72–144
        Huai-Chieu Hsu 72-68–140
        Ting-Hsuan Huang 76-71—147

13     Ireland 139-145–284
        Sara Byrne 68-75–143
        Beth Coulter 71-77–148
        Aine Donegan 74-70—144

14     Norway 143-142–285
        Anna Krekling 74-74–148
        Mia Lussand 70-76–146
        Silje Torvund Ohma 73-68—141

15     Japan 145-141–286
        Mizuki Hashimoto 77-69–146
        Mamika Shinchi 68-73–141
        Miku Ueta 78-72—150

16     Hong Kong, China 145-142–287
        Sophie Han 74-71–145
        Arianna Lau 71-71–142
        Hoi Ki Lau 79-74—153

T17    Colombia 142-147–289
        Ana Sofía Murcia 71-72–143
        Cristina Ochoa 71-76–147
        María Hoyos 71-75—146

T17    Mexico 144-145–289
        Lauren Olivares 75-73–148
        Cory Lopez 73-79–152
        Vania Alicia Simont 71-72—143

T17    Morocco 144-145–289
        Rim Imni 80-72–152
        Sofia Cherif Essakali 70-73–143
        Malak Bouraeda 74-77—151

T17    Sweden 142-147–289
        Kajsa Arwefjall 71-74–145
        Meja Ortengren 71-73–144
        Ingrid Lindblad 71-75—146

T17    Philippines 143-146–289
        Junia Louise Gabasa 69-73–142
        Rianne Malixi 74-74–148
        Grace Pauline Quintanilla 80-73—153

22     Italy 143-147–290
        Natalia Aparicio 70-72–142
        Francesca Fiorellini 73-75–148
        Matilde Partele 75-82—157

23     Czechia 143-148–291
        Veronika Kedronova 73-75–148
        Patricie Mackova 71-73–144
        Denisa Vodickova 72-75—147

24     France 146-146–292
        Adela Cernousek 72-72–144
        Vairana Heck 75-74–149
        Louise Uma Landgraf 74-74—148

T25    South Africa 149-144–293
        Megan Streicher 76-73–149
        Kajal Mistry 76-74–150
        Caitlyn Macnab 73-71—144

T25    Singapore 145-148–293
        Aloysa Atienza 73-82–155
        Inez Ng 72-70–142
        Xingtong Chen 75-78—153

27     People’s Republic of China 152-142–294
        Tong An 80-73–153
        Xinyu Cao 73-69–142
        Zixin Ni 79-78—157

T28    Netherlands 147-148–295
        Rosanna Boere 75-77–152
        Anne den Dunnen 72-71–143
        Lynn van der Sluijs 77-78—155

T28    Switzerland 144-151–295
        Caroline Sturdza 71-82–153
        Yana Beeli 77-75–152
        Victoria Levy 73-76—149

T30    Denmark 151-146–297
        Olivia Grønborg 76-71–147
        Natacha Host Husted 78-77–155
        Cecilie Leth-Nissen 75-75—150

T30    Belgium 144-153–297
        Sophie Bert 71-77–148
        Savannah De Bock 73-76–149
        Celine Manche 73-78—151

T30    Finland 148-149–297
        Katri Bakker 75-74–149
        Emilia Vaisto 75-75–150
        Henni Mustonen 73-78—151

33     United Arab Emirates 150-153–303
        Lara El Chaib 74-77–151
        Intissar Rich 76-76–152
        Jamie Camero 78-77—155

34     Pakistan 151-156–307
        Parkha Ijaz 78-78–156
        Humna Amjad 73-78–151
        Rimsha Ijaz 84-84—168

35     Chile 153-161–314
        Carolina Alcaino 75-84–159
        Michelle Melandri 78-77–155
        Amelia Ruiz 78-88—166

36     Bolivia 162-164–326
        Florencia Cuellar G. 87-83–170
        Connie Quiroga 80-86–166
        Victoria Suarez 82-81–163

Canada’s Ellie Szeryk had the golden touch over the weekend, winning four different ways at the Jim West Challenge. Szeryk won her first individual NCAA title on Monday, which in turn helped Southern Methodist University win its first team championship of the fall, just days after the Mustangs also won the tournament’s pro-am. 

Things were going so well for Szeryk and her teammates that they even won the tournament’s karaoke contest.

“It was pretty special. I honestly wasn’t really expecting it this week, so it was a nice surprise,” said Szeryk of her victories on the course. “It was really special that I got to win with my team as well. On our drive back to campus we were all super excited. “It was just really amazing.”

Szeryk, from London, Ont., won by a stroke, finishing at 16-under overall. She played bogey free in her final round including an eagle on No. 5 to finish the day at 9 under. That tied her for the second lowest round in Mustangs history and gave her eight top-10 finishes since she started at SMU in the fall of 2022.

“I think the biggest thing is my putting,” said Szeryk on how she finally came out on top. “This past year I did really well and I had been close a lot of times, but my putting just didn’t really come through.”

