Women's World Amateur Team Championship - USGA

Women’s World Amateur Team 5
Sweden Wins The 2008 Championship
Sweden held the lead from start to finish and won the
2008 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship
by 12 strokes over Spain
and 14 over the USA at
The Grange Golf Club’s
East and West courses in
Adelaide, Australia.
With a 3-under-par 69
from Anna Nordqvist
and a 2-under-par 70
from Caroline Hedwall,
the Swedes finished at
19-under-par 561, just
three strokes off the lowest
score in championship
history set by the USA in
1998 (558). Their 12-stroke
margin of victory was the
most since the USA won by
21 in 1998.
“It’s a fantastic feeling,”
Swedish Captain Walter
Danewid said. “I am not
surprised we are here
because they are really
good players. It’s been
advertised that this event
would have the stars of
tomorrow. They lived up
to that.”
Sweden, the only team to
have finished in the top 10 in all 23 competitions, won
its second championship after taking the victory in
Puerto Rico in 2004. Their wire-to-wire win was the first
in 18 years, since the USA did so in 1990.
“I was asked: ‘What is the secret to our success’ ”
Danewid said. “It’s hard work. There’s no secret.”
Anna Nordqvist of Sweden celebrates a critical putt.
Spain, which was seven strokes behind Sweden after
the first round, could not make up the large deficit and
finished second at 7-under 573. “We tried as hard as we
could,” said Spanish Captain Macarena Campomanes,
who was on two Espirito Santo winning teams. “But
they were too many shots
ahead.”
The best rally of the last
day came from the USA.
Amanda Blumenherst shot
4-under 68 and Tiffany
Joh added a 3-under 69
for 137, the second-lowest
final-round score in history.
The Americans jumped
from a tie for 17th after
the first day to third place.
“The first day was like the
wind out of our sails,”’
Blumenherst said. “We
definitely fought back and
played hard the last three
days.”
The Americans posted the
lowest score in the final
36 holes (279) in championship
history.
Canada finished fourth
at 583. The remainder of
the top 10 was Japan (584),
Germany (585), England
(586), Netherlands and
Denmark (587) and
defending champion South Africa (588).
Although there is no official individual recognition,
Hedwall was the low scorer at 10-under-par 280.
The winning team receives custody of the Espirito
Santo Trophy for the ensuing two years. Members of
the winning team receive gold medals. The second- and
third-place teams receive silver and bronze medals,
respectively.
W. World
Amateur