The Australian team of Minjee Lee, Su Hyun Oh and Shelly Shin have won the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, clinching the the Espirito Santo Trophy in Japan this afternoon.
The Australians finished with a team total of 547 strokes to finish two strokes ahead Canada in second and three clear of Korea in third place at the Iriyama and Oshitate courses of the Karuizawa Golf Club.
Lee was elated with the result, telling media “it is a very special win.”
The win is Australia’s first in the championship since Katherine Kirk (nee Hull), Lindsey Wright and Vicky Thomas (nee Uwland) won in 2002.
The victory was set up by a blistering performance over the final two rounds from World Number 1 amateur Minjee Lee who bounced back from a first round 73 to shoot 70-64-65 (-16).
Su Hyun Oh finished with rounds of 71-68-70-66 (-13) while Shelly Shin shot 74-70-72-72 (E).
Each team has two or three players and plays 18 holes of stroke play for four days. 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.
Golf Australia High Performance Director Brad James said: “we are so proud of this team. They have faced the best players in the world and come away with the win in what is one of the most challenging team championships in golf.”
Minjee Lee (Royal Fremantle GC) is the World Number 1 amateur and is Australia’s second highest ranked player on the professional rankings (78). She finished as the leading amateur at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in her first appearance at a Major in April. She is the current Victorian Open and Australian Amateur champion and a former US Junior champion.
Su-Hyun Oh (Metropolitan GC) is the World Number 6 amateur. Oh was runner-up at last year’s Volvik RACV Ladies Masters on the Gold Coast and part of Australia’s winning Queen Sirikit Cup team in 2013. She is a former Australian junior champion.
Shelly Shin (Concord GC) was a semi-finalist at the US Junior Championship last month and is the current Women’s Riversdale Cup champion and was a member of Australia’s winning Queen Sirikit Cup team. She was a quarter finalist at this year’s Australian Amateur.
A total of 51 teams – the third-highest ever – entered the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.
The Women’s World Amateur Team Championship is celebrating 50 years in 2014. The first championship, won by France, was played 1-4 Oct. 1964 at St. Germain Golf Club, St. Germain (Paris), France. Twenty five teams competed that year and each of those nations is represented at the 2014 championship except Chile and Bermuda.