“It wasn’t really connecting at the right times or I would have it for the first couple rounds and then that final round, when I really needed it, I was just missing some crucial putts”

The Mustangs went into Monday’s final round tied for first with Houston and Texas State at 15 under. SMU quickly opened up a 10-stroke lead on the day, and eventually finished at 23-under par. The 18-hole score shattered the previous SMU record of -14 set back at The American Championship in April.

Szeryk and her SMU teammates started the Friday-through-Monday event on a winning note when their Shrek-themed routine set to Smash Mouth’s “All-Star,” complete with costumes, won the tournament’s karaoke challenge.

“You have to create this like dance routine, everything and so our team did Shrek and our team ended up winning,” said Szeryk, who dressed as the Gingerbread Man, laughing about the performance. “They have judges and the teams that win get more money toward their programs so we went all out for that.”

Szeryk gained professional experience competing as an amateur at the CPKC Women’s Open at Vancouver’s Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in August. She was paired with her older sister Maddie Szeryk, an LPGA Tour regular, at the event.

The younger Szeryk, who also played in the 2018 Canadian Open in Regina, said the exposure to the LPGA Tour helped set up the victory at the Jim West Challenge.

“I took a lot from the Canadian Open and what I’ve learned golf-wise was putting was the biggest thing that hurt me on that golf course,” said Szeryk, who is a political science major. “So just a lot of managing my time and a lot of time sacrifices. 

“Rather than going out with my friends, or staying up late, it’s a lot of like, ‘hey, I need to work on my putting, so I’m going to stay and practice a bit longer.”

LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the lone Canadian in the field at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur. She’s 14th on the Race to CME Globe standings heading into the event at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

PRESIDENTS CUP — Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., the captain for the International Team at the 2024 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club, has elected to have six captain’s picks as opposed to the traditional four. The 12-on-12 event sees the best male golfers from the United States take on the top players from around the world, minus Europe. Six captain’s selections may mean that Weir loads up on Canadian talent. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., were on last year’s International team, the most Canadians to ever play in a Presidents Cup.

Monet Chun and Lauren Kim are T5 at 3-under and one-shot back of the leaders

Spain, bolstered by two of the top-5 ranked amateurs in the world, holds a one-stroke lead over Canada following Wednesday’s opening round of the 30th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, posted a 4-under-par 68 and 2023 European Ladies’ Amateur champion Julia Lopez Ramirez (No. 5) added a 69 to position Spain at 7-under-par 137, one head of the Canadians and two in front of Ireland.

Fernandez Garcia-Poggio’s round included six birdies against two bogeys. Lopez Ramirez, who was one of two amateurs to make the 36-hole cut in the 2023 AIG Women’s Open, totaled four birdies and a bogey, while teammate Carla Bernat Escuder posted a non-counting 70.

Spain, which finished fifth last year in France after a heartbreaking double-bogey from Fernandez Garcia-Poggio on the 72nd hole to fall out of the lead, is seeking its first WWATC medal since claiming silver in 2008 in Australia.

Canada rode a pair of 3-under 68s in the afternoon from 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont. and 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C. to post a 6-under total of 138. Chun, who became the first Canadian to make the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April, tallied six birdies and three bogeys. Teammate Katie Cranston of Oakville, Ont. finished the day at 2-over 74.

“There’s a lot of golf to play but a good start is always helpful,” said Chun, a senior at the University of Michigan. “I’m hitting it pretty consistent. Some of the putts went in so that really helped with the birdies, but hopefully tomorrow I’ll make less bogeys and put in a good round.”

Ireland’s Sara Byrne, India’s Avani Prashanth and Japan’s Mamika Shinchi matched Fernandez Garcia-Poggio’s 4-under 68 for the low rounds of the day. Ireland used a combination of Byrne’s 68 and a 71 from Beth Coulter to post a 5-under 139 and hold solo third place.

Germany, India and the Republic of Korea share fourth place at 140, three strokes behind Spain.

Playing in its sixth WWATC, India had its best start in competition history on the strength of Prashanth’s 68 and an even-par 72 from Mannat Brar.

Germany was led by a bogey-free, 3-under 69 from Chiara Horder, the team’s playing captain who is a junior at Texas Tech University, and a 71 from Celina Sattelkau.

The host nation United Arab Emirates, which is competing in its first WWATC, is in 31st place (6-over 150) after the opening round.

Notable:

Defending champion Sweden posted a 2-under 142 and sits tied for 10th. All three Swedes recorded 71’s, including world No. 1 Ingrid Lindblad. Sweden is vying to win consecutive Espirito Santo trophies for the first time in team history.

The United States of America, which finished second a year ago in France, also posted an opening-round total of 142 including a 2-under 70 from Rachel Kuehn.  

Morocco’s Sofia Cherif Essakali, 14, is the youngest player in the field. She recorded a 2-under 70 to position Morocco in a tie for 17th. Last Feburary, she was the only amateur to make the 36-hole cut in the Lalla Meryem Cup, becoming one of the youngest players to achieve that feat in a Ladies European Tour event.

Avani Prashanth’s bogey-free 68 was the lowest round by a player from India in WWATC history.

Sixteen of the 36 teams finished under par on Day 1.

