The first ever Womenโs Amateur Latin America Championship presented by The R&A and the ANNIKA Foundation will be played at Pilar Golf in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 3-6 September 2020.
The inaugural event will take place over the Blue and White course and will provide the most talented womenโs amateur golfers in Latin America with the opportunity to earn an exemption into the AIG Womenโs British Open.
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, โIt is important for us to provide the very best womenโs amateur golfers in Latin America with opportunities to compete and excel at the very highest level as part of our drive to grow and develop golf in key regions around the world.
โWe have seen how the Latin America Amateur Championship has unearthed talents such as Abel Gallegos, Joaquin Niemann and Alvaro Ortiz and so we look forward to working with the ANNIKA Foundation to replicating this success and identifying the next generation of golfers in the womenโs game in the years to come.โ
Entries are now open for all 2020 amateur championships 🏌️♀️ 🏌️♂️ Follow the link here to enter 👉 https://t.co/htoXdXYEYj pic.twitter.com/YYHAUY6o6e
โ The R&A (@RandA) February 18, 2020
Annika Sรถrenstam said, โThis is an incredibly exciting elevation of the ANNIKA Foundationโs partnership with The R&A and marks a major milestone for our global circuit of girlsโ golf championships.
โNot only are we furthering our influence in a region that we feel holds great promise for growth, but offering the winner a place in the AIG Womenโs British Open speaks to the great strides weโve made since our first ANNIKA Invitational Latin America in 2016. This is a big day for golf in Latin America and weโre honoured to be a part of it.โ
The format for the championship will be 72 holes of stroke play and 60 players will be invited to participate based on their position in the World Amateur Golf Rankingยฎ (WAGRยฎ).
The likes of Argentinaโs Agustina Zeballos, who won the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America last year, and Paraguayโs Sofia Garcia, a former South American Amateur champion and winner of several events in US college golf, are currently ranked in the top 20 positions of WAGRยฎ.
Mark Lawrie, Director โ Latin America and Caribbean at The R&A, said, โIt is an exciting time for womenโs amateur golf in Latin America and we believe that this event will be very important for elite golfers to develop their skills and gain valuable experience, while also inspiring young golfers to reach the very highest level.โ
The Womenโs Amateur Latin America presented by The R&A and the ANNIKA Foundation follows the successful introduction of the Womenโs Amateur Asia-Pacific championship by The R&A in 2018.