NUMBER OF TEAMS – 36 teams will compete for the Espirito Santo Trophy in 2023.

DEFENDING CHAMPION – Sweden will try to become the first team to win consecutive WWATC titles since the Republic of Korea accomplished the feat in 2010 and 2012. The Swedes’ Espirito Santo win last year was their third overall and first since 2008.

HOST NATION – United Arab Emirates is playing in its first Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.

CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP
Eila Galitsky (THA) T28 and Ting-Hsuan Huang (TPE) MC, are the only two players in the field that competed in the 2023 Chevron Championship.

U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN
Six players from the field played in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open Championship at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links – Aine Donegan (IRE) T45, Monet Chun (CAN) T59, Anna Davis (USA) MC, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (AUS) MC, Ting-Hsuan Huang (TPE) MC and Lauren Kim (CAN) MC.

EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Four players from the field competed in the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship – Eila Galitsky (THA) MC, Chiara Horder (GER) MC, Ting-Hsuan Huang (TPE) MC and Rachel Kuehn (USA) MC.

AIG WOMEN’S OPEN
Seven players in this year’s field played in the 2023 AIG Women’s Open Championship at Walton Heath Golf Club – low amateur Charlotte Heath (ENG) T61, Julia Lopez Ramirez (ESP) 72, Savannah De Bock (BEL) MC, Eila Galitsky (THA) MC, Chiara Horder (GER) MC, Ting-Hsuan Huang (TPE) MC and Ingrid Lindblad (SWE) MC.

CURTIS CUP
Four players competed in the 2022 Curtis Cup Match at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. – Hannah Darling (SCO), Charlotte Heath (ENG), Rachel Kuehn (USA) and Caley McGinty (ENG).

WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING® / WAGR® (14 players in the Top 20 as of 18 Oct.)
1 – Ingrid Lindblad (SWE)
3 – Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (ESP)
4 – Minsol Kim (KOR)
5 – Julia Lopez Ramirez (ESP)
6 – Anna Davis (USA)
7 – Helen Briem (GER)
9 – Lottie Woad (ENG)
10 – Meja Ortengren (SWE)
11 – Rachel Kuehn (USA)
12 – Megan Schofill (USA)
13 – Charlotte Heath (ENG)
15 – Hannah Darling (SCO)
17 – Fiona Xu (NZL)
19 – Caitlyn Macnab (RSA)

WINNER OF MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SAME YEAR

The United States of America is attempting to win the Eisenhower Trophy and Espirito Santo Trophy together in the same year for the eighth time. The U.S. is the only country to accomplish this feat and last did so in 1984. Last week, the American team of Nick Dunlap, David Ford and Gordon Sargent won the men’s championship by 11 strokes.

OLDEST AND YOUNGEST

Celine Manche, of Belgium, is the oldest player at 27 and Sofia Cherif Essakali, of Morocco, is the youngest at 14. Louise Landgraf, of France, Hyosong Lee, of the Republic of Korea, and Singapore’s Xington Chen are also 14 years old.

Storylines – Alphabetical (By Country)

AUSTRALIA
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, a senior at the Oklahoma State University, won the 2023 Big 12 Conference individual title and qualified for the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.

Justice Bosio, the 2023 South Australia Women’s Amateur champion, is a two-time Australia Women’s Amateur runner-up.

BELGIUM
Savannah De Bock, a two-time Belgian Women’s Amateur champion, was a member of the last two European Junior Solheim Cup teams. She won the 2022 European Ladies’ Amateur and competed in the 2022 AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield in Scotland.

Celine Manche, 27, works as a senior consultant for a financial services company. She won this year’s Belgian Women’s Amateur champion, was the low amateur in the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open and a runner-up in the 2023 European Mid-Amateur Championship.

BOLIVIA
Florencia Cuellar, 15, who has six wins in Bolivia competitions in 2023, won the San Adres South American Championship when she was 10 years old.

CANADA

Monet Chun, a senior at the University of Michigan, was one of two amateurs to make the 36-hole cut in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. This April, she became the first Canadian to make the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, earning a top-20 finish. In 2022, she won the Canadian Women’s Amateur and was the runner-up in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay.

Lauren Kim, who is in her first year at the University of Texas, earned individual medalist in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup earlier this month as she collected her first collegiate win. Kim, who is Canada’s top-ranked amateur, won the 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur.

CHILE
Michelle Melandri won the 2023 Abierto Sul Brasileiro and finished in a tie for fourth in the 2023 South American Women’s Amateur.

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Tong An defeated a field of professionals in the 2022 Hangzhou International Championship to earn her first pro victory on the China LPGA Tour. She also recorded a top-10 finish in the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in Singapore.

