Golf Australia names Asia-Pacific Amateur teams

With the Eisenhower Trophy still to wrap up in Paris this weekend, Australia’s top amateur representatives have already been named for this year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand.

In 2021, Japanese pair Keita Nakajima and Mizuki Hashimoto won the men’s and women’s titles respectively after the cancellation of the tournament due to COVID-19 the year prior.

Kirsten Rudgeley (Credit: IGF)

Australia’s Kelsey Bennett finished runner-up that year and will get her chance at redemption when the tournament tees off at Pattaya’s Siam Country Club on November 3rd.

Bennett will be joined by Kirsten Rudgeley, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Karrie Webb scholarship recipient Caitlin Peirce, Justice Bosio and Sarah Hammett for the 72-hole strokeplay event.

In the men’s event, Eisenhower Trophy teammates Connor McKinney, Hayden Hopewell and Harrison Crowe will compete alongside Karl Vilips, Junior Presidents Cup representative Jeffrey Guan, Joshua Greer and Lukas Michel, who become the first Australian to win the US Mid-Amateur in 2019.

Amata Spring Country Club will host the men’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship from October 27-30.

“The 13 players chosen to represent Australia form a very strong group and we’re excited about their prospects on the international stage,” said Golf Australia’s High Performance Manager, Brad James.

“A number of our players have taken some significant strides this year by performing strongly in tournaments at home and overseas.”

“The younger players also bring a nice balance to the squad as they begin to taste what competing internationally is all about.”

Victory in Thailand can be a career-defining moment with the winner of the men’s event receiving an invitation to The Masters and Open Championship, while the women’s champion earns a teetime at the Women’s British Open and the Evian Championship along with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.