08/28/2008

Oakville, Ont. (RCGA) – The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) announced today that Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., Jordan Irwin of Calgary and David Markle of Shelburne, Ont. have been selected to represent Team Canada at the 2008 World Amateur Golf Team Championship (WATC) in Adelaide, Australia.

The biennial World Amateur Team Championship is set for October 16-19 at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club and the West course of the Grange Golf Club. Teams from around the world will compete for the Eisenhower Trophy with the best two scores each day counting towards the team total. Contested over 72 holes of stroke play, the event will feature both a team and individual component.

Taylor, Irwin and Markle will be looking to build upon Team Canada’s second place finish at the 2006 event in South Africa. Matt Hill of Bright’s Grove, Ont. will be the team’s first alternate while Doug Roxburgh, a seven-time member of Canada’s World Amateur Team, will return as non-playing captain.

“This year’s men’s team is an extremely gifted group of golfers,” said Doug Roxburgh, RCGA Director of High Performance. “We are pleased to have Nick, Jordan and David representing Team Canada and the RCGA at this prestigious international championship. They have all played extremely well and have justly earned the right to represent Canada on the world stage.”

The final selection for the Men’s World Amateur Team took place following the U.S. Amateur.

Team Canada’s best showing at the event came in 1986 when they claimed top honours. Canada’s Men’s Team also finished fourth in 1996, tied for fourth in 2004 and second in 2006.

The biennial World Amateur Golf Team Championships features two consecutive tournaments - the women’s event for the Espirito Santo Trophy followed by the men’s event for the Eisenhower Trophy.

The 2008 World Amateur will see a record 125 teams competing with Australia hosting for the second time in the event’s 50-year history.

More information about the World Amateur Team Championship is available on-line at www.internationalgolffederation.org.   A link to pairings, start times and post-round results during the World Amateur Team Championship will also be available at www.rcga.org.