U.S. Keeps Junior Ryder Cup
With his victory at the PGA Championship, Denny McCarthy of Burtonsville, Md., earned an automatic spot on the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup team.
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Final-Round Update
The United States was able to build on its lead from
Monday and retain the Junior Ryder Cup, defeating Europe, 13 1/2-10 1/2, at
Gleneagles Resort in Scotland.
With the U.S. up 9-3 at the start of the day, the Europeans
needed a strong start in singles matches Tuesday. Europe won the first match,
but then lost three of the next four to end its chance
for a comeback.
The U.S. captured its first victory abroad to retain the
cup in its second consecutive win.
Click here for full results from the Junior Ryder Cup.
First-Round Update
Looking to defend their title from 2008, the U.S. took an
early 9-3 lead over the Europeans Monday in Perthshire, Scotland.
Winning five of the six foursome matches and losing just two
mixed four-ball matches Monday, the U.S. put themselves in a strong position to
retain the cup.
Read Golfweek’s report to get all the first-round action from Scotland.
Eleven AJGA players made the trip to Scotland to represent
the U.S. in the fifth annual Junior Ryder Cup this week. The competition will
be held Sept. 27-28 at Gleneagles Resort.
AJGA players competing for team
USA are: Anthony Paolucci of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Jordan Spieth of Dallas, Jim Liu of
Smithtown, N.Y., Denny McCarthy of
Burtonsville, Md., Oliver
Schniederjans of Powder Springs, Ga., Justin Thomas of
Goshen, Ky., Kristen
Park of Buena Park, Calif., Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., Doris
Chen,
of Bradenton, Fla., Ginger
Howard of Bradenton, Fla., and Emma Talley of Princeton, Ky.
After defeating the Europeans 22-2 for its first-ever Junior
Ryder Cup victory in 2008, the U.S. will attempt to defend the title. With all
six boys ranked in the top-10 of the Polo Golf Rankings, and four of the top-15
ranked girls, the U.S. is poised to put up a fight for a victory abroad.
Paolucci and Spieth will compete as the only returning
players from the 2008 group.
Two Invitational victories in 2010 have lifted Paolucci to
the No. 1 spot in the Polo Golf Rankings. Not a stranger to international
competition, Paolucci finished tied for seventh at the Duke of York Young
Champions Trophy in England earlier this month.
Ranked No. 3 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Spieth heads to
Scotland fresh off a second-place showing at The Junior PLAYERS Championship,
where he finished one-stroke short of champion Michael Johnson.
McCarthy earned an automatic spot on the team with his
victory at the PGA Championship and has accumulated nine career top-five
finishes in national junior golf competition.
Howard secured her spot on the team with a runner-up finish
at the PGA Championship, losing on the third playoff hole. Howard will be the first
African-American woman to play in the event.
Lee also earned an automatic exemption with her first-place
ranking on the Junior Ryder Cup points list. Lee is ranked No. 5 in the Polo
Golf Rankings and has claimed two AJGA titles in 2010.