Far Hills, N.J. – The Women’sCommittee of the United States Golf Association has named AmandaBlumenherst of Scottsdale, Ariz., Kimberly Kim of Hilo, Hawaii, and JennieLee of Huntington Beach, Calif., to the 2006 USA Women’s World Amateurteam.
The Women’s World Amateur TeamChampionship is conducted by the International Golf Federation, whichcomprises national governing bodies of golf in more than 100 countries. Arecord 51 teams from around the world have entered the 2006 Women’s WorldAmateur Team Championship, which will be played Oct. 18-21 at De ZalzeGolf Club and Stellenbosch Golf Club in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It isplayed in conjunction with the World Amateur Team Championship for men,which will be played on the same courses Oct. 26-29.
Tiffany Joh of San Diego,Calif., was named first alternate and Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif., issecond alternate.
Jeanne Myers of FarmingtonHills, Mich., USGA Women’s Committee chairman in 2003 and 2004, will serveas the team’s captain.
Blumenherst, 19, was amember of the victorious 2006 USA Curtis Cup team and earned a share oflow-amateur honors at the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open. She is about to begin hersophomore year at Duke University. During her freshman campaign, sheearned Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors from both theNational Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) and Atlantic Coast Conference.She was also honored with the Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award, which isgiven to the All-America and Scholar All-America with the highestgrade-point average in Division I women’s golf. During a freshman seasonthat saw her finish second at the NCAA Division I Central Regional andninth at the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship, Blumenherst won the ACCChampionship, Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational and the Mason RudolphWomen’s, which was her first collegiate event.
Kim, 14, became the youngestU.S. Women’s Amateur champion in history when she won the 2006championship at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club earlier this month. She was alsothe runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and made the cut atthe 2006 U.S. Women’s Open. She is a two-time winner of the Junior WorldChampionship, in 2000 and 2004, and became the youngest to win an AJGAchampionship when she won the 2004 Sun Willows Junior as a 12 year old.Kim, who recently moved to the Phoenix area, will be a sophomore at QueenCreek High School.
Lee, 19, was a member of thevictorious 2006 USA Curtis Cup team, where she went 2-0 in singles andclinched the winning point for the United States team with her singlesvictory Sunday afternoon. She advanced to the quarterfinals of both the2005 and 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateurs. She has twice played in the U.S.Women’s Open, finishing 50thin 2004 and missing the cut in2006. She is about to begin her sophomore year at Duke. As a freshman, sheearned honorable mention All-America honors after finishing second at the2006 NCAA Division I Championship, which helped Duke win the team title.
Joh, 19, won the 2006 U.S.Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship. Joh, who will be a sophomore atUCLA, earned NGCA first-team All-America honors after her freshmancampaign. She finished third at the Pac-10 Championship and was named thePac-10 Newcomer of the Year.
Harigae, 16, was the medalistat the 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior. She is a two-time Girls’ Juniorsemifinalist, in 2003 and 2006, and was a quarterfinalist at the 2006 U.S.Women’s Amateur Public Links. She won her first California Women’s Amateurat age 11 and has gone on to win the championship three more times. Shewon the 2006 AJGA Heather Farr Classic and was the runner-up at the 2005AJGA Polo Classic.
The World Amateur Team titleis determined by four days of stroke play. A country may field a team oftwo or three players. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores byplayers from each team constitutes the team score for the round. Thefour-day total is the team’s score for thechampionship.
The competition has beenplayed every two years since 1964 for the Espirito Santo Trophy. Sweden isthe defending champion, having won the 2004 championship at Rio MarCountry Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The USA, represented by PaulaCreamer, Sarah Huarte, and Jane Park, finished tied for second. The USAlast won in 1998 and has won the trophy a record 13 times since1966.
The championship is rotatedbiennially among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, American, andEuropean-African. The 2006 competition is hosted by the South African GolfAssociation and Women’s Golf South Africa.
For more information, pleasecontact the USGA at (908)234-2300.
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