It’s a high point in most amateur careers to represent your country at the World Amateur Team Championships.
But when the Australian contingents take to the course at Carton House in Ireland in the next two weeks, it will be with even more significance.
Both women’s and men’s teams have adopted the tradition of carrying the number that denotes their spot in the lineage of Australian amateur golf’s rich history.
For example, Kirsty Hodgkins will be the 53rd woman to play in Australian colours for the Espirito Santo Trophy alongside Becky Kay (54) and Grace Kim (55). All three will carry their respective numbers.
On the men’s side, Min Woo Lee will sport No.80, with David Micheluzzi to wear No.81 and Shae Wools-Cobb No.82 a week later in the quest to defend the Eisenhower Trophy Australia won in 2016.
But all six will carry one more extremely special number.
Jarrod Lyle, who died this month after a third fight with leukemia, was the 59th Australian men’s representative alongside James Nitties and Michael Sim in Puerto Rico in 2004.
Lyle was extremely proud of his Australian selection and always watched the team’s progress, even when he’d reached the US PGA Tour as a professional in following years.
Each member of this year’s team will also carry that No.59 prominently on their cap, an “honour” team manager Stacey Peters said had incredible significance given the outpouring of emotion around Lyle’s death.
“These guys have grown up with Jarrod’s story and he has been an inspiration to them the way he has tackled it and tried to help others on the way through,” Peters said on the eve of the women’s team’s departure.
“Wearing his number as a mark of respect is the least we can do.
“The thing that really hits home to me is that Jarrod was so young when he started his first fight with leukemia in 1999 – he was pretty much the same age as these guys on the team.
“This is a huge mark of respect to wear his Australian representative number for this event, one that meant so much to him.”
The honour comes on the heels of the eight Australian men who played in the recent US Amateur Championship carrying Leuk the Duck head covers to honour Lyle at Pebble Beach, a move sparked by Lee and fully supported by his peers.
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Australian players at the World Amateur Team Championships |
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| MEN | Rep. | WOMEN | Rep. | ||
| 1958 | Doug Bachli | 1 | No event | ||
| Bruce Devlin | 2 | ||||
| Robert Stevens | 3 | ||||
| Peter Toogood | 4 | ||||
| 1960 | Edward Ball | 5 | No event | ||
| Jack Coogan | 6 | ||||
| Bruce Devlin | 2 | ||||
| Eric Routley | 7 | ||||
| 1962 | Doug Bachli | 1 | No event | ||
| Phil Billings | 8 | ||||
| Tom Crow | 9 | ||||
| Kevin Donohoe | 10 | ||||
| 1964 | Barrie Baker | 11 | Gail Corry | 1 | |
| Phil Billings | 8 | Betty Dalgliesh | 2 | ||
| Tom Crow | 9 | Dianna Thomas | 3 | ||
| Kevin Hartley | 12 | ||||
| 1966 | Harry Berwick | 13 | Gail Corry | 1 | |
| Phil Billings | 8 | Marea Hickey | 4 | ||
| Kevin Donohoe | 10 | Dianna Thomas | 3 | ||
| Kevin Hartley | 12 | ||||
| 1968 | Harry Berwick | 13 | Elizabeth Blackmore | 5 | |
| Kevin Donohoe | 10 | Marea Hickey | 4 | ||
| Tony Gresham | 14 | Dianna Thomas | 3 | ||
| Kevin Hartley | 12 | ||||
| 1970 | Kevin Donohoe | 10 | Robyn Dummett | 6 | |
| Terry Gale | 15 | Lindy Jennings | 7 | ||
| Tony Gresham | 14 | Rhys Wright | 8 | ||
| Kevin Hartley | 12 | ||||
| 1972 | Michael Cahill | 16 | Heather Bleeck | 9 | |
| Terry Gale | 15 | Sandra McCaw | 10 | ||
| Tony Gresham | 14 | Gayle Gannon | 11 | ||
| Noel Ratcliffe | 17 | ||||
| 1974 | Terry Gale | 15 | Jane Lock | 12 | |
