KARUIZAWA, Japan – Australia, with a combined final-round score of 13-under-par 131 from Minjee Lee and Su Oh, rallied from seven strokes behind Canada to win the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship (WWATC) at Karuizawa 72 Golf East’s Iriyama Course.
“They never thought they were out of it, but they were close to possibly being out of it,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler, whose team posted a 72-hole total of 29-under 547. “We had a really slow start to the week with an even-par round at Iriyama (Wednesday) and we thought we might have too much work to do. But, it was the fastest start you could ever see coming.”
Australia, which won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the third time, took the lead through six holes of the final round as Lee, No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™, was 4 under through five holes on an eagle and two birdies and Oh was 3 under with three birdies.
Lee, 18, who tied for 22nd at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and won the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior, finished the day with an eagle and five birdies for a 65 while Oh, No. 6 in the WWAGR, tallied six birdies for a 66. Neither recorded a bogey. Shelly Shin, a semifinalist in the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior, posted a non-counting 72 in the 3-count-2 format.
The Australians broke the mark for a final-round comeback of three strokes, which was set by their countrymen in 2002 in Malaysia. The team’s 72-hole total of 547 was one stroke shy of Korea’s record low in 2010 and the final-round 131 is second-best all-time.
Lee, winner of the 2014 Victorian Open and Australian Amateur, was competing in her second WWATC, but she has plenty of international experience. She has already competed in three of the four women’s professional majors and will play in next week’s Evian Championship in France, the final major of the season.
With scores of 64 in the third round and 65 in the final round, Lee fueled the Australians’ move up the leader board. They moved from 12th to fourth after the third round.
“I wanted to make this something to remember,” said Lee. “I have matured so much in two years and I wanted this to be a priceless experience for everyone.”
Canada, which led each of the first three days and was vying for its first WWATC win, finished second at 27-under 549 behind the outstanding play of world No. 2 Brooke Mackenzie Henderson. It was Canada’s fourth silver medal. The Republic of Korea, which won the title in 2010 and 2012, finished third at 550.
Denmark (556) was fourth, followed by the USA and Sweden, who shared fifth at 557. The USA, owners of a record 13 WWATC titles, was seeking its first championship since 1998. Mexico (560), England (562), host country Japan (562) and the Philippines (563) rounded out the top 10.
“Australia had a great round today; I was really impressed,” said Henderson, who finished tied for 10th to earn low-amateur honors at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and was runner-up at last month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur. “They have very skilled players, including two in the top 10 in the world rankings, which is unbelievable. It’s a little disappointing to finish second, but overall we had a really great week and played really well as a team.”
Although there is no official recognition, Henderson led the individual standings at 19-under 269, which breaks the WWATC mark of 274 by 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Lydia Ko, of New Zealand, in 2012. Minjee Lee finished second at 16-under 272.
Alison Lee, a member of the victorious 2014 USA Curtis Cup Team, led the Americans with a 14-under total of 274, which tied for third in the individual standings with Bronte Law, of England. Lee and Law are sophomores at UCLA. Lee closed with a 4-under 68 on the Iriyama Course. Three of her four rounds were in the 60s and she bettered par each day.
Kristen Gillman, who defeated Henderson to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur last month, added a final-round 71 for the Americans. She finished at 3-under 285 for the championship. Emma Talley, the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and Lee’s Curtis Cup teammate, had a non-counting 74 and finished at 291 for the week.
“Alison was hitting the ball as well as she had any other day, maybe even better, but she just couldn’t buy a putt,” said USA captain Martha Lang. “Her birdies were tap-ins. Kristen was 3 under before she made three straight bogeys, but she hung in there. And today, unfortunately, Emma never got it going. Overall, we are pleased and disappointed at the same time.
“We felt the course was very gettable and there are some really good scores out there. But we just couldn’t make as many putts as we wanted. When you finish 11 or 12 strokes back and you divide that over four days with two players, it’s really just a shot or two here and there. But I guess everyone could say that.”
The Women’s World Amateur Team Championship is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which comprises 137 national governing bodies in 131 countries. The competition, which is being held for the 26th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa.
