A youthful New Zealand women’s golf team will be hoping that home course advantage will convert to results in the 32nd Queen Sirikit Cup international that tees off in Hamilton tomorrow.

New Zealand is one of 13 nations competing in the Asia Pacific teams championship at Hamilton Golf Club, a 54 hole strokeplay competition with the two best of three scores counting each day.

The last time New Zealand hosted the event in 1999 resulted in triumph for the kiwis when they beat Chinese Taipei in a playoff at Paraparaumu Beach, one of three wins for this country in the annual championship.

They have their youngest combination ever this year led by Institute of Golf’s Zoe Brake 18 along with debutantes Cecilia Cho 15 and Institute of Golf’s young superstar Lydia Ko 12.

Brake is the current New Zealand Strokeplay and South Island champion, who played in last year’s contest in Bali where the kiwis finished 10th on top of encouraging top five placings in the previous two years.

Cho will defend her national amateur crown next week in Hawkes Bay after finishing runner-up in the Australian Amateur and winning the Australian Strokeplay.

Ko also made her mark winning the North Island Amateur in a canter and finishing a remarkable seventh overall in the Pegasus New Zealand Open recently.

“Their age is not a factor really. They are our best players and are all in good form going into the event,” said New Zealand Golf High Performance Director, Simon Poll. “The good thing is that they are young and should play a major part in our high performance programme going forward.

“It’s exciting for New Zealand Golf and I am sure they will provide some real excitement for golf fans in this country.”

That might well come in Hamilton this week as the young trio chase success.

The Queen Sirikit Cup has been dominated by Asian teams in the past decade, with Korea winning five of the last seven encounters and Chinese-Taipei winners in 2005 and 2006. They will be the two teams to beat in Hamilton this week.

Korea are led by Jung Eun Han, the individual winner in 2008 after bypassing last year’s event, along with Ji-Hee Kim, the current national amateur champion.

Chinese-Taipei come with some experienced players in form led by Hsuan-Yu Yao, third individual last year in Bali and a semifinalist in the recent Australian Amateur, while Yi-Chen Liu tied for second in the Australian Strokeplay.

Australia will come with strong credentials, chasing their first win since 2001 and following fifth place last year. Australian amateur champion Stacey Keating, fifth best individual last year, is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s been Korea especially who have dominated. We have had the chance to prepare well for the Queen Sirikit after the Trans Tasman and we are very determined to do well,” Keating said.

The development of the women’s game throughout the Asia Pacific region has been ramped up in recent years, with interest in the developing programmes in China, coached by New Zealand’s Gareth Winslow, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore in particular.

Play begins at 8am each day.

The teams are:

Australia (Ebony Heard, Stacey Keating, Justine Lee), China (Li Jiayun, Luo Ying, Zhang Yuyang)

Chinese Taipei (Hsuan-Yu Yao, Yi-Chen Liu, Ke-Hui Hsu)

Hong Kong (Tiffany Chan, Stephanie Ho, Kitty Tam)

India (Vani Kapoor, Gurbani Singh, Shreya Chei)

Indonesia (Juriah, Retno Sudjasmin, Marcella Pranovia)

Japan (Risa Iwachika, Fumika Kawagishi, Eri Joma)

Korea (Ji Hee Kim, Hyo Joo Lin, Jung Eun Han)

Malaysia (Aretha Pan Herng, Yong Mei Khuan, Nurul Binti Saparudin)

New Zealand (Cecilia Cho, Lydia Ko, Zoe Brake)

Philippines (Irina Paulin Gabasa, Love Lynn Mary Guioguio, Chihiro Ikeda)

Singapore (Joey Poh, Kok Jo Ee, Heng Su-Ann)

Thailand (Jaruporn Na Ayutthaya, Thidapa Suwannapura, Yupaporn Kawinpakorn).