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

Building off a successful third round, Canada finished the World Amateur Team Championship strong on Saturday, climbing to a T17 finish with a combined team score of 13-under (146-142-136-139-563) in the 36-team field.

Two members of Team Canada earned top-30 finishes in the individual competition amongst a field of 108 golfers. Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta. fired the low round of the day for Canada with a 3-under 69 to finish the tournament T24 at 7-under (72-72-68-69-281). Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. recorded a 2-under 70 on Saturday to finish T30 at 6-under (74-70-68-70-282). Piercen Hunt of Hartland, Wis. closed the tournament with a 5-over 77 to finish at 13-over (80-74-70-77-301).

The United States of America surged to its 16th Eisenhower Trophy win, and its first since 2014, on Saturday in the 33rd World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. David Ford, the No. 5 ranked amateur in the world, posted an 8-under 64, while 2023 U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap contributed a 4-under 68.

On the strength of a red-hot Ford, who was 6-under through his opening six holes, the Americans quickly established an eight-shot cushion midway through the opening nine. Ford rattled off four consecutive birdies followed by an eagle hole-out from 140 yards on the par-4 sixth to kick-start his final round.

Ford’s 64 is the second-lowest individual final round score in World Amateur Team Championship history.

After struggling to get things going early on, Dunlap birdied six of his final 10 holes, leading to his 68, and Gordon Sargent, the low amateur in the 2023 U.S. Open, posted a non-counting 71 for the USA in the fourth round. Dunlap (2), Ford (T-5) and Sargent (T-5), who competed together on last month’s victorious USA Walker Cup team at St Andrews, all finished in the top 5 of the individual scoring.

The USA’s 72-hole hole score of 36-under-par 540 was 11 strokes better than the silver-medal winning Australia and Norway teams. The 11-shot victory was the largest championship margin since Australia’s 19-stroke win in 2016.

Australia used a strong finish by Jack Buchanan (4-under 68), who birdied four of his final five holes, and a counting score from Karl Vilips (2-under 70) to close at 25-under-par 551.

Norway’s silver is its first medal in the country’s 26 Eisenhower appearances. The Norwegians, whose previous best finish was fourth place in 2022, used a 3-under 69 from Herman Sekne and a 2-under 70 from Michael Mjaaseth for a team total of 551.

France finished in fourth place, one stroke behind Australia and Norway at 24-under 552. Italy, the 2022 champions, and New Zealand finished in a tie for fifth place at 553.

The USA receives custody of the Eisenhower Trophy until the next World Amateur Team Championship, which will be held in 2025 in Singapore. Members of the winning team receive gold medals and members of the two second-place teams receive silver medals.

Although there is no official recognition, New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori, the 2023 Western Amateur champion, was the low individual scorer at 16-under 272.

Notable:

• The USA’s 12-under 132 is tied for the second-lowest final-round team score in championship history (since moving from three to two counting scores in 2002). Singapore also carded a 12-under-132 on Saturday.
• In 33 appearances, the Americans have won 28 total medals (16 gold, nine silver and three bronze).
• The USA is one of seven nations to participate in all 33 World Amateur Team Championships since 1958.
• David Ford’s 29 on the front nine tied the second lowest nine-hole score in championship history, which has occurred six other times.  Denny McCarthy shot a 28 on the front nine during the final round of the USA’s Eisenhower Trophy win in 2014.
• Australia now has 14 medals, which remains second all-time behind the United States.
• Norway’s Michael Mjaaseth finished in a tie for eighth place in the individual scoring after he tied for ninth in 2022. He is the only player to finish in the top 10 both years.
• Czechia (T-8th) registered its best finish in a WATC after placing 22nd in 2018. 
• South Africa finished in seventh place for its first top-10 showing since 1998.
• Kazuma Kobori’s 16-under bested Nick Dunlap by one in the individual scoring. Kobori was the 2023 Elite Amateur Series champion. In addition to his Western Amateur victory this summer, Kobori added top-10 finishes in the Southern Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Amateur.
   

What’s Next:

The 30th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy will take place beginning Wednesday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

The 2025 World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy will be held at Tenah Merah Country Club in Singapore.
 

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

1      United States of America 135-137-136-132–540
        Nick Dunlap 69-67-69-68–273
        David Ford 68-74-69-64–275
        Gordon Sargent 67-70-67-71—275

T2     Norway 144-134-134-139–551
        Herman Sekne 73-64-68-69–274
        Michael Mjaaseth 71-70-66-70–277
        Mats Ege 75-77-71-70–293
T2     Australia 137-137-139-138–551
        Jeff Guan 68-69-68-72–277
        Karl Vilips 69-68-73-70–280
        Jack Buchanan 76-72-71-68—287

4      France 135-138-139-140–552
        Bastien Amat 68-70-67-69–274
        Hugo Le Goff 67-68-72-71–278
        Paul Beauvy 68-73-74-73—288

T5     New Zealand 139-139-139-136–553
        Kazuma Kobori 70-70-67-65–272
        Sam Jones 69-72-72-71–284
        Jayden Ford 74-69-73-72—288

T5     Italy 142-138-136-137–553
        Pietro Bovari 69-67-69-70–275
        Flavio Michetti 73-73-67-67–280
        Riccardo Fantinelli 74-71-70-71—286

7      South Africa 139-138-138-139–554
        Christo Lamprecht 71-68-68-70–277
        Christiaan Maas 70-70-71-69–280
        Altin van der Merwe 69-71-70-71—281

T8     Czechia 139-135-140-142–556
        Filip Jakubcik 69-67-70-71–277
        Petr Hruby 72-68-70-73–283
        Louis Klein 70-72-73-71—286

