This week the Coffs Coast will once again welcome a league of the world’s best female golfers to compete in the 2019 Pacific Bay Resort Australian Ladies Classic Bonville, presented by Geoff King Motors. The event, which is co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the ALPG, gets under way from Thursday and will be broadcast LIVE to over 65 countries across the globe on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th February.
Flags from at least 31 countries will be flying high at Bonville Golf Resort in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. There are 33 Australians in the field of 144, followed by 15 Swedish competitors and 12 Englishwomen.
The Netherlands’ lone representative Anne Van Dam (above) is the highest ranked, sitting at number 78 on the Rolex Rankings and she will be making her debut at Bonville. Van Dam is a three-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, including two wins in Spain late last year at the Estrella Damm Ladies Open and the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open De Espana.
Madelene Sagstrom (pictured below) and Caroline Hedwall from Sweden are ranked 121 and 122 in the world respectively. Both will be looking for top 10 finishes to earn qualification points for The 2019 European Solheim Cup team.
Graeme Phillipson, General manager of Golf, Golf NSW, said the range of nationalities highlighted what an impressive course Bonville is, and how important the Classic is becoming on the LET and ALPG calendars.
“I think a lot of those playing who didn’t take part last year were sitting back looking at the TV images of Bonville asking themselves why didn’t they play?” he said.
“The course really is as spectacular as it looks on TV, and I’m sure there was plenty of talk amongst the players about not passing up on the opportunity this year.”
The entry list includes 10 recent tournament winners, with Van Dam, Hedwall, Becky Morgan, Kanyalak Preedasuttijit, Astrid Vayson de Pradenne, Jenny Haglund, Ashleigh Buhai, Meghan MacLaren, Camille Chevalier and Florentyna Parker (pictured above), as well as Linda Wessberg and Cajsa Persson, who won a gold medal at last year’s European Golf Team Championships.
The top Australians are Hannah Green from Perth and New South Welshwomen Sarah Kemp and Rebecca Artis.
