La Manga, Murcia, Spain: Members of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation’s (APGC) Patsy Hankins Trophy team are chomping at the bit ahead of their title defence this week.

It was in 2018 that a star-studded Asia team including Atthaya Thitikul, Yuka Saso and Patty Tavatanakit defeated their rivals from the European Golf Association (EGA) to retain the Patsy Hankins Trophy in Qatar.

Five years on and non-playing captain Liz McKinnon’s team are seeking to maintain their 100 per cent record in the Solheim Cup-style match play event that is being contested for the third time.

The Asia-Pacific team for this week’s clash at La Manga Club in Spain consists of two players from Australia, Japan and Korea and one each from Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand.

Indian Avani Prashanth expressed the sentiments of her team-mates when she said: “It’s an honour to be a part of this august team that has so many accomplished players.”

Runaway winner of the individual title at this year’s Queen Sirikit Cup in the Philippines, Prashanth is especially proud to be the first Indian player to win selection for the Asia-Pacific team at the Patsy Hankins Trophy.

She said: “This tournament in the past has had players from Asia-Pacific and Europe who are now playing on the LPGA Tour and are some of the world’s best players.

“To be representing not only India, but the whole of the Asia-Pacific region, is very exciting. I feel very happy to be the first Indian to take part and I hope I can inspire with my performance many other girls to play on the Patsy Hankins Trophy team in the coming years.”

Also gaining the distinction of becoming the first player from her country to take part in the Patsy Hankins Trophy is Indonesian Elaine Widjaja.

“It’s so compelling and thrilling at the same time,” said Widjaja, a member of the Indonesian team at this year’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. “We played a similar format in the team event at the SEA Games and it was so much fun. I can’t wait to play in the Patsy Hankins Trophy.”

Caitlin Peirce and Maddison Hinson-Tolchard are honoured to be following in the footsteps of Hannah Green (2016) and Grace Kim (2018) as only the third and fourth Australians to make the Asia-Pacific team.

“I am very excited to be a part of the team for the Patsy Hankins Trophy. It’s pretty cool to look at the achievements of Hannah and Grace, and with them being the only other Australians to have played in it previously, it’s great company to be in. I am proud to be able to represent Australia,” said Peirce.

Hinson-Tolchard added: “It’s an honour to be selected to play in this event. To be only the third Australian in history is a huge achievement for me and I’m really looking forward to representing Asia-Pacific.”

Hinson-Tolchard is among several members of the Asia-Pacific team who will be visiting Spain and Europe for the first time. “I've never been to Spain before so I think it will be an amazing experience,” she said.

For Japan’s Mizuki Hashimoto and Korean Kim Min-sol it will also be a new adventure.

Hashimoto, the 2021 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific champion, said: “I am very excited to be joining the APGC team and thank everyone involved for making it happen.

“I’ve been to Europe before but never to Spain so I’m looking forward to coming into contact with the culture of a different country.”

Kim, currently sixth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, added: “It will be my first time visiting Europe. I’m excited to play in Spain and look forward to having a new experience in my career. I’m honoured to be selected as a participant in the Patsy Hankins Trophy.”

Fellow Korean Park Ye-ji added: “I’m happy to be selected for a team with so many great players and I want us to make good results together.”

Asia-Pacific Team for Patsy Hankins Trophy

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).