Karrie Webb to lead Team ALPG at Queens Cup

The ALPG team to compete in The Queens Cup presented by Kowa, which will be played from 1st -3rd December in Nagoya this year has been announced, and without doubt it is the strongest line-up put together since the ALPG Team debuted in the event in 2015.

The World Golf and LPGA Hall of Famer Karrie Webb will compete in the tournament for the first time this year and will also captain the nine-player ALPG team. Karrie’s participation this year is a huge boost for the tournament and also her team-mates, who are delighted to have the opportunity to compete on a representative team with her.

Webb was upbeat about her team’s chances.

‘I am really excited to be captaining the ALPG team at The Queens presented by Kowa this year. This is the first time that I have played in the event and especially given the unique format it should be a lot of fun playing alongside my friends on the ALPG Team. We have very talented group of players and everyone on the team gets along really well, we are definitely going to Nagoya to win this year”

Webb has represented Australia previously on several occasions, the highlight being her Women’s World Cup of Golf victory in 2000 with Rachel Hetherington in Malaysia. Webb has also represented her country at the LPGA International Crown on the past two occasions, in 2014 with Kirk, Minjee Lee and Lindsay Wright, and in 2016 with Lee, Rebecca Artis and Su Oh. Webb also represented Australia at the Nations Cup in 2010 where herself and now ALPG CEO Karen Lunn lost in a sudden-death playoff to the Swedish duo of Anna Nordqvist and Sophie Gustafson

Webb will be joined on the team by her fellow Queenslanders Katherine Kirk and Sarah Jane Smith, who have both had great fantastic seasons on the LPGA Tour in 2017 and who will be making their third straight appearance for team ALPG.
West Australian Hannah Green will be making her debut for team ALPG and will no doubt be another great asset to the team. Green has had a superb season in 2017 winning three times on the Symetra Tour and gaining her LPGA card for 2018 in the process.

Fellow Perth resident Whitney Hillier also has some solid form in 2017, and will make her third straight appearance at the event, as will New South Welshwoman Sarah Kemp.
Victorian Stacey Peters will make her second appearance for the team, and will no doubt be one of the many who will be eyeing off a partnership with Webb in one of the team formats.
Both Peters and Green are former Karrie Webb scholarship winners and it would be a great story if either end up partnering their good friend and idol in Japan.

Talented 32-year-old Cathryn Bristow is the lone New Zealander on the team, and has been in great form in the latter part of 2017. The Aucklander will be making her 2nd straight appearance for team ALPG.

The final spot on the team, a captain’s pick from Webb, is ALPG legend and Queens Cup captain the past two years Rachel Hetherington. Though Hetherington has retired from the professional circuit she has proven the past two years representing the ALPG Team that she has not lost that silky-smooth swing or her competitive edge, and will have plenty of advice to offer her younger team-mates.

The first day of the competition on 1st December will be a fourball best ball match play competition between the four teams competing, the defending champions the Korean LPGA Team, the hosts the LPGA of Japan, the Ladies European Tour and ALPG.

The second day of the tournament on December 2nd, where the format is singles match-play, is the only day that all 9 players will compete, with the final day being foursomes match-play, without doubt the trickiest of the three formats.
The leading two teams heading into the final day will play for The Queens Cup, while the 3rd and 4th placed teams will play in the “Third place final”

While Webb and her teammates appreciate the task ahead of them given the quality of the opposition they are facing, they are quietly confident that they have a great chance of bringing home the Queens Cup to Australasia in December.

The Queens Cup presented by Kowa will be broadcast live on Fox Sports in Australia and on Sky in New Zealand on 2nd and 3rd of December. Please check your local guide for listings.