A record five Golf NSW Champions will compete in the women’s golf event at Le Golf National when the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad get underway in Paris this August.
Reigning Women’s NSW Open Champion Mariajo Uribe of Columbia leads the list that includes 2023 Champ Momoka Kobori (New Zealand), 2022 Champ Maja Stark of Sweden, and Kobori’s countrywoman, former world number one, Lydia Ko.
The vaunted list also includes the inaugural Australian Ladies Classic ( now Women’s Classic) champion, Celine Boutier of France.
The fantastic five will join Australian representatives Hannah Green (2022 Webex Players Series Murray River, 2022 Vic Open) and Minjee Lee (2014, 2018), world No.1 Nelly Korda, England’s Georgia Hall, China’s Xiyu Lin, Amy Yang (Korea), Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa), Anne Van Dam (Netherlands), and Manon De Roey (Belgium).
Uribe made little secret of her desire to compete in Paris, citing it as the major reason she competed and ultimately won this year’s Women’s NSW Open at Magena Shores.
“It takes courage to come here because I am not even a member of this Tour,” Uribe said after her Women’s NSW Open win at Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club.
“To write the emails, try to get those invites, you might come here and not even make the cut, you don’t know what is going to happen.
“I am just trying to get some opportunities out there but I am pretty sure this will clutch it out and be in Paris for now.”
After a difficult couple of years coming out of Covid, WPGA Tour of Australasia CEO Karen Lunn is thrilled with the WPGA Tour’s role in helping to realise the Olympic dream for so many players.
“It’s wonderful to see the influence that the WPGA Tour of Australasia has had in providing a pathway to the Olympics for so many players,” Lunn said.
“Not only do we have our Aussie representatives in Hannah and Minjee representing the green and gold, but players such as Ashley Lau, Momoka Kobori and Mariajo Uribe played their way into Olympic contention via the WPGA Tour of Australasia this past season.
“We have become a genuine pathway to the top echelon of the women’s game and we are working hard to see that influence grow even more in the years to come.”
WPGA winners to qualify for 2024 Olympics
Australia:
Hannah Green (2022 Webex Players Series Murray River, 2022 Vic Open); Minjee Lee (2014, 2018 Vic Open)
New Zealand:
Lydia Ko (2012 Women’s NSW Open, 2015 Women’s Australian Open, 2013, 2015, 2016 New Zealand Women’s Open);
Momoka Kobori (2023 Women’s NSW Open)
South Africa:
Ashleigh Buhai (2022, 2023 Women’s Australian Open)
United States of America:
Nelly Korda (2019 Women’s Australian Open)
Korea:
Amy Yang (2006 ANZ Ladies Masters)
England:
Georgia Hall (2016 Vic Open)
Sweden:
Maja Stark (2022 Women’s NSW Open)
Malaysia:
Ashley Lau (2024 Vic Open)
Colombia:
Mariajo Uribe (2024 Women’s NSW Open)
France:
Celine Boutier (2018 Australian Ladies Classic)
Belgium:
Manon de Roey (2020 Moss Vale Pro-Am)
Netherlands:
Anne Van Dam (2019 Canberra Classic)
China:
Xiyu Lin (2018 Ballarat Icons Pro-Am)
