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Field set for 2012 Winn Junior Cup Challenge

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Winn Grips will host the third-annual Winn Junior Cup Challenge at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nev., Jan. 11-13, as eight of the nation’s top junior golfers join forces with legendary swing coach Butch Harmon and LPGA Tour player Natalie Gulbis.
   

The West squad, captained by Gulbis, brings together four top juniors from west of the Mississippi who share a combined record of 11 years as Rolex Junior All-Americans. The team is led by members of last year’s squad, Brad Dalke of McKinney, Texas, and Alison Lee of Valencia Calif. Joining Lee and Dalke is Cameron Champ of Sacramento, Calif., who finished runner-up at The PING Invitational in October, will also compete along with the squad’s youngest member, 2016 graduate Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Coached by Harmon, the East squad will feature top players from east of the Mississippi. The squad includes the No. 2 boy in the Polo Golf Rankings, Jim Liu, and Western Junior Championship winner Adam Wood, as well as AJGA champions Shannon Aubert of Reunion, Fla., and Nicole Morales of South Salem, N.Y.

West Squad Bios

Cameron Champ, 17, of Sacramento, Calif., is No. 5 in the Polo Golf Rankings and will compete for the West for the first time. Champ posted four top-25 finishes in national competition this year, including second-place showings at the Junior PGA Championship and The PING Invitational. He has verbally committed to Texas A&M and earned first-team Rolex Junior All-America honors.

Brad Dalke, 15, will represent the West again after he sealed the 2011 win for the squad with a clutch putt for birdie in last year’s final match against Cody Proveaux. The McKinney, Texas, native went on to earn two runner-up finishes at the Rolex Tournament of Champions and The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf. No. 7 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Dalke has verbally committed to Oklahoma and was named a first-team Rolex Junior All-American for the second year in a row.

Alison Lee, 17, will return to play for the defending West team to kick off her 2013 campaign. Lee is a five-time first-team Rolex Junior All-American, in conjunction with her impressive performances in 2012. The Valencia, Calif., native opened the 2012 season with a win at the ANNIKA Invitational and continued her strong play at the U.S. Girls Junior Championship, where she reached the finals. She followed with a third-place showing at the Junior PGA Championship and capped off the year with her second AJGA Invitational win at The PING Invitational.  Lee has verbally committed to UCLA and is No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings.

Andrea Lee, 14, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., is the youngest member of both squads and will represent the West for the first time. Lee clinched four top-10 finishes in national competition in 2012 en route to being named a first-team Rolex Junior All-American. She opened the season tying for third at the ANNIKA Invitational and capped off 2012 with a T4 showing at The PING Invitational. Lee is currently No. 5 in the Polo Golf Rankings.

East Squad Bios

Shannon Aubert,16, will return to the Winn Junior Cup Challenge to compete for the East. At No. 4 in the Polo Golf Rankings, the Reunion, Fla., native was named a first-team Rolex Junior All-American for the third consecutive year in 2012. Her notable season began with a second-place finish at the ANNIKA Invitational, which she followed with a win at the Kathy Whitworth Invitational. She added to her impressive resume with T3 and T4 showings at the Thunderbird International Junior and The PING Invitational, respectively.

Jim Liu, 17, of Smithtown, N.Y., holds the No. 2 spot in the Polo Golf Rankings. The four-time Rolex Junior All-American tallied top-10 finishes in all seven starts he competed in 2012. Verbally committed to Stanford, Liu claimed runner-up finishes at the Puerto Rico Junior Open and the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, as well as a third-place showing at The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

Nicole Morales, 16, of South Salem, N.Y., will follow her performances in 2012 with an appearance for  the East team. At No. 6 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Morales proved to be a strong competitor throughout the year, beginning with her win at the Polo Golf Junior Classic. She maintained her steadiness at the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior at Innnisbrook hosted by Sean O’Hair, where she tied for second. The 2013 AJGA Player Representative claimed top-10 finishes at the Rolex Tournament of Champions (T6) and the U.S. Girls Junior Championship (T9), capping off the year with a win at the Genesis Junior Open in August.

Adam Wood, of Zionsville, Ind., will join the East after a successful 2012 campaign that included five top-15 performances. His season was highlighted by a victory at the Western Junior Championship and a third-place finish at the Junior PGA Championship. The Duke verbal commit was named a first-team Rolex Junior All-American and is No. 4 in the Polo Golf Rankings.

 For information on the Winn Junior Cup Challenge, please contact Tournament Director Katie Wilson (kwilson@ajga.org ) at 678-425-1743.