2023 World Amateur Team Championship Fields Confirmed
The 36 men’s and 36 women’s teams that will represent their countries in the 2023 World Amateur Team Championships (WATC) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates have been finalised.
The men’s teams will compete for the Eisenhower Trophy from 18-21 October and the women will play for the Espirito Santo Trophy from 25-28 October 2023. The Championships will take place at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
Teams that finished in the top 10 in the 2022 WATC were automatically accepted into the field, as was the host country, the United Arab Emirates. The remainder of the field was filled based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® / WAGR® of the best two players from each country. Continental places assured a minimum representation of teams from all regions; Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
With the finalisation of the fields, the national federation members are now invited to nominate the players, team captain and coach/manager for their respective teams. Each country is represented by a team of two to three players, featuring the world’s leading amateurs. The Championships are played over 72 holes of stroke play.
“The fact that this is the first time since its 1958 inception that the WATC has been held in the Middle East is both significant and exciting, as it will hopefully generate more interest in golf throughout the region,” said Annika Sorenstam, President of the International Golf Federation who represented Sweden at the 1990 and 1992 WATC. “Many of the most recognised players in the game have represented their countries at the World Amateur Team Championships, including more than 70 percent of the men and women who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. We look forward to witnessing the exceptional talent on display in Abu Dhabi this October and thank the Emirates Golf Federation for its excellent work in preparing for the event.”
Across the two competitions, Europe has 31 qualified teams, Asia 19, the Americas 12, and Africa and Oceania five each.
Sweden won the women’s Espirito Santo Trophy in 2022 while the men’s team from Italy took home the Eisenhower Trophy.
Click here to view the Fields for the men’s and women’s Championships and here for a list of some of the most notable players in the world who have previously participated in the WATC.
About the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC)
The World Amateur Team Championships are a biennial international amateur golf competition conducted by the International Golf Federation. The women contest the Espirito Santo Trophy while the men compete for the Eisenhower Trophy. This year marks the 30th edition of the women’s WATC which was first played in 1964 in France. The men’s Championship was first played in 1958 on the Old Course of St. Andrews and 2023 is its 33rd edition.
About the International Golf Federation (IGF)
The IGF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international federation 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. The IGF is composed of 150 members federations from 147 countries, representing more than 66 million people who play golf.
CONTACT IGF Media: communications [(at)] igfmail [(dot)] org