China reclaimed the International
Challenge after defeating Australia, when both teams travelled to the
mountainous Panshan Golf Club, on the outskirts of Beijing in the Tianjin
Province.

Now in its fifth year, the
International Challenge adopted a new and unique team’s format and Australian
team selection process, to take on the top three teams from the 2015 Buick
China Golf Club League.

Played over 54 holes with a two man
ambrose, 4BBB and singles matchplay format, representing Australia were the top-6
finishers from the 2015 PGA Professionals Championship and six elite amateurs
from across Australia selected by their respective state amateur associations
based on their performance across 2015.

After a convincing loss in the
Australian round at Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club in December 2015,
the Chinese team used their local knowledge to jump to an early lead after the
opening ambrose round, only losing one of the six matches of the day.

"Although we were on the back foot after
the opening round, the results could have gone either way with majority of the
matches going down the 17^th or 18^th holes. China just
took their opportunities when needed to snatch victory," said Darren Richards, Team
Australia Captain.

With China extending their lead
over the 4BBB second round, the Australians had to win 9.5 pts from the 12
matches on the final day to retain the International Challenge Cup, and
although they fought hard they could only manage six wins.

"I was really pleased with the
efforts of all our team members and how they rallied behind one another over
the final round, but it was always going to be tough after the pair’s rounds," added
Richards.

"The standout performer from the
Australian team was West Australian Professional Vernon Sexton-Finck, going
undefeated across the three rounds was a fantastic achievement."

"This event was an unbelievable
experience for the whole team. The course, comradery, functions and sites that we saw will be something
each of us will treasure for a lifetime. It is also fantastic to have an
international event that sees PGA Professionals and Amateurs playing side by
side representing Australia in this exciting format."

Australian Team

PGA Professionals

Matthew Docking (NSW)

Vernon Sexton-Finck (WA)

Robert Kennedy (NSW)

Chris Duke (SA)

Glen Dick (NSW)

Peter Harrington (Qld)

Amateurs

Shea Wools-Cobb (Qld)

Andrew Tharle (ACT)

William Heffernan (Vic)

Greg Longmore (Tas)

Patric Kroschel (SA)

Cameron Jones (WA)