T8     Ireland 145-139-138-134–556
        Matthew McClean 72-68-68-69–277
        Alex Maguire 73-73-72-65–283
        Liam Nolan 75-71-70-70—286

10     Netherlands 136-140-139-142–557
        Jack Ingham 70-70-69-73–282
        Benjamin Reuter 66-71-76-71–284
        Lars van der Vight 77-70-70-71—288

T11    Denmark 137-138-143-142–560
        Jacob Olesen 68-71-71-71–281
        Frederik Kjettrup 75-67-72-71–285
        Gustav Frimodt 69-75-72-71—287

T11    Spain 138-140-142-140–560
        José Luis Ballester 69-72-68-69–278
        Luis Masaveu Roncal 69-70-74-71–284
        Angel Ayora 71-70-76-78—295

T11    Mexico 143-133-142-142–560
        Santiago De La Fuente del Valle 71-66-72-71–280
        Omar Morales 72-68-70-71–281
        José Islas Valdespino 75-67-74-75—291

14     Argentina 137-138-146-140–561
        Joaquín Ludueña 70-70-74-67–281
        Vicente Marzilio 69-68-72-75–284
        Segundo Oliva Pinto 68-72-76-73—289

T15    England 137-143-142-140–562
        Tyler Weaver 68-71-70-71–280
        Jack Bigham 72-72-72-69–285
        Barclay Brown 69-73-72-75—289

T15    Germany 141-141-145-135–562
        Jonas Baumgartner 71-70-70-69–280
        Tim Wiedemeyer 70-72-75-68–285
        Tiger Christensen 73-71-76-67—287

T17    Canada 146-142-136-139–563
        Brady McKinlay 72-72-68-69–281
        Ashton McCulloch 74-70-68-70–282
        Piercen Hunt 80-74-70-77—301

T17    Chinese Taipei 143-136-141-143–563
        Chuan-Tai Lin 72-66-72-72–282
        Ching Hung Su 71-70-72-75–288
        Chi Chun Chen 74-77-69-71—291

T17    Wales 142-139-141-141–563
        Tomi Bowen 70-71-70-71–282
        Matt Roberts 75-71-75-70–291
        James Ashfield 72-68-71-80—291

T17    Japan 142-140-141-140–563
        Yuta Sugiura 72-70-71-69–282
        Riura Matsui 75-70-73-71–289
        Minato Oshima 70-70-70-80—290

T21    Scotland 141-140-140-145–566
        Connor Graham 70-71-68-69–278
        Calum Scott 71-69-72-76–288
        Gregor Tait 78-79-72-76—305

T21    Switzerland 142-142-143-139–566
        Max Sturdza 70-68-71-73–282
        Nicola Gerhardsen 74-74-72-70–290
        Marc Keller 72-80-75-69—296

T21    People’s Republic of China 138-135-144-149–566
        Justin Bai 69-68-73-76–286
        Zihang Qiu 69-67-71-83–290
        Ziqin Zhou 76-69-79-73—297

24     Morocco 141-142-143-141–567
        Soufiane Dahmane 69-69-72-75–285
        Hugo Mazen Trometter 72-74-71-70–287
        El Mehdi Fakori 75-73-73-71—292

T25    Colombia 142-139-138-149–568
        Nicolas Quintero 69-69-67-76–281
        Carlos Conde 73-72-71-75–291
        Manuel Merizalde 76-70-73-74—293

T25    Republic of Korea 144-142-135-147–568
        Seonghyeon An 73-70-65-75–283
        Donghyun Moon 71-72-70-72–285
        Sungho Lee 74-72-74-85—305

T27    Sweden 145-141-140-143–569
        Daniel Svard 70-71-73-71–285
        Tobias Jonsson 75-71-69-72–287
        Albert Hansson 79-70-71-73—293

T27    Guatemala 146-143-139-141–569
        Gabriel Palacios 72-70-73-70–285
        Juan Ricardo Davila 74-74-66-73–287
        Alejandro Villavicencio 82-73-73-71—299

T29    Austria 147-144-138-142–571
        Christoph Bleier 73-71-66-67–277
        Fabian Lang 78-73-72-75–298
        Florian Schweighofer 74-77-79-77—307

T29    Singapore 154-142-143-132–571
        Hiroshi Hirahara Tai 79-71-72-65–287
        Ryan Ang 78-71-71-67–287
        Troy Storm 76-78-75-74—303

T31    Finland 149-139-144-141–573
        Elias Haavisto 77-67-71-71–286
        Jesse Saareks 74-72-76-70–292
        Markus Luoma 75-75-73-79—302

T31    Thailand 149-145-141-138–573
        Ashita Piamkulvanich 74-70-70-66–280
        Parin Sarasmut 75-75-71-72–293
        Jiradech Chaowarat 75-77-73-77—302

33     India 150-142-148-142–582
        Yuvraj Singh 74-70-72-71–287
        Shaurya Bhattacharya 76-73-76-71–296
        Rohit Narwal 79-72-76-74—301

34     Zimbabwe 143-147-151-144–585
        Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa 70-72-74-78–294
        David Amm 73-76-77-69–295
        Keegan James Shutt 82-75-78-75—310

35     United Arab Emirates 155-153-153-154–615
        Rayan Ahmed 79-79-75-77–310
        Ahmad Skaik 80-74-80-77–311
        Thomas Nesbitt 76-80-78-79—313

36     Guam 169-158-157-161–645
        Markus Nanpei 86-80-74-74–314
        Nalapon Vongjalorn 84-78-83-87–332
        Eugene Park 85-86-85-89–345

Piercen Hunt recorded first career hole-in-one on par-3 fourth hole

Team Canada had a day to remember on Friday, highlighted by Piercen Hunt’s first career hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth hole at the World Amateur Team Championship. Hunt, from Hartland, Wis. hit a pitching wedge from 136 yards to record the ace. It was the first WATC ace since the final round of the 2018 championship, which was recorded by Esteban Restrepo of Colombia. “That’s my first ever hole-in-one. It landed a bit short [of the hole], took a couple hops and went in. It was crazy,” said Hunt. He finished the day with a 2-under 70 to sit at 8-over for the tournament.

