48 of the world's best amateur players have gathered in Spain this week to contest the Bonallack and Patsy Hankins Trophies.
The two Ryder Cup style matches, played between 12-player teams from Europe and Asia-Pacific over three days, are taking place for the first time in five years at La Manga Resort.
The visitors hold the trophies in both the men's and women's matches, but will have a tough task in defending them this week against two strong European teams.
THE TEAMS
Each team of 12 can select a maximum of two players per country, meaning 24 different nations are represented this week.
The European Patsy Hankins Trophy team will be spearheaded by Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (ESP).
Ranked third in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the Spaniard will also be the highest ranked player in the match.
The European team boasts eight more players inside the WAGR top-50, and all 12 inside the top-100. Many of the players have formerly been teammates, representing Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup, and both sides of the Vagliano and Junior Vagliano Trophy matches.
EUROPEAN PATSY HANKINS TEAM
Myrte Eikenaar (NED) (non-playing captain)
Kajsa Arwefjall (SWE)
Helen Briem (GER)
Beth Coulter (Golf Ireland)
Savannah De Bock (BEL)
Francesca Fiorellini (ITA)
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (ESP)
Patricie Mackova (CZE)
Patience Rhodes (ENG)
Celina Rosa Sattelkau (GER)
Rocio Tejedo (ESP)
Lottie Woad (ENG)
Meja Örtengren (SWE)
Although the European team looks slightly stronger on paper, many of their opponents on the Asia-Pacific team are also highly ranked, with six players inside WAGR's top-50.
South Korea's Minsol Kim, who finished runner-up at the Women's Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship this year, is currently ranked inside the world's top-10 and will look to lead the team to a third straight victory in the match.
ASIA-PACIFIC PATSY HANKINS TEAM
Liz McKinnon (NZL) (non-playing captain)
Mizuki Hashimoto (JAP)
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (AUS)
Tin-Hsuan Huang (TPE)
Nanako Inagaki (JAP)
Minsol Kim (KOR)
Yeji Park (KOR)
Caitin Pierce (AUS)
Avani Prashanth (IND)
Shannon Tan (SGP)
Rina Tatematsu (THA)
Elain Widjaja (INA)
Fiona Xu (NZL)
On the men's side, the European team also looks slightly stronger on paper, with nine players ranked inside the WAGR top-100. England's John Gough is the top ranked player in the men's match and will look to lead the side to win back the trophy from the visitors.
EUROPEAN BONALLACK TROPHY TEAM
Yves Hofstetter (SUI) (non-playing captain)
James Ashfield (WAL)
Barclay Brown (ENG)
Tiger Christensen (GER)
Nicola Gerhardsen (SUI)
John Gough (ENG)
Albert Hansson (SWE)
Tobias Jonsson (SWE)
Frederik Kjettrup (DEN)
Alex Maguire (Golf Ireland)
Luis Masaveu (ESP)
Michael Mjaaseth (NOR)
Herman Wibe Sekne (NOR)
The away team's top ranked player is Japan's Yuta Sugiura, although Harrison Crowe (AUS) will also certainly be one of the top players in the team. The Australian won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last year, earning invitations to The Masters and The Open this season.
ASIA-PACIFIC BONALLACK TROPHY TEAM
Rishi Narain (IND) (non-playing captain)
Nguyen Anh Minh (VIE)
Joshua Bai (NZL)
Jack Louis Buchanan (AUS)
Wooyoung Cho (KOR)
Harrison Crowe (AUS)
Taichiro Ideriha (JAP)
Yubin Jang (KOR)
Chuan-Tai Lin (TPE)
Yuta Sugiura (JAP)
Mako Thompson (NZL)
Malcolm Ting Siong Hung (MAS)
Sampson-Yunhe Zheng (CHN)
THE FORMAT
Both matches have identical formats, similar to those of the Solheim and Ryder Cups. The 12-player teams play five foursomes (alternate shot) matches on Thursday an Friday morning, five fourball matches on Thursday and Friday afternoon, and 12 singles matches on Saturday.
Won matches score one point for the team, while halved matches score half a point each.
With 32 total points on offer, 16.5 is the magic number needed to secure the title.
THE VENUE
Located near Cartegna in the south-east of Spain, she South Course at La Manga Resort in Spain will provide the test for the players this week.
The par-73 layout has hosted many major professional tournaments, including several Spanish Opens, PGA Championships, for both men and women. At almost 6,500 metres from the white tees, it has water hazards on 15 of its 18 holes, wide fairways and a good combination of short and long holes.
The front-nine is particularly challenging with two long par-3s and some daunting par 4s, which call for accurate driving between lakes and bunkers. The back-nine, although shorter, has a number of intriguing dog-leg holes.
The course was originally designed by Dean Putnam in 1971 and remodelled in 2005 by Arnold Palmer.
ABOUT THE BONALLACK TROPHY
The Bonallack Trophy is a biennial match played between 12-player teams from Europe and Asia-Pacific. The EGA selects the European team, while the Asia-Pacific side is fielded by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC).
The contest and trophy are named after Sir Michael Bonallack, one of the most decorated amateur players of all time. The Englishman won The Amateur Championship five times and the Brabazon Trophy four times. He also represented Great Britain & Ireland in nine Walker Cup teams and helped England to the European Amateur Team Championship title on three occasions.
Sir Michael also made significant contributions to the game off-course, including 16 years as Secretary of The R&A, six years as Chairman of the European Tour and as President of the English Golf Union amongst many other roles.
The match takes place over three days. Five foursomes matches in the morning and five fourball matches in the afternoon are played on both of the first two days. On the final day, all 12 players complete singles matches. With 32 total points on offer (1 for a win, 0.5 for a half and 0 for a loss), 16.5 points are needed to secure victory. The format mirrors the Ryder Cup, with one additional match in each of the four sessions over the first two days.
This year’s match will be the 11th edition between the two sides since the match was inaugurated in 1998.
A number of global golfing stars have formerly competed in the match including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose amongst many other major professional tour winners.
ABOUT THE PATSY HANKINS
The Patsy Hankins Trophy is a biennial match played between 12-player female teams from Europe and Asia-Pacific. The EGA selects the European team, while the Asia-Pacific side is fielded by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC).
The contest and trophy are named in memory of Patsy Hankins, a former golf administrator from New Zealand. Her legacy as a trailblazer in golf administration grew due to her long list of achievements and kind and gentle approach. From fostering the development of the women’s game to playing a key role in the joining of men’s and women’s golf, Patsy was incredibly influential and will leave a long lasting legacy in the game not only in New Zealand but around the world.
The match takes place over three days. Five foursomes matches in the morning and five fourball matches in the afternoon are played on both of the first two days. On the final day, all 12 players complete singles matches. With 32 total points on offer (1 for a win, 0.5 for a half and 0 for a loss), 16.5 points are needed to secure victory. The format mirrors the Solheim Cup, except for one additional match in each of the four sessions over the first two days.
This year’s match will be the 3rd edition between the two sides since the match was inaugurated in 2016. In the last match, at Doha Golf Club in Qatar, the Asia-Pacific side dominated against a European team missing several highly ranked players.
