Ireland in medal shake up in Espirito Santo Trophy
Ireland are tied for fourth heading into the final round of the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico and contending for what would be a first medal at this level.
While the Republic of Korea is on the verge of its fourth Espirito Santo Trophy after building a 14-stroke lead over Switzerland on 19-under-par, Ireland’s Annabel Wilson, Olivia Mehaffey and Leona Maguire are very much in contention for a medal
The Irish trio are on level par, tied for fourth with Denmark and just one shot behind third placed Thailand after Friday's third round at Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Playa del Carmen.
Wilson's two over 74 and a one under 71 from Maguire were the counting scores for Ireland with Mehaffey’s three over 75 not needed.
And while a one over par day saw Ireland leapfrogged by Thailand on the leaderboard, the Irish team is on course for its best result in the event if they can improve on a share of 11th by Danielle McVeigh and the Maguire twins, Lisa and Leona in Argentina in 2010.
Leona Maguire remains the leading Irish player in the individual standings as she shares sixth place with Ecuador's Daniela Darquea on three under par, six shots behind leader Choi.
Mehaffey is tied 22nd on four over with young Wilson tied a respectable 94th in the 163-strong standings after her positive contribution in round three.
The Koreans posted a third-round team score of 138, with 2016 U.S. Women’s Open low amateur Hye Jin Choi shooting a 4-under-par 68, that included five birdies in her first nine holes, and Min Ji Park, the 2016 Australian Women’s Amateur champion, firing a 2-under 70.
“Some of my players are not really satisfied with their games but I am 100 percent satisfied with their games,” said Korean captain Sang-Won Ko.
“Of course, everyone makes mistakes but I’m OK with that and, as I said yesterday, I just want them to enjoy the game and enjoy playing with the other players.”
The Koreans are seeking their fourth victory in the 27th staging of the championship. They won in 1996, 2010 and 2012 and, in capturing the Espirito Santo Trophy in 2010, set the mark for lowest score in the event’s history with a total of 546, which eclipsed the field by 17 strokes.
“At the moment I am happy to be leading the team and the individual leaderboards but this championship is more important for the team event so I am trying not to think about being individual leader and am focused on winning the team event,” said Choi, a 17-year-old high school student.
“Although there is a big gap I will try to think this is the first round tomorrow and focus more on my game and then maybe a better result will come.”
Choi was joined by Leslie Cloots of Belgium in carding the day’s best round of 68.
All three Koreans broke par and did not count the 1-under 71 posted by Hyun Kyung Park.
Switzerland kept its position in second with a third-round 145 that included a 3-under-par 69 from Kim Metraux and a 76 from her older sister Morgane.
Third-place Thailand, however, believes the chase is over and that the only open places are second and third.
“We’ve got to try to finish in the top three. We should just let Korea be the winner,” said Thailand captain Kanes Nitiwanakul. “We will try to be second. Our goals are a little higher now. Korea is so good, they have such talented players.”
Thailand, which has not been in the medal race since finishing second in 2002, posted a third-round score of 143 on a 70 from Kanyalak Preedasuttijit and a 73 from Parajee Anannarukarn.
In the day’s top 10 of the leaderboard: Denmark and Ireland are tied for fourth at 432, followed by Spain in sixth at 435, based on two sub-par scores from Maria Parra (70) and Luna Sobron (71); the USA is seventh at 436 with host nation Mexico and Canada tied for eighth at 438 and Japan is tenth at 439.
2016 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship
Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club (M) Par 72, 6,295-yard/5,752m
Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club (I) Par 72, 6,167-yard/5,637m
Team scores / Individual scores
1.Republic of Korea (KOR) - 138 I-137 M-138 I--413 (-19)
Hye jin Choi 70-69-68--207
Min ji Park 74-68-70--212
Hyun kyung Park 68-75-71--214
2.Switzerland (SUI) - 137 M-145 I-145 I--427 (-5)
Kim Metraux 69-72-69--210
Morgane Metraux 68-73-76--217
Azelia Meichtry 73-80-82--235
3.Thailand (THA) - 145 I-143 M-143 I--431 (-1)
Kanyalak Preedasuttijit 71-75-70--216
Pajaree Anannarukarn 74-69-73--216
Manuschaya Zeemakorn 74-74-75--223
T4.Denmark (DEN) - 151 M-137 I-144 I--432 (Even)
Puk Lyng Thomsen 73-67-70--210
Marie Lund-Hansen 78-73-74--225
Malene Kroelboell Hansen 80-70-75--225
T4.Ireland (IRL) - 146 M-141 I-145 I--432 (Even)
Leona Maguire 72-70-71--213
Olivia Mehaffey 74-71-75--220
Annabel Wilson 80-79-74--233
6.Spain (ESP) - 151 M-143 I-141 I--435 (+3)
Maria Parra 75-70-70--215
Luna Sobron 78-73-71--222
Harang Lee 76-73-75--224
7.United States of America (USA) - 146 M-145 I-145 I--436 (+4)
Andrea Lee 74-73-70--217
Katelyn Dambaugh 72-72-78--222
Mariel Galdiano 74-73-75--222
T8.Canada (CAN) - 149 M-144 I-145 I--438 (+6)
Naomi Ko 75-66-71--212
Madeline Szeryk 74-78-74--226
Josee Doyon 78-80-81--239
T8.Mexico (MEX) - 144 M-148 I-146 I--438 (+6)
Isabella Fierro 71-73-75--219
Maria Fassi 73-76-71--220
Ana Paula Valdes 80-75-78--233
10.Japan (JPN) - 142 M-153 I-144 I--439 (+7)
Nasa Hataoka 71-76-72--219
Hina Arakaki 71-78-72--221
Yumi Matsubara 74-77-77--228
11.New Zealand (NZL) - 147 I-147 M-146 I--440 (+8)
Wenyung Keh 72-73-72--217
Julianne Alvarez 77-75-74--226
Chantelle Cassidy 75-74-79--228
12.People's Republic of China (CHN) - 143 M-147 I-151 I--441 (+9)
Yifan Ji 72-74-73--219
Wenbo Liu 71-75-78--224
Shan Pan 79-73-81--233
13.Paraguay (PAR) - 148 I-146 M-148 I--442 (+10)
Sofia Garcia 74-72-73--219
Maria Fernanda Escauriza 74-74-77--225
Milagros Chaves 79-74-75--228
14.Australia (AUS) - 147 M-147 I-149 I--443 (+11)
Hannah Green 74-73-73--220
Robyn Choi 73-75-76--224
Karis Davidson 75-74-82--231
T15.Belgium (BEL) - 153 I-149 M-142 I--444 (+12)
Leslie Cloots 76-70-68--214
Clarisse Louis 77-79-DQ--DQ
Diane Baillieux 78-84-74--236
T15.Chinese Taipei (TPE) - 146 M-152 I-146 I--444 (+12)
Ya-Chun Chang 75-75-73--223
Jo-Hua Hung 71-80-73--224
Ching-Tzu Chen 78-77-76--231
T15.Czech Republic (CZE) - 148 I-150 M-146 I--444 (+12)
Karolina Vlckova 74-73-75--222
Kristyna Frydlova 82-77-71--230
Katerina Vlasinova 74-81-83--238
T15.England (ENG) - 147 M-150 I-147 I--444 (+12)
Meghan MacLaren 73-73-74--220
Alice Hewson 74-78-73--225
Gemma Clews 78-77-76--231
T15.Sweden (SWE) - 148 M-147 I-149 I--444 (+12)
Linnea Strom 74-73-74--221
Emma Henrikson 74-74-75--223
Frida Gustafsson Spang 80-79-75--234
20.South Africa (RSA) - 148 M-155 I-142 M--445 (+13)
Ivanna Samu 74-77-71--222
Cara Gorlei 74-78-76--228
Kaleigh Telfer 79-82-71--232
21.Italy (ITA) - 147 M-151 I-148 I--446 (+14)
Bianca Fabrizio 71-75-77--223
Carlotta Ricolfi 76-76-74--226
Laura Lonardi 77-79-74--230
22.Colombia (COL) - 151 M-151 I-145 M--447 (+15)
Silvia Garces 72-72-70--214
Cynthia Diaz 79-79-76--234
Laura Sojo 81-82-75--238
T23.Austria (AUT) - 146 M-145 I-157 I--448 (+16)
Emma Spitz 75-72-76--223
Leonie Bettel 73-73-81--227
Ines Fendt 73-76-81--230
T23.Norway (NOR) - 147 I-152 M-149 I--448 (+16)
Renate Hjelle Grimstad 70-75-73--218
Stina Resen 77-77-78--232
Marthe Wold 84-78-76--238
25.Ecuador (ECU) - 147 M-153 I-149 I--449 (+17)
Daniela Darquea 71-72-70--213
Anika Veintemilla 76-81-81--238
Coralia Arias 82-90-79--251
T26.India (IND) - 154 M-146 I-150 I--450 (+18)
Gaurika Bishnoi 75-75-74--224
Tvesa Malik 82-71-76--229
Diksha Dagar 79-78-76--233
T26.Netherlands (NED) - 149 M-155 I-146 M--450 (+18)
Dewi Weber 73-77-75--225
Zhen Bontan 77-78-76--231
Roos Haarman 76-85-71--232