Teammates Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. and Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta. both fired rounds of 4-under 68 to move Canada up to 23rd place and combined score of 8-under for the tournament. Both McCulloch and McKinlay are T38 in the individual standings at 4-under for the tournament.

The United States of America, propelled by a 5-under 67 from world No. 2 Gordon Sargent, tallied 14 birdies amongst its three players and strengthened its lead to four stokes after Round 3 of the World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Sargent, who leads the individual leaderboard at 12-under par, rattled off four birdies in his opening eight holes, highlighted by a 35-foot putt on the par-4 sixth.

The Americans, who are seeking their first Eisenhower Trophy win since 2014, stand at 24-under par at 408 with France and Norway sharing a tie for second at 412. The USA’s Nick Dunlap and David Ford each finished with 3-under 69s, bringing the team’s third round tally to an 8-under 136. Only two of each team’s best three scores count toward the total.

France, with a 5-under 67 from Bastien Amat and a 72 from Hugo Le Goff, lost ground to the Americans while remaining in second place alongside Norway.

Norway, which is eyeing its first medal in team history, climbed nine places on the strength of a 6-under 66 showing from Michael Mjaaseth and a 4-under 68 from Herman Sekne, who is No. 24 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®. The 10-under team total led the field in the third round.

Australia remains in solo fourth place with a three-day total of 413 after a 4-under 68 from Jeffrey Guan and a 71 from Jack Buchanon. 

Czechia holds fifth place at 414, followed by the Netherlands and South Africa tied for sixth. The defending champion Italians are eight strokes off the lead in solo eighth place.

Notable:

• USA is attempting to become the fifth wire-to-wire champion in Eisenhower Trophy history, and the first since 2012. The Americans have done so twice before in 2004 and 2012.
• France is seeking its first Eisenhower medal since winning gold in 2010.
• Gordon Sargent has posted rounds of 67-70-67 to lead the individual scoring by one over six players.
• Canada’s Piercen Hunt made a hole-in-one on the par-3 4th hole (136 yards/124 meters) with a pitching wedge. It was the first hole-in-one in Eisenhower Trophy competition since Colombia’s Esteban Restrepo aced the 7th hole at Carton House Golf Club in Ireland in 2018.
• The Republic of Korea tied Norway for the largest leaderboard move on Friday, climbing nine spots into a tie for 16th place based on a 9-under 135 team score led by Seonghyeon An‘s 7-under 65.
• Czechia is in position for its best-ever Eisenhower finish. The Czech’s current best (22nd place) came in 2018.
• South Africa, which jumped four spots into a tie for sixth after Round 3, is seeking its first top-10 finish since 1998.
• Temperatures at Abu Dhabi Golf Club peaked at 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) with a heat index of 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) during the third round.
   

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 USA, France and Norway will occupy the final tee times of 12:06, 12:17 and 12:28 p.m. off the 1st tee.

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

1      United States of America, USA 135-137-136–408
          Nick Dunlap 69-67-69–205
          Gordon Sargent 67-70-67–204
          David Ford 68-74-69—211

T2     France, FRA 135-138-139–412
          Hugo Le Goff 67-68-72–207
          Bastien Amat 68-70-67–205
          Paul Beauvy 68-73-74—215

T2     Norway, NOR 144-134-134–412
          Herman Sekne 73-64-68–205
          Michael Mjaaseth 71-70-66–207
          Mats Ege 75-77-71–223

4      Australia, AUS 137-137-139–413
          Karl Vilips 69-68-73–210
          Jeff Guan 68-69-68–205
          Jack Buchanan 76-72-71—219

5      Czechia, CZE 139-135-140–414
          Filip Jakubcik 69-67-70–206
          Petr Hruby 72-68-70–210
          Louis Klein 70-72-73—215

T6     Netherlands, NED 136-140-139–415
          Jack Ingham 70-70-69–209
          Lars van der Vight 77-70-70–217
          Benjamin Reuter 66-71-76—213

T6     South Africa, RSA 139-138-138–415
          Christo Lamprecht 71-68-68–207
          Christiaan Maas 70-70-71–211
          Altin van der Merwe 69-71-70—210

8      Italy, ITA 142-138-136–416
          Pietro Bovari 69-67-69–205
          Riccardo Fantinelli 74-71-70–215
          Flavio Michetti 73-73-67—213

T9     New Zealand, NZL 139-139-139–417
          Jayden Ford 74-69-73–216
          Kazuma Kobori 70-70-67–207
          Sam Jones 69-72-72—213

T9     People’s Republic of China, CHN 138-135-144–417
          Zihang Qiu 69-67-71–207
          Justin Bai 69-68-73–210
          Ziqin Zhou 76-69-79—224

T11    Denmark, DEN 137-138-143–418
          Frederik Kjettrup 75-67-72–214
          Jacob Olesen 68-71-71–210
          Gustav Frimodt 69-75-72—216

T11    Mexico, MEX 143-133-142–418
          Santiago De La Fuente del Valle 71-66-72–209
          José Islas Valdespino 75-67-74–216
          Omar Morales 72-68-70—210

13     Colombia, COL 142-139-138–419
          Nicolas Quintero 69-69-67–205
          Manuel Merizalde 76-70-73–219
          Carlos Conde 73-72-71—216