This year’s event was hosted by the Japan Golf Association. The teams play for the Espirito Santo Trophy. The IGF is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and will conduct the Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day (72-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.
The 2016 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship will be played in Cancun, Mexico.
KARUIZAWA, Japan – Results of Saturday’s final round of the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship played at the par-72, 6,309-yard/5,765-meter Oshitate Course (OC) and the par-72, 6,311-yard/5,768-meter Iriyama Course (IC) at Karuizawa 72 Golf East.
1. Australia (AUS) - 144 IC-138 OC-134 OC-131 IC--547
Minjee Lee 73-70-64-65—272
Su Oh 71-68-70-66—275
Shelly Shin 74-70-72-72--288
2. Canada (CAN) - 135 OC-139 IC-135 OC-140 IC--549
Brooke Mackenzie Henderson 66-69-66-68—269
Brittany Marchand 71-70-69-72—282
Augusta James 69-76-72-75--292
3. Republic of Korea (KOR) - 137 IC-140 OC-134 OC-139 IC--550
So-Young Lee 67-69-70-72—278
Hye-Jin Choi 70-71-66-71—278
Gyeol Park 75-75-68-68--286
4. Denmark (DEN) - 143 IC-139 OC-136 OC-138 IC--556
Nanna Koerstz Madsen 69-72-70-68—279
Emily Kristine Pedersen 75-67-69-70—281
Caroline Nistrup 74-74-67-71--286
T5. Sweden (SWE) - 143 OC-135 IC-141 OC-138 IC--557
Linnea Strom 71-67-71-67—276
Madelene Sagstrom 72-68-70-71—281
Louise Ridderstrom 73-75-77-81--306
T5. United States of America (USA) - 142 OC-140 IC-136 OC-139 IC--557
Alison Lee 68-70-68-68—274
Kristen Gillman 74-70-70-71—285
Emma Talley 77-72-68-74--291
7. Mexico (MEX) - 142 IC-139 OC-139 OC-140 IC--560
Maria Gabriela Lopez Butron 69-68-69-70—276
Ana Paula Valdes 75-71-70-70—286
Marijosse Navarro Miguez 73-72-74-73--292
T8. England (ENG) - 147 IC-134 OC-139 OC-142 IC--562
Bronte Law 71-65-67-71—274
Hayley Davis 76-69-72-71—288
Gabriella Cowley 76-75-77-74--302
T8. Japan (JPN) - 144 IC-132 OC-139 OC-147 IC--562
Minami Katsu 74-65-69-75—283
Yumi Matsubara 70-69-70-75—284
Eri Okayama 78-67-70-72--287
10. Philippines (PHI) - 143 OC-143 IC-135 OC-142 IC--563
Princess Superal 71-72-68-70—281
Clare Amelia Legaspi 72-72-67-72—283
Pauline Del Rosario 74-71-75-75--295
T11. France (FRA) - 140 IC-142 OC-143 OC-139 IC--564
Celine Boutier 71-70-70-73—284
Mathilda Cappeliez 69-74-73-68—284
Manon Gidali 73-72-74-71--290
T11. Germany (GER) - 143 IC-136 OC-140 OC-145 IC--564
Olivia Cowan 71-67-71-71—280
Laura Funfstuck 72-69-69-75—285
Antonia Scherer 78-73-76-74--301
13. Spain (ESP) - 142 IC-136 OC-139 OC-149 IC--566
Noemi Jimenez Martin 70-66-70-73—279
Marta Sanz Barrio 72-71-69-76—288
Luna Sobron Galmes 76-70-74-76--296
14. People's Republic of China (CHN) - 146 IC-140 OC-139 OC-142 IC--567
