The 9th edition of the World University Golf Championship took place form 9 to 15 August 2002 in the town of Tao-Yuan, in northern Taiwan at a 40 minute drive from the capital Taipei. The 'Sunrise Country Club'provided the facilities for contestants, and since it is equipped with every comfort, it was also able to lodge the participants on the spot. The 7057 yard course includes four par 3 holes, ten par 4 holes and 5 par 5 holes, for a total of 18 holes at par 72 – facilities that make the Sunrise Club a world class golf course.
A Very Attentive Spectator
FISU President, Mr. George E. Killian insisted on attending in person, along with Vice-President Friz Holzer. President Killian is a well-informed golf enthusiast and still plays on occasion. Many Taiwanese dignities were also present at the magnificent opening ceremony: Mr. Lin De-fu, President of the National Physical Education and Sports Counsel, Mr. Wu Tieh-hsiung, Deputy Minister for Education and Mr. Lin Tsai-mei, President of the China Taiwan University Sports Federation, personally welcomed the participants before the cultural programme.
Thirteen countries came to the Championship for a total of 61 male and 34 female players.
President Killian officially opened the meet in a very friendly ceremony in the morning of the first round, when he demonstrated with great concentration that his swing had lost nothing of its effectiveness.
In the first round of the meet (out of a total of four), the final hierarchy was already apparent. Yu Pei-Lin (TPE), playing "at home", started out with an excellent performance of 72 points equaled by the American Allison Fouch. Japanese Riki Ikeda stood out among the men with a score of 2 below par (70), ahead of British Geoff Harris (71) and Irish Justin Kehoe (71). In the team classification, Japan took the lead for the men and Chinese Taipei for the women after the first day's round.
As proof of his successful adjustment to the course, Justin Kehoe overwhelmed the competition in the second round with a score of 8 below par (65) that rocketed him to the head of the temporary individual score followed by Riki Ikeda (67) et Geoff Harris (71). For the ladies, Yu Pei-Lin matched her previous performance, which Allison Fouch was unable to do. Despite a score of 76, she nevertheless maintained her second place. Status quo also for Japan and Chinese Taipei as team leaders.
Hot, muggy weather on the third day did nothing to promote good scores. Swiss Martin Rominger's performance was that much more remarkable. He scored 6 below par (66) and slipped into second place in front of Riki Ikeda who finished at par + 2 (74). Justin Kehoe kept his first place in the men's competition thanks to his regularity and a score of 71, but it was a close race with the Swiss player who was then only one point behind.
In the women's competition, Yu Pei-Lin lost two points (77) to Allison Fouch (75) in the third day, which did not prevent her from keeping her comfortable first place. Japanese Kyoko Furuya placed third.
A Decisive Final Round
Despite the competition, Justin Kehoe was totally composed, as he offered Ireland its second consecutive title. With a score of 69, three below par, he stood 6 points ahead of Swiss Rominger whose performance was relatively counterproductive at 74 points. Japanese Riki Ikeda took the bronze medal. Justin's magnificent victory was not enough to close the gap with the Japanese team, that won the team competition ahead of Ireland and Switzerland. This is a superb result for the Japanese who were taking part in a World University Golf Championship for the first time.
Regularity paid off for the ladies. Yu Pei-Lin came in first. Finishing one below par, she left no chance for her competitors. Allison Fouch brought home the silver medal just leaving bronze to Kyoko Furuya. With her victory, Yu Pei-Lin made a double hit as her team also came in first ahead of Japan and the USA.
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FINAL RANKING
MEN
1. Justin KEHOE - IRL
2. Martin ROMINGER - SUI
3. Riki IKEDA - JPN
4. Yusaku MIYAZATO - JPN
5. Nicolas SULZER - SUI
6. Toyokazu FUJISHIMA - JPN
7. Raphael PELLICIOLI - FRA
8. Geoff HARRIS - GBR
WOMEN
1. Yu PEI-LIN - TPE
2. Allison FOUCH - USA
3. Kyoko FURUYA - JPN
4. Titiya PLUCKSATAPORN - THA
5. Shih HUEI-JU - TPE
6. Nil. AAZAM-ZANGANEH - SUI
7. Saya MANABE - JPN
8. Brook TULL - USA
MEN'S TEAM
1. JPN
2. IRL
3. SUI
4. GBR
5. FRA
6. TPE
7. USA
8. RSA
WOMEN'S TEAM
1. TPE
2. JPN
3. USA
4. GBR
5. SUI
6. FRA
7. ITA
8. CAN
PARTICIPATION
1. CAN - 13
2. CZE - 5
3. FRA - 9
4. GBR - 8
5. IRL - 6
6. ITA - 12
7. JPN - 15
8. NZL - 8
9. RSA - 7
10. SUI - 8
11. THA - 6
12. TPE - 15
13. USA - 15
TOTAL: 127
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