T14    Chinese Taipei, TPE 143-136-141–420
          Chuan-Tai Lin 72-66-72–210
          Ching Hung Su 71-70-72–213
          Chi Chun Chen 74-77-69—220

T14    Spain, ESP 138-140-142–420
          Luis Masaveu Roncal 69-70-74–213
          Angel Ayora 71-70-76–217
          José Luis Ballester 69-72-68—209

T16    Republic of Korea, KOR 144-142-135–421
          Seonghyeon An 73-70-65–208
          Donghyun Moon 71-72-70–213
          Sungho Lee 74-72-74—220

T16    Argentina, ARG 137-138-146–421
          Vicente Marzilio 69-68-72–209
          Joaquín Ludueña 70-70-74–214
          Segundo Oliva Pinto 68-72-76—216

T16    Scotland, SCO 141-140-140–421
          Calum Scott 71-69-72–212
          Connor Graham 70-71-68–209
          Gregor Tait 78-79-72—229

T19    Wales, WAL 142-139-141–422
          James Ashfield 72-68-71–211
          Tomi Bowen 70-71-70–211
          Matt Roberts 75-71-75—221

T19    Ireland, IRL 145-139-138–422
          Matthew McClean 72-68-68–208
          Liam Nolan 75-71-70–216
          Alex Maguire 73-73-72—218

T19    England, ENG 137-143-142–422
          Tyler Weaver 68-71-70–209
          Jack Bigham 72-72-72–216
          Barclay Brown 69-73-72—214

22     Japan, JPN 142-140-141–423
          Minato Oshima 70-70-70–210
          Yuta Sugiura 72-70-71–213
          Riura Matsui 75-70-73—218

23     Canada, CAN 146-142-136–424
          Ashton McCulloch 74-70-68–212
          Brady McKinlay 72-72-68–212
          Piercen Hunt 80-74-70—224

T24    Morocco, MAR 141-142-143–426
          Soufiane Dahmane 69-69-72–210
          El Mehdi Fakori 75-73-73–221
          Hugo Mazen Trometter 72-74-71—217

T24    Sweden, SWE 145-141-140–426
          Albert Hansson 79-70-71–220
          Daniel Svard 70-71-73–214
          Tobias Jonsson 75-71-69—215

T26    Germany, GER 141-141-145–427
          Jonas Baumgartner 71-70-70–211
          Tiger Christensen 73-71-76–220
          Tim Wiedemeyer 70-72-75—217

T26    Switzerland, SUI 142-142-143–427
          Max Sturdza 70-68-71–209
          Nicola Gerhardsen 74-74-72–220
          Marc Keller 72-80-75—227

28     Guatemala, GUA 146-143-139–428
          Gabriel Palacios 72-70-73–215
          Alejandro Villavicencio 82-73-73–228
          Juan Ricardo Davila 74-74-66—214

29     Austria, AUT 147-144-138–429
          Christoph Bleier 73-71-66–210
          Fabian Lang 78-73-72–223
          Florian Schweighofer 74-77-79—230

30     Finland, FIN 149-139-144–432
          Elias Haavisto 77-67-71–215
          Jesse Saareks 74-72-76–222
          Markus Luoma 75-75-73—223

31     Thailand, THA 149-145-141–435
          Ashita Piamkulvanich 74-70-70–214
          Parin Sarasmut 75-75-71–221
          Jiradech Chaowarat 75-77-73—225

32     Singapore, SIN 154-142-143–439
          Ryan Ang 78-71-71–220
          Hiroshi Hirahara Tai 79-71-72–222
          Troy Storm 76-78-75—229

33     India, IND 150-142-148–440
          Yuvraj Singh 74-70-72–216
          Rohit Narwal 79-72-76–227
          Shaurya Bhattacharya 76-73-76—225

34     Zimbabwe, ZIM 143-147-151–441
          Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa 70-72-74–216
          Keegan James Shutt 82-75-78–235
          David Amm 73-76-77—226

35     United Arab Emirates, UAE 155-153-153–461
          Ahmad Skaik 80-74-80–234
          Rayan Ahmed 79-79-75–233
          Thomas Nesbitt 76-80-78—234

36     Guam, GUM 169-158-157–484
          Nalapon Vongjalorn 84-78-83–245
          Markus Nanpei 86-80-74–240
          Eugene Park 85-86-85–256

The United States of America’s Nick Dunlap, who is No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, tallied seven birdies en route to a 5-under 67 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to position the Americans one stroke clear of France and the People’s Republic of China through the second round of the 33rd World Amateur Team Championship.

Team Canada currently sits tied for 27th at even par 288. Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. lead the way for Canada on Thursday by firing a 2-under 70 to sit at even par for the tournament. Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta. recorded an even par 72 for the second straight day. Their scores counted towards the combined team score to help move Canada from 2-over to even par after two rounds. Teammate Piercen Hunt of Hartland, Wis. finished with a 2-over 74 and is now at 10-over for the tournament.

USA also used a 2-under 70 from world No. 2 Gordon Sargent, who officially earned PGA Tour membership on Wednesday via PGA Tour University Accelerated, for a two-day total of 16-under 272. After a slow team start, Dunlap and Sargent combined for five birdies during a four-hole stretch at the conclusion of their first nine.

France, which held a share of the lead at the start of the day, was led by 15-year-old Hugo Le Goff’s 4-under 68 and a 2-under 70 from 2023 U.S. Open qualifier Bastien Amat. Hugo, a 2023 R&A Boys’ Amateur semifinalist, had an eagle and three birdies through his first seven holes.

The People’s Republic of China, which finished in a tie for 31st last year in France, moved up six places on the leader board on the strength of a 5-under 67 from Zihang Qiu and a 4-under 68 from Justin Bai, who has committed to play at the University of Washington in 2024.

