Beth Coulter and Aine Donegan are part of a twelve strong European Women’s team for the Patsy Hankins Trophy in January.
Coulter (Kirkistown Castle) had already been selected for the team while Donegan (Lahinch) will make her debut in the contest as part of three new selections for Europe.
Europe will take on Asia Pacific at Al Hamra Golf Club in the UAE for the three-day Ryder-Cup style matches from 8 to 10 January 2025.
Donegan was famously in the mix after the opening rounds of the 2023 US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. The LSU student also has strong results this year having helped the GB&I Curtis Cup team to victory and finished in the top-5 at the NCAA D1 Individual.
Coulter partnered Donegan during the Curtis Cup in Sunningdale and she was also part of the victorious European side in 2023 at La Manga Golf Club.
A strong European side also includes number-one ranked women’s amateur player in the world, Lottie Woad, and reigning European Ladies’ Amateur Champion, Louise Rydqvist.
Eight of the 12 players are currently ranked inside the WAGR top-50, with three more inside the top-100.
The Patsy Hankins Trophy is a biennial match for elite amateur female golfers played between 12-player teams from Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The EGA selects the European team, while the Asia-Pacific side is fielded by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC). On each 12-player team, a maximum of two players can represent a given country.
The match takes place over three days. Five foursomes matches in the morning and five fourball matches in the afternoon are played on both of the first two days. On the final day, all 12 players complete singles matches.
The 2025 match will be the 4th edition between the two sides since its inauguration in 2016, with Asia-Pacific having two victories, and Europe currently holding the trophy.
The contest will be playing in parallel with the equivalent match for men, the Bonallack Trophy.
Royal Dublin’s Max Kennedy had been selected but has foregone his place on the European team to turn professional after securing a Challenge Tour card at DP World Tour Q-School.