The United States finished T-6 after the low final round of 8-under 136.
South Korea and Spain went into the final round of the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship tied. At the end of the day, it was Korea hoisting the Espirito Santo Trophy for the fifth time.
Korea fired the second-lowest round of the day, a 5-under 139, pulling away from the field to capture the 2023 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship on Saturday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Korea finished at 22-under 554 for the tournament, four shots clear of Chinese Taipei and five in front of Spain, which shot even par in the final round.
The United States finished T-6 after the low final round of 8-under 136, tying with Australia at 15 under. Auburn commit Anna Davis, the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur winner, shot 6 under for the tournament. Megan Schofill, the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, and Rachel Kuehn each finished at 4 under.
Cindy Hsu, a sophomore at Texas from Chinese Taipei, won the individual competition, shooting 13-under 275. She topped Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, a freshman at Texas A&M and No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, by two shots.
Korea’s highest finisher was Kyorim Seo, who placed third at 10 under.
The WATC is a biennial competition comprised of two or three golfers from 36 countries playing four days of stroke play with the two lowest scores every day being counted.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.
It’s time for the 30th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.
The Emirates Golf Federation will host the 2023 World Amateur Team Championships. The men’s and women’s championships were originally set to be held in Dubai but moved to Abu Dhabi, where they’ll be contested at the National Course at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
In another recent change, the order of play for the men’s and women’s championships will be reversed to avoid a conflict in dates with other prestigious tournaments, meaning the men played last week while the women will close out the festivities this week.
This marks the first time the event, which dates to 1964 on the women’s side, will be held in the Middle East. It also will be the first with a reduced scope of one golf course and 36 teams to lessen the cost and complexity of hosting the event, as approved at the IGF’s 2018 biennial meeting.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.
It was too little, too late for the United States.
Sweden won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the third time on a tiebreaker over the hard-charging U.S. at the 29th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche in Paris, France, on Saturday.
The Swedes and Americans tied at 13-under 559 after four rounds of stroke play. After comparing non-counting scores, a 1-over-par 73 from Sweden’s Louise Rydqvist, a sophomore at South Carolina, was one stroke better than Wake Forest senior Rachel Kuehn’s 74, giving Sweden the gold medal and the USA the silver. Germany and Japan tied for the bronze-medal position one stroke behind.
The Women’s World Amateur Team Championship is four rounds of stroke play with the two lowest individual scores from each team counting every day.
Ingrid Lindblad, No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, fired a 3-under 69 in the final round, and Meja Ortengren added a 2-under 70, as Sweden made up five strokes on Germany, who held the 54-hole.
“Yesterday we were on our way to good scores (at Le Golf National), and we lost everything in the end,” said Sweden’s head of delegation Fredrik Wetterstrand. “Today, everything went our way, our scores and the other team’s scores. I admit it was a little lucky today. Our team played really well. They were fighting hard on the course, and they did it together”
It’s Sweden’s first medal since capturing bronze in 2012. For the United States, it’s the 21st medal, which includes 14 golds, four silvers and three bronze.
The U.S. began the day four strokes behind Germany and battled its way to a one-stroke lead on the tee of the 72nd hole after a birdie on the 17th by world No. 1 Rose Zhang.
Rose Zhang is a three-time winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal, which was presented at the closing ceremony at the 2022 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Paris, France. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
Zhang, a sophomore at Stanford and the defending NCAA individual champion, missed the green with her approach on 18 and could not convert a par-saving putt that brought on the tiebreaker. She finished with a 3-under 69 and Stanford and USA Curtis Cup teammate Rachel Heck shot 70.
“There is obviously that tinge of disappointment,” Zhang said. “On that last putt, I actually hit a really good putt exactly where I wanted, but it just didn’t go in the hole. It was disappointing to end that way, but I am really proud of how we fought back on the last day.
Sweden receives custody of the Espirito Santo Trophy until the next World Amateur Team Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in October 2023. Members of the winning team receive gold medals, second place silver and third place bronze.
Left to right: United States, Sweden, Germany and Japan following the final round at the 2022 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Paris, France. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
Although there is no official recognition, Sweden’s Ortengren, Germany’s Helen Briem and the USA’s Zhang tied for the low individual score at 7-under 279.