Australia remains two strokes behind the USA in a tie for fourth place with Czechia on the strength of another steady day from two-time Australian Junior Amateur champion Jeffrey Guan and Stanford University senior Karl Vilips. Guan and Vilips, who qualified for the 2023 U.S. Open, traded a pair of 67s and 68s during the first two rounds to lead the Aussies to a 14-under total of 270.

Frederik Kjettrup rebounded from an opening-round 75 with a 5-under 67 on Thursday to position Demark in a tie for sixth alongside Argentina at 275. Jacob Skov Olesen added a 71 for Denmark.

Completing the top 10 are Mexico and The Netherlands with team totals of 12-under 276. 

Notable: 

France’s Le Goff (9-under 135) leads the individual leaderboard by one stroke over Czechia’s Filip Jakubcik, Italy’s Pietro Bovari, the People’s Republic of China’s Zihang Qiu and the USA’s Nick Dunlap.

Bovari made two eagles during his second-round 5-under 67 for the defending champion Italian team, which sits in a tie for 15th place. Italy is attempting to become the first team to win consecutive WATC titles since the USA did so in 2012 and 2014.

Mexico and Norway made the largest moves of the day, both climbing 13 places. Mexico jumped into a tie for eighth, while Norway moved into a tie for 11th thanks to an 8-under 64 from Herman Sekne that included nine birdies. Sekne’s 64 is the lowest round of the championship thus far.

Australia, the People’s Republic of China and the USA are the only countries with two players in the top 10 of the individual leader board.

With his U.S. Amateur win in August, Nick Dunlap joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur. 

What’s Next: 

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

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

1      United States of America 135-137–272
        Nick Dunlap 69-67–136
        Gordon Sargent 67-70–137
        David Ford 68-74—142

T2    People’s Republic of China 138-135–273
        Zihang Qiu 69-67–136
        Justin Bai 69-68–137
        Ziqin Zhou 76-69—145

T2    France 135-138–273
        Hugo Le Goff 67-68–135
        Bastien Amat 68-70–138
        Paul Beauvy 68-73—141

T4    Czechia 139-135–274
        Filip Jakubcik 69-67–136
        Petr Hruby 72-68–140
        Louis Klein 70-72—142

T4    Australia 137-137–274
        Karl Vilips 69-68–137
        Jeff Guan 68-69–137
        Jack Buchanan 76-72—148

T6    Argentina 137-138–275
        Vicente Marzilio 69-68–137
        Joaquín Ludueña 70-70–140
        Segundo Oliva Pinto 68-72—140

T6    Denmark 137-138–275
        Frederik Kjettrup 75-67–142
        Jacob Olesen 68-71–139
        Gustav Frimodt 69-75—144

T8    Mexico 143-133–276
        Santiago De La Fuente del Valle 71-66–137
        José Islas Valdespino 75-67–142
        Omar Morales 72-68—140

T8    Netherlands 136-140–276
        Jack Ingham 70-70–140
        Lars van der Vight 77-70–147
        Benjamin Reuter 66-71—137

10    South Africa 139-138–277
        Christo Lamprecht 71-68–139
        Christiaan Maas 70-70–140
        Altin van der Merwe 69-71—140

T11  New Zealand 139-139–278
        Jayden Ford 74-69–143
        Kazuma Kobori 70-70–140
        Sam Jones 69-72—141

T11  Spain 138-140–278
        Luis Masaveu Roncal 69-70–139
        Angel Ayora 71-70–141
        José Luis Ballester 69-72—141

T11  Norway 144-134–278
        Herman Sekne 73-64–137
        Michael Mjaaseth 71-70–141
        Mats Ege 75-77—152

14    Chinese Taipei 143-136–279
        Chuan-Tai Lin 72-66–138
        Ching Hung Su 71-70–141
        Chi Chun Chen 74-77—151

T15  England 137-143–280
        Tyler Weaver 68-71–139
        Jack Bigham 72-72–144
        Barclay Brown 69-73—142

T15  Italy 142-138–280
        Pietro Bovari 69-67–136
        Riccardo Fantinelli 74-71–145
        Flavio Michetti 73-73—146

T17  Colombia 142-139–281
        Nicolas Quintero 69-69–138
        Manuel Merizalde 76-70–146
        Carlos Conde 73-72—145

T17  Scotland 141-140–281
        Calum Scott 71-69–140
        Connor Graham 70-71–141
        Gregor Tait 78-79—157

T17  Wales 142-139–281
        James Ashfield 72-68–140
        Tomi Bowen 70-71–141
        Matt Roberts 75-71—146

T20  Japan 142-140–282
        Minato Oshima 70-70–140
        Yuta Sugiura 72-70–142
        Riura Matsui 75-70—145

T20  Germany 141-141–282
        Jonas Baumgartner 71-70–141
        Tiger Christensen 73-71–144
        Tim Wiedemeyer 70-72—142

22    Morocco 141-142–283
        Soufiane Dahmane 69-69–138
        El Mehdi Fakori 75-73–148
        Hugo Mazen Trometter 72-74—146

T23  Ireland 145-139–284
        Matthew McClean 72-68–140
        Liam Nolan 75-71–146
        Alex Maguire 73-73—146

T23  Switzerland 142-142–284
        Max Sturdza 70-68–138
        Nicola Gerhardsen 74-74–148
        Marc Keller 72-80—152

T25  Sweden 145-141–286
        Albert Hansson 79-70–149
        Daniel Svard 70-71–141
        Tobias Jonsson 75-71—146

T25  Republic of Korea 144-142–286
        Seonghyeon An 73-70–143
        Donghyun Moon 71-72–143
        Sungho Lee 74-72—146

