News

Started in 1978, the Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize players who have proven to be the world’s best.

The 12 girls on the 2018 Rolex Junior All-America first team are from seven states, China, South Korea and Australia.

2018 announcement | Girls Team The 12 boys on the 2018 Rolex Junior All-America first team represent seven states (five Californians), Canada, Japan and Australia. Three junior golfers earned Rolex Junior All-America honors for the first time: James Song of Rancho Santa Fe, California; U.S. Junior Amateur champion Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Massachusetts; and Alexander Yang of Carlsbad, California. Three juniors make their second appearance on the first team: 2018 Rolex Junior Player of the Year Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, North Carolina; Ricky Castillo of Yorba Linda, California; and Karl Vilips of (Australia) Wesley Chapel, Florida. Four junior golfers are now playing college golf: Ryan Hall of Knoxville, Tennessee (South Carolina); Shiryu (Leo) Oyo of (Japan) San Diego, California (San Diego State); Cameron Sisk of El Cajon, California (Arizona State); and Song (University of Southern California-Berkeley). In addition to the four already competing at the next level, five boys are committed to play college golf. Meet the Teams First Team 2018 Rolex Junior Player of the Year Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, North Carolina Ricky Castillo of Yorba Linda, California Canon Claycomb of Bowling Green, Kentucky Ryan Hall of Knoxville, Tennessee William Moll of Houston, Texas Shiryu (Leo) Oyo of (Japan) San Diego, California Cameron Sisk of El Cajon, California James Song of (Canada) Rancho Santa Fe, California Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Massachusetts Travis Vick of Houston, Texas Karl Vilips of (Australia) Wesley Chapel, Florida Alexander Yang of Carlsbad, California Boys – Second Team Connor Creasy of Abingdon, Virginia Eugene Hong of Orlando, Florida J. Holland Humphries of Austin, Texas Bo Jin of (China) Encinitas, California John Keefer of San Antonio, Texas William Mouw of Chino, California Jeewon Park of (South Korea) Lake Mary, Florida Luke Potter of Encinitas, California Gordon Sargent of Birmingham, Alabama Ian Siebers of Bellevue, Washington Jackson Van Paris of Pinehurst, North Carolina Jonathan Yaun of Minneola, Florida Honorable Mention Trey Bosco of Austin, Texas Nicolas Cassidy of Johns Creek, Georgia Kuangyu Chen of (Australia) Shenzhen, China Aaron Chen of Fremont, California George Duangmanee of Fairfax, Virginia Chris Fosdick of Middlefield, Connecticut Peter Fountain of Raleigh, North Carolina Austin Greaser of Vandalia, Ohio Frankie Harris of Boca Raton, Florida Jun Min (Jimmy) Lee of (South Korea) Mission, Texas Tyler Lipscomb of Carrollton, Georgia Dylan Menante of Carlsbad, California Hazen Newman of Las Vegas, Nevada Jay Nimmo of Benton, Kentucky Cole Ponich of Farmington, Utah Austyn Reily of Pottsboro, Texas Jackson Rivera of Rancho Santa Fe, California Jeevan Sihota of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Brian Stark of Kingsburg, California Nicklas Staub of Boynton Beach, Florida Will Thomson of Naples, Florida Brendan Valdes of Orlando, Florida Andi Xu of (China) San Diego, California Sampson-Yunhe Zheng of (China) Orlando, Florida

Several current and former AJGA members finished atop the leaderboard after the Individual and Mixed Team Stroke Play Golf Competitions.

Anne Chen of (Australia) Sugar Land, Texas, earns first team distinctions as one of the top 12 junior golfers in 2018.

Yealimi Noh of Concord, California, was named Rolex Junior Player of the Year after an outstanding 2018 season.

Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Florida, earns first team distinctions as one of the top 12 junior golfers in 2018.

Megan Schofill of Monticello, Florida, earns first team distinctions as one of the top 12 junior golfers in 2018.

Erica Shepherd of Greenwood, Indiana Class of 2019 Rolex AJGA Ranking: 9 Shepherd had four top-10 finishes in 2018 and is a four-time Rolex Junior All-American. The high school senior finished second at the Polo Golf Junior Classic to go along with a tie for runner-up at The PING Invitational. Shepherd ended the season No. 9 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and is a Duke University verbal commit. Shepherd finished 2-1-1 as a member of the Wyndham Cup East Team and 2-1-0 as a member of victorious Team USA at the Junior Ryder Cup. Rank Event R1 R2 R3 R4 Total T2 The PING Invitational 70 77 75 222 T17 2018 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship 70 69 139 5 2018 Girls Junior PGA Championship 65 67 72 69 273 2 Polo Golf Junior Classic 72 68 70 71 281 T15 Rolex Girls Junior Championship 73 73 75 78 299 26 Thunderbird International Junior 80 71 76 227 T6 ANA Junior Inspiration 70 75 72 217

Yujeong Son of (South Korea) Norman, Oklahoma Class of 2019 Rolex AJGA Ranking: 5 Son won her third career AJGA Invitational at the 2018 Rolex Girls Junior Championship in June. Her national junior golf season included six top-10 finishes, including advancing to the Round of 16 at the U.S. Girls Junior Championship. Son ended the season No. 5 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and played for a second time on the victorious Wyndham Cup West Team with a match play record of 3-1-0. The high school senior is a four-time Rolex Junior All-American, on the first team for a third time in her career. Rank Event R1 R2 R3 R4 Total T9 2018 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship 71 68 139 T6 2018 Girls Junior PGA Championship 70 69 70 66 275 1 Rolex Girls Junior Championship 69 70 72 73 284 T1 2018 Scott Robertson Memorial 33 71 104 3 ANA Junior Inspiration 70 68 73 211 2 2018 Kathy Whitworth Invitational 69 73 142 T42 ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex 72 76 84 232