28 Aug 2022 | Amateur golf |
Aussie women finish 14th at World Amateur Team Championships
by Dane Heverin
The Australian women dropped three shots in the final round at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche in Paris to end their World Amateur Team Championship in 14th place.
Australia began Saturday in ninth position at even-par on the team standings but Kirsten Rudgeley, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Kelsey Bennett found the going tough as Sweden claimed the gold medal in a count back over the United States of America.
Rudgeley was the best performed of the trio and she moved up one spot on the individual leaderboard into a tie for 21st with a one-over par round of 73.
The West Australian finished two-over for the tournament with rounds of 70-72-73-73 to be nine shots back from Sweden's Meja Ortengren, Germany's Helen Briem and the United States' Rose Zhang who shared first place.
"I've enjoyed it. It's been really good," Rudgeley said. "It's my first World Amateur, but I think the girls have done pretty well. It was an awesome two golf courses but they're pretty tough. Good luck to the boys."
After being away for in the US and Europe for 12 weeks, Rudgeley is looking forward to some down time back home but she also has her mind fixed on two big possible assignments.
"I haven't got a lot coming up in the next few months but I'll hopefully have the Asia-Pacific Amateur (to be played in Thailand in October) and the Aussie Open," she said.
Fellow West Australian Hinson-Tolchard shot her second-best round of the week with a 74 to finish tied for 55th.
"The last two days were definitely a little bit better. A rough start but managed to get something a little bit going," she said.
"I've enjoyed my week. The golf wasn't amazing but the two golf courses were great and it's just nice to be in Paris."
The opportunity to represent her country was not lost on the Oklahoma State University student who relished the chance to be among Australians because it is a rare occurrence for her currently.
"It's always an honour. I love representing Australia. It's good to be around a bunch of Aussies as well. It's been a good week and I've loved it," she said.
"I've got all the college events coming up. I go back for two days and then we leave for our first one at Pebble Beach so it's going to be a busy season for me. Hopefully I'll be back in Australia at Christmas time again to have a bit of a break."
Bennett had a day to forget with a final round of 80 dropping her 23 places down to a tie for 42nd.
The Australian men's team of Connor McKinney, Hayden Hopewell and Harrison Crowe will begin their World Amateur Team Championships campaign on Wednesday 31 August with the same two venues - Le Golf National and Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche - to once again play host.
See the final individual scores here and the team scores here.
Hear from Kirsten and Maddison below.
Join our newsletter
Get weekly updates on news, golf tips and access to partner promotions.