Auckland trio selected for Queen Sirikit Cup

A proven side has been named to represent New Zealand at the 43rd Queen Sirikit Cup in the Philippines this year.

The Auckland trio of Fiona Xu (Titirangi), Vivian Lu (Royal Auckland & Grange) and Eunseo Choi (Takapuna) is looking to go one better than their runner-up finish in Singapore in May and capture a trophy that hasn’t been on New Zealand’s shores since 1999.

Caption: The New Zealand team (from left to right) of Fiona Xu, Vivian Lu and Eunseo Choi who have been chosen for the Queen Sirikit Cup in the Philippines in .
February. Photo credit: Golf New Zealand.

The event is being staged at the Masters Course at Manila Southwood Golf and Country Club from February 21-24, the same course the New Zealand men’s Nomura Cup team played in November.

Xu, Lu and Choi are representing New Zealand together for a third time, having played the Espirito Santo Trophy and the Queen Sirikit Cup in 2022.

Xu has risen to 35th in the world amateur rankings after some impressive international results. She won the Australian Women’s Amateur Championship, finished runner-up at the Riversdale Cup and Rene Erichsen Salver, made the US Junior Amateur quarterfinals and finished 10th at the Australian Women’s Open in December.

Lu also boasted some solid form in 2022. She became the first woman to defend the New Zealand Women’s Strokeplay in 27 years and has been growing in confidence throughout her 2022 international campaigns.

Golf New Zeaalnd high performance manager Gregg Thorpe said the three players had been making their mark on the international scene.

“Fiona, Vivian, and Eunseo have all gained immeasurable experience this year, in particular from their second place in Singapore,’’ Thorpe said.

``They’ve shown they gel well as a team and I know they will be looking forward to the challenge the likes of Japan, Australia and Korea pose to their goal of bringing home the trophy. We look forward to following their progress in the Philippines.”

Golf New Zealand’s High-Performance Manager Gregg Thorpe says this New Zealand side has every chance of recreating our 1999 success at Paraparaumu Beach.

The Queen Sirikit Cup is a 15-nation event that’s played annually over three rounds. The top two of three scores after each day count toward the team score.

Japan beat the Kiwis by seven at Laguna National Golf Resort, finishing 20-under-par earlier in 2022.