| Tony Gresham | 14 | Marea Parsons (nee Hickey) | 4 | ||
| Colin Kaye | 18 | Elizabeth Cavill (nee Blackmore) | 5 | ||
| Phil Wood | 19 | ||||
| 1976 | Chris Bonython | 20 | Jane Lock | 12 | |
| Tony Gresham | 14 | Sandra McCaw | 10 | ||
| Colin Kaye | 18 | Karen Permezel | 13 | ||
| Phil Wood | 19 | ||||
| 1978 | Chris Bonython | 20 | Lindy Goggin (nee Jennings) | 7 | |
| Tony Gresham | 14 | Edwina Kennedy | 14 | ||
| Peter Sweeney | 21 | Jane Lock | 12 | ||
| Phil Wood | 19 | ||||
| 1980 | Tony Gresham | 14 | Lindy Goggin | 7 | |
| John Kelly | 22 | Edwina Kennedy | 14 | ||
| Jeff Senior | 23 | Jane Lock | 12 | ||
| Peter Sweeney | 21 | ||||
| 1982 | Did not compete | Did not compete | |||
| 1984 | Neil Crafter | 24 | Louise Briers | 15 | |
| Tony Dight | 25 | Edwina Kennedy | 14 | ||
| Gerard Power | 26 | Sandra McCaw | 16 | ||
| David Smith | 27 | ||||
| 1986 | Brad King | 28 | Louise Briers | 15 | |
| Peter O'Malley | 29 | Edwina Kennedy | 14 | ||
| Ray Picker | 30 | Sandra McCaw | 16 | ||
| Stephen Taylor | 31 | ||||
| 1988 | David Ecob | 32 | Louise Briers | 15 | |
| Brad Hughes | 33 | Elizabeth Cavill | 5 | ||
| Lester Peterson | 34 | Nicole Lowien | 17 | ||
| Shane Robinson | 35 | ||||
| 1990 | Robert Allenby | 36 | Louise Briers | 15 | |
| Chris Gray | 37 | Wendy Doolan | 18 | ||
| Lester Peterson | 34 | Sarah Gautrey | 19 | ||
| John Wade | 38 | ||||
| 1992 | David Armstrong | 39 | Ericka Jayatilaka | 20 | |
| Stephen Collins | 40 | Lorraine Lambert | 21 | ||
| Stephen Leaney | 41 | Joanne Mills | 22 | ||
| Lucas Parsons | 42 | ||||
| 1994 | Greg Chalmers | 43 | Anne-Marie Knight | 23 | |
| Jason Dawes | 44 | Karrie Webb | 24 | ||
| Brett Partridge | 45 | Simone Williams | 25 | ||
| Lester Peterson | 34 | ||||
| 1996 | Brett Partridge | 45 | Kate McIntosh | 26 | |
| Jarrod Moseley | 46 | Simone Williams | 25 | ||
| David Gleeson | 47 | Tamie Durdin | 27 | ||
| Jamie Crow | 48 | ||||
| 1998 | Kim Felton | 49 | Michelle Ellis | 28 | |
| Brett Rumford | 50 | Kate McIntosh | 26 | ||
| Aaron Baddeley | 51 | Rebecca Stevenson | 29 | ||
| Brendan Jones | 52 | ||||
| 2000 | Aaron Baddeley | 51 | Helen Beatty | 30 | |
| Scott Gardiner | 53 | Rebecca Stevenson | 29 | ||
| Brad Lamb | 54 | Lindsay Wright | 31 | ||
| Andrew Webster | 55 | ||||
| 2002 | Andrew Buckle | 56 | Katherine Hull | 32 | |
| Marcus Fraser | 57 | Vicky Uwland | 33 | ||
| Adam Groom | 58 | Lindsay Wright | 31 | ||
| 2004 | Jarrod Lyle | 59 | Katy Jarochowicz | 34 | |
| James Nitties | 60 | Sarah Kemp | 35 | ||
| Michael Sim | 61 | Sarh-Jane Kenyon | 36 | ||
| 2006 | Stephen Dartnall | 62 | Emma Bennett | 37 | |
| Won Joon Lee | 63 | Frances Bondad | 38 | ||
| Andrew Tampion | 64 | Kate Combes | 39 | ||
| 2008 | Rohan Blizard | 65 | Julia Boland | 40 | |
| Matthew Griffin | 66 | Clare Choi | 41 | ||
| Tim Stewart | 67 | Stephanie Na | 42 | ||
| 2010 | Matt Jager | 68 | Julia Boland | 40 | |
| Bryden Macpherson | 69 | Stacey Keating | 43 | ||
| Kieran Pratt | 70 | Alison Whitaker | 44 | ||
| 2012 | Daniel Nisbet | 71 | Breanna Elliott | 45 | |
| Cameron Smith | 72 | Whitney Hillier | 46 | ||
| Matthew Stieger | 73 | Minjee Lee | 47 | ||
| 2014 | Geoff Drakeford | 74 | Minjee Lee | 47 | |
| Lucas Herbert | 75 | Su-Hyun Oh | 48 | ||
| Ryan Ruffels | 76 | Shelly Shin | 49 | ||
| 2016 | Cameron Davis | 77 | Robyn Choi | 50 | |
| Harrison Endycott | 78 | Karis Davidson | 51 | ||
| Curtis Luck | 79 | Hannah Green | 52 | ||
| 2018 | Min Woo Lee | 80 | Kirsty Hodgkins | 53 | |
| David Micheluzzi | 81 | Rebecca Kay | 54 | ||
| Shae Wools-Cobb | 82 | Grace Kim | 55 |
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