Youthful Australian Squad Gearing Up for WAAP Test

Singapore: In-form Justice Bosio will spearhead a six-pronged Australian bid for glory in the fifth Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP).

Joining Bosio in the line-up are fellow-Queenslander Sarah Hammett, Victorians Keeley Marx and Jazy Roberts, along with West Australian Abbie Teasdale and South Australian Caitlin Peirce.

To be held at the Singapore Island Country Club from March 9-12, the 2023 WAAP will feature 86 players from 22 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation member nations.

To date, the best performance from an Australian in the WAAP was Kelsey Bennett’s joint runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

At last year’s WAAP in Thailand, Bosio tied for 19th, finishing as the leading Australian, one stroke ahead of Bennett who has since turned professional.

It’s a result Bosio will be confident of improving upon after an excellent run of form that has seen her finish joint runner-up in the Australian Amateur and fifth in The Avondale Bowl as well 11th in the ISPS Handa Australian Open.

Those performances have seen Bosio rise to 60th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) in which she is followed by Peirce (126th), Hammett (129th), Roberts (154th), Marx (158th) and Teasdale (233rd).

The rewards for the winner of this year’s WAAP are enticing with exemptions into three Major championships – AIG Women’s Open, Chevron Championship and Amundi Evian Championship – as well as invitations to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Korean LPGA’s Hana Financial Group Championship.

Brad James, Golf Australia’s General Manager High Performance, said: “The opportunities available to the six players chosen to represent Australia on the Asia-Pacific stage are simply incredible and we cannot wait to see them test themselves amongst a strong field.

“The squad is youthful with Justice and Keeley only recently emerging from the junior ranks. Sarah and Jazy are still juniors themselves and Caitlin and Abbie are only 20. That’s very exciting because they bring a fresh energy and they’re hungry to learn, improve and perform.

“The six of them all made impressive strides in 2022 and having the chance to represent their country with exemptions into Major championships on the line will be a brilliant step in their development.”

Karrie Webb scholarship recipient Peirce and teen sensation Hammett will be eager to register a career-best showing on the international stage after first gaining a taste of foreign conditions last year.

Two of the newcomers have already made their mark in international competition with Marx winning the IMG Academy Junior World Championship and Teasdale claiming the English Women’s Amateur Championship in 2022.

Marx was co-captain of the victorious Victorian team at last year’s Australian Interstate Teams Matches and earning the chance to don the Australian uniform has been on her radar for some time.

“It was great to get an international win and get my name out there,” Marx said. “It’s pretty unreal to be able to represent the green and gold. I was hoping to get a start last year but it’s good that my golf is proving itself to get in the team this year.

“I’ve been working really hard now that I’ve finished school and I want to be making as many teams as I can. There’s nothing holding me back so I’ve put in a lot of effort.”

Teasdale, meanwhile, feels vindicated for her decision last year to head to the United Kingdom early to avoid having to quarantine upon returning home to Perth from her victory at the Riversdale Cup in Melbourne.

She said: “I’ve been to Asia before and really liked the food, the golf courses, everything. I’m excited to head back there.

“Winning in England gave me a lot of confidence and now being chosen to represent Australia makes it feel like it was all worth it.”

Roberts is the sole member of the team without tasting international competition but the teenager from Bendigo has pieced together an impressive record on home shores with victories in junior competition.