T27  Finland 149-139–288
        Elias Haavisto 77-67–144
        Jesse Saareks 74-72–146
        Markus Luoma 75-75—150

T27  Canada 146-142–288
        Ashton McCulloch 74-70–144
        Brady McKinlay 72-72–144
        Piercen Hunt 80-74—154

29    Guatemala 146-143–289
        Gabriel Palacios 72-70–142
        Alejandro Villavicencio 82-73–155
        Juan Ricardo Davila 74-74—148

30    Zimbabwe 143-147–290
        Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa 70-72–142
        Keegan James Shutt 82-75–157
        David Amm 73-76—149

31    Austria 147-144–291
        Christoph Bleier 73-71–144
        Fabian Lang 78-73–151
        Florian Schweighofer 74-77—151

32    India 150-142–292
        Yuvraj Singh 74-70–144
        Rohit Narwal 79-72–151
        Shaurya Bhattacharya 76-73—149

33    Thailand 149-145–294
        Ashita Piamkulvanich 74-70–144
        Parin Sarasmut 75-75–150
        Jiradech Chaowarat 75-77—152

34    Singapore 154-142–296
        Ryan Ang 78-71–149
        Hiroshi Hirahara Tai 79-71–150
        Troy Storm 76-78—154

35    United Arab Emirates 155-153–308
        Ahmad Skaik 80-74–154
        Rayan Ahmed 79-79–158
        Thomas Nesbitt 76-80—156

36    Guam 169-158–327
        Nalapon Vongjalorn 84-78–162
        Markus Nanpei 86-80–166
        Eugene Park 85-86–171

France and the United States of America stand atop a crowded leader board after the first round of the 33rd World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Wednesday. Fueled by a pair of 5-under 67’s from 15-year-old Hugo Le Goff and world No. 2 Gordon Sargent, France and the USA hold a one-stroke lead over The Netherlands.

Team Canada currently sits tied for 28th at 2-over 146. Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alta. shot the low round of the day for Canada with an even par 72. 2023 Canadian Men’s Amateur champion, Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont. shot a 2-over 74 and Piercen Hunt of Hartland, Wis. finished with an 8-over 80.

All three of France’s players carded rounds of 68 or better in the early wave of the morning. Teammates Bastien Amat (counting) and Paul Beauvy (non-counting) shot a pair of 68’s behind Le Goff’s 67 leading France to a 9-under total of 135 to match the Americans. Only two of each team’s best three scores count toward the total.

The Netherlands’ Benjamin Reuter had the individual low round of the day, a 6-under 66, and teammate Jack Ingham added a 70 to position the Dutch in solo third place. Reuter, who plays at Georgia Tech University, registered three birdies and an eagle in his final seven holes. 

Gustav Frimodt (3-under 69) and Jacob Olesen (4-under 68) led an afternoon charge for Denmark, who shares fourth with Argentina, Australia and England, two strokes behind the leaders. 

Notable: 

Through his WATC start on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, Gordon Sargent became the first player to earn PGA TOUR membership via PGA TOUR University Accelerated after achieving the 20-point threshold. Sargent is a junior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

France’s Bastien Amat, and the USA’s Sargent and Nick Dunlap, are three of seven players in the field who competed in the 2023 U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles (Calif.) Country Club.

No. 1-ranked amateur Christo Lamprecht, of South Africa, shot a 71 with three birdies and two bogeys. Altin van der Merwe (69) and Christiaan Maas (70) positioned South Africa in a tie for 10th at 5-under 139.

Temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) with a heat index of 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) during Round 1.

Twenty-five of the 36 teams finished under par on Day 1.

A total of 46 players in the field competed in the 2022 WATC in France. Colombia, Netherlands and Norway are fielding the same three players as last year.

Ahmad Skaik, of the United Arab Emirates, hit the opening tee shot of the championship on Wednesday morning. Skaik is competing in his fourth WATC. 

Zimbabwe’s Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa carded a bogey-free 2-under 70. Nyamukondiwa, a senior at Drexel University, has an elephant named Cookie back home in Zimbabwe that he used to ride to school.

Guatemala’s Alejandro Villavicencio is playing for the seventh time, most of any player in the field.

What’s Next: 
Round 2 begins Thursday at 6:30 a.m. with a two-tee start on the National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

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

T1     France – 135
        Hugo Le Goff – 67
        Bastien Amat – 68
        Paul Beauvy – 68

T1     United States of America – 135
        Gordon Sargent – 67
        David Ford – 68
        Nick Dunlap – 69
        
3      Netherlands – 136
        Benjamin Reuter – 66
        Jack Ingham – 70
        Lars van der Vight – 77
        
T4     Argentina – 137
        Segundo Oliva Pinto – 68
        Vicente Marzilio – 69
        Joaquin Ludueña – 70
       
T4     Australia – 137
        Jeff Guan – 68
        Karl Vilips – 69
        Jack Buchanan – 76
        
T4     Denmark – 137
        Jacob Olesen – 68
        Gustav Frimodt – 69
        Frederik Kjettrup – 75
        
T4     England – 137
        Tyler Weaver – 68
        Barclay Brown – 69
        Jack Bigham – 72
        
T8     People’s Republic of China – 138
        Justin Bai – 69
        Zihang Qiu – 69
        Ziqin Zhou – 76
        
T8     Spain – 138
        Jose Luis Ballester – 69
        Luis Masaveu Roncal – 69
        Angel Ayora – 71
        
T10    Czechia – 139
        Filip Jakubcik – 69
        Louis Klein – 70
        Petr Hruby – 72
        
T10    New Zealand – 139
        Sam Jones – 69
        Kazuma Kobori – 70
        Jayden Ford – 74
        
