2007
Canon Cup Teams Finalized
Top names in junior golf to gather
at The Honors Course July 30-Aug. 2
Teams are now set for the 18th annual
Canon Cup, the American Junior Golf Association announced
Wednesday. Forty of the nation’s best juniors
golfers will come to The Honors Course in Ooltewah,
Tenn., July 30 - August 2, adding their names to the
impressive list of past participants that includes
Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Hunter Mahan, Charles Howell
III, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Cristie Kerr and
Grace Park.
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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, with
the final day reserved for
singles matches. Each team
consists of 10 boys and 10
girls with the rosters based
on the current Polo Golf Rankings.
The West Team, which has won four of the past five Canon Cup matches, includes
18 Rolex Junior All-Americans. The West Team’s boys are 10 of the top
35 ranked players in the Polo Golf Rankings while the girls are 10 of the top
15. The East Team, which at one point won six consecutive Canon Cup matches
from 1993-1998, has 12 Rolex Junior All-Americans on the squad. The East Team
includes 10 of the top 19 ranked boys and 10 of the top 27 girls.
The Honors Course, which hosted the 1991 U.S. Amateur and the 1996 Men’s
NCAA Championship, becomes the third course to host the Canon Cup for the second
time, joining Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. (1997, 2004) and
Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill. (2002, 2006). The event was last
held at The Honors Course in 1995 when the East defeated the West by a score
of 27-23. Some notable participants of the 1995 event were current PGA TOUR
players Howell III and Ryuji Imada and LPGA players Beth Bauer, Nicole Castrale,
Kerr, Stephanie Louden, Park and Reilley Rankin.
The West Team will look to retain the Canon Cup after its victory in 2006 at
Conway Farms Golf Club. With a nine-point cushion heading into the final day
last year, the West quelled an East Team rally by winning nine and halving
three of its morning singles matches to clinch the cup.
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Mina Harigae |
This year, the West is anchored by 18 Rolex Junior All-Americans, including Mina
Harigae of Monterey, Calif. She recently received attention for
winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship and making the cut at the U.S.
Women’s Open. She will be competing in her third Canon Cup. Now the
No. 1 ranked junior in the Polo Golf Rankings, Harigae is a four-time Rolex
Junior All-American. This year, she has yet to finish outside the top 10
of an AJGA event (T-5, ReBath Heather Farr Classic; T-8, Thunderbird International
Junior; 2nd, Rolex Girls Junior Championship).
She will be joined by Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii, Stephanie
Kono and
Ayaka Kaneko, both of Honolulu, Jane Rah and Jenny
Shin, both of Torrance, Calif.,
Taylore Karle of Scottsdale, Ariz., Joanne
Lee of San Carlos, Calif., Kristen
Park of Buena Park, Calif., and Lisa McCloskey of
Montgomery, Texas. This group of girls are all Rolex Junior All-Americans
and carry an average ranking of 8.4.
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Andrew
Yun |
Andrew Yun of
Tacoma, Wash., will return
for the second time to the
Canon Cup, this time as the
No. 5 ranked boy in the Polo
Golf Rankings – the highest
on the boys’ side of the West Team. His AJGA career now includes
four victories and back-to-back Rolex Junior All-America honors in 2005
and 2006.
Yun will team with Cody Gribble of Dallas, Alex
Shi Yup Kim of Fullerton, Calif.,
Sang Yi of Carrollton, Texas, Josh Jones of
The Colony, Texas, Andrew
Putnam of University Place, Wash., Cory Whitsett of
Houston, William
Kropp of Edmond,
Okla., Connor Driscoll of Encinitas, Calif., and Sam
Chien of San Diego. This
team includes eight Rolex Junior All-Americans and players with an average
ranking of 22.1.
The East will look to reclaim the Canon Cup with a team compiled of 12
Rolex Junior All-Americans, namely 2005 Rolex Junior Player of the Year Peter
Uihlein of Bradenton, Fla. Uihlein will be competing in his third
consecutive Canon Cup. Ranked No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Uihlein
is a two-time first-team Rolex Junior All-American. This season, he has
three top-five finishes including a victory at the FootJoy Boys Invitational.
Uihlein will be joined by Arnond Vongvanij, also of Bradenton, Bud
Cauley of
Jacksonville, Fla., Morgan Hoffmann of Saddlebrook, N.J., Wesley
Graham of Port
Orange, Fla., John Hahn of Kent, Ohio, Lion
Kim of Lake Mary, Fla., Spencer Cole of Greer,
S.C., Luke
Guthrie of Quincy, Ill., and David Sanders of
Mt. Laurel, N.J. Vongvanij, Cauley, Kim and Cole were all members of the
2006 team. These players have an average ranking of 11.2.