COLOMBIA
Maria Hoyos, a recent graduate from Lynn University in Florida, was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association after winning five events during her final season. Hoyos is competing in her first Espirito Santo Trophy competition since the 2014 championship in Japan.

Camilo Sanchez Collins, who won the Colombian Open at age 17, is serving as the women’s team captain for a third time.

CZECHIA
Patricie Mackova, who plays collegiately at the University of Maryland, is a second cousin of LPGA Tour professionals Jessica and Nelly Korda. Mackova, a two-time All-Big 10 Conference first team honoree, was the runner-up in the 2022 Czech Women’s Amateur and finished in a tie for fourth in the 2022 European Ladies’ Amateur.

DENMARK
Olivia Grønborg Skousen, Cecilie Leth-Nissen and Natacha Høst Husted all led Denmark to a gold-medal finish in the 2019 European Girls’ Team Championship in Spain. Skousen, who transferred this fall to the University of Miami, was the NCAA Division II individual champion at Nova Southeastern University.

ENGLAND
Charlotte Heath and Lottie Woad are teammates at Florida State University and both are ranked in the top 15 of WAGR®. Heath was the low amateur in the 2023 AIG Women’s Open. Woad won the 2022 R&A Girls’ Amateur.

Heath and Caley McGinty have both represented Great Britain & Ireland in the last two Curtis Cup Matches.

FINLAND
Henni Mustonen won the Austrian Women’s Amateur and the Finnish Women’s Amateur in back-to-back weeks in 2022.

FRANCE
Louise Landgraf is the second-youngest player in the field at age 14. She became the youngest to win on the Ladies European Tour Access Series in April with her victory in the 2023 Terre Blanche Ladies Open.

GERMANY
Helen Briem, No. 7 in WAGR®, was one of three low individual scorers tied at 7-under-par 279 in the 2022 WWATC in France. She and Celina Sattelkau return for the Germans following their bronze medal team finish in the Espirito Santo Trophy last year. Briem, the 2022 Italian Women’s Amateur champion, became the first German to win the R&A Girls’ Amateur in August.

Chiara Horder won the 2023 R&A Women’s Amateur Championship at Prince’s Golf Club in Sandwich and competed in two major championships last summer (Evian Championship and AIG Women’s Open). Horder, the team’s playing captain, plays collegiately at Mississippi State University.

HONG KONG, CHINA
Sophie Han, the 2023 IMG Academy Junior World Championship runner-up, finished tied for third in the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific.

INDIA
Avani Prashanth, the 2023 Queen Sirikit Cup individual champion, recently won the Ladies European Tour Access Series event in Sweden.

IRELAND
Áine Donegan, who plays collegiately at Louisiana State University, was the low amateur in the KPMG Women’s Irish Open in September. She made headlines in July after shooting a 3-under-par 69 in the opening round of the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.

Captain Naoimh Quigg won the 1995 Irish Women’s Amateur Open Championship.

ITALY
Captain Anna Roscio, played for Italy in the 2010 WWATC and returns as captain of the women’s team for the fourth time. Her husband, Eduardo Molinari, won the 2005 U.S. Amateur and is a three-time winner on the DP World Tour. Eduardo competed on the 2010 European Ryder Cup team and was an assistant captain on this year’s team in Rome.

JAPAN
Mizuki Hashimoto and Miku Ueta return for Japan after their bronze medal team finish in the Espirito Santo competition last year. Hashimoto is the 2023 Australian Women's Amateur and 2021 Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific champion.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Minsol Kim won the 2022 Korea Girls Junior and was the runner-up in the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific. Kim tied for 10th in her LPGA Tour debut at the BMW Ladies Championship last October. She was inside the top two after 18 and 36 holes and played in the final group in both the second and third rounds.

MEXICO
Lauren Oliveras Leon made NCAA golf history last month at the Cougar Classic, becoming the first woman to shoot 60. Oliveras Leon, who plays at North Carolina State University, made 13 birdies and two bogeys to finish at 11-under 60 after the opening round.

Captain Marcelo Trevino Derbez has caddied on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour.

MOROCCO
Sofia Cherif Essakali is the youngest competitor in the WWATC field. She is one of the youngest players to make the cut in a Ladies European Tour event. As a 13-year-old, she was the only amateur to make the cut in the Lalla Meryem Cup in February.

NETHERLANDS
Anne-Sterre den Dunnen, who plays collegiately at Wake Forest University, won the 2023 Dutch Women’s Stroke Play and Dutch International Junior.

NEW ZEALAND
Fiona Xu won the 2022 Australia Women’s Amateur and was a quarterfinalist in the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior.