T10    South Africa – 139
        Altin van der Merwe – 69
        Christiaan Maas – 70
        Christo Lamprecht – 71
        
T13    Germany – 141
        Tim Wiedemeyer – 70
        Jonas Baumgartner – 71
        Tiger Christensen – 73
        
T13    Morocco – 141
        Soufiane Dahmane – 69
        Hugo Mazen Trometter – 72
        El Mehdi Fakori – 75
        
T13    Scotland – 141
        Connor Graham – 70
        Calum Scott – 71
        Gregor Tait – 78
        
T16    Colombia – 142
        Nicolas Quintero – 69
        Carlos Ardila Conde – 73
        Manuel Merizalde – 76
        
T16    Italy – 142
        Pietro Bovari – 69
        Flavio Michetti – 73
        Riccardo Fantinelli – 74
        
T16    Japan – 142
        Minato Oshima – 70
        Yuta Sugiura – 72
        Riura Matsui – 75
        
T16    Switzerland – 142
        Max Sturdza – 70
        Marc Keller – 72
        Nicola Gerhardsen – 74
        
T16    Wales – 142
        Tomi Bowen – 70
        James Ashfield – 72
        Matt Roberts – 75
        
T21    Chinese Taipei – 143
        Ching Hung Su – 71
        Chuan-Tai Lin – 72
        Chichun Chen – 74
        
T21    Mexico – 143
        Santiago De La Fuente del Valle – 71
        Omar Morales Nacif – 72
        Jose Cristobal Islas Valdespino – 75
        
T21    Zimbabwe – 143
        Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa – 70
        David Amm – 73
        Keegan James Shutt – 82
        
T24    Norway – 144
        Michael Mjaaseth – 71
        Herman Sekne – 73
        Mats Ege – 75
        
T24    Republic of Korea – 144
        Donghyun Moon – 71
        Seonghyeon An – 73
        Sungho Lee – 74
        
T26    Ireland – 145
        Matthew McClean – 72
        Alex Maguire – 73
        Liam Nolan – 75
        
T26    Sweden – 145
        Daniel Svard – 70
        Tobias Jonsson – 75
        
T28    Canada – 146
        Brady McKinlay – 72
        Ashton McCulloch – 74
        Piercen Hunt – 80
        
T28    Guatemala – 146
        Gabriel Palacios – 72
        Juan Ricardo Davila – 74
        Alejandro Villavicencio – 82
        
30     Austria – 147
        Christoph Bleier – 73
        Florian Schweighofer – 74
        Fabian Lang – 78
        
T31    Finland – 149
        Jesse Saareks – 74
        Markus Luoma – 75
        Elias Haavisto – 77
        
T31    Thailand – 149
        Ashita Piamkulvanich – 74
        Jiradech Chaowarat – 75
        Parin Sarasmut – 75
        
33     India – 150
        Yuvraj Singh – 74
        Shaurya Bhattacharya – 76
        Rohit Narwal – 79
        
34     Singapore – 154
        Troy Tian Storm – 76
        Ryan John Ang – 78
        Hiroshi Hirahara Tai – 79
        
35     United Arab Emirates – 155
        Thomas Nesbitt – 76
        Rayan Ahmed – 79
        
36     Guam – 169
        Nalapon Vongjalorn – 84
        Eugene Park – 85
        Markus Nanpei – 86

Denisa Vodickova of the Czech Republic wins individual title at Brampton Golf Club

Brampton, Ont. – The most successful season in Canadian golf history added another exciting chapter on Saturday as Team Canada won its first-ever team title at the World Junior Girls Golf Championship, presented by Sargent Farms. 

The Canada 1 Team comprised 14-year-old Anna Huang of Vancouver (71-69-70-70—280), 17-year-old Vanessa Borovilos of Toronto (70-73-73-75—291), and 17-year-old Vanessa Zhang of Vancouver (72-75-80-68—295) shot a team-total 138 under cool and blustery conditions at Brampton Golf Club in Brampton, Ont. to finish at 4-under 564 for the championship, a single shot clear of the Republic of Korea. 

Canada 1, who began the day with a share of the third-round lead alongside Korea and the United States, needed a late-round charge to overtake Korea, who held a one-shot team lead through 16 holes. 

The tournament shifted on the par-5 17^th hole when Huang made a birdie for Canada and Korea’s Soomin Oh made a bogey. Zhang then stepped up with a birdie on the par-4 18^th, followed by Huang rolling in a par-putt to secure Canada’s first-ever team gold medal at the prestigious international junior championship. 

Team Canada 1 Coach Jeff MacDonald of Chester, N.S. was proud of how his team battled all week, going head-to-head with powerhouse challengers from Korea and the United States to earn the prestigious title – of world champions. 

“It feels really amazing, the girls have worked so hard, they all contributed so much today, it was really close all day and they dealt with the stress really, really well,” said MacDonald, who was especially proud of the team’s resolve and self-belief that they could win. “Anna made a huge birdie on 17 while Vanessa was rolling in an incredible 30-footer on 18. We always knew it was a good company to be in, they (Korea and the USA) weren’t going to back down. The Koreans made a lot of putts today, they were exceptional, and our Canadians really stepped up to the occasion. They never felt like they couldn’t win this golf tournament. The whole time they knew they belonged, and they knew they could compete with those countries. They were competing, they wanted to win, and they knew they could win the whole time.” 

“I think me, and Vanessa (Zhang) did a great job on the last four holes, we both made two birdies, so that was a really great comeback for us, I’m just really proud of how we all did as a team, its not just individual scores, its all about the team effort,” said Huang. 

