World Amateur Teams Championship
Pictured: The South African team of Kim Williams, Bertine Strauss & Alana van Greuning with support team Sandra Winter (non-playing Captain)and Val Holland (WGSA National Coach)
As many eyes turn to Medinah Country Club in Illinois for the Ryder Cup this week-end, the pinnacle of amateur golf starts in earnest at Gloria Golf Resort in Turkey on Thursday, when 53 women’s teams will compete for the Espirito Santo Trophy at the World Amateur Teams Championship. This biennial international golf championship which falls under the auspices of the International Golf Federation will test the skills of the top amateur women golfers in the world and is to be played on the Old and New Courses at Gloria Golf Club. From the 4th to the 7th October, the men’s top amateurs will compete for the Eisenhower Trophy which will be conducted at Cornelia Golf Club and Antalya Golf Club (PGA Sulton Course).
In 2010, Korea won the 24th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in record-breaking fashion. They won by 17 strokes over the USA to claim their second Espirito Santo Trophy at Olivos Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The South African women’s team won the event when it was hosted in South Africa at De Zalze and Stellenbosch Golf Clubs in 2006. They tied in a very credible 3rd position in 2010 and will be looking to hoist the South African flag again this year with pride.
Kim Williams (Gauteng North), Bertine Strauss (North West) and Alana van Greuning (Mpumalanga) are the three South Africans who make up the South African team with Sandra Winter, as the non-playing Captain. The two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for each round and the four-day (72 hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.
The event rotates among three geographic zones of the world: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa and Japan will play host in 2014.