Epalinges, Switzerland: The European Golf Association (EGA) has confirmed the first nine players for the European Bonallack Trophy team that will take on Asia-Pacific at La Manga Resort, Spain from August 3-5.
The Bonallack Trophy is a three-day match between the best male amateur players from Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The contest, which parallels the Ryder Cup format, will take place for the first time in five years after the previous edition was cancelled due to Covid restrictions.
Selection for the team recognises the players’ outstanding achievements in the amateur game. Seven of the nine named European players are in the top-50 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). The final three selections will be made following this week’s European Team Championships.
England’s John Gough is the highest ranked player on the team and will also be the highest ranked player in the match. Inside the WAGR top-15, Gough will be joined by England team-mate Barclay Brown, who is also inside WAGR’s top-30.
The five other players in the WAGR top-50 are Denmark’s Frederik Kjettrup, Norwegians Herman Wibe Sekne and Michael Alexander Mjaaseth, and Swedes Albert Hansson and Tobias Jonsson.
The selected players will follow in the footsteps of some of the biggest names in golf including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose, who all formerly represented the European side in the match.
The players will be led by non-playing captain Yves Hofstetter. The former Swiss international, who has represented his country countless times in international tournaments, formerly captained the Continent of Europe St Andrews Trophy team twice and is the active Chairman of the EGA’s Championship Committee.
The European team will be eager to win back the trophy after the Asia-Pacific side won by the narrowest of margins in the last edition in 2018. A 16.5-15.5 win at Qatar’s Doha Golf Club was decided by the final putt, ending a five-match winning streak by the Europeans.
The Bonallack Trophy is a biennial match played between 12-player teams from Europe and Asia-Pacific. The EGA selects the European team, while the Asia-Pacific side is fielded by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC).
The contest and trophy are named after Sir Michael Bonallack, one of the most decorated amateur players of all time. The Englishman won The Amateur Championship five times and the Brabazon Trophy four times. He also represented Great Britain & Ireland in nine Walker Cup teams and helped England to the European Amateur Team Championship title on three occasions.
Sir Michael also made significant contributions to the game off-course, including 16 years as Secretary of The R&A, six years as Chairman of the European Tour and as President of the English Golf Union.
The Bonallack Trophy takes place over three days. Five foursomes matches in the morning and five fourball matches in the afternoon are played on both of the first two days. On the final day, all 12 players complete singles matches.
With 32 total points on offer (one for a win, 0.5 for a half and 0 for a loss), 16.5 points are needed to secure victory. The format mirrors the Ryder Cup, with one additional match in each of the four sessions over the first two days.
This year’s match will be the 11th edition between the two sides since the match was inaugurated in 1998.
The contest is played in parallel with the equivalent match for ladies, the Patsy Hankins Trophy.
EGA Team (first nine players): James Ashfield (Wales); Barclay Brown (England); John Gough (England); Albert Hansson (Sweden); Tobias Jonsson (Sweden); Frederik Kjettrup (Denmark); Alex Maguire (Ireland); Michael Alexander Mjaaseth (Norway); Herman Wibe Sekne (Norway).
Asia-Pacific team: Joshua Bai (New Zealand); Jack Buchanan (Australia); Cho Woo-young (Korea); Harrison Crowe (Australia); Taichiro Ideriha (Japan); Jang Yu-bin (Korea); Jin Bo (China); Lin Chuan-tai (Chinese Taipei); Nguyen Ahn Minh (Vietnam); Yuta Sugiura (Japan); Malcolm Ting (Malaysia); Sampson Zheng Yunhe (China).