Teams Finalized for 2003 PING Junior Solheim Cup

LPGA Tour veteran Val Skinner to captain the U.S. squad in international event

Teams (click here) are now set for the second biennial PING Junior Solheim Cup. The 2003 event will be played at Bokskogen Golf Club in Malmö, Sweden, Sept. 8-10.

Val Skinner of Delray Beach, Fla., an LPGA Tour player since 1983, will captain the 2003 U.S. team. The 20-year Tour veteran has six career victories to her credit and represented the United States on its Solheim Cup team in 1996.

The first girls-only team event of its kind at the junior level, the PING Junior Solheim Cup is sponsored by PING and will be conducted by the Swedish Golf Federation. Patterned after The Solheim Cup, this prestigious invitational will pit the 12 finest female junior golfers (ages 13-18) from the United States against the top 12 junior girls from Europe.

The U.S. team was selected based on a ranking system that awarded points for top tournament finishes. The top 10 girls in points were named to the team along with two captain’s selections.

The U.S. team will consist of Amanda Blumenherst (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Paula Creamer (Pleasanton, Calif.), Esther Choe (La Quinta, Calif.), Amie Cochran (Torrance, Calif.), Lauren Espinosa (Irving, Texas), Taylor Leon (Dallas, Texas), Brittany Lincicome (Seminole, Fla.), Whitney Myers (East Berlin, Pa.), Jennifer Pandolfi (Navarre, Fla.), Jane Park (Beaumont, Calif.), Morgan Pressel (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Christie Reed (Coral Springs, Fla.).

(Note: Since the writing of this news release, Allison Goodman of San Diego has replaced Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla., on the U.S. team. Pressel withdrew from the event Sept. 5 after her mother passed away.)

Nine of the 12 girls are Polo Golf Junior All-Americans and the team members have combined for 19 national wins this year. Six of the girls are returning from last year’s U.S. team that dominated the inaugural event, winning 17-7.

Three of the returnees look to continue their unbeaten streak at the event as Blumenherst, Pandolfi and Pressel were never on the losing end in their matches of 2002.

The nation’s top-ranked girl, Creamer, will be making her second appearance at the PING Junior Solheim Cup, as well. The first-team Polo Golf Junior All-American has captured six national junior events in 2003 and made headlines in professional and amateur events.

Park, who recently reached the finals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, will also be returning to the U.S.