Stellenbosch, South Africa (18 October) – Rikako Morita’s 7-under-par 65 sparked Japan to a two-stroke lead over defending champion Sweden, South Africa and Chinese Taipei after the first round of 2006 Women’s World Amateur Team Championships.

The 16-year-old broke the record for lowest individual first-round score in Espirito Santo history. At Stellenbosch Golf Club, the second-year high school student from Kyoto totaled an eagle, six birdies and a bogey in her round.  Teammate Mika Miyazato, 17, of Okinawa, added an even-par 72 for a team total of 137. Miyazato and the third Japanese player, Erina Hara, 18, were on the 2004 Women's World Amateur team that finished tied for fourth with Canada.

"I hit my tee shots long and straight and I hit my irons close,” Morita, the 2006 Japan Women’s Public Golf champion, said of her

South Africa's Ashleigh Simon led her team with a 69 and a share of second place with defending champ Sweden and Chinese Taipei. (Carl Fourie/USGA)

lowest round in competition.

The Japanese tied for the lowest first round in championship history with Canada in 2004.

"After 1998, we started to make a game plan for this championship,” said Japan’s captain Mayumi Satofuka. “We discussed course management and the team was very good at following the game plan.”

Since 1998, Japan has finished in the top 10 all three competitions – seventh in 2000 in Germany, tied for sixth in 2002 in Malaysia and tied for fourth in 2004 in Puerto Rico.

Anna Nordqvist of Sweden shot the lowest round of the day at De Zalze Golf Club, a 4-under-par 68 to boost her team to a share of second place. (Carl Fourie/USGA)

Sweden, the gold-medal winners in 2004, was solid as it began the country's title defense. “Our attitude was to sit back, relax and enjoy the flight,” said coach Katarina Vangdal.

Anna Nordqvist, 19 of Eskilstuna, shot the lowest round of the day at De Zalze Golf Club, a 4-under-par 68.  Sofie Andersson, 23, of Angelholm, who was a member of the winning team team in Puerto Rico, added a 71 for a 5-under-par total of 139. Both are collegiate players in the USA (Nordqvist at Arizona State and Andersson at fellow Pacific-10 Conference school Univesity of California-Berkeley.

"When they played our national anthem last night, we stood a little taller,” Andersson said.

Making the most of the biennial international event’s first visit to its continent, South Africa’s Ashleigh Simon, 17, of Johannesburg, shot 3-under 69 and Kelli Shean, 18, of Cape Town, posted a 2-under 70.

Swedish and South African players, along with Korea, were in the same groupings.

"We know we have a good team and we just have to go out and show it,” Simon said.

Also at Stellenbosch Golf Club, Chinese Taipei used a 6-under-par 66 from Pei-Lin Yu and 1-over 73 from Ya-Ni Tseng, who defeated Michelle Wie in the final of the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links.

Rounding out the top 10 were Germany (141), Canada (142), Australia (143), United States of America (144), and Korea, Spain and England (145).

In the 72-hole stroke-play Women's World Amateur competition, the team’s two best individual scores count. Teams can comprise a maximum of three players.

The International Golf Federation was founded in 1958 to encourage the international development of the game and to employ golf as a vehicle to foster friendship and sportsmanship. The IGF is the recognized international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and comprises the national governing bodies of golf of more than 100 countries.  

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Story written by Pete Kowalski, IGF media officer. E-mail him with questions or comments at pkowalski@usga.org