Tag: Junior Ryder Cup

Team Europe runs away with Junior Ryder Cup title at Marco Simone

The Europeans ended a long losing streak.

On the eve of the 44th Ryder Cup, another trophy was handed out on the grounds that the golf world will focus on the next three days.

Team Europe ran away with the Junior Ryder Cup title, ending a streak of six straight losses to the Americans, winning 20½-9½ at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, Italy. The Europeans dominated singles, winning seven of the 12 singles matches and tying three others to claim 8.5 points on the final day.

Europe took a commanding 12-6 lead after winning all six fourball matches on Wednesday. The teams were tied at 6 after the first day of competition.

A 2014 Ryder Cup player, Stephen Gallacher, led the European squad while PGA past president Paul Levy captained the U.S.

2023 Junior Ryder Cup
European captain Stephen Gallacher holds up the trophy as European players celebrate on the 18th green after winning the Junior Ryder Cup ahead the 44th Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome on September 28, 2023. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Nicholas Gross and Billy Davis were the lone Americans to win their singles matches on Thursday. Anna Davis, Billy’s twin sister, halved her match, as did Leigh Chien and Kylie Chong.

The first two rounds were held at Golf Nazionale in Rome before moving to Marco Simone for the final round. This was the first year the singles matches were held on a third day and at the site of the current Ryder Cup.

The U.S. now owns a 7-4-1 all-time record in the biennial competition. The team features six boys and six girls who are U.S. citizens and members of the high school graduating class of 2024 or younger.

Anna Davis, Miles Russell highlight 2023 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team selections

The next wave of talent will get their shot at Marco Simone

The United States Junior Ryder Cup team has been set.

The 12-member co-ed team will compete in the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup from Sept. 26-28 in Rome, Italy. The final day will be at Marco Simone, site of the 2023 Ryder Cup the same week.

Golf Nazionale will be the venue for the first two days of foursomes and fourballs. The 2023 edition of the Junior Ryder Cup marks the first time the event will take place over three days instead of two, with the Ryder Cup venue hosting the decisive singles matches.

The U.S. Team, which is seeking its seventh straight victory and owns a 7-3-1 all-time record in the biennial competition, features six boys and six girls who are U.S. citizens and members of the high school graduating class of 2024 or younger.

The girls selections are: Leigh Chien, Kylie Chong, Gianna Clemente, Anna Davis, Ryleigh Knaub and Yana Wilson. On the boys side, the selections are: Jackson Byrd, Billy Davis, Nicholas Gross, Will Hartman, Jay Leng, Jr. and Miles Russell.

“I am incredibly proud of these 12 exceptional individuals who comprise the 2023 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team,” said Paul Levy, the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Captain. “These players have worked tirelessly to earn a spot on our team and will represent our country with great pride and determination. As we prepare for Rome, I am eager to see our team compete on a worldwide stage and showcase the best of the next generation of U.S. golf.”

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Junior Ryder Cup: No matches, but a U.S. exhibition for the next generation to remember

For the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team, Wednesday at Whistling Straits was certainly memorable.

Traditionally, the co-ed Junior Ryder Cup teams are a pretty good indicator of which up-and-coming players are going to make the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup teams down the road. Past rosters have included everyone from Lexi Thompson to Justin Thomas.

The early-week matches between the teenage U.S. and European teams were a victim of the pandemic this year, however. The PGA of America selected a 12-player U.S. team but that squad only played an exhibition at Whistling Straits early week given that the European team could not travel because of ongoing issues related to COVID-19.

For those American players, however, Wednesday at Whistling Straits was certainly still memorable.

In a bit of a twist, the team was divided into three groups of four, and each group was joined by a sports icon appropriate for the Wisconsin-specific names the three squads adopted.

Here’s how they split up:

Team name Celebrity Girls Boys
Bucks Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach) Anna Davis, Julia Misemer Caleb Surratt, Bryan Lee
Badgers Mark Tauscher (former Packers and Badgers offensive lineman) Sophie Linder, Alexa Pano Ben James, Wells Williams
Packers Mark Murphy (Packers president and CEO) Avery Zweig, Megha Ganne Luke Clanton, Nicholas Dunlap

All three teams played 11 holes (Nos. 1-9 and No. 18) with the two best scores on each hole counting as the team score. The matches were paid plenty of attention, with players going off the first tee to the backdrop of a group of fans known as the “American Marshals” (the ones dressed in viking horns and red, white and blue gear) singing and cheering.

