Asia-Pacific Bids to Retain Bonallack and Patsy Hankins Titles

La Manga, Murcia, Spain: Putting will be the key to Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) hopes of retaining the Bonallack Trophy and Patsy Hankins Trophy this week.

Teeing-off at La Manga Club on Thursday morning, the Bonallack and Patsy Hankins Trophies are two separate three-day matches, played simultaneously, between the best male and female amateur players from Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

The contests, which parallel the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup formats, will take place for the first time in five years after the previous edition was cancelled due to Covid restrictions.

APGC’s men’s non-playing captain Rishi Narain and women’s captain Liz McKinnon both believe the outcomes will be determined by which team putts better.

“We have a fantastic team and there’s fabulous team spirit,” said Narain, who arranged a video call for members of the APGC’s Bonallack and Patsy Hankins teams with Indian professional Anirban Lahiri on Tuesday evening.

Lahiri talked about his experiences of representing the International Team in the Presidents Cup and answered questions related to match play strategy.

“It was helpful for our players to hear from a player who has performed at the very highest level of the game,” said Narain.

Both Narian and McKinnon have had to deal with a variety of challenges since arriving here with the golf bags and luggage of several players going missing en route to Spain from various regions around the world.

China’s Sampson Zheng Yunhe had the added complication of discovering upon arrival that he was without his contact lenses, while Indian Avani Prashanth was still awaiting receipt of her luggage on Wednesday afternoon.

“There have been some difficulties, but the players have adapted well and are looking forward to getting started,” said McKinnon.

Narain added: “All the players hit the ball beautifully and I think it’s going to come down to who putts the best. The greens are a little slow but speed up during the day with the sun beating down.”

Both matches have identical formats, similar to those of the Solheim and Ryder Cups. The 12-player teams play five foursomes (alternate shot) matches on Thursday and Friday morning, five fourball matches on Thursday and Friday afternoon, and 12 singles matches on Saturday.

Winning matches score one point for the team, while halved matches score half a point each. With 32 total points on offer, 16.5 is the magic number needed to secure the titles.

This year’s match will be the 11th edition of the Bonallack Trophy and the third staging of the Patsy Hankins Trophy. While the Bonallack Trophy was inaugurated in 1998, the Patsy Hankins Trophy commenced in 2016.

Europe leads the Bonallack Trophy series by seven wins to three while Asia-Pacific has won both of the Patsy Hankins Trophy contests to date.

On the last occasion the matches took place at Doha Golf Club in Qatar, Asia-Pacific won the Bonallack Trophy 16.5 to 15.5, ending a five-match winning streak by the Europeans.

Making it a double success for Asia-Pacific, the women’s team, featuring Atthaya Thitikul, Yusa Sako and Patty Tavatanakit, thrashed their European rivals 23.5 to 8.5.

Located near Cartegna in the south-east of Spain, the South Course at La Manga Resort has hosted many major professional tournaments, including several Spanish Opens and PGA Championships, for both men and women.

The course was originally designed by Dean Putnam in 1971 and remodelled in 2005 by Arnold Palmer.

Asia-Pacific Bonallack Trophy Team

Joshua Bai (New Zealand); Jack Buchanan (Australia); Cho Woo-young (Korea); Harrison Crowe (Australia); Taichiro Ideriha (Japan); Jang Yu-bin (Korea); Lin Chuan-tai (Chinese Taipei); Nguyen Ahn Minh (Vietnam); Yuta Sugiura (Japan); Mako Thompson (New Zealand), Malcolm Ting (Malaysia); Sampson Zheng Yunhe (China).

Asia-Pacific Patsy Hankins Trophy Team

Mizuki Hashimoto (Japan); Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (Australia); Huang Ting-hsuan (Chinese Taipei); Nanako Inagaki (Japan); Kim Min-sol (Korea); Park Ye-ji (Korea); Caitlin Peirce (Australia); Avani Prashanth (India); Shannon Tan (Singapore); Rina Tatematsu (Thailand); Elaine Widjaja (Indonesia); Fiona Xu (New Zealand).

ABOUT THE BONALLACK TROPHY

The Bonallack Trophy is a biennial match played between 12-player teams from Europe and Asia-Pacific. The European Golf Association (EGA) selects the European team, while the Asia-Pacific side is fielded by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation.

The contest and trophy are named after Sir Michael Bonallack, one of the most decorated amateur players of all time. The Englishman won The Amateur Championship five times and the Brabazon Trophy four times. He also represented Great Britain & Ireland in nine Walker Cup teams and helped England to the European Amateur Team Championship title on three occasions.

Sir Michael also made significant contributions to the game off-course, including 16 years as Secretary of The R&A, and six years as Chairman of the European Tour and as President of the English Golf Union.

ABOUT THE PATSY HANKINS TROPHY

The Patsy Hankins Trophy is a biennial match played between 12-player female teams from Europe and Asia-Pacific. The EGA selects the European team, while the Asia-Pacific side is fielded by the APGC.

The contest and trophy are named in memory of Patsy Hankins, a former golf administrator from New Zealand. Her legacy as a trail-blazer in golf administration grew due to her long list of achievements and kind and gentle approach.

From fostering the development of the women’s game to playing a key role in the joining of men’s and women’s golf, Patsy was an influential individual who has left a long-lasting legacy in the game, not only in New Zealand but around the world.