A total of 48 players in the field competed in the 2022 WWATC. Belgium, Chinese Taipei, England, Morocco and New Zealand are fielding the same three players as last year.

Temperatures at Abu Dhabi Golf Club reached 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) with a heat index of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) during Round 1.

What’s Next:

Round 2 begins Thursday at 6:30 a.m. with a two-tee start on the National Course.

Results from Wednesday’s first  round of the 2023 Women’s World Amateur Team Championships, played at par-72 Abu Dhabi Golf Club (National Course), in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

1      Spain – 137
        Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio – 68
        Julia Lopez Ramirez – 69
        Carla Bernat Escuder – 70

2      Canada – 138
        Monet Chun – 69
        Lauren Kim – 69
        Katie Cranston – 74

3      Ireland – 139
        Sara Byrne – 68
        Beth Coulter – 71
        Aine Donegan – 74

T4    India – 140
        Avani Prashanth – 68
        Mannat Brar – 72
        Nishna Patel – 75

T4    Republic of Korea – 140
        Kyorim Seo – 69
        Hyosong Lee – 71
        Minsol Kim – 73

T4    Germany – 140
        Chiara Horder – 69
        Celina Sattelkau – 71
        Helen Briem – 72

T7    Australia – 141
        Justice Bosio – 69
        Maddison Hinson-Tolchard – 72
        Caitlin Peirce – 77

T7    Scotland – 141
        Hannah Darling – 70
        Carmen Griffiths – 71
        Lorna McClymont – 73

T7    Thailand – 141
        Navaporn Soontreeyapas – 69
        Suvichaya Vinijchaitham – 72
        Eila Galitsky – 72

T10   Sweden – 142
        Kajsa Arwefjall – 71
        Meja Ortengren – 71
        Ingrid Lindblad – 71

T10   United States of America – 142
        Rachel Kuehn – 70
        Megan Schofill – 72
        Anna Davis – 73

T10   Colombia – 142
        Ana Sofía Murcia – 71
        Cristina Ochoa – 71
        María Hoyos – 71

T13   Italy – 143
        Natalia Aparicio – 70
        Francesca Fiorellini – 73
        Matilde Partele – 75

T13   Philippines – 143
        Junia Louise Gabasa – 69
        Rianne Malixi – 74
        Grace Pauline Quintanilla – 80

T13   Czechia – 143
        Patricie Mackova – 71
        Denisa Vodickova – 72
        Veronika Kedronova – 73

T13   Norway – 143
        Mia Lussand – 70
        Silje Torvund Ohma – 73
        Anna Krekling – 74

T17   Belgium – 144
        Sophie Bert – 71
        Savannah De Bock – 73
        Celine Manche – 73

T17   Mexico – 144
        Vania Alicia Simont – 71
        Cory Lopez – 73
        Lauren Olivares – 75

T17   Morocco – 144
        Sofia Cherif Essakali – 70
        Malak Bouraeda – 74
        Rim Imni – 80

T17   Chinese Taipei – 144
        Hsin Chun Liao – 72
        Huai-Chieu Hsu – 72
        Ting-Hsuan Huang – 76

T17   England – 144
        Lottie Woad – 72
        Charlotte Heath – 72
        Caley McGinty – 77

T17    Switzerland – 144
        Caroline Sturdza – 71
        Victoria Levy – 73
        Yana Beeli – 77

T23    Hong Kong, China – 145
        Arianna Lau – 71
        Sophie Han – 74
        Hoi Ki Lau – 79

T23    Japan – 145
        Mamika Shinchi – 68
        Mizuki Hashimoto – 77
        Miku Ueta – 78

T23    Singapore – 145
        Inez Ng – 72
        Aloysa Atienza – 73
        Xingtong Chen – 75

26     France – 146
        Adela Cernousek – 72
        Louise Uma Landgraf – 74
        Vairana Heck – 75

27     Netherlands – 147
        Anne den Dunnen – 72
        Rosanna Boere – 75
        Lynn van der Sluijs – 77

T28    Finland – 148
        Henni Mustonen – 73
        Katri Bakker – 75
        Emilia Vaisto – 75

T28    New Zealand – 148
        Vivian Lu – 74
        Eunseo Choi – 74
        Fiona Xu – 74

30     South Africa – 149
        Caitlyn Macnab – 73
        Megan Streicher – 76
        Kajal Mistry – 76

31     United Arab Emirates – 150
        Lara El Chaib – 74
        Intissar Rich – 76
        Jamie Camero – 78

T32    Pakistan – 151
        Humna Amjad – 73
        Parkha Ijaz – 78
        Rimsha Ijaz – 84

T32    Denmark – 151
        Cecilie Leth-Nissen – 75
        Olivia Grønborg – 76
        Natacha Host Husted – 78

34     People’s Republic of China – 152
        Xinyu Cao – 73
        Zixin Ni – 79
        Tong An – 80

35     Chile – 153
        Carolina Alcaino – 75
        Amelia Ruiz – 78
        Michelle Melandri – 78

36     Bolivia – 162
        Connie Quiroga – 80
        Victoria Suarez – 82
        Florencia Cuellar Gutierrez – 87