Junior Ryder Cup
The Junior Ryder Cup was reduced to a one-day exhibition at Whistling Straits this year. (Golfweek photo/Adam Schupak)

Interestingly, for their victory, the Packers team received – in keeping with the local theme – a wheel of Wisconsin cheese.

“These kids are amazing,” said Tauscher, who lumped in with the Badgers team. “I just hope not to embarrass anyone, and if I can contribute on one or two holes, I’ll be happy.”

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Nick Dunlap, Megha Ganne highlight 12-player U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team

The 12-player U.S. team will play an exhibition match at Whistling Straits during the early part of Ryder Cup week.

While they won’t get to square off against their European counterparts as planned, 12 junior golfers have been named to the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team, a co-ed squad of up-and-coming golfers that has included some big-name alumni through the years, from Lexi Thompson to Justin Thomas.

This year’s squad of 12 – six boys and six girls – will travel to Whistling Straits’ Straits Course later this month to compete in an exhibition match at Whistling Straits on Wednesday, Sept. 22. They will also participate in the Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony and attend the first day of competition. The junior matches against Europe were canceled due to ongoing travel issues for the European Junior Ryder Cup team.

The U.S. team is as follows:

Boys

  • Luke Clanton, 17, Miami Lakes, Florida
  • Nick Dunlap, 17, Huntsville, Alabama
  • Ben James, 18, Milford, Connecticut
  • Bryan Lee, 17, Fairfax, Virginia
  • Caleb Surratt, 17, Indian Trail, North Carolina
  • Wells Williams, 17, West Point, Mississippi

Girls

  • Anna Davis, 15, Spring Valley, California
  • Megha Ganne, 17, Holmdel, New Jersey
  • Sophie Linder, 17, Carthage, Tennessee
  • Julia Misemer, 17, Overland Park, Kansas
  • Alexa Pano, 17, Lake Worth, Florida
  • Avery Zweig, 14, McKinney, Texas

To be eligible for the team, players must be U.S. citizens and part of the 2022 high school graduating class or younger. The U.S. roster includes both the Junior PGA champion in Surratt and the Girls Junior PGA champion, Davis. U.S. Junior champion Nick Dunlap will also represent the U.S.

James will play fresh off last week’s victory at the Junior Players Championship and Ganne, the low amateur at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, arrives after a hectic few weeks that included a trip to the Curtis Cup in Wales as a U.S. team alternate and a turn on the U.S. Junior Solheim Cup team. Three other players were also members of the latter team: Zweig, Pano and Davis.

Only Pano returns from the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team that competed in Paris in 2018.

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Junior Ryder Cup canceled for COVID reasons, Americans will still play one-day exhibition

The Junior Ryder Cup has been canceled for this fall because of ongoing COVID concerns.

Chances are few for a player to represent his or her country in a sports competition. That’s particularly timely as the Olympic Games approach next week (Games that have already been postponed a year, no less). The Junior Ryder Cup stands as one of those big opportunities for junior golfers, but in light of lingering COVID-19 concerns, the PGA of America has canceled that competition for this fall.

The PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe made the joint announcement on Tuesday morning, citing “ongoing travel issues for the European Junior Ryder Cup party.”

The match would have taken place at Blue Mound Golf & Country Club in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, from Sept. 20-21. The Ryder Cup is still scheduled for Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits in nearby Kohler, Wisconsin. According to a PGA of America statement, plans remain in place for a full spectator presence “under the guidance of public health authorities.”

Last week, Caleb Surratt earned his spot on the team by winning the PGA Junior Championship and Bryan Lee, who was part of a three-way tie for second, won a playoff for a second spot.

While there won’t be an official competition against their counterparts from Europe, U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team members still will play an exhibition match at Whistling Straits on Sept. 22. The team will also be introduced at the Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony and invited to watch Friday’s Ryder Cup competition.

Traditionally, Junior Ryder Cuppers have had quite a bit of face time with Ryder Cup members. The junior squad – which includes six girls and six boys – is also a pretty accurate indicator of who might be selected to future Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup teams. Past junior players who later appeared on those teams include Lexi Thompson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Tony Finau.

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