19 Dec 2019 | Amateur golf |
Super six for Aussie WAAP tilt
by Mark Hayes
Three Queensland women and three from New South Wales will carry Australia’s hopes into the 2020 Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific in Thailand.
In just its third year but already the biggest women’s amateur event in the Asia-Pacific region, the WAAP winner earns invitations to play in two major championships - the Women’s British Open and the Evian Championship - as well as an exemption to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
The tournament will be played from 12-15 February on the Waterside Course at Siam Country Club, near Bangkok.
The six Aussie women, three automatically via world amateur rankings and three GA selections, are Grace Kim, Doey Choi and Steph Kyriacou, all of NSW, and Cassie Porter, Stacey White, and Kirsty Hodgkins, all of Queensland. The Aussie team will be coached by Rachel Bailey, also of New South Wales.
World No.8 amateur Gabi Ruffels, of Victoria, was unavailable for selection because of her study commitments with the University of Southern California.
Golf Australia national female pathway manager Stacey Peters was excited by the team.
“Grace, Doey, Steph and Cassie have all acquitted themselves really well on the domestic scene and internationally in the past couple of years,” Peters said.
“Stacey (Campbell University) and Kirsty (University of Colorado) have both turned in some great results in collegiate golf, too, so the team has a great deal of experience to share.
“Many of the young women will soon be pondering the next steps in their golfing journey, so the chance to play such a great tournament with so much on the line is a wonderful opportunity at precisely the right time.”
The WAAP will be broadcast on Fox Sports with three hours live coverage of each of the four rounds.
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