Yuting Shi 70-69-69-71—279
XinYing Wang 77-71-70-71—289
Ziqi Ye 76-71-72-76--295
15. Italy (ITA) - 141 OC-147 IC-136 OC-146 IC--570
Virginia Elena Carta 69-74-68-74—285
Roberta Liti 74-73-68-73—288
Laura Lonardi 72-74-74-73--293
16. Norway (NOR) - 148 OC-143 IC-138 OC-142 IC--571
Tonje Daffinrud 72-70-66-70—278
Mariell Bruun 77-73-72-72—294
Nicoline Skaug 76-79-78-78--311
T17. Finland (FIN) - 145 IC-144 OC-139 OC-144 IC--572
Oona Vartiainen 68-70-72-70—280
Mitilda Castren 77-79-71-74—301
Emily Penttila 82-74-68-79--303
T17. India (IND) - 141 IC-140 OC-143 OC-148 IC--572
Aditi Ashok 69-70-73-75—287
Gurbani Singh 72-70-70-77—289
Astha Madan 75-76-76-73--300
19. Netherlands (NED) - 143 IC-145 OC-138 OC-147 IC--573
Anne Van Dam 68-69-67-72—276
Dewi Weber 75-76-71-75—297
Romy Meekers 76-78-71-83--308
T20. Argentina (ARG) - 145 IC-146 OC-145 OC-140 IC--576
Magdalena Simmermacher 71-75-70-70—286
Delfina Acosta 74-75-75-70—294
Manuela Carbajo Re 74-71-75-77--297
T20. Chinese Taipei (TPE) - 146 OC-148 IC-139 IC-143 OC--576
Ssu-Chia Cheng 72-71-68-71—282
Jo-Hua Hung 74-77-71-72—294
Chi-Hui Chen 82-83-78-82--325
T22. Belgium (BEL) - 147 OC-145 IC-145 OC-144 IC--581
Manon De Roey 70-72-72-71—285
Fanny Cnops 77-78-73-73—301
Leslie Cloots 79-73-74-76--302
T22. Slovenia (SLO) - 148 IC-146 OC-146 IC-141 OC--581
Katja Pogacar 71-74-70-70—285
Ana Belac 77-72-76-71—296
Ursa Oreheu 81-75-81-80--317
24. Austria (AUT) - 146 OC-142 IC-145 OC-149 IC--582
Lea Zeitler 70-69-73-74—286
Leonie Bettel 77-73-72-75—297
Nadine Dreher 76-78-74-76--304
T25. Colombia (COL) - 147 IC-142 OC-148 OC-146 IC--583
Laura Sojo 72-71-74-73—290
Laura Camila Blanco 77-71-74-73—295
Maria Hoyos 75-77-76-74--302
T25. Puerto Rico (PUR) - 147 IC-146 OC-145 IC-145 OC--583
Maria F. Torres 74-73-72-72—291
Paola Robles 73-78-73-73—297
Valeria S. Pacheco 78-73-78-81--310
T25. Wales (WAL) - 146 IC-144 OC-145 OC-148 IC--583
Chloe Williams 71-74-70-71—286
Rebecca Helen Harries 79-70-77-77—303
Katie Bradbury 75-77-75-77--304
28. Thailand (THA) - 152 IC-145 OC-139 IC-148 OC--584
Suthavee Chanachai 74-73-70-76—293
Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras 79-72-69-73—293
Pajaree Anannarukarn 78-73-74-75--300
T29. Hong Kong, China (HKG) - 146 OC-151 IC-143 IC-148 OC--588
Tiffany Chan 71-77-72-74—294
Kitty Tam 76-74-71-74—295
Isabella Leung 75-77-75-74--301
T29. Iceland (ISL) - 149 IC-147 OC-144 IC-148 OC--588
Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir 75-72-73-74—294
Olafia Thorunn Kristinsdottir 74-75-71-74—294
Sunna Vidisdottir 75-81-78-75--309
T29. South Africa (RSA) - 142 OC-144 IC-152 OC-150 IC--588
Michaela Fletcher 69-73-77-74—293
Cara Bella Gorlei 73-73-78-76—300
Monja Richards 76-71-75-83--305