Canada’s previous best team finish at the World Junior Girls Golf Championship was a bronze medal in 2014. 

“I don’t think we all had super high expectations going into this event, we just set out to do our best every single day and it was nice that we saw ourselves on the leaderboard, it more just came down to keeping our practice routines the same and trying our best each and every shot,” said Zhang. 

“It’s such a cool experience, I said this earlier this week, you’re playing for something bigger than yourself, you’re playing for a team, and to do this together, feels pretty cool,” added Borovilos. 

The two-time past winners from Korea would finish with the silver medal, shooting a team-total 3-under 565 followed by Czech Republic earning bronze at 4-over 572. Rounding out the top-five were Sweden (5-over 573) and Mexico (8-over 576). 

The Team Canada 2 squad of 14-year-old Miranda Lu of Vancouver, 16-year-old Luna Lu of Burnaby, B.C. and 14-year-old Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta. finished 18^th. 

World Junior Girls Championship, presented by Sargent Farms – final team standings:

1​ Canada 1 ​(-4)​ 141-142-143-138—564

2​ Korea ​(-3)​ 143-141-142-139—565

3​ Czech Republic​ (+4)​ 145-142-142-143—572

4 ​Sweden ​(+5)​ 140-147-144-142—573

5​ Mexico​ (+8)​ 144-144-149-139—576

6​ United States ​(+9)​ 139-142-145-151—577

7​ Belgium ​(+12)​ 142-149-146-143—580

8​ Spain​ (+15)​ 143-144-149-147—583

9 ​Italy​ (+16) ​146-144-152-142—584

10​ England​ (+17) ​141-148-149-147—585

11​Germany​ (+26)​ 148-147-149-150—594

12 ​Finland​ (+28)​ 146-147-154-149—596

13​ Denmark​ (+29) ​151-147-147-152—597

14​ Poland​ (+32) ​148-147-150-155—600

15​ Chinese Taipei ​(+35) ​148-153-146-156—603

T16​ Switzerland​ (+36)​ 148-147-158-151—604

T16​ Colombia​ (+36)​ 153-150-151-150—604

18​ Canada 2​ (+43) ​154-151-153-153—611

19​ Peru ​(+44)​ 151-155-158-148—612

20 ​Iceland​ (+47)​ 152-156-154-153—615

T21​ Austria ​(+51)​ 149-154-159-157—619

T21 ​Wales​ (+51)​ 155-158-156-150—619

Click here for the full team competition leaderboard.

In the individual competition, third-round leader Denisa Vodickova of the Czech Republic followed up yesterday’s scorching 66 with a final-round even par 71 to win the Czech Republic’s first-ever individual medal in the eight-year history of the championship. An adjustment a month ago to her putting grip brought a great sense of confidence into the championship, finishing 7-under 277 for the tournament. 

“It’s amazing, I feel great. I was very nervous today, I messed up the 17^th hole a little bit and wasn’t sure I was still leading but was very glad about the finish,” said Vodickova, who plans to play college golf at Wake Forest next year. “My putting was really good, I’m putting cross-handed now, I changed a month ago and it’s working really well.”

With the victory, the 18-year-old earns an exemption into the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open next July at the Earl Grey Golf Club in Calgary, Alta. 

Canadian Anna Huang capped off a tournament to remember, earning runner-up honours in the individual competition in addition to helping Canada win its first-ever team title. Huang, who finished T11 in 2022, shot a final-round 1-under 70 to finish at 4-under 280 for the championship, three shots back. 

The runner-up finish for Huang was the best by a Canadian in the individual competition since Brooke Henderson’s fourth-place finish in 2014.  

Soomin Oh of Korea finished third at 3-under 281 while Savanah de Bock of Belgium (1-under 283) and Nora Sundberg of Sweeden (2-over 286) rounded out the top-five. 

Click here for the third round individual leaderboard.

This year marked the largest field in tournament history, with a total of 66 athletes comprising 22 teams and representing 21 countries competing for the team and individual titles.

Right up until she was standing on the 18th green, making her final putt of the tournament, Brigitte Thibault didn’t know she was winning the Kathy Whitworth Championship.

The three-stroke win in Trophy Club, Texas, was the first victory of the 24-year-old Thibault’s professional career. Thibault said she had just kept her head down for the third and final round of the Women’s All Pro Tour season finale.

“I had no idea what the leaderboard was. I was just trying to score as best as I could,” said Thibault. “It’s almost like I didn’t want to get ahead of myself and just felt like I just needed to keep pushing.”

Thibault finished the tournament 71-68-68 for a total of 207. The native of Rosemere, Que., came out of the front nine of her third round at 5 under, having three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole at the Trophy Club Country Club.

She bogeyed the par-3 No. 13 to arrive at her final round score of 4-under 68 and the win.

“I kept missing great opportunities on the back nine,” said Thibault. “I’d reach a lot of pins and then not make the putts.

“I felt like I was giving it away, but I ended up coming up on top. That was exciting.”

Having won a professional event, Thibault’s next goal is to move up to a higher tier of women’s golf. That means a good showing in Stage II of the LPGA Tour’s qualifying series at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Fla., Oct. 17 to Oct. 20.

Thibault said she’ll be working with coach Chuck Cook in Austin, Texas, to ready herself for Stage II.

“Just preparation for what the course is asking for,” said Thibault. “Really make sure I’m comfortable with the type of shots that I’m going to need to be hitting. Just a lot of short game, to be honest.”

Winning the Kathy Whitworth Championship has shown Thibault that she can do it.

“My work is paying off and just to see it come to fruition is really exciting,” said Thibault. “But also just confidence in terms of like I’m trying to stay ready for Q-School and just to have competitive reps and to be able to come out on top it’s very encouraging on my end.”

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