2010 Women's World Amateur Team Selected


Newly crowned U.S. Women's Amateur champion Danielle Kang of Thousand Oaks, Calif., has been selected by the United States Golf Association to represent the USA at the 2010 Women's World Amateur Team Championship, to be played Oct. 20-23 at Olivos Golf Club and Buenos Aires Golf Club in Argentina. Joining her on the American Team will be Cydney Clanton of Concord, N.C., and Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla.

Sydnee Michaels of Temecula, Calif., was named the first alternate. Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, Hawaii, was named second alternate.

Roberta Bolduc of Longmeadow, Mass., the chairman of the USGA Women's Committee in 2007 and 2008, will serve as the USA Women's Team captain.

"I'm thrilled with the selection of our team," said Bolduc. "We have three players who have a great deal of talent and experience, particularly in stroke play. They are all very proud to be chosen to represent the USA and will do a wonderful job doing so."

The biennial competition has been played since 1964, with the winner taking home the Espirito Santo Trophy. Sweden is the defending champion, having won the 2008 title in Australia. The USA last won the championship in 1998, and has captured the trophy a record 13 times.

A record 55 teams from around the world have entered the 2010 Women's World Amateur Team Championship. It is played in conjunction with the World Amateur Team Championship for men, which will be played Oct. 28-31 at the same two clubs. The Asociación Argentina de Golf will serve as host of the 2010 championships.

The World Amateur Team title is determined by four days of stroke play. A country may field a team of two or three players. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores by players from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day total is the team's score for the championship. The Women's World Amateur Team Championship is conducted by the International Golf Federation, which was founded in 1958 to encourage the international development of the game and to employ golf as a vehicle to foster friendship and sportsmanship. The IGF, the International Olympic Committee's international federation for golf, comprises the national governing bodies of golf in more than 120 countries.

USA Team Member Bios

Cydney Clanton, 21, was a member of the USA's victorious 2010 Curtis Cup Team. Last month, she won the North & South Women's Amateur. Clanton, a senior at Auburn University, finished tied for third at the 2010 NCAA Division I Championship. Clanton, who earned first-team National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American honors in 2007-08 and 2009-10 and was the national Freshman of the Year in 2007-08, qualified for the 2008 U.S. Women's Open and played in the 2010 LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship. Clanton also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links.

Danielle Kang, 17, won the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. She made the cut at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club and earned stroke-play medalist honors at the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur. She also earned medalist honors at the 2010 U.S. Girls' Junior, where she advanced to the quarterfinals. Kang, who started her freshman year at Pepperdine University in January, was the runner-up at the 2010 West Coast Conference (WCC) Championship and was named the WCC Freshman of the Year. She was the medalist at the 2010 Bruin Wave Invitational, her second collegiate tournament, and was the runner-up at the 2010 Canadian Women's Amateur.

Jessica Korda, 17, was the runner-up at the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur. She was a member of the victorious 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team and represented the USA at the 2010 Copa de las Americas, where the Americans won the women's and overall divisions. She also represented the USA at the 2009 Junior Solheim Cup. Korda made the cut at the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Women's Open Championships, shooting a final-round 69 both years. She counts among her victories the 2010 AJGA Scott Robertson Memorial and the 2008 Betsy Rawls Championship. Korda, a senior at Bradenton Preparatory Academy, represented the Czech Republic at the 2006 Women's World Amateur Team Championship and is a two-time national junior champion in the Czech Republic.

Sydnee Michaels, 22, won the 2010 Canadian Women's Amateur. She has played in three U.S. Women's Open Championships, in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and made the cut in 2008. She was a quarterfinalist at the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur. Michaels, a 2010 graduate of the University of California-Los Angeles, earned second-team NGCA All-America honors in 2007-08 and 2009-10. Among her collegiate victories was the 2007 NCAA East Regional Championship. She represented the USA at the 2005 Junior Solheim Cup and was an alternate for the 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team and the 2008 USA Women's World Amateur Team.

Stephanie Kono, 20, was a member of the USA's victorious 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team. She qualified for the 2006 and 2010 U.S. Women's Opens and was quarterfinalist at the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur. She earned stroke-play medalist honors at the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship and advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 championship. Kono, a junior at UCLA, is a two-time first-team NGCA All-American, in 2008-09 and 2009-10. She counts among her collegiate victories the 2010 PING/Arizona State Invitational and the 2009 UCF College Invitational.

The above report is courtesy of the USGA.