Tag: International Golf Federation

South Africa’s Paula Reto will miss Olympic golf competition after testing positive for COVID-19

Paula Reto has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not compete for Team South Africa in the women’s golf competition.

Paula Reto has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unable to compete for Team South Africa in the Olympic women’s golf competition next week.

The International Golf Federation made the announcement on Thursday evening, saying that Reto tested positive “as part of the final testing protocol before leaving for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.”

The IGF also announced that Diksha Dagar of India will replace Reto in accordance with the Late Athlete Replacement Policy as the next available athlete identified by the IGF Reallocation Reserve List.

The women’s competition begins Wednesday at Kasumigaseki Country Club. There will be 60 golfers in the 72-hole, no-cut stroke play event.

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Annika Sorenstam elected president of International Golf Federation Board

Sorenstam will take Peter Dawson’s place as the IGF President, effective at the start of 2021.

At a meeting of the International Golf Federation Board this week, outgoing president Peter Dawson announced he would not seek reappointment when his two-year term expires at the end of the year. The IGF Board has elected Annika Sorenstam as the new IGF President, effective at the start of 2021.

“Peter did a great job the last 10 years as IGF President and I am humbled and honored to have been asked to succeed him,” Sorenstam said in an IGF release. “As an international player, having golf back in the Olympics means so much to me and to our sport.  I very much look forward to working with the Board, the IOC and the governing bodies of golf in their efforts to continue to grow the game globally.”

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Dawson had served in the role for a decade.

“It has been a great pleasure and privilege to serve as IGF President,” Dawson said. “Golf’s reinstatement to the Olympic program was a landmark for our sport and it was a true thrill to witness our return at Rio 2016. Our Olympic status has been a strong catalyst for increasing cooperation and coordination between the major organizations in golf and has significantly strengthened the bonds between the IGF and our National Federations.

“My thanks go to so many people in golf and in the Olympic family for their support over the past 10 years,” he added. “Their help and goodwill have been invaluable. I wish my successor, Annika Sorenstam, every success. The IGF could not be in better hands.”

The IGF’s Board meeting was planned for the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, but went virtual due to the continued impact of COVID.

Still, when International Olympic Committee President Thomas and IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell spoke about next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, they delivered a promising message that the competition would proceed as scheduled with a particular focus on health, safety and the simplification and reduction of the complexity of the Games. The Board expressed support and a shared commitment to deliver the golf competition with safety for the athletes and all involved a top priority.

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World Amateur Team Championship moves to odd years; headed to Dubai in 2023

The Emirates Golf Federation will bring the World Amateur Team Championship to the Middle East for the first time in 2023.

The International Golf Federation has selected the Emirates Golf Federation as the host of the 2023 World Amateur Team Championship. The selection was made in the IGF’s biennial meeting this week, which was held virtually. The Emirates Golf Federation beat out Singapore Golf Federation, the other finalist.

The Emirates Golf Federation will bring the World Amateur Team Championship, an event that dates to 1958, to the Middle East for the first time. Fewer teams will also compete and on only one course: The Emirates Golf Federation presented the Greg Norman-designed Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai as the host venue. The reduced field of 36 teams was approved in the IGF’s 2018 meeting. The idea was to lessen the cost and complexity of hosting the event.

“Both candidates provided exceptionally strong bid proposals, which was duly noted by both the IGF Administrative Committee and the IGF Bid Panel,” said Antony Scanlon, Executive Director of the IGF. “We greatly appreciate the interest and strong case presented by the Singapore Golf Association. At the same time, the Emirates Golf Federation made a compelling case that resonated with our member organisations and we’re very excited to be holding our first World Amateur Team Championships in the Middle East region. We look forward to working with the Emirates Golf Federation to deliver a memorable event and experience for the athletes in 2023.”

The World Amateur Team Championship also now moves to an odd year to avoid conflicting with the summer Olympic Games. The 2022 championship is already scheduled, meaning the event will be played in back-to-back years.

The 2022 championships are scheduled for two courses near Paris: Le Golf National, host of the 2018 Ryder Cup Match and future host of the 2024 Olympic golf competition, and Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche, host of 33 editions of the Lancôme Trophy, will host the men’s and women’s championships.

 

World Amateur Team Championships relocated from Hong Kong in wake of political protests

The International Golf Federation has announced it will move the 2020 World Amateur Team Championships to Singapore.

World events occasionally disrupt sporting events, and the 2020 World Amateur Team Championship is just the latest example of that. The International Golf Federation-sponsored event, which takes place every two years, was slated to be played Oct. 12-24 in Hong Kong. Earlier this month, the IGF announced that the event will be relocated to Singapore “to alleviate any concerns about the potential impact of the protests that have taken place in Hong Kong in recent months.”

The Singapore Golf Association (SGA) will host both championships at Tanah Merah Country Club and Sentosa Golf Club on the same dates as planned, with the Espirito Santo Trophy for women scheduled from October 14-17 and the Eisenhower Trophy for men from October 21-24.

In a statement, IGF executive director Antony Scanlon said the IGF Board felt that relocating the championships was in the event’s best interests, even as the Hong Kong Golf Association was willing to honor its hosting duties.

“We appreciate the SGA’s willingness to host the Championships and its efforts in securing government and local support to enable this to happen on the same dates as scheduled,” Scanlon said in the release. “At the same time, we want to acknowledge and thank the HKGA for all the work it did and its understanding for the decision that we have made. We look forward to the opportunity to hold the Team Championships in Hong Kong at a future date and will be inviting the HKGA to submit a proposal for staging the 2024 edition.”

Sentosa Golf Club hosts the HSBC Women’s World Championship, one of three LPGA events that were canceled this winter due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in the region.

It remains possible, of course, that the coronavirus could affect this championship, as well.

The USGA has announced captains for the American teams. Diana Murphy, a past USGA president, and Pam Murray, a former chair of the USGA Women’s Committee, will captain both the men’s and women’s teams, respectively.

The U.S. women will be looking to defend the title won in 2018 in Ireland. Denmark won the men’s team title that year.

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