The USA won a weather-disrupted Eisenhower Trophy at the weekend with a five stroke victory over nearest challengers Mexico in Antalya, Turkey.
The three-strong American team of Chris Williams, Steven Fox and Justin Thomas posted a record 54 hole total of 404, 24 under par for the three days at Antalya Golf Club.
Williams, who recently won the Mark H McCormack Medal as the leader in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), and Fox, the US Amateur champion, carded two under par 69’s in the final round with Thomas posting a non-counting 70.
Sebastian Vazquez led the Mexican challenge with an excellent individual 15 under par total of 199 for the three rounds which was good enough to win him the individual prize, one shot ahead of Williams and two ahead of Moritz Lampert from Germany.
The Mexican team score was a 19 under par total of 409. Four strokes further back were France, Germany and the Republic of Korea who tied in the bronze medal position. Canada and Norway tied for sixth on 417, with England in eighth on 418, and Japan, Venezuela and Spain tied for ninth on 419.
A delighted USA captain Jim Vernon said, “It has been since 2004 that the trophy has found its way to the USA and it is great to have it coming back to our shores. They are three guys who bonded well and played golf as a team.”
The World Amateur Team Championships are staged by the International Golf Federation which comprises the governing bodies of golf in 126 countries and the international professional tours. This was the 28th staging of the biennial competition which was hosted by the Turkish Golf Federation.
Last week the Republic of Korea women’s team won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the second consecutive time.
