Australia and Thailand Share Top Spot at Espirito Santo

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Australia and Thailand posted a pair of 10-under 134s to surge into a three-way tie with Spain half-way through the 30th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.

Bidding to raise aloft the Espirito Santo Trophy, the Australians and the Thais jumped six spots on the leaderboard for a share of the top spot at 13-under 275 after round two at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

The Australian duo of Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and 2023 South Australia Women’s Amateur champion Justice Bosio combined for 10 birdies and no bogeys.

Hinson-Tolchard, a senior at Oklahoma State University who won the Big 12 Conference individual title last spring, led the Australians with a six-under 66.

“It’s good momentum going into the next two days,” said Hinson-Tolchard, a 2023 US Women’s Open qualifier. “I got off to a hot start. I sunk two good putts to start the day and steadied out a little and then made a 40-footer on [hole] 13, and just kept cruising home.”

Navaporn Soontreeyapas led a late-afternoon charge for Thailand, birdieing four of her final seven holes to post a seven-under 65, the lowest round of the competition thus far.

Navaporn, the 2023 Singapore Open Amateur champion, holds a two-shot advantage on the individual leaderboard at 10-under-par 134. Korean Seo Kyo-rim is joint second with Indian Avani Prashanath, who posted her second straight bogey-free 68 on Thursday. She is the only player in the field yet to make a bogey or worse.

“Today was kind of like moving day for us,” said Navaporn. “I felt good, my putting was very good.”

Thailand, which finished tied for 20th a year ago in France, added a bogey-free, 69 from Suvichaya Vinijchaitham.

Eila Galitsky, the third member of the Thai team, celebrated her 17th birthday with a non-counting 70. Galitsky won the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific and competed in three professional Majors this year, including a low-amateur (tied 28th) finish in the Chevron Championship in April.

Spain’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, who holds a World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) of number two, and Julia Ramirez, fifth in the WAGR, both posted 69s, while teammate Carla Bernat Escuder added a non-counting 70.

Spain, which held the first-round lead by one stroke, is the only team with all three players inside the top 10 of the championship’s individual scoring.

“We’re hitting really good shots, but we just need to convert those into birdies,” said Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, who earned a top-five finish in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April. “We have confidence in ourselves. This was not our best day, but we are still one of the leaders. It’s great, but it could be better.”

Korea remains in solo fourth place at 11-under 277, two shots off the leaders, with England and the United States of America sharing fifth at 281.

Of the other Asia-Pacific countries competing in the 36-nation event, India is tied for seventh on 282, followed by New Zealand and Chinese Taipei (tied 10th, 283), Japan (15th, 286), Hong Kong China (16th, 287), the Philippines (tied 17th, 289), Singapore (tied 25th, 293), China (27th, 294), United Arab Emirates (33rd, 303), Pakistan (34th, 307).

After starting the day in 17th position, England made the biggest move among the morning wave behind a 67 from Caley McGinty, a redshirt senior at Ohio State University, and a 70 from world number nine Lottie Woad.

After opening with a 77 on Wednesday, McGinty, a member of the last two Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup Teams, rattled off six birdies in windy morning conditions, including three of the four par-threes.

“I went on the range after my round yesterday and figured some things out,” said McGinty. “I got a good feel with my irons and felt really in control of my ball. All my birdies were inside six feet.”

The US added a 68 from world number six Anna Davis and a 71 from Rachel Kuehn, who is competing in her third WWATC and her second as a member of the US team following a silver-medal finish last year in France.

Canada, which began the day one stroke off the lead in solo second, posted an even-par 144 to position itself in a tie for seventh with India and Germany.