32. Switzerland (SUI) - 146 OC-149 IC-150 IC-147 OC--592
Albane Valenzuela 75-72-73-73—293
Kim Metraux 71-78-77-74—300
Morgane Metraux 76-77-79-80--312
33. Ireland (IRL) - 141 OC-150 IC-146 OC-156 IC--593
Paula Grant 70-75-73-79—297
Maria Dunne 71-75-78-77—301
Mary Doyle 80-76-73-79--308
34. New Zealand (NZL) - 154 IC-138 OC-149 OC-154 IC--595
Munchin Keh 76-68-76-76—296
Julianne Alvarez 78-70-73-78—299
Zoe-Beth Brake 79-76-77-80--312
35. Czech Republic (CZE) - 150 IC-154 OC-149 IC-146 OC--599
Hana Ryskova 74-76-76-72—298
Karolina Vlckova 80-80-73-74—307
Barbora Bakova 76-78-78-79--311
T36. Brazil (BRA) - 150 OC-151 IC-153 IC-147 OC--601
Luciane Lee 75-77-76-72—300
Luiza Altmann 75-74-77-75—301
Clara Teixeira 75-80-80-77--312
T36. Poland (POL) - 148 OC-154 IC-148 IC-151 OC--601
Nastasia Kossacky 73-76-68-73—290
Dominika Gradecka 75-78-80-84—317
Dorota Zalewska 82-82-80-78--322
T36. Singapore (SIN) - 150 IC-146 OC-147 IC-158 OC--601
Sock Hwee Koh 75-68-75-80—298
Jo Ee Kok 75-78-78-79—310
Amanda Tan 78-82-72-79--311
39. Russian Federation (RUS) - 149 OC-153 IC-148 IC-156 OC--606
Sofya Anokhina 74-80-73-78—305
Angelina Monakhova 80-78-75-78—311
Ksenia Eremina 75-75-82-82--314
40. Scotland (SCO) - 154 IC-151 OC-152 IC-151 OC--608
Gemma Dryburgh 75-76-73-73—297
Gabrielle Macdonald 79-75-79-78—311
Eilidh Briggs 80-NC-NC-NC--NC
41. Venezuela (VEN) - 153 OC-153 IC-155 IC-149 OC--610
Maria Andreina Merchan 75-76-75-72—298
Ariadna Fonseca 78-78-80-77—313
Nicole Ferre 81-77-80-79--317
42. Guatemala (GUA) - 151 OC-149 IC-155 IC-159 OC--614
Lucia Polo 71-73-74-76—294
Pilar Echeverria 80-76-81-83—320
Beatriz Arenas 84-95-88-88--355
43. Turkey (TUR) - 155 OC-157 IC-155 IC-150 OC--617
Elcin Ulu 78-79-76-76—309
Sena Ersoy 84-79-79-74—316
Damla Bilgic 77-78-82-82--319
44. Slovakia (SVK) - 151 OC-153 IC-159 IC-155 OC--618
Natalia Heckova 74-76-78-77—305
Lea Klimentova 81-77-81-78—317
Aneta Abrahamova 77-83-81-83--324
45. Portugal (POR) - 167 OC-154 IC-157 IC-151 OC--629
Leonor Bessa 88-78-78-73—317
Susana Mendes Ribeiro 80-83-79-79—321
Ines Barbosa 87-76-84-78--325
46. Guam (GUM) - 164 OC-168 IC-160 IC-155 OC--647
Kristin Oberiano 82-82-78-75—317
Nalathai Vongjalorn 82-86-82-80—330
Rachael Peterson 91-88-86-87--352
47. Bolivia (BOL) - 162 OC-165 IC-163 IC-161 OC--651
Tamara Paz 81-83-81-80—325
Michelle Ledermann 81-82-82-81--326
48. Serbia (SRB) - 171 OC-174 IC-176 IC-171 OC--692
Ariana Savic 79-88-85-84—336
Tamara Palkovljevic 92-86-91-87--356
49. Ukraine (UKR) - 185 OC-196 IC-183 IC-184 OC--748
Galyna Zagorodnia 87-91-92-93—363
Mariia Pedenko 98-106-91-91—386
Valeriia Sapronova 103-105-105-103--416
50. Gabon (GAB) - 183 OC-198 IC-181 IC-187 OC--749
Lea Ndjobouela 87-91-85-90—353
Corine Beyeme 96-107-96-97--396