Australia will send a fresh-faced team to defend the Astor Trophy in Canada next month.
The four-woman Aussie team to play at Royal Colwood Golf Club comprises US college-based athletes Kirsty Hodgkins, Stacey White, Emily Mahar and Amelia Grohn.
Four of the five players – Hannah Green, Shelly Shin, Jenny Lee and Gennai Goodwin – who took Australia to glory in 2015 have since joined the professional ranks, with only Becky Kay still an amateur.
Golf Australia High Performance general manager Brad James said the Canadian event was a great development opportunity for our North American-based athletes and for a new wave of athletes to pull on their national colours at senior level.
“This is a great opportunity for our athletes that are currently playing golf abroad and don’t have the chance to compete at home in Australia, and to showcase their talents against a high-quality international field,” James said.
“It’s also a good development opportunity for our high performance team to connect with our college athletes to check in with their development and still provide opportunities to represent their country at a high level.”
Australia has been a prominent force since the tournament’s inception, recording four wins in the past six editions – 1995-2003 – and most recently on home soil, in 2015.
Formerly known as the Commonwealth Tournament, the Astor Trophy is contested every four years between teams of female amateur golfers from Great Britain and Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.
Each country is represented by four players who contest foursomes and singles match play in a round robin format.
Former LPGA Tour player Emma De Groot will coach the women when they head to British Columbia from 28 August – 1 September.
For further information on Golf Australia’s High Performance event classification, click here.