Flagstaff, AZ - The 35th Wyndham Cup began play on Tuesday morning at Forest Highlands Golf Club - Canyon Course with four-ball, followed by afternoon mixed foursomes. The East team claimed the morning lead, winning six matches to the West team's three. The East secured 6.5 points after one match ended in a tie. The West earned 4 more points during the afternoon session, bringing their total to 7.5, to the East's 7.5.
Since 1990, the Wyndham Cup has brought together 40 of the country’s top junior golfers (20 males and 20 females) in an East versus West team match play tournament. In addition to featuring some of the world’s best junior golfers annually, the Wyndham Cup is known for its iconic host venues. A list that features Old Sandwich Golf Club, Mayacama Golf Club, The Stanwich Club, Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, and Forest Highlands Golf Club - Canyon Course.
While this is the second time in the event’s history that Forest Highlands Golf Club – Canyon Course is hosting the Wyndham Cup, the venue is no stranger to the competition. It last hosted in 2009 when the event was formerly known as the Canon Cup.
Before play, two juniors on each team participated in the ceremonial striking of the tee. Natalie Yen of West Linn, Oregon and Brooks Simmons of Dallas, Texas, did the honors for the West, while Elizabeth Rudisill of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Willie Gordon of Hot Springs, Arkansas, had the honor for the East.
The 35th #WyndhamCup has commenced.#GoEast | #GoWest pic.twitter.com/I4xdrC7zSJ
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) July 8, 2025
The East and West teams split the opening point of the 35th Wyndham Cup after a hard-fought tie between West’s Joshua Kim of Danville, California, and Edan Cui of Atherton, California, against East’s Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island, Florida, and Mason Howell of Thomasville, Georgia.
Pennson Badgett of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, and Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Alabama, secured the first point for the East team 2-up over Ronin Banerjee of Irvine, California, and Luke Colton of Frisco, Texas.
The East team won five additional matches of the morning four-ball session:
- Kayla Bryant of Boca Raton, Florida, and Ryleigh Knaub of Debary, Florida, won 1-up over Eliana Saga of Stevenson Ranch, California, and Honorine Nobuta Ferry of Flower Mound, Texas.
- Rayee Feng of Short Hills, New Jersey, and Vidhi Lakhawala of Kendall Park, New Jersey, won 1-up over Clairey Lin of (Canada) Palos Verdes Estates, California, and Lily Peng of San Ramon, California.
- Zoe Cusack of Potomac, Maryland, and Jodie Han of (Canada) Lewis Center, Ohio, won 1-up over Amber Lee of Alta Loma, California, and Kelly Zhang of Hillsborough, California.
- Giuseppe Puebla of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, and Jessy Huebner of Port St. Lucie, Florida, won 2&1 over Sterling Hurd of Austin, Texas, and Evan Liu of Rancho Santa Fe, California.
- Aphrodite Deng of (Canada) Short Hills, New Jersey, and Sofia Cherif Essakali of Orlando, Florida, won 3&1 over Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California, and Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Washington.
Natalie Yen of West Linn, Oregon, and Asia Young of Bend, Oregon, delivered the first point of the day for the West. The duo grabbed an early lead on No. 2 and never let up, securing a 1-up victory on No. 18 over Kathryn Ha of Roanoke, Virginia, and Elizabeth Rudisill of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Two additional West points were claimed after the morning four-ball matches:
- Asher Vargas of Spring, Texas, and Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma won 1-up over Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and Willie Gordon of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
- Brooks Simmons of Dallas, Texas, and Drake Harvey of Las Vegas, Nevada won 3&2 over Benjamin Baker of Broadlands, Virginia, and Hamilton Coleman of Augusta, Georgia.
One of the morning matches was tied, giving each team another half point.
The afternoon mixed foursomes was when the West came back and dominated. The West won three matches outright. Two matches ended in a tie after three of the five matches went to No. 18.
The first match of the afternoon started off strong for the West when Colton and Saga held a 2-up lead until No.11. Badgett and Rudisill of the East team won three holes on the back to take the match back to all square. The West team would hang on to a 1-up lead to take the match on No.18.
West would dominate in the next match, with Drake Harvey and Honorine Nobuta Ferry earning a convincing 2&1 win over Benjamin Baker and Rayee Feng. They took control early, going 1-up on No. 4 and building their lead to 4-up in the match. Although the East pair tried to mount a comeback by winning two holes on the back nine, Harvey and Nobuta Ferry closed it out on No. 17 to secure the victory.
Joshua Kim and Clairey Lin of the West Team earned a 2&1 win over Phillip Dunham and Aphrodite Deng of the East. Kim and Lin stayed at least 1-up throughout the entire match, keeping steady control despite the East winning three holes in an attempt to mount a comeback. They closed it out on No. 17 to secure the point for the West.
The final two matches would end in a tie, both going all the way to No. 18. In the second-to-last match, the West team of Asher Vargas and Natalie Yen held the lead on the front nine, while the East’s Mason Howell and Zoe Cusack battled back on the back nine. Despite the East’s push, the match ultimately finished all square. The last match saw the West team of Evan Liu and Angela Zhang go 1-up on seven different holes, with the East’s Jessy Huebner and Kayla Bryant fighting back by winning three holes, but it ended in a tie on No. 18.
After day one, the East and West are tied. Day two of competition at the 35th Wyndham Cup will feature morning foursomes and afternoon mixed foursomes. Morning tee times will begin at 7:30 a.m. off No. 1 at Forest Highlands Golf Club - Canyon Course.
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