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Ragains Named #JrSolheimCup Assistant Captain

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PING and the American Junior Golf Association named, AJGA tournament director, Carly Ragains to assist captain Mary Bea Porter-King on the 2019 PING Junior Solheim Cup United States team.

Modeled after the Solheim Cup, the PING Junior Solheim Cup biennially features the 12 best female junior golfers (ages 12-18) from the United States against their counterparts from Europe. The team match play event includes foursomes, four-ball and singles matches played over two days and rotates between U.S. and European host sites coinciding with the Solheim Cup. The tenth edition of the PING Junior Solheim Cup will be hosted by Gleneagles, Scotland, on September 10-11, 2019, immediately prior to the Solheim Cup.

Ragains began playing golf at age five before entering her first AJGA event at 16. She had four top-15 finishes in six AJGA events, including a best finish of T3 at the now-named Lockton Kansas City Junior presented by UHY LLP CPA's in 2010. She went on to play college golf a Kansas State University where she played four years, earning Academic All-Big 12 honors in 2013-15 and was named a Second Team All-Big 12 performer and Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll member in 2014. She graduated with a degree in marketing in 2015.

Ragains joined the AJGA as a full-time staff member in 2016 and has since helped run some of the Association’s best junior golf events. This will be her first time serving as an assistant captain.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining the United States team and assisting Mary Bea Porter-King,” Ragains said. “Golf has afforded me so many opportunities and I am thrilled to help these juniors have an incredible experience at the PING Junior Solheim Cup.”

The Solheim Cup, the most prestigious team event in women’s professional golf, is named in honor of PING’s Karsten and Louise Solheim and their family. Played biennially, the teams feature the top American-born LPGA players versus the top European-born Ladies European Tour players.

The United States leads the all-time PING Junior Solheim Cup series 6-2-1 and has won five consecutive matches. Team Europe last won, 14-10, when the event was hosted in Sweden in 2007. Porter-King will coach opposite European Team captain and former Solheim Cup captain Mickey Walker.

The first 10 girls on the PING Junior Solheim Cup United States team will be selected based on a combination of the AJGA’s Rolex AJGA Rankings and the Golfweek / Sagarin Junior Girls Rankings. The final two spots are reserved for captain’s picks.

American AJGA alumnae who have graduated from the PING Junior Solheim Cup to the Solheim Cup include: Brittany Lang, Paula Creamer, Alison Lee, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel, Angel Yin and Lexi Thompson. Team Europe AJGA alumnae to make the same move include: Carlota Ciganda, Georgia Hall, Caroline Hedwall, Charley Hull, Caroline Masson, Azahara Munoz, Anna Nordqvist, Florentyna Parker, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Beatriz Recari and Melissa Reid.

About the PING Junior Solheim Cup

The PING Junior Solheim Cup is owned and hosted by PING and will be operated by the American Junior Golf Association with assistance from the Ladies Professional Golf Association and the Ladies European Tour.

Founded by Karsten and Louise Solheim, the Karsten Manufacturing Corporation is a long-time sponsor of the LPGA and AJGA. As the makers of PING golf equipment, the Solheim family continues to ensure the same superior workmanship today that they built into their original clubs more than 46 years ago. Now under the direction of John Solheim, Karsten and Louise’s youngest son, the company continues in its efforts to manufacture the highest quality golf equipment. The PING name is known world over. Besides its presence in the United States, PING markets custom-fit and custom-built equipment to more than 70 countries.

About PING

The tournament owner and title partner, PING, designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of golf equipment including metal woods, irons, putters and golf bags. The family-owned company was founded in 1959 by the late Karsten Solheim. Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Today, the Phoenix-based company is under the direction of Solheim's youngest son, John A. Solheim. PING game-improvement products can be found in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit ping.com.

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 7,000 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.

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.