ANOTHER MAJOR BOOST FOR WOMEN’S AMATEUR ASIA-PACIFIC
he rewards for the champion of the
Women’s Amateur Asia-Paci¿ c
(WAAP) continue to grow, with the
Evian Championship announcing it
would create a special exemption for
the winner. The Evian Championship
joins the AIG Women’s British Open in
offering places to the WAAP champion.
As well as the two major championships,
the winner will also receive an invite to
the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
The second edition of the premier women’s
amateur golf championship of the Asia-
Paci¿ c region will be played at The Royal
Golf Club in Japan from April 25-28.
Defending champion Atthaya Thitikul, from
Thailand, enjoyed a stunning year, ¿ nishing
as the leading amateur in both AIG Women’s
British Open and the ANA Inspiration. She
was also tied for eighth place at the HSBC
Women’s World Championship.
The Evian Championship is the fourth
of the ¿ ve majors in women’s golf and will
be played from July 25-28 at the picturesque
Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-
Bains. The Women’s Amateur Asia-Paci¿ c
championship has been developed by The
R&A and Asia-Paci¿ c Golf Confederation
(APGC) to unearth emerging talent and
provide a pathway for Asia’s elite women
amateurs to emerge on the international stage.
Announcing the exemption, Franck Riboud,
Chairman of The Evian Championship, said:
“We are truly honoured to partner with The
R&A on this great championship. “The Evian
Championship, the R&A and the Asia-Paci¿ c
Golf Confederation share the same goals and
values related to the emergence of young
talents. It is with pleasure that we will award
this new Tournament Exemption starting in
2019.
“We are convinced that the future of
women’s golf is linked to the young talents
teeing off at the Women’s Amateur Asia-
Paci¿ c.” The R&A launched the ‘Women
in Golf Charter’ last year and is committed
to increasing the participation of women
and girls in the sport. The Women’s
Amateur Asia-Paci¿ c is one of several key
championships conducted by the governing
body and a signi¿ cant initiative along with
the APGC to drive the popularity of women’s
golf in the region. Martin Slumbers, Chief
Executive of The R&A, added: “A big part
of the success of the inaugural Women’s
Amateur Asia-Paci¿ c in Singapore last year
was the outstanding performance of our
15-year-old champion Atthaya Thitikul not
only in Sentosa, but in the other prestigious
championships she played as well. “Atthaya
can now inspire so many other young players
to follow in her footsteps.
There is huge potential for further
growth in women’s golf in Asia-Paci¿ c
and we want to give the leading players the
opportunities to showcase their talent.” Kei
Muratsu, Chairman of the Asia-Paci¿ c Golf
Confederation, said: “Over the last few years,
we have seen how dominant women from our
region have become. Since October 27, 2014,
the world No1 as per the Rolex Rankings has
always been from an Asia-Paci¿ c country.
ALVARO ORTIZ WINS LATIN AMERICA AMATEUR
exico’s Alvaro Ortiz clinched the Latin
America Amateur Championship
(LAAC) in style on 21st January after
a keenly contested duel with Luis Gagne of
Costa Rica at the renowned Teeth of the
Dog course at Casa de Campo.
The two-time runner-up and one-time
joint third-place finisher finally secured his
dream victory with a 14-under-par total
of 274, two shots clear of Gagne, who
matched his closing round of 6-under-par
66. In April, Ortiz will become only the
second Mexican amateur to compete in the
Masters Tournament (after Juan Antonio
Estrada who played from 1962-64) and
has secured a place at Final Qualifying for
The 148th Open at Royal Portrush and the
119th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He is also
exempt for The Amateur Championship,
the U.S. Amateur Championship and any
other USGA amateur event for which he is
eligible.
“Complete joy” for Ortiz
The 23-year-old from Guadalajara got off to
a strong start with a birdie at the opening
deficit with a dramatic eagle three at the
12th and a birdie three at the next.
The 54-hole leader almost dramatically
holed his approach shot at the 295-yard,
par-four 17th and tapped in for another
birdie to move two clear of the Costa Rican
before closing out a fine victory with a birdie
four at the closing hole. “A complete joy,
for sure. It’s going to be nice to see the
Mexican flag at one of the majors again, at
the Masters,” said Ortiz of his reward for a
two-shot victory over Gagne.
Open qualification hope for
Gagne
hole and gained another at the 5th, but a
costly bogey at the par-four 8th left him
two behind a surging Gagne. Ortiz, whose
older brother Carlos plays on the PGA Tour,
kept his cool, however, and overturned the
In his debut appearance in the
championship, Gagne made his move with
three consecutive birdies from the 3rd
hole and reached 6-under-par for the day
with another at the 14th but the 21-year-
old slipped up at the par-four 17th with
his first bogey since the 8th hole, his 17th,
in the second round. The Louisiana State
University senior finished with a birdie
four at the last but it was not enough to
catch Ortiz.
GolfPlus
FEBRUARY
2019
37