Far Hills, N.J. - The International Golf Federation (IGF ), which comprises national governing bodies of golf in more than 85 countries and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the official International Federation for golf, has selected sites and a host country for its 2000 World Amateur Team Championships.

The Women's World Amateur Team Championship will be held on Aug. 23-26, 2000 at Berlin Sporting Club Resort in Bad Saarow, Germany. The World Amateur Team Championship will be conducted the following week on Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at the same facility. It will mark the first time these competitions have been contested in Germany. The Berlin Sporting Club Resort features two courses, the Arnold Palmer Course that opened in 1995 and the Nick Faldo Course that first welcomed play the following year.

Representatives from national amateur golf associations of 35 countries founded the International Golf Federation in Washington, D.C., in May of 1958. The IGF 's chief mission, as outlined in Article II of its charter, remains: "To encourage the international development of golf and to foster friendship and sportsmanship among the peoples of the world."

The first men's championship was held in 1958 at St. Andrews (Old Course) in Scotland. Winners of the men's event take custody of the Eisenhower Trophy, named after the president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, at the time the IGF was founded.

Holland and Webb, as joint chairmen, work closely with the joint secretaries of the IGF : David Fay, the executive director of the USGA, and Peter Dawson, secretary of the R&A. Dawson is also relatively new to the IGF , taking his post in September 1999 following the retirement of Sir Michael Bonallack as R&A secretary. Bonallack is currently serving as Captain of the R&A.

Dawson, born in 1948 in Aberdeen, Scotland, spent his career in the engineering industry, mainly in the construction machinery sector. For more than 25 years he held senior board positions for a variety of companies and gained considerable overseas commercial experience.

A former scratch golfer who now holds a 3 handicap, Dawson first distinguished himself as a player in the 1960s as a regional junior champion, then played on the team at Cambridge. He joined the R&A in 1994, serving as a member of the Rules of Golf Committee before his appointment as secretary.

"It is particularly exciting to be involved with such a wide diversity of countries in membership of the IGF . The opportunity to be part of the World Amateur Team Championships is especially rewarding, as these provide a stimulus to the spread of the game to new nations," Dawson said.

For more information on the IGF and its workings, contact Stephanie Parel, IGF assistant deputy secretary, at (908) 234-2300.