When: 26 August 2022
What: 29th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy
Where: Le Golf National (Albatross) and Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche (Red), Paris, France
Rapid Recap:
Helen Briem posted a 5-under 66 and teammate Alexandra Forsterling shot a 1-under 70 as Germany bolted to a four-stroke lead over the USA and Chinese Taipei with a Round 3 score of 136 at Le Golf National that is the second lowest in Women’s World Amateur Team Championship history.
“It’s amazing. The girls were on fire today,” said German Captain Pia Gassner. “They played their hearts out. They played with gusto. They wanted it and held it together even when the last holes are so tough. They did such a great job.”
The Germans stand at 13-under par at 415 with the USA and Chinese Taipei sharing second at 419. Sweden, which held the 36-hole lead by two strokes over Germany and the USA, shot 143 and sits in fourth place.
Briem, who was a member of the victorious European team at the 2021 Junior Solheim Cup, birdied five of her first seven holes and finished with eight birdies against three bogeys.
“It is not often that you play with World No. 1 (Rose Zhang, USA) and No. 2 (Ingrid Lindblad) in one flight,” Briem said. “I was a little nervous at the start because there were so many people. After my start I felt much calmer and went low.”
Gassner felt that an unassuming attitude coming into the WWATCs played in her team’s favor.
“Sometimes when you don’t have expectations that’s the best thing,” she said. “You don’t put pressure on yourself. They just went out and played and played well. Now, we must manage expectations for tomorrow.
Rose Zhang of the USA, who shot a 2-under 69, had a positive perspective of her team’s position.
“We just have stay steady and have the mindset that we are trailing but we have the skill set and the mental fortitude to push forward,” said the three-time Mark H. McCormack Award winner. “We are better coming from behind and this is team play. I don’t think anything is impossible. I have full faith in my teammates.”
Spain moved up to fourth, followed by France and Japan tied for sixth. Canada is eighth and Australia, England and Scotland are tied for ninth.
Quotable:
Helen Briem, Germany (about the team approach as the leader): “I don’t think it changes much. We have to do the same things we did the last three days. I think that will work.”
Captain Pam Murray, USA: “They’ve all played well. We haven’t had an exceptional round like the other teams have. Tomorrow’s our day to have an exceptional round. None of the three are happy with the results today and we’ll come out with a whole different ball game tomorrow.”
Captain Gabriel Huang, Chinese Taipei: “It has been an honor to play here, and this is a challenging course. I hope we will play better tomorrow. Tiffany (Ting-Hsuan Huang) didn’t let me down.”
Delegation leader Fredrik Wetterstrand, Sweden: “It is disappointing. There are tough holes in the finish of this course, and it might happen. We will be upset for an hour and then go practice. Our strategy tomorrow is to be aggressive. It’s one way or no way.
Captain Pia Gassner, Germany: “We told them to stay aggressive. We have a good plan, and we don’t have any reason to change that now. They are comfortable and if they stay comfortable, they can be aggressive. We don’t want them scaling back.”
Notable:
- France with a pair of 4-under 67s from Constance Fouillet and Maylis Lamoure shot a total of 134 and tied the Espirito Santo record for the lowest third round team score, which it shares with the Republic of Korea from 2010.
- Scotland, with a third-round 137, made the largest move (nine places) to T9.
- Le Golf National’s Albatross Course was the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup and will host the 2024 Olympic Games.
What’s Next:
Round 4 begins Saturday at 8 a.m. with a two-tee start on both courses. The teams with the leading scores will play at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche and the other half of the draw will play at Le Golf National.