International team leads after first day of Junior Presidents Cup
7.4 to 4.5 lead marks the first time the International team has led after day one
After the first day of competition, the International team leads the United States team by a score of 7.5 to 4.5. A total of 12 matches were played on the first day with the International team coming out victorious in seven. This marks the first time the International team has held a lead after the first day of competition.
The Junior Presidents Cup is a two-day, team match-play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top junior boys 19 years old and younger – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe – that takes place just days before the start of the biennial Presidents Cup. The Junior Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European juniors a unique playing opportunity to compete in an international team match-play competition and showcase the global reach of junior golf.
Set in the historic Myers Park neighborhood south of Charlotte, Myers Park Country Club opened in 1921 and debuted its Donald-Ross designed layout in 1944. In 1945, Byron Nelson began his record 11-tournament winning streak at Myers Park Country Club, with his victory at the Charlotte Open giving the club significant national notoriety. Ten years later, Myers Park Country Club added to its championship golf resume by hosting the 1955 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
“I am proud of how these guys played,” International Captain Tim Clark said. “They battled hard, especially this afternoon and that is all I could ask of them. We are going to focus on tomorrow and not dwell on the scoreboard right now. Tomorrow I am going to tell them to play their own game and focus on themselves and we will see how it all comes out.”
Leading the International team was Jeffrey Guan of Australia, who was victorious in both his morning four-ball and afternoon foursomes matches. In the morning he was paired with Yurav Premlall of South Africa and beat the United States team’s Eric Lee of Fullerton, California, and Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2&1. In the afternoon he was paired with Premlall again and defeated the United States team’s Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Arizona, and PJ Maybank of Cheboygan, Michigan, 3&2.
The largest margin of victory didn’t come from the International side. In the morning four-ball matches, Ethan Gao of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Henry Guan of Dallas, Texas, beat the International’s Chris Richards Jr. of Trinidad and Tobago and Juan Velasquez of Colombia, 5&4. Guan carded five birdies through the 14 holes of the match.
The International team came out hot in the morning four-ball, claiming the first three matches. The United States team pushed back by winning the next match and the Internationals closed out the morning winning the final match of the day.
The afternoon began with the United States team claiming the first point from Nicholas Gross of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and Preston Stout of Richardson, Texas, who defeated the International’s Pongsapak Laopakdee of Thailand, and Wenyi Ding of China, 1 up. The Internationals would rally however, claiming the next three points before surrendering one point to the United States before the final match of the day ended tied on 18.
After the first day of competition, four players won both of their matches:
Jeffrey Guan - INT
Aldrich Potgieter - INT
Yurav Premlall - INT
Carson Kim - USA
The final day of competition will feature 12 singles matches to wrap up the competition.
For more information please contact Tim Jackman in the AJGA Communications Department (tjackman@ajga.org ).
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About the Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a unique golf event in that there is no purse or prize money. Players are not paid for their participation, but each competitor allocates an equal portion of the funds generated to charities of his choice. Since the event’s inception, more than $54.4 million has been raised for charity from event proceeds, as well as contributions made on behalf of the Presidents Cup, including a charitable donation of $5.3 million from the 2019 event alone.
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About the AJGA
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 provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls, ages 12-19) of more than 7,300 members from 50 states and 60 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.
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AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 900 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Inbee Park and Lexi Thompson.
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About Imperial Headwear
Founded in 1916, Imperial Headwear is the leading manufacturer of premium quality headwear, apparel, and accessories for the golf market. Imperial’s products can be found at 97 of the Top 100 and over 70% of the Top 400 golf courses in the United States, and they were voted the #1 headwear brand for all public, private and resort golf facilities by the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM) in 2021. Imperial is committed to style, functionality, and perfection in fit and comfort. It is this commitment that has allowed the creation of a wide variety of headwear and apparel with quality that is second to none. Renowned for its superior customer service and art customization capabilities, Imperial offers its products using the most innovative fabrics and designs, as well as logo decoration and embellishment technologies. For further information please visit Imperialsports.com. Follow Imperial Headwear on Twitter and Instagram at @ImperialHats and Facebook.com/ImperialHeadwear.