World Amateur Team tournament moved to Singapore

The World Amateur Team Championships is relocating from Hong Kong to Singapore for its 2020 edition.

The Singapore Golf Association will host the two tournaments for amateur golfers at Tanah Merah Country Club and Sentosa Golf Club.

The Espirito Santo Trophy for women is scheduled from October 14-17 at Tanah Merah with the Eisenhower Trophy for men to take place at Sentosa from October 21-24.

The International Golf Federation (IGF), the organiser, is moving the 2020 edition as a precaution due to the continued uncertainty in Hong Kong.

Antony Scanlon, the IGF’s executive director, said: “We appreciate the Singapore Golf Association’s willingness to host the championships and its efforts in securing government and local support to enable this to happen on the same dates as scheduled. At the same time, we want to acknowledge and thank the Hong Kong Golf Association for all the work it did and its understanding for the decision that we have made.

“We look forward to the opportunity to hold the team championships in Hong Kong at a future date and will be inviting the Hong Kong Golf Associaton to submit a proposal for staging the 2024 edition.”

Kenneth Lam, president of the Hong Kong Golf Association, said: “While the decision to relocate the competitions is naturally disappointing, we wish our friends at the Singapore Golf Association the very best, and we are sure they will put on two fantastic weeks of first-rate competition. We eagerly anticipate the return of the World Amateur Team Championships to Hong Kong in the coming years.”

Singapore Golf Association president Ross Tan said: “The World Amateur Team Championships will be hosted in Singapore for the first time. We look forward to warmly welcome all the top amateur golfers and officials from around the world to our island for a great tournament. We also thank Hong Kong Golf Association for their well wishes, and hope that the championships will return to Hong Kong soon.”

The World Amateur Team Championships, which date back to 1958, are a biennial competition that includes up to 72 countries competing in 72 holes of strokeplay competition. Each country fields two or three players with the two lowest scores counting per round.