European Ladies' Amateur
Played under the auspices of the European Golf Association, the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship is an annual stroke play tournament over four 18-hole rounds on consecutive days, with entries from a maximum of 144 female amateur players who are included in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings and have a playing handicap of a certain number (6.0 in 2019) or better.
Guaranteed entrants include: the defending champion; four players nominated by the host country; one player nominated by other EGA-affiliated national golf authorities; players who have taken part in the latest editions of the Patsy Hankins Trophy and Vagliano Trophy; the latest winner of the South American Women’s Amateur championship; and the highest ranked entrants with an R&A WWAGR position between 1 and 1600.
The remainder of the starting field comprises entrants in order of handicap and the Committee can limit the number of competitors from any country in the final list. If entries exceed the maximum permitted, a reserve list will be created and entrance fees refunded to those balloted out who do not subsequently play.
There’s a cut during the competition after 54 holes, with the 60 lowest scores and ties qualifying for the final 18-hole round. The winner doesn’t actually get to keep the trophy for a year – it’s held by his national golf authority which must engrave, insure and return it the following year to the EGA – but she’s presented with a gold medal, while the runner-up and third-placed competitor receive a silver and bronze medal, respectively.
The first edition of the Ladies’ Amateur took place on the Grand Parcours layout at Morfontaine in 1986, where Martina Koch from G...
Played under the auspices of the European Golf Association, the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship is an annual stroke play tournament over four 18-hole rounds on consecutive days, with entries from a maximum of 144 female amateur players who are included in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings and have a playing handicap of a certain number (6.0 in 2019) or better.
Guaranteed entrants include: the defending champion; four players nominated by the host country; one player nominated by other EGA-affiliated national golf authorities; players who have taken part in the latest editions of the Patsy Hankins Trophy and Vagliano Trophy; the latest winner of the South American Women’s Amateur championship; and the highest ranked entrants with an R&A WWAGR position between 1 and 1600.
The remainder of the starting field comprises entrants in order of handicap and the Committee can limit the number of competitors from any country in the final list. If entries exceed the maximum permitted, a reserve list will be created and entrance fees refunded to those balloted out who do not subsequently play.
There’s a cut during the competition after 54 holes, with the 60 lowest scores and ties qualifying for the final 18-hole round. The winner doesn’t actually get to keep the trophy for a year – it’s held by his national golf authority which must engrave, insure and return it the following year to the EGA – but she’s presented with a gold medal, while the runner-up and third-placed competitor receive a silver and bronze medal, respectively.
The first edition of the Ladies’ Amateur took place on the Grand Parcours layout at Morfontaine in 1986, where Martina Koch from Germany won by two shots with an aggregate score of 286. Two years later, she held off a strong challenge from a couple of Spanish players, Amaya Arruti and Estefania Knuth, to lift the trophy for a second time with a single shot to spare.
At Formby in 1997, Silvia Cavalleri became the first (and so far only) woman to successfully defend her title, winning by four shots from her nearest rival, Ludevine Kreutz from France. Silvia was followed onto the winner’s podium in each of the next two editions by compatriots Guilia Sergas and Sofia Sandolo, who both helped to secure four consecutive victories for Italian golfers.
The nation with the most European wins is Spain (6) and the sequence of Iberian success began in 2004 on home soil at Ulzama in Navarre, when local girl Carlota Ciganda from Pamplona beat two other Spanish players by an eight stroke margin to secure the win. She triumphed as European champion again in 2008 and four of her Spanish team mates have done likewise.
Notable lady players who haven’t won the event but have gone on to forge successful professional careers include Swedes Helen Alfedsson (3rd at Pedrena in 1988) and Anna Nordqvist (3rd at Santo de Serra in 2005), along with Norway’s Suzann Pettersen who finished in 3rd place at Amber Baltic in Poland in 2000.
The nation to stage most championships is Sweden, with the event being held at the following four venues: Bastad Golfklubb (1994), Kristianstad Golfklubb (2002), Falsterbo Golfklubb (2009) and Hooks Herrgård (2016). The only venue which has hosted the tournament and isn’t featured below is Hooks as it currently does not appear in our Swedish listings.
European Ladies' Amateur host courses
Amber Baltic (Championship)
10th
The Championship course at Amber Baltic Golf Club lies within the Woliñski National Park on the Baltic island of Wolin, way up in the extreme north west of Poland, close to the German border.
Bad Saarow (Faldo Berlin)
4th

There are golf holes to spare at Golf Club Bad Saarow (formerly known as Sporting Club Berlin Scharmützelsee) – 63 in total – but the centrepiece of this golf resort, which is situated in Bad Saarow next to the beautiful Lake Scharmützel, is the Faldo Berlin course.
Båstad (Gamla)
17th

Founded in 1930, Båstad Golfkubb engaged the then leading architectural firm of Fred Hawtree and JH Taylor to construct the Gamla (Old) course and it’s now considered to be the second oldest 18-hole layout in the country.
Diners CUBO
5th
Construction work on the first nine holes at Diners Golf Course (now called Diners CUBO Golf Course Ljubljana) started in early 2007 under the direction of architect Peter Škofic, with the second nine added a year later.
Estonian (Sea)
2nd
The Estonian Golf & Country Club is recognised as one of the best complexes in Eastern Europe and it has been attracting a growing number of golfers to its fairways since it first opened in 2005.
European Ladies' Amateur Leaderboard
Rank | Name | Courses Played |
---|---|---|
1 | Borje Laurinsson |
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2 | Mikael Erdtman |
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3 | Markku Nokso-Koivisto |
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4 | Georg Kittel |
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5 | Georg Hinny |
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= | Bob McCoy |
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7 | sasa |
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8 | Jorn Greve |
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= | Tom |
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10 | Walter Resch |
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