Three Golfers Heading To Karuizawa, Japan

The Bermuda Golf Association [BGA] has selected Jarryd Dillas, William Haddrell, and Mark Phillips to represent Bermuda at the 29th Men’s World Amateur Team Championship – Eisenhower Trophy [WATC], to be played September 10-13 at Karuizawa 72 Golf East in Karuizawa, Japan.

Christopher Brough, a director of the Bermuda Golf Association and president of the Bermuda Junior Golf Association, will serve as captain of the Bermuda Men’s World Amateur Team.

“Representing your country is one of the proudest moments in any athlete’s career,” said Brough. “I have no doubt that Jarryd, Will, and Mark will do Bermuda proud and be great ambassadors for the island. I am honored to serve as their captain and help them in any way that I can to perform their best in Japan.”

Dillas, 29, will be making his sixth appearance for Bermuda at the WATC. A four-time winner of the Bermuda Amateur Match Play, Dillas was crowned the 2014 Men’s Order of Merit Champion after finishing in the top-3 in all but one of his 11 BGA events this past season, including wins in the Bermuda Amateur Four-Ball and Bermuda Open, and runner-up finishes in the Bermuda Amateur Stroke Play and Bacardi National Par 3.

Haddrell, 31, will be making his third appearance at the WATC. A two-time winner of the Bermuda Amateur Stroke Play, Haddrell’s season was highlighted by wins in the Bermuda Amateur Four-Ball and Bacardi National Par 3, in addition to a runner-up finish in the Grey Goose World Par 3 and a third place finish in the Bermuda Amateur Stroke Play.

Phillips, 24, will be making his first appearance at the WATC. Having returned to the island just prior to last summer’s NatWest Island Games, Phillips was the standout male amateur golfer of the 2013/14 season. He claimed wins in the Bermuda Amateur Stroke Play, Gosling’s Invitational, and Grey Goose World Par 3, in addition to finishing runner-up in the Bermuda Open and fourth in the Bacardi National Par 3.

“These three have played some great golf over the past 12 months”, added Brough. “They have shown on a consistent basis that they are the top amateur golfers on the island, and I’m confident they will give a good account of themselves at the WATC.”

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Ironshore Insurance Ltd. for agreeing to sponsor our men’s team this year. It’s only through their generosity and support that the BGA is able to send a team to the WATC this year,” concluded Brough.

The BGA is trying to take a long-term look at the programmes available to amateur golfers who have a desire to play in elite level events and represent Bermuda in international competitions. To that end, the BGA is laying the groundwork for a Bermuda National Team for both men’s and women’s golf with a view to creating a sustainable programme to encourage and promote elite amateur golfers with the short-term focus being two strong teams for the 2015 NatWest Island Games.

The World Amateur Team Championships is a biennial event conducted by the International Golf Federation [IGF]. The IGF was founded in 1958 to encourage the international development of golf through friendship and sportsmanship. Today, the IGF consists of 137 national governing bodies of golf representing 131 countries, and is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee. It will conduct the golf competition at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Next month’s event will be contested on the Oshitate and Iriyama Courses and hosted by the Japan Golf Association. The championships were last played in 2012 in Antalya, Turkey, with the United States winning the Eisenhower Trophy for a record 14th time, and the Bermuda trio of Dillas, Haddrell and Fraser Hunt placing 51st.

The 2016 WATC will be hosted by the Mexican Golf Federation and will be held at El Camaleón Golf Club and the Grand Coral Riviera Maya Resort in Cancun, Mexico.

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