| |
 |
|
Canon
Cup to Bring Together America's Best |
Forty
top junior golfers to compete in 16th-annual event |
Teams are set for the 16th-annual Canon Cup, with 40 juniors
adding their names to an impressive list of past participants
including Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, David Gossett, Charles
Howell III, Beth Bauer, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Kelli Kuehne
and Grace Park.
This
year’s event will take place at the Capital City Club’s
Crabapple Course in Woodstock, Ga., Aug. 8 - 11. The Crabapple
Course, site of the 2003 WGC-American Express Championship,
is a Tom Fazio design that opened in 2002. This course will
be added to a notable list of host sites of the Canon Cup, including
Caves Valley Golf Club (Owings Mills, Md.), Sea Island Golf
Club’s Seaside Course (Sea Island, Ga.), TPC at River
Highlands (Cromwell, Conn.), and Lake Nona Golf Club (Orlando).
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The Canon Cup pits East vs. West (divided by the Mississippi
River) in a team match play format over three days. The first
two days of competition include foursome and four-ball matches,
and the final day is reserved for singles matches. Teams (10
boys and 10 girls each) were selected based on a point system
and include four captains’ picks per squad (two boys,
two girls).
Of the 40 participants this year, 33 are Rolex Junior All-Americans.
Nine boys and 15 girls are ranked in the top 20 of the Golfweek/Titleist
Junior Rankings (as of July 10).
The East Team will look to retain the Canon Cup after a thrilling
victory in 2004 at Caves Valley Golf Club in suburban Baltimore.
Coming down to the final singles match, the East won when Jon
Mclean was able to win the final hole, thus halving his match
with the West’s Lucas Lee and giving the East possesion
of the cup for the first time in four years.
The East is anchored by 16 Rolex Junior All-Americans, including
three University of Georgia commitments: Michael Green of Augusta,
Ga.; Mallory Hetzel of Summerville, S.C.; and Alina Lee of Evans,
Ga. Green was a third-team Rolex Junior All-American in 2004
and is currently ranked seventh in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior
Rankings. After tying for seventh at the Thunderbird International
Junior in May, he recently finished tied for 22nd at the Georgia
Amateur Championship.
Hetzel is a three-time Rolex Junior All-American, including
a first-team selection in 2004 after a season in which she compiled
a victory at the Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan and four more
top-10 finishes. She also competed on the victorious East Canon
Cup team last year.
Lee, a 15-year-old who will enroll at UGA this fall, was a second-team
Rolex Junior All-America selection in 2004 and is now ranked
18th in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings. As a 14-year-old,
she won three events last season: the Burgett H. Mooney, Jr.
Rome Classic, the Women’s Western Junior and the Trusted
Choice Big “I” Junior Classic.
The West Team will bring an impressive squad to Atlanta, with
nearly half of the 2004 Rolex Junior All-America first team
represented on the team. Of the 20 players on the team, 17 are
Rolex Junior All-Americans and and 14 are ranked in the top
20 of their respective divisions in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior
Rankings.
Philip Francis of Scottsdale, Ariz., will lead the West as the
top-ranked junior in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings.
This first-team Rolex Junior All-American, who is mentored by
his swing coach Jim Flick, competed in last year’s event.
This year, he won the Scott Robertson Memorial, placed fourth
at the Thunderbird International Junior and tied for sixth at
the Rolex Tournament of Champions.
Franics will team with two more Scottsdale natives who are also
first-team Rolex Junior All-Americans: Amanda Blumenherst and
Esther Choe. Blumenherst, who is bound for Duke University this
fall, is making her fourth appearance on the West team. This
three-time Rolex Junior All-American has won 10 AJGA events
during her junior career, placing her sixth all time in victories
in the AJGA record books.
Choe recently won the Rolex Tournament of Champions and qualified
for the U.S. Women’s Open. In her junior career, she has
won or finished in the top five six times. This will be her
second time competing for the West in as many years.
“Canon is very proud to sponsor the AJGA’s premier
match play competition," said Debra Epstein, vice president
and general manager, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “The Canon Cup
allows aspiring young golfers the opportunity to experience
the importance of teamwork and good sportsmanship through this
unique team competition.”
“I really enjoyed playing in the Canon Cup,” said
David Gossett, PGA TOUR player. “I remember working hard
all summer long so I could get on the Canon Cup team. It’s
the best juniors in the country so the competition is high.”
The Canon Cup is part of Canon’s overall commitment to
support youth programs. A component of the company’s Canon4Kids
initiative in collaboration with the National Center for Missing
& Exploited Children, PGA TOUR player Briny Baird and LPGA
Tour player Michelle McGann place photos of missing children
on their golf bags during tournament play. An additional component
of the program is tied to the golfers’ performance on
their respective tours. For each birdie, Canon donates $100
to NCMEC. Each eagle is worth $250 and $1,000 is donated for
every hole-in-one.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business,
and industrial imaging solutions. The company is listed as one
of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies in America, and is
ranked No. 43 on the Business Week list of “Top 100 Brands.”
Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent-holder
of technology, ranking second overall in the United States in
2003, with global revenues of $24.5 billion. Canon U.S.A. employs
more than 10,000 people at more than 30 locations. For more
information, visit www.usa.canon.com.
|
|
