Australia is set to defend the Asia-Pacific Teams Championship once more as the field gets ready to go at Sunrise Golf & Country Club in Taiwan, October 2-5. The best golfing nations in the Asia-Pacific region gather every two years to contest the Nomura Cup and Rick Kulacz, Andrew Dodt, Tim Stewart and Rohan Blizard will be flying the Australian flag this year. Australia has won the last four championships and is arguably favourite to repeat the dose as one of the nation&aposs strongest ever teams heads to Taiwan. Andrew Dodt, Tim Stewart, Rick Kulacz and Rohan Blizard will fly the Australian flag and attempt to bring the silverware home once more. In 2005, Australia shot to victory thanks to the brilliance of Won Joon Lee who recorded a tournament-leading score of 19-under. Team mate Dodt was also a pivotal part of the team, carding a combined score of 13-under. While Lee has since moved into professional ranks, Dodt will aim to be a part of the winning team for the second time, alongside a group of players that boast two Australian Amateur Champions, an Australian Amateur Stroke Play Champion, Riversdale Cup winner, Malaysian Amateur winner, British Amateur semi-finalist, Federal Amateur winner and four players from the team that claimed the Four Nations Cup in Canberra earlier this year. Sunrise Golf & Country Club is a fitting venue for the Championship as it has gained a reputation as one of the country&aposs best golf courses boasting world-class facilities. The par 72 layout if 7195 yards in length and will offer a challenge to the 18 nations competing in the event which include New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and for the first time, Mongolia. The Championship gets underway on Tuesday and is played in a four round, stroke play format. The three lowest scores posted by each team will be contributed to their overall score which will decide the overall champion come Friday. Australian coach Peter Knight said, “The team has learned to adapt to the conditions over the two practice rounds and now feel quite comfortable about how they will play the course.” “There are a lot of talented teams competing this year and although it will be a challenge, I am confident that this Australian team can once again mount a strong case to be champions.” The first round gets underway at 9.00am (AEST).
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