33rd Eisenhower Trophy: 18-21 Oct. 2023
Abu Dhabi Golf Club (National Course), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates @OlympicGolf | #WATC2023 | #Rolex | igfgolf.org/watc
The final round begins Saturday at 6:30 a.m. local time with a two-tee start on the National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The leading teams of USA, France and Norway will occupy the final tee times of 12:06, 12:17 and 12:28 p.m. off the 1st tee.
When: 20 October 2023
What: 33rd World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy
Where: Abu Dhabi Golf Club (National Course), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Rapid Recap:
The United States of America, propelled by a 5-under 67 from world No. 2 Gordon Sargent, tallied 14 birdies amongst its three players and strengthened its lead to four stokes after Round 3 of the World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Sargent, who leads the individual leaderboard at 12-under par, rattled off four birdies in his opening eight holes, highlighted by a 35-foot putt on the par-4 sixth.
“It was probably the best I’ve played all week,” said Sargent, who went 4-0 for the U.S. in last month’s Walker Cup at St Andrews. “I didn’t necessarily score as well as I hit it, but it was nice to play well on moving day and put ourselves in good position for tomorrow.”
The Americans, who are seeking their first Eisenhower Trophy win since 2014, stand at 24-under par at 408 with France and Norway sharing a tie for second at 412. The USA’s Nick Dunlap and David Ford each finished with 3-under 69s, bringing the team’s third round tally to an 8-under 136. Only two of each team’s best three scores count toward the total.
“They have been a terrific team, not just playing, but they’ve bonded really well,” said American Captain Mark Newell. "They know when to stay aggressive, when to stay patient, and I expect we’ll have another really good day tomorrow.”
France, with a 5-under 67 from Bastien Amat and a 72 from Hugo Le Goff, lost ground to the Americans while remaining in second place alongside Norway.
“Today was probably the most difficult day of the tournament for us,” said France Captain Antoine Delon. “Bastien did a great job for the team and Hugo hung on for even par. Tomorrow we’ll play in the last group with the US and Norway and it’s going to be a very good round.”
Norway, which is eyeing its first medal in team history, climbed nine places on the strength of a 6-under 66 showing from Michael Mjaaseth and a 4-under 68 from Herman Sekne, who is No. 24 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®. The 10-under team total led the field in the third round.
“I think we’re in perfect position for tomorrow,” said Mjaaseth, a sophomore at Arizona State University. “There were some tough conditions this afternoon. The wind really picked up so that was huge to get two good rounds in for the team.”
Australia remains in solo fourth place with a three-day total of 413 after a 4-under 68 from Jeffrey Guan and a 71 from Jack Buchanon.
Czechia holds fifth place at 414, followed by the Netherlands and South Africa tied for sixth. The defending champion Italians are eight strokes off the lead in solo eighth place.
Quotable:
Gordon Sargent, USA: I think we’re right where we want to be. We’ll look forward to going out tomorrow, hopefully having the low round of the day and taking care of business.”
David Ford, USA: “Because I know [Gordon and Nick] so well and I’m such good friends with them, it really helps our chances. I feel really confident in them, and I think they feel the same about me, so I like our chances. We know that we can count on each other tomorrow.”
Bastien Amat, France: “I’m really happy with my round today. My game was pretty consistent with the other days. We had a really good pairing too. I got to play with Gordon, which was awesome to get to know him a little more.”
Captain Dean Kinney, Australia: “I think we’ve got a good team bond happening. It’s a very different event being that it’s a real team event and I think everybody loves that. We don’t play a lot of events that are true team events so if you can get the right culture amongst the group and you’re really pulling for each other, it makes it that much more exciting.”
Piercen Hunt, Canada: “That’s my first ever hole-in-one. It landed a bit short [of the hole], took a couple hops and went in. It was crazy.”
Notable:
- USA is attempting to become the fifth wire-to-wire champion in Eisenhower Trophy history, and the first since 2012. The Americans have done so twice before in 2004 and 2012.
- France is seeking its first Eisenhower medal since winning gold in 2010.
- Gordon Sargent has posted rounds of 67-70-67 to lead the individual scoring by one over six players.
- Canada’s Piercen Hunt made a hole-in-one on the par-3 4th hole (136 yards/124 meters) with a pitching wedge. It was the first hole-in-one in Eisenhower Trophy competition since Colombia’s Esteban Restrepo aced the 7th hole at Carton House Golf Club in Ireland in 2018.
- The Republic of Korea tied Norway for the largest leaderboard move on Friday, climbing nine spots into a tie for 16th place based on a 9-under 135 team score led by Seonghyeon An‘s 7-under 65.
- Czechia is in position for its best-ever Eisenhower finish. The Czech’s current best (22nd place) came in 2018.
- South Africa, which jumped four spots into a tie for sixth after Round 3, is seeking its first top-10 finish since 1998.
- Temperatures at Abu Dhabi Golf Club peaked at 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) with a heat index of 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) during the third round.
What’s Next:
The final round begins Saturday at 6:30 a.m. local time with a two-tee start on the National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The leading teams of USA, France and Norway will occupy the final tee times of 12:06, 12:17 and 12:28 p.m. off the 1st tee.