|
Teams
are now set for the 14th annual AJGA Canon Cup. The 2003 event
will be played at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course
in Sea Island, Ga., August 4 - 7.
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) were selected based on a point system
and include four captains’ picks per squad.
Of the
40 participants this year, 32 are Polo Golf Junior All-Americans,
while nine boys and nine girls who are ranked in the top 20
of the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings (as of July 13) will
represent their respective teams.
Matt Cuccaro,
the East Team captain and AJGA director of tournament development,
has five players returning from last year’s squad, including
second-team Polo Golf Junior All-American Mallory Code of
Tampa, Fla., who is set for her fourth Canon Cup. The East
side also features the top-ranked boy in the Golfweek/Titleist
Rankings, Brian Harman of Savannah, Ga., who has captured
two major championships in 2003. The East Boys are strong
as eight of the 15 top-ranked boys are competing for Cuccaro.
Six players
return from last year for the defending champion West squad.
Among the returnees for Captain Gus Montano, AJGA director
of education, are the reigning Polo Golf Boys Junior Player
of the Year Seung Su Han of Chino Hills, Calif., and first-team
Polo Golf Junior All-American Jonathan Moore of Portland,
Ore., who finished the event last year with a perfect 4-0
record.
“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.”
The West
squad will look to retain the title and improve its 5-7-1
record against the East after winning last year 35.5-14.5.
The West team won two of the first three Canon Cups before
the East team ran off five straight wins and a tie from 1993-98.
Past Canon Cup participants include Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink,
David Gossett, Charles Howell III, Ty Tryon, Beth Bauer, Cristie
Kerr, Kelli Kuehne and Grace Park.
“I
really enjoyed playing in the Canon Cup,” said David
Gossett, PGA TOUR player. “It was fun and they treated
us so nice. 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. Canon recently launched the Canon4Kids program
with PGA TOUR player Briny Baird to help find missing children.
Baird displays a different child’s image on his golf
bag each week he plays on the PGA TOUR. In addition, Canon
donates money to the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children for every birdie, eagle and hole-in-one he makes
during the tournaments in which he plays. Canon makes a similar
donation to NCMEC for birdies, eagles, and holes-in-one made
by LPGA Tour player Michelle McGann.
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.
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, the largest Association
of its kind, has a junior membership (boys and girls ages
13-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states
and 30 foreign countries.
AJGA alumni
have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional
golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on
the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 280 wins.
AJGA alumni include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Davis Love
III, Mike Weir, Jim Furyk, Dottie Pepper, Grace Park, Vicki
Goetze-Ackerman and Cristie Kerr.
|