On the Girls East Team, Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, Fla.,
leads the way as the No. 2 ranked player in the Polo Golf Rankings. Hurst,
a 2006 first-team Rolex Junior All-American, has four career AJGA victories,
including the Birks & Mayors
Junior Championship at Mirasol in June. Hurst recently finished in a tie for
second at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, the AJGA’s oldest and
most prestigious event.
Joining Hurst will be Courtney Ellenbogen of Blacksburg, Va., Isabelle and Marika
Lendl and Kristina Wong, all of Bradenton, Cydney
Clanton of Concord, N.C., Alexis
Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., Allie White of Lancaster,
Ohio, Michelle
Shin of Cape Coral, Fla., and Lindy Duncan of Daytona Beach, Fla. Hurst,
the Lendl sisters and Wong are returning from the 2006 team. These girls have
an average ranking of 16.6.
“Canon U.S.A. is proud to partner with the AJGA in bringing together the
country’s most talented young golfers for a unique match play competition,” said
Tod Pike, senior vice president, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “Each year, the
Canon Cup provides these aspiring athletes with an experience that emphasizes
the teamwork, sportsmanship and integrity inherent in golf.”
The tournament sponsor, 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 on the 2006 BusinessWeek list of “Top
100 Brands.” Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), is a top patent
holder of technology, ranking third overall in the U.S. in 2006, with global
revenues of $34.9 billion. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A.,
sign up for the Company’s RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/pressroom.
THE WEST
Overall Record: 8-8-1
Team Captain:
Beth Reuter, AJGA
West
Boys (By Polo Golf Rankings)
(5th)
ANDREW YUN, Tacoma, Wash. (2009)
*
(6th) CODY GRIBBLE, Dallas,
Texas (2009) *
(12th) ALEX SHI
YUP KIM, Fullerton, Calif.
(2008)
(21st) JOSH JONES, The
Colony, Texas (2008) *
(22nd)
SANG YI, Carrollton, Texas
(2008)
(27th) ANDREW PUTNAM,
University Place, Wash. (2007)
(28th)
CORY WHITSETT, Houston, Texas
(2010)
(31st) WILLIAM KROPP,
Edmond, Okla. (2008)
(34th)
CONNOR DRISCOLL, Encinitas,
Calif. (2007)
(35th) SAM CHIEN,
San Diego, Calif. (2008)
West Girls
(By Polo Golf Ranking)
(1st)
MINA HARIGAE, Monterey, Calif.
(2008) *
(3rd) KIMBERLY KIM,
Pahoa, Hawaii (2009) *
(4th)
STEPHANIE KONO, Honolulu, Hawaii
(2008) *
(5th) JANE RAH, Torrance,
Calif. (2009) *
(9th) TAYLORE
KARLE, Scottsdale, Ariz. (2007)
*
(10th) JOANNE LEE, San Carlos,
Calif. (2007)
(11th) AYAKA KANEKO,
Honolulu, Hawaii (2008)
(12th)
KRISTEN PARK, Buena Park, Calif.
(2012)
(14th) LISA MCCLOSKEY,
Montgomery, Texas (2009)
(15th)
JENNY SHIN, Torrance, Calif.
(2010)
* Returning from last
year’s
Canon Cup team
THE EAST
Overall
Record: 8-8-1
Team Captain:
Walker Hill, AJGA
East Boys (By
Polo Golf Rankings)
(2nd) PETER
UIHLEIN, Bradenton, Fla.
(2008) *
(7th) BUD CAULEY, Jacksonville,
Fla. (2008) *
(8th) ARNOND VONGVANIJ,
Bradenton, Fla. (2007) *
(10th)
MORGAN HOFFMANN, Saddlebrook,
N.J. (2008)
(11th) WESLEY GRAHAM,
Port Orange, Fla. (2008)
(13th)
JOHN HAHN, Kent, Ohio (2007)
(14th)
LION KIM, Lake Mary, Fla.
(2007) *
(15th) SPENCER
COLE, Greer, S.C. (2007) *
(17th)
LUKE GUTHRIE, Quincy, Ill.
(2008)
(19th) DAVID SANDERS,
Mt. Laurel, NJ. (2008)
East Girls
(By Polo Golf Rankings)
(2nd)
VICKY HURST, Melbourne, Fla.
(2008) *
(6th) COURTNEY ELLENBOGEN,
Blacksburg, Va. (2009)
(8th)
ISABELLE LENDL, Bradenton,
Fla. (2009) *
(13th) MARIKA
LENDL, Bradenton, Fla. (2008)
*
(17th) CYDNEY CLANTON, Concord,
N.C. (2007)
(21st) KRISTINA
WONG, Bradenton, Fla. (2009)
*
(23rd)
ALEXIS THOMPSON, Coral Springs,
Fla. (2013)
(24th) ALLIE
WHITE, Lancaster, Ohio (2008)
(25th)
MICHELLE SHIN, Cape Coral, Fla. (2009)
(27th) LINDY
DUNCAN, Daytona Beach, Fla.
(2009)
* Returning from last
year’s
Canon Cup team
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