The Ladies European Tour (LET) has announced its nine-woman team to face the LPGA of Japan (JLPGA), Korean LPGA Tour (KLPGA) and Australian Ladies Professional Golf Inc. (ALPG), in The Queens presented by Kowa, at Miyoshi Golf and Country Club in Aichi, Japan, on December 4-6.
Playing Captain Dame Laura Davies will be joined by four members of the 2015 European Solheim Cup Team: Karine Icher, Catriona Matthew, Gwladys Nocera and Melissa Reid, as well as Hannah Burke, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Marianne Skarpnord.
Nocera, Reid, Burke and Pedersen have all won on the Ladies European Tour this season, at the Lalla Meryem Cup, Turkish Airlines Ladies Open, Tipsport Golf Masters and Hero Women’s Indian Open respectively.
Davies, a winner of 79 worldwide titles including four Majors, commented: “I’m extremely pleased to have a tremendously talented group of players on our team, with a combined total of 117 tournament victories and 29 Solheim Cup appearances for Europe between us. The Queens presented by Kowa presents a very good opportunity for us all to play in a top level international team match play competition, which will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world and we are determined to give a fantastic performance.”
The LPGA of Japan Team includes Momoko Ueda, who in 2007 became the youngest player in the history of the tour to finish first on the money list. She will be joined by Ayaka Watanabe, Misuzu Narita, Akane Iijima, Shiho Oyama, Erina Hara, Miki Sakai and Ritsuko Ryu.
The Korean LPGA Team includes the 2015 US Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun, Sung Hyun Park, Jung Min Lee, Yoon Ji Cho, Jin Young Ko, Seon Woo Bae, Min Sun Kim, Sei Young Kim and Bo-Mee Lee.
The Australian Ladies Professional Golf Team will be led by Rachel Hetherington, a three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, who is joined by Nikki Campbell, Nikki Garrett, Whitney Hillier, Sarah Kemp, Katherine Kirk, Stephanie Na, Sarah Jane Smith and Lindsey Wright.
The LET’s Chief Executive Officer Ivan Peter Khodabakhsh commented: “Everyone at the Ladies European Tour is extremely excited about The Queens presented by Kowa which will be a unique and exciting match play tournament. There is nothing more exciting or compelling than match play, especially when countries and continents compete against each other as teams. Interest in women’s professional golf is stronger than ever, especially with the Olympic Games just around the corner and this is a fantastic opportunity to connect and collaborate with our fellow tours. Together, I am confident that we will create an unprecedented showcase of world class sporting entertainment and help to grow the game worldwide.”
The Teams:
The Ladies European Tour Team:
Laura Davies (Captain)
Hannah Burke
Karine Icher
Nanna Madsen
Catriona Matthew
Gwladys Nocera
Emily Kristine Pedersen
Melissa Reid
Marianne Skarpnord
The LPGA of Japan Team:
Momoko Ueda (Captain)
Erika Kikuchi
Ayaka Watanabe
Misuzu Narita
Akane Iijima
Shiho Oyama
Erina Hara
Miki Sakai
Ritsuko Ryu
The Korean LPGA Team:
In Gee Chun
Sung Hyun Park
Jung Min Lee
Yoon Ji Cho
Jin Young Ko
Seon Woo Bae
Min Sun Kim
Sei Young Kim
Bo-Mee Lee
The Australian Ladies Professional Golf Team:
Rachel Hetherington (Captain)
Nikki Campbell
Nikki Garrett
Whitney Hillier
Sarah Kemp
Katherine Kirk
Stephanie Na
Sarah Jane Smith
Lindsey Wright
About The Queens presented by Kowa:
The Queens presented by Kowa is a unique match play tournament featuring four teams of nine players, including a playing captain, from the Ladies European Tour, Ladies Professional Golfers’ Association of Japan, Ladies Korean LPGA and Australian Professional Golf Inc. A total of 34 matches will be played over three days: eight fourball matches on day one, eight foursomes matches on day two and 18 singles matches on day three. Scoring will be through a points system with up to 102 total points available. Each match is worth 3 points to the winning side. If a match ends all square after 18 holes, 1 point will be awarded to each side. The inaugural tournament will take place from 4-6 December at Miyoshi Country Club in Aichi, Japan. For further information on how it works click here.
