Riviera Maya, Mexico: Hong Kong has been selected as the site of the 2020 World Amateur Team Championships, the International Golf Federation (IGF) announced at its Biennial Meeting.
“We are excited to have the World Amateur Team Championships in 2020 in Hong Kong and with it just coming after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, it will be a great period for golf in Asia,” said IGF Executive Director Antony Scanlon.
“Hong Kong is a long and loyal proponent of golf. The courses will prove to be a tremendous challenge to the best amateur players in the world.”
Yoshihiro Nishi, Hong Kong Golf Association (HKGA) Vice President, said: “We are extremely honoured to serve as the host of the 2020 World Amateur Team Championships.
“To be selected by the IGF to host the Espirito Santo Trophy and Eisenhower Trophy competitions is an indication of the spirit of friendship that exists in amateur golf. We are pleased to welcome this prestigious global golf competition to Hong Kong.”
The Old and New Courses of the Hong Kong Golf Club (HKGC) will be used for the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship while the HKGC’s Composite Course and The Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club will be used for the World Amateur Team Championship.
The HKGC is a Golf Course Facility Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.
The championships will be hosted by the HKGA.
The 29th women’s championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy and the 32nd men’s championship for the Eisenhower Trophy will be played in October of 2020.
HKGC’s Old Course opened in 1911 and the New Course opened in 1931. The Composite Course was first used in 1971. Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club opened in 1982.
HKGC served as the host site of the 1984 World Amateur Team Championships. The Espirito Santo Trophy competition was won by the USA and Japan won the Eisenhower Trophy competition.
The Fanling club has hosted the Hong Kong Open since 1959 and also served as the venue for the Johnnie Walker Classic in 1990. It has also hosted the Queen Sirikit Cup (1990, 2001, 2015), the Ageas HKPGA Championship (2014) and the Hong Kong Ladies Open (2015).
Other prestigious amateur championships hosted by the HKGC include the Putra Cup (1970, 1976, 1986, 1993, 2002, 2011), the Nomura Cup in 1997, the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Seniors (2000) and the APGC Junior (2007).
Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club hosted the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur and has recently signed an agreement with the PGA Tour China Series to host the Clearwater Bay Open in 2016-2018.
Both the Espirito Santo Trophy and Eisenhower Trophy 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 2016 World Amateur Team Championship, hosted by the Mexican Golf Federation, begins today at Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Riviera Maya, with 71 teams competing.
The 2016 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship concluded last weekend with the Republic of Korea claiming its fourth Espirito Santo Trophy, by a record-tying 21 strokes over Switzerland. A total of 55 teams competed in the championship.
The 2018 World Amateur Team Championships will be played in Dublin, Ireland.
The World Amateur Team Championships are a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the IGF, which comprises national governing bodies of golf in 141 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 (IOC) 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.