2008 World Amateur Team Championships

The Eisenhower and Espirito Santo Trophy’s are coming to Australia for only the second time in the history of the World Amateur Team Championships. The biennial events have been running for 50 years and will feature a record 126 teams from countries across the globe when it is held at the superb Grange and Royal Adelaide golf courses from the 8th – 19th of October.

The prestigious events were last held in Australia in 1968 when Melbourne hosted the tournaments. The Eisenhower Trophy is named after former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower who held office in the first year the tournament was played and was a keen amateur golfer. It is awarded to the winning men’s team. The Espirito Santo Trophy is awarded to the winning women’s team for which I cannot for the life of me find why it was named. Literally it means the “Holy Spirit” Trophy, but that’s all I’ve got. Each team has 4 golfers with the 3 best stroke scores contributing to the team score on the day.

This is no small or trivial event, in the past featuring Karrie Webb, Annika Soernstam, Nancy Lopez, Jack Nicklaus, Vijay Singh, Robert Allenby and Tiger Woods. It epitomises the way world golf should be played and held all over the world. It was initially setup between the R&A and the USPGA to bring the world to golf and vice versa and the Eisenhower Trophy is inscribed with this:

“To foster friendship and sportsmanship among the Peoples of the World.”

Indeed, Bobby Jones said this in 1958:

“Golf, being a game founded and thriving upon the virtues of courtesy, mutual respect, consideration and understanding, must be an ideal medium for bringing together the opposite corners of our free world.”

This will be well worth checking out, go to the world amateur golf website for more information.