When: 4 October 2025

What: 31st Women’s World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy

Where: Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course), Singapore

Rapid Recap:

The United States of America won its 15th Espirito Santo Trophy on a tiebreaker over Spain and defending champion Republic of Korea at the 31st Women’s World Amateur Team Championship on Saturday at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.

The Americans, Koreans and Spaniards tied at 18-under 558, but after comparing non-counting scores, it was Megha Ganne’s third round, even-par 72 that would win it for USA. Spain’s non-counting score in the third round was a 2-over 73. As a result, Spain and Korea each received a silver medal. England and the People’s Republic of China finished tied-fourth, two strokes back.

“We are beyond happy. We don’t get to do this often, to play for country, so we were just excited to be here,” said Ganne, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion. “We were so impressed at the level of golf from Korea and Spain. It’s a heartbreaking tiebreaker for them, but we knew that the third score yesterday and today could matter.”

Catherine Park, who was originally the first alternate for USA this week, sank an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th to finish 1 under par on Saturday, matching Carolina López-Chacarra’s non-counting, final round 1-under 71 and forcing the tiebreaker to go to the third round. Korea’s Seojin Park posted a non-counting 2-over in the final round, which eliminated them from contention in the tiebreaker.

“With my rules official background, I was very conscious of the tie-breaking element,” said USA captain Kendra Graham, who worked in Rules and Competitions for the USGA for over 10 years. “The first phone call I had with each of them, I told them every single player was in it every single day… if it ever comes to a tiebreaker, we are going to that score.”

The USA, which entered the final round three strokes back from the Koreans, surged back into its first-round form with a bogey-free round from Ganne. Park, a senior at the University of Southern California, recorded three birdies on her last three holes, while O’Keefe posted a 1-under 71 in the final round.

Spain, who have now finished inside the top five in the last three competitions, began the final round four shots off the pace and battled its way back into a share of the lead, even reaching 19 under par. But a third consecutive heartbreak in the championship would arrive after a bogey 5 on No. 17 from Stanford’s Paula Martín Sampedro brought Spain back to 18-under, leaving the decision to the tiebreaker.

“We gave ourselves a chance today, we put [up] three really good scores,” said Martín Sampedro, who won The R&A’s Women’s Amateur Championship over USA’s Farah O’Keefe earlier this summer. “It’s a shame that only two scorecards count… [I’m] super proud of the team, and I just think the important thing is that we gave ourselves a chance.”

World No. 14 Soomin Oh had a chance to bring the Koreans ahead on the 18th as well, nearly chipping-in for birdie from the fringe to bring the defending champions back to 19-under but rolling it just a few inches by the cup. Republic of Korea would have become the first team to successfully defend the title since it last did so in 2012 after winning in 2010.

Host country Singapore finished T-15 after posting a 1-under 142 in the final round, led by 16-year-old Xingtong Chen, who finished runner-up in the U.S. Girls’ Junior this summer. It marks their best finish in eight appearances in the championship.

Quotable:

Chris Zambri, USA Coach: “I'm over the moon. I'm so happy for the girls. They all contributed big time. I mean, unbelievable the way each one of them played… I didn’t say much going into the round. I don’t give pep talks. I just said, just do what you do. You’re all really great.”

Catherine Park, USA: “I’m just so happy. The pressure of making that 8-footer and then knowing we won was unbelievable. It was been a dream being here with [the team], winning this trophy.”

Xingtong Chen, Singapore: “Overall, I’m really, really happy… Having a crowd around… I’m really grateful to have the home crowd following us. ”

Murray Smit, Singapore Coach: “Yeah, I think it’s a really, really good week for the girls. There'll be things we obviously will look back on… but as a team, they really dug in and fought hard, especially today, after a tough start. I mean, our previous best finish was in Abu Dhabi, where we finished 20th. So finishing in tied-15th is a massive step forward for Singapore women's golf, and we can look to build from here in Morocco, hopefully, in two years' time.”

Rianne Malixi, Philippines: “I was disappointed today… but I had a strong finish. This week, it was really good. I think this is my best finish so far this year. I'm glad that I'm slowly seeing the game I want to see. I know there's a lot of room for improvement, and I'm really looking forward to it.”

Notable:

• With their 15th gold medal in the competition, USA is now one gold medal away on the women’s side from matching the men’s total of 16. USA will look to become the first team since 1994 to win both the men’s and women’s competition in the same year, with the World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy being contested at Tanah Merah next week. The last country to accomplish the feat was also USA.
• Korea now has ten medals in their 18 WWATC appearances – five gold, three silver and two bronze. Its previous five gold medals came in 1996, 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2023. This is Korea’s eighth consecutive top-10 finish in the Espirito Santo Trophy.
• Spain’s silver medal is its second all-time and brings its total medal count to seven, moving it into a tie with Great Britain & Ireland. It also marks a second consecutive podium appearance in the championship following their bronze-medal performance in 2023.
• China’s Ying Xu was the low individual for the championship at 13-under after recording a 5-under 67 in the final round. Xu finished T-3 in the Girls’ Junior PGA Championship earlier this summer and advanced to the Round of 32 at this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur.
• Rianne Malixi, of Philippines, led her country to a T-7 finish, its first top-10 since 2014. Malixi, who finished T-2 individually at 9-under, made history in 2024 when she became the second player to ever win both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same year.

What’s Next:

The 2025 World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy will be held at Tanah Merah Country Club from 8-11 October.

Media Contacts

Adrian Godoy – agodoy@usga.org

International Golf Federation – communications@igfmail.org

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About the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC)

The World Amateur Team Championships are a biennial international amateur golf competition conducted by the International Golf Federation. The women contest the Espirito Santo Trophy while the men compete for the Eisenhower Trophy. This year marks the 31^st edition of the women’s WATC which was first played in 1964 in France. The men’s Championship was first played in 1958 on the Old Course of St. Andrews and 2025 is its 34^th edition.

About the International Golf Federation (IGF)

The IGF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international federation for golf. In addition to the World Amateur Team Championships, the IGF also organises the golf competitions at the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games. The IGF is composed of 153 member federations from 150 countries.

About the Singapore Golf Association (SGA)

The SGA is the National Sport Association governing the game of golf in Singapore. Its objective is to encourage and promote the game of golf in Singapore. The SGA is currently comprised of 11 Full Members, 7 Associate Members and 6 Affiliate Members. It is a member of the International Golf Federation, Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, ASEAN Golf Federation, Asia Golf Leaders Forum and the Singapore National Olympic Council.

About Tanah Merah Country Club

As one of Singapore’s and Asia’s most prestigious clubs, Tanah Merah Country Club has built a distinguished reputation for excellence since its official opening in 1984. Its two championship courses, the Garden Course and Tampines Course, are celebrated for their masterful design, impeccable year-round maintenance, and commitment to sustainability—both proudly holding the prestigious GEO Certified® accreditation. Renowned for hosting world-class tournaments, Tanah Merah Country Club has a rich history of staging international events, including the Johnnie Walker Classic, Lexus Cup, and HSBC Women’s Champions. More recently, the club welcomed the Asian Tour’s International Series Singapore (ISS), and the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open (HFGSWO). With numerous industry accolades and affiliations with top foreign clubs, Tanah Merah Country Club remains the premier destination for championship tournaments, as well as exclusive private and corporate golf events.