Karuizawa, Japan: Ireland has been selected as the site of the 2018 World Amateur Team Championships.
The Montgomerie and O’Meara courses at Carton House, in Maynooth near Dublin, will be used for the championships.
These championships will be hosted by the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) and the Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU). The 28th women’s championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy and the 31st men’s championship for the Eisenhower Trophy will be played in late August and early September 2018.
The O’Meara Course has hosted the 2005 Irish Amateur Open and the 2005 East Leinster Ladies Championship. The Montgomerie Course has been the site of the 2005, 2006 and 2013 Irish Open, the 2004 Irish Amateur Open and the 2012 European Amateur.
International Golf Federation (IGF) Executive Director Antony Scanlon said: “I am excited that the World Amateur Team Championships will be going to Ireland in 2018, in a country with great golfing tradition and experience in hosting major golf events such as the Ryder Cup. I am sure the players will have a wonderful experience in Ireland.”
Pat Finn, General Secretary of the GUI, said: “Our organisations are proud to be confirmed as hosts of the 2018 World Amateur Team Championships. Ireland’s tradition of welcoming visitors and forging friendships is consistent with the ethos of the championships, which we are eager to uphold.”
Both championships feature the world’s leading amateurs and are played over 72 holes of stroke play. Each country is represented by a team of two or three players.
The men’s competition of the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship, hosted by the Japan Golf Association, was played at Karuizawa 72 Golf East (Iriyama and Oshitate Courses) in Karuizawa, Japan with 67 teams competing.
The 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship concluded on September 6 with Australia claiming its third Espirito Santo Trophy, by two strokes over Canada. A total of 50 teams competed in the championship.
The 2016 Championships will be played in Cancun, Mexico.
The World Amateur Team Championships are a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the IGF, which comprises national governing bodies of golf in 131 countries. The competition is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa.
The IGF is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the world governing body 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.