T28.Puerto Rico (PUR) - 147 M-155 I-149 I--451 (+19)
Maria F. Torres 70-78-76--224
Valeria Sofia Pacheco 77-77-73--227
Yudika Ann Rodriguez 82-79-77--238
T28.Scotland (SCO) - 156 I-149 M-146 M--451 (+19)
Jessica Meek 76-75-74--225
Rachael Taylor 80-74-78--232
Connie Jaffrey 81-81-72--234
30.Argentina (ARG) - 159 M-148 I-145 M--452 (+20)
Ela Anacona 78-73-74--225
Agustina Zeballos 81-83-71--235
Magdalena Simmermacher 83-75-78--236
T31.Finland (FIN) - 150 I-153 M-150 M--453 (+21)
Emily Pentilla 76-74-75--225
Daniella Barrett 77-79-75--231
Matilda Castren 74-80-77--231
T31.France (FRA) - 152 M-152 I-149 M--453 (+21)
Agathe Laisne 76-76-71--223
Mathilda Cappeliez 76-76-78--230
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard 85-82-78--245
T31.Germany (GER) - 150 I-153 M-150 M--453 (+21)
Esther Henseleit 76-76-75--227
Sophie Hausmann 74-78-75--227
Antonia Eberhard 77-77-75--229
T34.Brazil (BRA) - 149 I-153 M-154 I--456 (+24)
Luiza Altmann 73-76-77--226
Lauren Grinberg 78-77-77--232
Clara Teixeira 76-83-79--238
T34.Hong Kong, China (HKG) - 148 M-154 I-154 I--456 (+24)
Mimi Ho 78-74-76--228
Tiffany Chan 71-80-78--229
Michelle Cheung 77-80-80--237
36.Peru (PER) - 152 M-154 I-152 M--458 (+26)
Lucia Gutierrez 76-77-75--228
Maria Salinas Valle 76-79-77--232
Micaela Farah 79-77-79--235
37.Wales (WAL) - 157 I-155 M-147 M--459 (+27)
Chloe Williams 78-79-70--227
Katherine O'Connor 83-76-77--236
Megan Lockett 79-86-79--244
38.Venezuela (VEN) - 157 I-153 M-150 M--460 (+28)
Stephanie Gellini 78-77-74--229
Valentina Gilly 79-76-76--231
Nicole Ferre 80-82-77--239
39.Russian Federation (RUS) - 159 I-148 M-154 M--461 (+29)
Sofia Anokhina 78-73-79--230
Sofya Morozova 81-75-80--236
Vera Markevich 84-80-75--239
40.Slovakia (SVK) - 157 M-151 I-154 M--462 (+30)
Natalia Heckova 80-74-74--228
Lea Klimentova 79-77-80--236
Laila Hrindova 78-81-82--241
41.Guatemala (GUA) - 159 I-150 M-154 M--463 (+31)
Lucia Polo 80-73-75--228
Valeria Mendizabal 79-79-79--237
Pilar Echeverra 85-77-83--245
42.Iceland (ISL) - 156 I-165 M-145 M--466 (+34)
Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir 79-76-69--224
Berglind Bjornsdottir 77-89-78--244
Signy Arnorsdottir 79-90-76--245
43.Slovenia (SLO) - 157 M-162 I-148 M--467 (+35)
Katja Pogacar 78-78-69--225
Ana Belac 79-85-80--244
Nastja Banovec 85-84-79--248
44.Chile (CHI) - 159 I-154 M-156 M--469 (+37)
Maria Jose Hurtado 75-79-80--234
Isidora Nilsson 84-75-76--235
Natalia Villavicencio 88-83-87--258
45.Uruguay (URU) - 162 I-161 M-147 M--470 (+38)
Priscilla Schmid 82-81-72--235
Sofia Garcia Austt 80-80-75--235
Manuela Barros 82-88-78--248
46.Turkey (TUR) - 156 I-154 M-162 M--472 (+40)
Selin Timur 76-75-82--233
Sena Ersoy 82-82-80--244
Tugce Erden 80-79-86--245
47.Morocco (MAR) - 159 I-161 M-155 M--475 (+43)
Ines Laklalech 79-76-78--233
Lina Belmati 80-85-77--242
Houria El Abbadi 81-89-83--253
48.Poland (POL) - 158 I-156 M-164 M--478 (+46)
Dorota Zalewska 78-80-77--235
Nastasia Kossacky 80-76-87--243
Dominika Gradecka 85-86-88--259
49.Bolivia (BOL) - 165 I-167 M-156 M--488 (+56)
Michelle Ledermann 82-86-75--243
Daniela Siles 83-81-81--245
50.Latvia (LAT) - 165 I-175 M-160 M--500 (+68)
Anna Diana Svanka 78-83-74--235
Laila Forstmane 87-92-86--265
51.Bulgaria (BUL) - 174 I-172 M-158 M--504 (+72)
Sofia Seldemirova 85-80-79--244
Ivana Simeonova 89-96-79--264
Stefani Skokanska 95-92-85--272
52.Guam (GUM) - 172 I-174 M-171 M--517 (+85)
Rachael Peterson 83-85-87--255
Kristin Oberiano 89-89-84--262
Rose Tarpley 92-90-92--274
53.Ukraine (UKR) - 173 I-178 M-183 M--534 (+102)
Elvira Rastvortseva 85-85-89--259
Anna Avdieieva 88-93-94--275
Daria Horokhovska 99-103-99--301
54.Costa Rica (CRC) - 183 I-178 M-176 M--537 (+105)
Daniela Baudrit 91-92-86--269
Ximena Montealegre 92-89-91--272
Pamela Calderon 95-89-90--274
55.Tunisia (TUN) - 185 I-181 M-175 M--541 (+109)
Kenza Ladhari 84-84-86--254
Hadia Mansouri 101-97-89--287
Nour Ben Cherif 115-109-105–32