England’s women’s team secured their highest ever finish in the World Team Championships after they finished fourth in the four-day event held in Abu Dhabi (Oct 25-28).
Lottie Woad (Farnham GC, Surrey), Charlotte Heath (Huddersfield GC, Yorks) and Caley McGinty (Knowle GC, Glouc) performed with distinction at Abu Dhabi Golf Club as the trio put England in contention for the Espirito Santo Trophy on the final day, before eventually finishing fourth – beating their previous best of seventh.
After a slow start on day one, England made excellent progress on day two as McGinty played beautifully with six birdies for a five-under-par 67, which was supported by a two-under-par 70 from Woad, whose round contained 16 consecutive pars and finished with two birdies.
Friday saw Woad shoot three-under alongside Heath’s two-under as England moved into contention. Saturday was an opportunity to challenge, and Woad was soon four-under through six holes and with a birdie at the 9th, England were leading. At this point, Heath was two-under through nine holes and it was very much a case of pushing on, but a cruel turn of fate on 14 saw her ball pitch on a greenside water sprinkler, which resulted in a bogey and halted the momentum.
Woad finished with 68 alongside Heath’s 72, as England narrowly missed out on a bronze medal. Their combined score of -16 was just one shy of Spain in third, and two back of Chinese Taipei in second. Republic of Korea were crowned team champions with a score of -22. Scotland finished tied 11th, with Ireland tied 13th.
In the individual standings, Woad finished on -9 in a tie for fourth after shooting under par in three of her four rounds.
Meanwhile, England’s men’s team finished tied 15th a week earlier in the Eisenhower Trophy, as Tyler Weaver (Bury St Edmunds GC, Suffolk), Barclay Brown (Hallamshire GC, Yorks) and Jack Bigham (Harpenden GC, Herts) gave it their all at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Individually, Weaver finished tied 17th in the 108-player field after finishing -8 across the four days, while Jack Bigham (-3) and Barclay Brown (+1) aided the trio’s combined final score of -14. USA finished runaway winners with an impressive score of -36, while Norway and Australia were joint second on -26.
First held in 1958, the World Amateur Team Championships comprises 72 holes of stroke play competition. Each country fields two or three players with the two lowest scores counting per round.