The Bonallack Trophy is an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup which opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific. The venue alternates between courses in Europe and Asia/Pacific.

The first competition took place in 1998 in Perth, Australia.[1] Since 2016 it has been held concurrently with the women's Patsy Hankins Trophy. Europe leads the series 7 wins to 4.

It has enjoyed a strong field and past participants include future major winners Justin Rose (1998), Francesco Molinari (2004), Rory McIlroy (2006) and Shane Lowry (2008), plus Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm, who all played in 2012.

Format

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The Bonallack Trophy involves various match play competitions between players selected from two teams of twelve representing Europe and Asia/Pacific. It takes place over three days, with a total of 32 matches being played, all matches being over 18 holes. The first two days comprise five foursomes matches and five four-ball matches. On the final day, there are 12 singles matches, when all twelve players compete.

The winner of each match scores a point for his team, with a half point each for any match that is tied after the 18 holes. The winning team is determined by cumulative total points. In the event of a tie (16 points each) the Bonallack Trophy is retained by the previous holder.

A foursomes match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. On a particular hole the golfers on the same team take alternate shots playing the same ball. One team member tees off on all the odd-numbered holes, and the other on all the even-numbered holes. Each hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. A fourball match is also a competition between two teams of two golfers, but all four golfers play their own ball throughout the round rather than alternating shots. The better score of the two golfers in a team determines the team's score on a particular hole; the score of the other member of the team is not counted. Each hole is won by the team whose individual golfer has the lowest score. A singles match is a standard match play competition between two golfers.

Year Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total
points
Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon
1998–2016 5 foursomes 5 fourballs 5 foursomes 5 fourballs 12 singles 32
2018 5 fourballs 5 foursomes 5 fourballs 5 foursomes 12 singles 32

Team qualification and selection

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European Team selection

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The World Amateur Golf Rankings are used as the main reference for the selection process, in addition to a small number of players selected by the captain (known as "captain's picks"). According to the match conditions, no more than two players may be selected from the same country.

Results

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Year Winners Score Losers Host country Venue Europe captain Asia/Pacific captain
2023 Asia/Pacific 17 15 Europe Spain La Manga Club   Yves Hofstetter   Rishi Narain
2020 Tournament cancelled [b]
2018 Asia/Pacific 1612 1512 Europe Qatar Doha Golf Club   Alexis Godillot   Matt Cutler
2016 Europe 2112 1012 Asia/Pacific Portugal Vidago Palace Golf Course   Alexis Godillot   Matt Cutler
2014 Europe 1712 1412 Asia/Pacific India Karnataka Golf Association, Bangalore   Andrew B. Morgan   Hyung-Mo-Kang
2012 Europe 2112 1012 Asia/Pacific Portugal Monte Rei Golf & Country Club   Andrew B. Morgan   Taimur Hassan Amin
2010 Tournament cancelled [a]
2008 Europe 20 12 Asia/Pacific Spain Valderrama Golf Club   Gonzaga Escauriaza   Roger Brennand
2006 Europe 18 14 Asia/Pacific New Zealand Auckland Golf Club   Gonzaga Escauriaza   Roger Brennand
2004 Asia/Pacific 1612 1512 Europe Italy Circolo Golf Roma   Colin Wood   Taizo Kawata
2002 Asia/Pacific 18 14 Europe Japan Hirono Golf Club   Colin Wood   Taizo Kawata
2000 Europe 20 12 Asia/Pacific Spain Real Club de la Puerta de Hierro   Gonzaga Escauriaza   Roger Hunt
1998 Europe 18 14 Asia/Pacific Australia Lake Karrinyup Golf Club, Perth   Manuel Agrellos   Bruce Nairn

a The 2010 tournament was cancelled due to the Icelandic eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which restricted air travel of the participants. Venue was to be Karnataka Golf Association, Bangalore, India, who subsequently held the tournament in 2014. b The 2020 tournament was initially postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was rescheduled for 2021. In 2021 it was cancelled with the intention to play it in 2023.

Source:[2][3]

Appearances

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The following are those who have played in at least one of the matches.[2][3][4]

Europe

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Asia/Pacific

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References

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  1. ^ "Bonallack Trophy comes to B'lore". Deccan Herald. 1 April 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Past Results". Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. Archived from the original on 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  3. ^ a b "Bonallack Trophy: Australian Representatives and Records" (PDF). Golf Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  4. ^ "Bonallack Trophy". European Golf Association. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
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