BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Oct. 28, 2010) -- Romain
Wattel already has won an individual title in Argentina.
Now the Frenchman is trying to help his country to a
world championship.
Wattel, the world’s No. 6-ranked amateur, shot 3-
under 69 Thursday at Buenos Aires Golf Club in the
first round of the World Amateur Team Championship.
Wattel’s teammate, Alexander Levy, shot 68 to lead
France to a 7-under 136.
France has a two-shot lead over Canada.
Wattel won the 2009 Argentine Amateur at Buenos
Aires Golf Club, beating Scotland’s Ross Kellett, 7 and
5, last November. Wattel has become one of the
world’s top amateurs since, also winning a Challenge
Tour event and the Scottish Amateur. Wattel will turn
pro next week.
Levy, the French Amateur champion, shot 68 despite a
four-putt double bogey on the par-5 second hole. He
birdied three of his next four holes, then finished his
round with four birdies in his final six holes.
“I had a bad start with a doble bogey at the second
hole with four putts, but I get better with two birdies
in a row at Nos. 3 and 4,” Levy said. “After that, I
concentrated and played better. With wind, I prefer to
play here.”
Levy is tied for the lead at 4 under par with two other
players, Denmark’s Joachim Hansen and Canada’s
Eugene Wong. Hansen and Wong both shot 67 at
Olivos Golf Club. Levy’s 68 was the low score of the
day at Buenos Aires Golf Club.
France took the lead despite a 79 from its No. 1
player, Johann Lopez-Lazaro, who recently advanced
through the first stage of European Tour Q-School.
This is a deep French team, though. All three players
are ranked in the top 30 of the
Golfweek/amateurgolf.com World Rankings. Wattel is
ranked sixth. Lopez-Lazaro is 25th, and Levy is 26th.
France finished fourth at the 2008 World Amateur
Team Championship. It last medaled in this
championship in 2002, when it finished second, three
shots behind the United States team of Ricky Barnes,
Hunter Mahan and D.J. Trahan in Puerto Rico.
France has medaled in this championship twice, also
finishing third in 1992. France is one of just 12
countries to earn multiple medals in this event, the
closest thing to golf’s Olympics.
ABOUT THE
Men's World Amateur Team
In 1958 the United States Golf Association
asked The R&A to join them in sponsoring
a world-wide amateur golf team event to
be played biennially in non-Walker Cup
years. Between 35 and 40 nations were
represented at the first meeting and
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
presented the trophy which bears his
name. The committee of the event was to
be known as the World Amateur Golf
Council and is now the International Golf
Federation. Teams of four players from
each country competed over 72 holes with
the leading three scores from each round
to count. The first competition was held
between 29 nations at St Andrews, with
Australia beating the United States in a
play-off. In 2002 the format changed to
teams of three with the two leading
scores to count.
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