Many of the world’s best female amateur players have travelled north to Finland this week. The 37th edition of the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship, featuring 144 players from 31 different countries, gets underway on Wednesday.
Messilä Golf, roughly an hour’s drive north of the Finnish capital, will set the stage for the 72-hole stroke play event this year.
First played in 1986, the championship is consistently ranked as one of the strongest amateur events in the world and regularly attracts the best amateur players from Europe and further afield.
Several major champions and Solheim Cup stars have medaled in the European Ladies' Amateur Championship in the past including Celine Boutier, Sophia Popov, Caroline Hedwall, Carlota Ciganda, Anna Nordqvist, Suzann Pettersen and many more.
In addition to the European title, players will also be competing for an extra-special prize this week. The winner will be invited to compete in the AIG Women’s Open in a month’s time at the home of golf.
Previously, a 60 and ties cut was made after three rounds but a second-round intermediary cut will be introduced this year. Following Round 2, the field will be cut to 96 and ties with the usual 60 and ties cut also happening after Round 3.
THE VENUE
Better known for its adjacent winter ski resort, Messilä will host 144 players from across the world for this year’s championship.
Layed out over the undulating local terrain, the par-72 will measure just over 5,700 metres this week.
Opened in 1990, but more recently renovated, the course is characterised by tight tree-lined fairways and slopey saucer-shaped greens which will likely test all aspects of the womens’ games.
The club has formerly hosted LET Access events and the Finnish Open but will welcome a European championship for the first time this week.
The course unusually starts with a 6-hole stretch of par-5’s and par-3s, with the first par-4 coming on the 7th.
THE FIELD
A generally strong field of 144 players are set to tee it up on Wednesday. With 31 different countries represented, the start list has 10 of the WAGR top-50.
Julia Lopez Ramirez enters the week as the favourite on paper. The defending champion is also the highest-ranked player in the field, sitting at number-two in WAGR. The Spaniard will look to become just the second player to successfully defend the title this week.
A strong cohort of 13 more Spanish players join Ramirez, of which two are the next highest ranked in the field; Paula Martin Sampedro (WAGR 10) and Andrea Revuelta (WAGR 12).
Rianne Mikhaela Malixi is the highest-ranked non-European competing this week. The Philippine is inside the top-20 in the world and won the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship on Saturday. She’ll look to become the first player from outside Europe to win the event.
In addition to Lopez Ramirez, two former champions are in the field this year. Savannah De Bock (BEL) won the title in a playoff in Paris in 2022, while Paula Schulz-Hanssen (GER) lifted the trophy in 2020 in Slovenia.
The latter is fresh from a gold medal at the European Ladies’ Team Championship, the fourth European win of her amateur career having also won the European Young Masters in 2019, and the European Girls’ Team Championship in 2020 in addition to her European Ladies' Individaul victory the same year. She’s joined by winning teammates from two weeks ago in Spain, Christin Eisenbeiss and Charlotte Back.
Two other former European individaul champions, but not from the ladies’ category, will tee it up at Messilä. Alena Oppenheimer (GER), the 2023 European Mid-Amateur (25+) Ladies’ winner will compete as one of three mid-amateur players in the field. Perla Sol Sigurbrandsdottir (ISL) the 2022 European Young Masters champion, will return to Finland with good memories of her win exactly two years ago at Linna Golf.
Many of last year's winning European Patsy Hankins Trophy team will also tee it up this week in addition to Savannah De Bock (BEL); Rocio Tejedo (ESP), Francesca Fiorellini (ITA), Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (ESP), Patience Rhodes (ENG), and Meja Örtengren.
Livescoring and updates can be followed throughout the week on the championship webpage below:
