Played under the auspices of the European Golf Association, the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship is an annual stroke play tournament over four 18-hole rounds on consecutive days, with entries from a maximum of 144 female amateur players who are included in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings and have a playing handicap of a certain number (6.0 in 2019) or better.

Guaranteed entrants include: the defending champion; four players nominated by the host country; one player nominated by other EGA-affiliated national golf authorities; players who have taken part in the latest editions of the Patsy Hankins Trophy and Vagliano Trophy; the latest winner of the South American Women’s Amateur championship; and the highest ranked entrants with an R&A WWAGR position between 1 and 1600.

The remainder of the starting field comprises entrants in order of handicap and the Committee can limit the number of competitors from any country in the final list. If entries exceed the maximum permitted, a reserve list will be created and entrance fees refunded to those balloted out who do not subsequently play.

There’s a cut during the competition after 54 holes, with the 60 lowest scores and ties qualifying for the final 18-hole round. The winner doesn’t actually get to keep the trophy for a year – it’s held by his national golf authority which must engrave, insure and return it the following year to the EGA – but she’s presented with a gold medal, while the runner-up and third-placed competitor receive a silver and bronze medal, respectively.

The first edition of the Ladies’ Amateur took place on the Grand Parcours layout at Morfontaine in 1986, where Martina Koch from Germany won by two shots with an aggregate score of 286. Two years later, she held off a strong challenge from a couple of Spanish players, Amaya Arruti and Estefania Knuth, to lift the trophy for a second time with a single shot to spare.

At Formby in 1997, Silvia Cavalleri became the first (and so far only) woman to successfully defend her title, winning by four shots from her nearest rival, Ludevine Kreutz from France. Silvia was followed onto the winner’s podium in each of the next two editions by compatriots Guilia Sergas and Sofia Sandolo, who both helped to secure four consecutive victories for Italian golfers.

The nation with the most European wins is Spain (6) and the sequence of Iberian success began in 2004 on home soil at Ulzama in Navarre, when local girl Carlota Ciganda from Pamplona beat two other Spanish players by an eight stroke margin to secure the win. She triumphed as European champion again in 2008 and four of her Spanish team mates have done likewise.

Notable lady players who haven’t won the event but have gone on to forge successful professional careers include Swedes Helen Alfedsson (3rd at Pedrena in 1988) and Anna Nordqvist (3rd at Santo de Serra in 2005), along with Norway’s Suzann Pettersen who finished in 3rd place at Amber Baltic in Poland in 2000.

The nation to stage most championships is Sweden, with the event being held at the following four venues: Bastad Golfklubb (1994), Kristianstad Golfklubb (2002), Falsterbo Golfklubb (2009) and Hooks Herrgård (2016). The only venue which has hosted the tournament and isn’t featured below is Hooks as it currently does not appear in our Swedish listings.