After a year’s absence, the Canon Cup returned to the West squad Aug. 11 at the Capital City Club. Building on their seven-point lead after

two days of play, the West won 11 of the morning’s singles matches and halved an additional two to win the event 30.5-19.5.

Jordan Cox punchs out of the trees on the final day of Canon Cup while the rest of the West team watches.

Trailing the West by seven points, the East hoped to make up ground early in the final day’s singles matches. Their chances began to dim after the West won four of the first five points with no intention of stopping.

The decisive point of the tournament was earned when Roberto Galletti, Jr., of Clayton, Calif., defeated David Yujin Chung of Fayetteville, N.C., 3 and 2.

“It feels really good to have earned the point,” said Galletti. “But I didn’t have any bigger part than the rest of my team. We all worked hard out there.”

The strong play from the West team was visible throughout the week, as three players went undefeated in 2005 Canon Cup play. Amanda Blumenherst of Scottsdale, Ariz., Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Hsiao-Ching Lu of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., went 3-0-1 in this week’s match,

each earned a half point in the day two afternoon matches, which were cancelled because of weather. For Blumenherst, this will be her last opportunity to play in an AJGA event before heading to Duke University in the fall.

“This is so exciting, but at the same time so sad,” said the three-time Rolex Junior All-American. “The AJGA has been my summers since I was 13 years old. It will be sad to move on and leave all this fun behind.”

The West squad continued to cheer on their teammates as the day came to a close. With the victory in hand, the pressure was off and it was time to enjoy the moment.

The East team shares a hug after the final round at Canon Cup.

“This is just so wonderful,” beamed Lu. “What a great time this has been to spend with friends.”

The East was led by Nicholas Smith of Ocala, Fla., who posted a 3-0-1 record in his first Canon Cup appearance. Smith will attend Florida State University in the fall.

The defending champion East team kept pace with the West during day one, ending the first day of play trailing the West squad 8-7.

Entering day two with a one point lead, the West team continued to gain momentum during their morning foursome matches. The West captured eight of the possible 10 points from the morning matches before severe thunderstorms forced the afternoon mixed four-ball matches to be cancelled. The five remaining points from the cancelled matches were evenly distributed between the teams, leaving the West leading the East 18.5 to 11.5.

In 1990 the inaugural Canon Cup featured then rising stars Tiger Woods and Emilee Klein representing the West Team, squaring off against Stewart Cink and Vicki Goetze defending the East. Since then notable juniors to represent the East include Charles Howell III, Cristie Kerr, and Casey Wittenberg. Alumni of the West Team include Ryan Moore, Grace Park, and Paula Creamer. The East Team leads the all-time series with a record of 8-7-1.