The biggest week in the European amateur golfing calendar starts today.
528 golfers representing 29 countries and 88 different teams will compete in the 2023 European Team Championships over the next few days.
Six seperate tournaments will be contested from 11 to 15 July (Tuesday to Saturday) at five venues in five different countries.
Teams will compete for the European titles at four events, in the men's, ladies', boys' and girls' categories, while two Diviision 2 tournaments, for men and boys, will also be contested for teams looking to be promoted to the first divisions of their categories.
Five days of intense competition await the players and teams. Two rounds of stroke play qualifying, followed by three rounds of match play, will decide who claims the 2023 European team titles.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The five-day events feature two days of stroke play and three days of match play.
Each team, made up of six players, completes two individual stroke play rounds on Days 1 & 2. Five of each team's six scores count towards their stroke play qualifying totals.
The top eight teams from the stroke play rounds of each championship qualify for the medal-contention 'Flight A' match play bracket. The next eight teams will compete in Flight B, and the remaining teams in Flight C.
Nations go head-to-head in match play on the final three days, with two foursomes matches in the morning and five singles matches in the afternoon.
In the match play brackets, teams are seeded based on their qualifying position, (1 vs 8, 2 vs 7 etc.). Winning teams advance in their brackets, while losing teams, and all those with no chance of winning medals, continue to play a simplified format (of one foursomes match and four singles matches) against other defeated nations to determine final position.
To win the title, a team must qualify for Flight A (top-eight in the stroke play qualifying) and then win all three of its matches. Teams finishing second and third are awarded silver and bronze medals.
In the Men’s and Boys’ tournaments, the bottom three teams will be relegated to the Division 2 events for 2024.
EUROPEAN AMATEUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - ROYAL WATERLOO GOLF CLUB, BELGIUM
The 2023 European Amateur Team Championship will be contested at Royal Waterloo Golf Club in Belgium.
16 teams will compete for the title this year, a return to the normal format following a few exceptional editions due to covid restrictions.
Spain enter the week as defending champions, having won the 2022 edition at Royal St. George’s. The Spanish team looks strong on paper once again, boasting recently crowned European Amateur Champion, Jose Luis Ballester in their ranks. Although only three of the gold medallists from last year will be on the team looking to secure Spain's first ever back-to-back win in the tournament.
England, traditionally one of the favourites to compete for gold, look like a tough team to beat once again this year. They’ll be led by the top-ranked amateur player in Europe, John Gough. Barclay Brown, currently inside the WAGR top-30, is also one of the highest-ranked players in the field.
Other notable players representing their nations include Frederik Kjettrup (DEN), currently 19th in the WAGR. James Ashfield (WAL) and Mads Laage (DEN) who recently finished in a tie for 2nd at the European Amateur Championship. Tiger Christensen (GER) who finished top-10 in the same event and then qualified for The Open through The Open Qualifying Series just three days later.
FULL LIST OF PLAYERS
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBPAGE
European Ladies’ Team Championship - Tawast Golf & Country Club - Finland
19 teams will travel to Tawast Golf & Country Club in Finland to compete for the European Ladies’ Team title this year.
It’s been eight years since a country other than England or Sweden has lifted the trophy, when France won the event in 2015. England denied Sweden a record 4th straight victory at Royal County Down in 2021, and successfully defended the title in 2022. They'll look for a third straight win of their own this year.
The Swedes are arguably the strongest team on paper this week, with five players inside the WAGR top-50. The team also boasts the number one ranked amateur player in the world, Ingrid Lindblad.
Spain haven't won the title since 2013, but are alongside England and Sweden as one of the favourites this year with two of the WAGR top-10 in their team. Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and Julia Lopez Ramirez, who both recently earned call-ups for the Continent of Europe in the Vagliano Trophy, will lead the team in Finland.
Germany could be another team to look out for this week. Typically tough match play opponents, the German ladies' team will look for their first win since 2009. Recently crowned Women's Amateur Champion, Chia Horder (GER) will look to continue her form alongside a team which includes 2020 European Ladies' Amateur Champion, Paula Schulz-Hanssen, and Vagliano Trophy player, Helen Briem.
European Boys’ Team Championship – Golf Club de Genève, Switzerland
16 teams will contest the European Boys’ Team Championship this year.
Germany have the chance to secure the first ever 'three-peat' (three straight wins) in the event should they claim the title once again. The German side successfully defending the title on home soil in last year's edition.
The European Boys' Team Championship is typically a tough event to pick out favourites, with six different winners in the last 10 editions. Denmark, Sweden, France, Spain and Italy are amongst the regular challengers. The latter came close to the title in 2021, and will be led by Eisenhower Trophy winner, Marco Florioli this year.
The last time a GB&I team won the event was in 2004. England, the winners that year and last year's runners-up, will look to end a near 20-year wait for the boys' title this week.
Hosts, Switzerland also came close to the title in 2018 and will look to make home advantage count at Golf Club de Genève.
European Girls’ Team Championship – Golf d’Hossegor, France
The European Girls' Team Championship could be the event which is most likely to see a host country on the top step of the podium at the end of the week.
France will look make the most of home advantage to win a second straight title in the girls' championship having won the event in Iceland in 2022.
They’ll have to overcome typically strong Swedish and Spanish teams on route to gold however, with the latter looking like the strongest on paper this year. The Spanish team includes three players who have earned call-ups for the Continent of Europe. Anna Canado and Andrea Revuelta in the Junior Vagliano Trophy, and Rocio Tejedo, who has already won three major international tournaments this year, in the Vagliano Trophy.
European Amateur & Boys’ Team Championships, Division 2 – Green Resort Hrubá Borsa, Slovakia
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21 teams in the boys' and amateur division 2 tournaments, played simultaneously at Green Resort Hrubá Borsa, will compete for promotion to next year's top-level flights.
The Division 2 tournaments are contested in a slightly reduced format, with just two days of match play following the stroke play qualifying rounds as opposed to three.
Three of the nine men's teams, which includes traditionally strong nations such as Austria, Scotland, the Czech Republic and Portugal, will look to finish in one of the top three positions and earn a place at Royal Park I Roveri, Italy, for division 1 in 2024.
12 boys' teams will also have the same challenge, with a spot at Diamond Country Club for the 2024 European Boys' Team Championship the prize for the top-three. Amongst the teams this year are Portugal, Scotland, Wales, Iceland and Austria.
With just four days of competition instead of five, the two events will get underway one day later than the rest on Wednesday.
