I

ndonesia will host the Queen Sirikit Cup ladies amateur golf tournament in Bali in April, with the home team setting a modest target against its strong contenders from the Asia Pacific region.

The Queen Sirikit Cup is an annual ladies team golf competition held since 1979 in Thailand. Its hosting rotates around the 14 member countries in the Asia Pacific.

"We must be realistic. We will be content to finish in the top three among the participants from the Southeast Asian countries. At the moment, our players are no match against the likes of Japan, Korea, Australia or Chinese Taipei," tournament director Erlangga Tribuana said here Thursday.

"We want no lower than last year's run," he said. Indonesia finished in seventh place in the team category and sixth in the individual category last year in Japan, courtesy of Lidya Ivana Djaya, who has now turned pro.

Indonesia was to stage last year's tournament but the national amateur golf association said it was not ready to host it.

"We are now ready to host the event," Netty Hariadi, the organizing chairwoman, said.

She said the players preferred to play in Bali. "We thought that after two editions in Jakarta, it was time to move the tournament to Bali," she said.

The two previous tournaments in Jakarta were staged in 1980 and 1994. Indonesia will host the tournament for the third time from April 1 to 3 at Nirwana Bali Golf Course.

The participating teams field three players to compete in a stroke play format.

"We are waiting for Malaysia and Singapore to notify us of their participation. The other 12 members say they are coming. Some of them have submitted the players names," Erlangga said.

The Indonesian team will feature Agnes Retno Sujasmin and Ines Putri, the top two finishers in last year's National Amateur Championship in Bali.

The PGI plans to hold a qualifying tournament to select another two players from the top eight players in the national amateur rankings, but they have yet to confirm the timetable.

"We are looking for another two to make it four. They will be match each other in a trial so we have the best combination of three for the tournament," Erlangga said.

The Queen Sirikit Cup has produced Asia's top players, Netty said. "Kerry Webb (Australia) and Pak Se-ri (South Korea) are alumni of this tournament."

Participating teams