NORWAY
Mia Sandtorv Lussand, a sophomore at the University of South Carolina, won the 2020 Norwegian Unified Championship in golf with her brother Mathias, who has Down syndrome.

PAKISTAN
Parkha Ijaz and Rimsha Ijaz are the only pair of sisters in the field. Parkha won the Smart City 62nd National Amateur Golf Championship of Pakistan.

PHILIPPINES
Rianne Mikhaela Malixi was the runner-up in the U.S. Girls’ Junior and reached the Round of 32 in the U.S. Women’s Amateur this summer. Her favorite dish is Tinolang Manok, a Filipino native chicken soup with ginger and moringa. “I eat it anytime of the day and have probably eaten Tinolang Manok more than anyone else in their lifetime.”

SCOTLAND
Carmen Griffiths, a junior at the University of Louisville, won the 2023 Scottish Women’s Amateur.

SINGAPORE
Xingtong Chen has participated in competitive swimming since she was 5 years old. She won her age group’s Singapore Swimming Championship in the butterfly and backstroke events when she was 8 years old.

SOUTH AFRICA
Caitlyn Macnab and Kajal Mistry are making her third WWATC start for South Africa. Macnab, No. 19 WAGR®, won the individual title at the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship last month as a member of the University of Mississippi team.

SPAIN
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, the No. 3-ranked amateur in the world, finished fourth in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and reached the Round of 16 in the R&A Women’s Amateur this year.

Julia Lopez Ramirez, No. 5 in WAGR®, won the 2023 European Ladies’ Amateur and made the 36-hole cut in the 2023 AIG Women’s Open. Lopez Ramirez, who is in her junior year at Mississippi State University, was named 2022-2023 Southeastern Conference golfer of the year with three individual wins during her sophomore season.

SWEDEN
Ingrid Lindblad, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, and Meja Ortengren, No. 10 in WAGR®, return for the Swedes after leading the team to a gold-medal finish last year in France. Lindblad (T4) and Ortengren (T1) both finished in the top-5 of individual scoring for the Espirito Santo Trophy in 2022. Ortengren shot 7-under-par 279, while Lindblad closed with a 69 for a 72-hole score of 280.

Lindblad, Sweden’s playing captain, competes as a collegian at Louisiana State University and has two individual wins already this fall. She was the low amateur in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club and runner-up in the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Ortengren, a two-time winner of the AJGA’s Rolex Tournament of Champions, was a semifinalist in the 2023 R&A Girls’ Amateur and a member of the victorious European Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Solheim Cup teams last month.

SWITZERLAND
Caroline Sturdza played on the 2021-2022 national championship team with Stanford University. Her brother Max completed for Switzerland’s men’s team in the Eisenhower Trophy last week.

CHINESE TAIPEI
Ting-Hsuan Huang, a freshman at the University of Oregon, won the 2022 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship and competed in four major championships in 2023.

Cindy Hsu and Hsin Chun Liao are teammates at the University of Texas.

THAILAND
Eila Galitsky won the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, the second player from her country to win the title. She competed in three professional majors this year, including a low-amateur (T28) finish in the Chevron Championship in April.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Intissar Rich is making her second WWATC start after competing with the Moroccan team in 2018. Rich is the 2022 All African Challenge Trophy champion and has previously competed in Ladies European Tour events.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Anna Davis won the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and competed in seven LPGA Tour events last year, including three major championships, making the 36-hole cut five times. She represented the U.S. in the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup and will compete in next month’s Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile as a member of the USA team.

Rachel Kuehn was a member of the winning 2021 and 2022 USA Curtis Cup teams. Last spring, she recorded the lowest single-season scoring average in program history at Wake Forest University while helping the team capture its first national championship. Kuehn is competing in her third WWATC and her second as a member of the United States team following a silver-medal team finish in 2022. She played in 2018 on the Dominican Republic team with her mother, Brenda Corrie Kuehn. Brenda represented the USA in 1996 and 1998 and the Dominican Republic in 1986 and 2018. Rachel’s grandfather, Jack Corrie, also played in four WWATCs, including the inaugural Eisenhower Trophy competition in 1958 as a member of the Venezuelan team.

Megan Schofill, a graduate student at Auburn University, won the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif.

Davis (6), Kuehn (11) and Schofill (12) are all ranked in the top 12 of WAGR®.

MEDIA INFORMATION
The IGF will offer daily reports/notes/quotes for distribution and posting on the IGF website and will also offer complimentary high-resolution photographs during the Women’s World Amateur Team Championships for editorial use that can be downloaded here.

Contact Joey Geske (jgeske@usga.org; +1 651.328.3000) for more information regarding the Women’s World Amateur Team Championships.