By Spencer Robinson, Asia Pacific Golf Confederation

Sue Wooster will be aiming to write a slice of golfing history when she tees-off in the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Senior Amateur Championship on Tuesday.

One of Australia’s finest-ever senior female golfers, the 60-year-old Victorian is the hot favourite to be crowned winner of the inaugural APGC Women’s Senior Amateur Championship.

Contested over 54 holes of stroke play at Kuala Lumpur’s award-winning Kota Permai Golf & Country Club, the women’s event will be held concurrently with the men’s championship, which was launched in 2006.

Runner-up in the US Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in three of the past four years, Wooster arrived in the Malaysian capital in bullish mood on the back of two recent victories.

A fortnight ago, she posted a morale-boosting six-shot triumph in the New South Wales Senior Amateur Championship at Tuncurry Golf Club. Wooster said: “It’s great. I haven’t won this event before, so it is a thrill. It gives me some confidence (heading to Malaysia). The last two events I’ve played I’ve won, so I’m feeling good about my game.”

At Kota Permai, Wooster’s main rivals are likely to be fellow Australians Nadene Gole and Jacqui Morgan and the Japanese trio of Hiroko Oga, Mayumi Tanaka and Tomoko Suzuki.

As well as bidding for individual honours, Wooster and Oga will lead their respective countries in the team competition.

Taimur Hassan Amin, Chairman of the APGC, and himself a winner of the men’s individual title in Thailand in 2010, said: “We’re excited to be launching the Senior Women’s Championship.

“The APGC’s portfolio of events already includes the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, the APGC Junior Championship for girls and the Queen Sirikit Cup. In view of the increasing number of senior women golfers in the region, we recognised the importance in providing a platform for them to compete.

“We surveyed our member countries on the subject and there was overwhelming support for us to go ahead with launching the APGC Women’s Senior Amateur Championship this year. It will be a welcome new addition to the APGC’s annual calendar of championships.”

In addition to 14 females taking part in three categories, there will be 82 contestants in four men’s categories.

William Houng-Lee, Michael Barltrop and Malcolm Gullery form a strong New Zealand team bidding to defend the title they won at Malaysia’s Sungai Long Golf & Country Club in 2019, the last time the APGC Senior Amateur Championship was staged.

Six-time champions Australia are pinning their hopes on Victorian Greg Rhodes, Ken Brewer from New South Wales and Queenslander Ian Frost.

The event has also attracted entries from Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Categories: • Men Group A (55-59 years) – handicap limit 13.4 • Men Group B (60-64 years) – handicap limit 15.4 • Men Group C (65-69 years) – handicap limit 17.4 • Men Group D (70 years and above) – no handicap limit • Women Group A (50-54 years) – handicap limit 15.4 • Women Group B (55-59 years) – handicap limit 17.4 • Women Group C (60 years and above) – no handicap limit (Men must be at least 55 years of age and women at least 50 years of age as of November 1, 2022)