Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG) has announced its nine-woman team to face the LPGA of Japan (JLPGA), Korean LPGA Tour (KLPGA) and Ladies European Tour (LET) in The Queens presented by Kowa, which will be held at Miyoshi Golf and Country Club in Aichi, Japan, from December 2-4 2016.
The team will be joined by playing captain for the second consecutive year, 8 time LPGA winner Rachel Hetherington, her fellow players who will represent ALPG are; Su Oh, Sarah Jane Smith, Katherine Kirk, Stacey Keating, Sarah Kemp, Whitney Hillier, Cathryn Bristow and Lauren Hibbert.
The 44-year-old Hetherington, mother of five-year-old Annie and wife of former Test cricketer Greg Ritchie, was delighted to accept the position.
“I’m excited and honoured to lead a wonderful group of our leading ALPG golfers at the Queens Cup. The opportunity to work with such an inspiring group of women is a highlight of my career and I look forward to returning to Japan and enjoying the wonderful camaraderie and Japanese hospitality. I actually played last year and I won my singles match!” Hetherington said proudly of defeating 2015 Oates Victorian Open champion Marianne Skarpnord.
ALPG CEO Karen Lunn said: “The ALPG is delighted to announce our team to contest The Queens Cup presented by Kowa. This team has a great blend of youth and experience and I know that our ladies who have made the team can’t wait to get to Nagoya and compete against the best players from the LPGA of Japan, Korean LPGA and the Ladies European Tour.
“The Queens presented by Kowa is a unique event with an innovative format and is sure to attract the attention of golf fans across the globe. The ALPG is once again proud to be involved in this prestigious tournament and we are looking forward to once again being a part of a major international match-play competition with the other tours.”
The Queens Cup 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. The tournament will take place at Miyoshi Country Club near Nagoya, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. A total of 32 matches will be played over three days: eight fourball matches on day one, eight foursomes matches on day two and 16 singles matches on day three. Scoring is done via a points system, with each match being worth 3 points to the winning team. If a match ends all square after 18 holes, 1 point is awarded to each team. On completion of the first 2 days, the leading two teams will contest the “Championship Final” on Sunday 4th December, while the other 2 teams will contest the “Third Place Final.”
Prize Money:
Winning Team : 45,000,000 yen ( 5,000,000 yen per person x 9 Players)
Runner-up: 27,000,000 yen (3,000,000 yen per person x 9 Players)
3rd Place: 18,000,000 yen (2,000,000 yen per person x 9 Players)
4th Place: 9,000,000 yen (1,000,000 yen per person x 9 Players)
