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For Immediate Publication
NEW ELITE WOMEN’S AMATEUR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP LAUNCHED IN LATIN AMERICA
17 February 2020, St Andrews, Scotland: The first ever Women’s Amateur Latin America championship presented by The R&A and the ANNIKA Foundation will be played at Pilar Golf in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 3-6 September 2020.
The inaugural event will take place over the Blue and White course and will provide the most talented women’s amateur golfers in Latin America with the opportunity to earn an exemption into the AIG Women’s British Open.
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “It is important for us to provide the very best women’s amateur golfers in Latin America with opportunities to compete and excel at the very highest level as part of our drive to grow and develop golf in key regions around the world.
“We have seen how the Latin America Amateur Championship has unearthed talents such as Abel Gallegos, Joaquin Niemann and Alvaro Ortiz and so we look forward to working with the ANNIKA Foundation to replicating this success and identifying the next generation of golfers in the women’s game in the years to come.”
Annika Sörenstam said, “This is an incredibly exciting elevation of the ANNIKA Foundation’s partnership with The R&A and marks a major milestone for our global circuit of girls’ golf championships.
“Not only are we furthering our influence in a region that we feel holds great promise for growth, but offering the winner a place in the AIG Women’s British Open speaks to the great strides we’ve made since our first ANNIKA Invitational Latin America in 2016. This is a big day for golf in Latin America and we’re honoured to be a part of it.”
The format for the championship will be 72 holes of stroke play and 60 players will be invited to participate based on their position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®).
The likes of Argentina’s Agustina Zeballos, who won the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America last year, and Paraguay’s Sofia Garcia, a former South American Amateur champion and winner of several events in US college golf, are currently ranked in the top 20 positions of WAGR®.
Mark Lawrie, Director – Latin America and Caribbean at The R&A, said, “It is an exciting time for women’s amateur golf in Latin America and we believe that this event will be very important for elite golfers to develop their skills and gain valuable experience, while also inspiring young golfers to reach the very highest level.”
The Women’s Amateur Latin America presented by The R&A and the ANNIKA Foundation follows the successful introduction of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship by The R&A in 2018.
Ends.
Notes to Editors:
About The R&A
The R&A group of companies was formed in 2004 to take on The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews’ responsibilities for governing the Rules of Golf, staging The Open, golf’s original championship, and developing the sport. The British Golf Museum in St Andrews is part of the R&A group.
Together The R&A and the USGA govern the sport of golf worldwide, operating in separate jurisdictions with a commitment to a single code for the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status and Equipment Standards. The R&A, through R&A Rules Ltd, governs the sport worldwide, outside of the United States and Mexico, on behalf of over 36 million golfers in 144 countries and with the consent of 159 organisations from amateur and professional golf.
The R&A merged with the Ladies’ Golf Union in 2017 and now has responsibility for running a series of world class amateur events and international matches in women’s and girls’ as well as men’s and boy’s golf. The R&A works with IMG to stage the Women’s British Open and with the European Tour to stage the Senior Open.
The R&A is aiming to invest £200 million in developing golf over the next decade and supports the growth of the sport internationally, including the development and management of sustainable golf facilities. For more information, visit www.randa.org
About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation (www.annikafoundation.org) to provide opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. The Foundation has partnered with key organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles for children, including SPARK, Florida Hospital for Children in support of its Healthy 100 Kids initiative and The First Tee in development of the Nine Healthy Habits curriculum for children, and an endowment of the AJGA’s ACE Grant.
It annually conducts six major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla.; ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills in China; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America in Argentina and the ANNIKA Invitational Australasia in New Zealand. Moreover, with the support of Stifel and the Haskins Commission, the Foundation created the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel, which is given annually to the best collegiate female golfer. Since 2014, the Foundation has also annually hosted the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, a college tournament featuring 12 of the top Division I schools. Each year, the Foundation also conducts several “Share My Passion” grass roots clinics designed to introduce kids to the game.
Notes to Picture Editors:
Caption - Pilar Golf will stage the first ever Women's Amateur Latin America championship presented by The R&A and the ANNIKA Foundation.
This image may be used for editorial purposes only. Please credit The R&A.
Further information:
The R&A – Corporate Communications
+44 (0) 1334 460000
media@randa.org
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