BRASELTON, Ga. The American Junior Golf Association has released the 20-player rosters for the 2011 Wyndham Cup, which will take place July 25-28 at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C. An AJGA tradition since 1990, the East-versus-West team match play competition will feature 10 boys and 10 girls from East of the Mississippi River against their counterparts from the West.
Riding a six-match winning streak, the West leads the series 12-8-1 and will look to make it seven-straight victories behind the experience of five Wyndham Cup veterans. AJ McInerney of Henderson, Nev., is the only boy returning from last years team, while four veterans will anchor the West girls: Kyung Kim of Chandler, Ariz.; Tiffany Lim of San Jose, Calif.; Kristen Park of Buena Park, Calif.; and Lindsey Weaver of Scottsdale, Ariz.
Brad Dalke of McKinney, Texas, and Beau Hossler of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., highlight the Wests nine new boys. With his win at the Thunderbird International Junior in May, Dalke became the youngest Invitational champion in AJGA history (13 years, 9 months and 11 days), while Hossler, 16, made headlines in June when he was the youngest competitor at the U.S. Open.
Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., will bring a wealth of match play experience as she makes her Wyndham Cup debut. A member of the 2009 PING Junior Solheim Cup Team and the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup Team, Lee has also qualified for the U.S. Womens Open on three occasions (2008, 2009, 2010).
The East Team has lost each of the last two Cups by a score of 25.5 24.5 and will look to reverse its fortunes in 2011. Billy Kennerly of Alpharetta, Ga., and JD Tomlinson of Gainesville, Fla., will make return appearances on the boys side, while four girls have Wyndham Cup experience: Shannon Aubert of ChampionsGate, Fla.; Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J.; Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville, Ga.; and McKenzie Talbert of North Augusta, S.C.
The champions of the 2010 Polo Golf Junior Classic, the AJGAs only other match play event, will represent the East for the first time. Cody Proveaux of Leesville, S.C., and Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Fla., each won five matches en route to their first Invitational victories last Thanksgiving.
Mariah Stackhouse of Riverdale, Ga., will also make her Wyndham Cup debut. A two-time Rolex Junior All-American, Stackhouse has four career AJGA victories, including two wins this season. She currently serves as a Player Representative on the AJGAs Board of Directors and qualified for the 2011 U.S. Womens Open.
The three-day event will feature five match play formats: four-ball, mixed four-ball, foursomes, mixed-foursomes and singles. Notable past players from the East Team include Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Charles Howell III, Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel. Past participants from the West include Tiger Woods, Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler, Grace Park and Paula Creamer.
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 40 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.
Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 500 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel.