"Growing Tradition"

Charles Howell represented the East in three Canon Cups

In 1990, Stewart Cink and Tiger Woods joined 38 other top juniors at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando for the inaugural Canon Cup, a newly formed team event pitting East vs. West in a Ryder Cup-style format.

Today, over a decade since Cink’s East squad topped the West in the first Canon Cup, the event has evolved into one of junior golf’s greatest traditions.
Just making one of the Canon Cup teams is an honor in and of itself.

If you asked the participants back in January what their goals were coming into this season, most would have making Canon Cup near the top of the list. Not only is the event a refreshing break from typical stroke play events, it’s a chance for players to get to know one another better and represent their side of the country.

On the course, though, the competition gets serious — bragging rights are on the line and participants play to win. Through 12 years of Canon Cup, the East holds the upper hand with a 7-4-1 record against their West counterparts.

Like Howell, Grace Park earned three straight Canon Cup berths.

After the East drew first blood in 1990 with a convincing 32-18 win, the West responded with back-to-back wins in ‘91 and ‘92.

The East bounced back, however, and in a big way. Five straight wins from 1993-1997, including a 25.5 to 24.5 nail-biter at the TPC at River Highlands in 1994, improved the East’s record to 6-2.

Since the East’s five-year streak, the competition has been nearly even — the West leads 2-1-1.

Last year’s 30.5-19.5 West victory was the squad’s largest ever margin of victory — but the final tally doesn’t tell the whole story. The East led 16.5 to 13.5 heading into the final day of singles matches before the West demolished the East, 17-3, in singles matches on the final day. It’s a day the veteran East team would like to avenge this week.

Canon Cup History