Winn Grips will host the third-annual
Winn Junior Cup Challenge at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nev., Jan.
11-13, as eight of the nation’s top junior golfers join forces with legendary
swing coach Butch Harmon and LPGA Tour player Natalie Gulbis.
The West squad, captained by Gulbis, brings
together four top juniors from west of the Mississippi who share a combined
record of 11 years as Rolex Junior All-Americans. The team is led by members of
last year’s squad, Brad Dalke of McKinney, Texas, and Alison Lee of Valencia
Calif. Joining Lee and Dalke is Cameron Champ of Sacramento, Calif., who finished
runner-up at The PING Invitational in October, will also compete along with the
squad’s youngest member, 2016 graduate Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Coached by Harmon, the East squad will
feature top players from east of the Mississippi. The squad includes the No. 2
boy in the Polo Golf Rankings, Jim Liu, and Western Junior Championship winner
Adam Wood, as well as AJGA champions Shannon Aubert of Reunion, Fla., and
Nicole Morales of South Salem, N.Y.
West Squad Bios
Cameron Champ, 17, of Sacramento, Calif., is No. 5 in the
Polo Golf Rankings and will compete for the West for the first time. Champ
posted four top-25 finishes in national competition this year, including
second-place showings at the Junior PGA Championship and The PING Invitational.
He has verbally committed to Texas A&M and earned first-team Rolex Junior
All-America honors.
Brad Dalke,
15, will represent the West again after he sealed the 2011 win for the squad
with a clutch putt for birdie in last year’s final match against Cody Proveaux.
The McKinney, Texas, native went on to earn two runner-up finishes at the Rolex
Tournament of Champions and The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by
TaylorMade-adidas Golf. No. 7 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Dalke has verbally
committed to Oklahoma and was named a first-team Rolex Junior All-American for
the second year in a row.
Alison Lee,
17, will return to play for the defending West team to kick off her 2013
campaign. Lee is a five-time first-team Rolex Junior All-American, in
conjunction with her impressive performances in 2012. The Valencia, Calif.,
native opened the 2012 season with a win at the ANNIKA Invitational and
continued her strong play at the U.S. Girls Junior Championship, where she
reached the finals. She followed with a third-place showing at the Junior PGA
Championship and capped off the year with her second AJGA Invitational win at
The PING Invitational. Lee has verbally
committed to UCLA and is No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings.
Andrea Lee,
14, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., is the youngest member of both squads and will
represent the West for the first time. Lee clinched four top-10 finishes in
national competition in 2012 en route to being named a first-team Rolex Junior
All-American. She opened the season tying for third at the ANNIKA Invitational
and capped off 2012 with a T4 showing at The PING Invitational. Lee is
currently No. 5 in the Polo Golf Rankings.
East Squad Bios
Shannon Aubert,16,
will return to the Winn Junior Cup Challenge to compete for the East. At No. 4
in the Polo Golf Rankings, the Reunion, Fla., native was named a first-team
Rolex Junior All-American for the third consecutive year in 2012. Her notable
season began with a second-place finish at the ANNIKA Invitational, which she
followed with a win at the Kathy Whitworth Invitational. She added to her
impressive resume with T3 and T4 showings at the Thunderbird International
Junior and The PING Invitational, respectively.
Jim Liu,
17, of Smithtown, N.Y., holds the No. 2 spot in the Polo Golf Rankings. The
four-time Rolex Junior All-American tallied top-10 finishes in all seven starts
he competed in 2012. Verbally committed to Stanford, Liu claimed runner-up
finishes at the Puerto Rico Junior Open and the U.S. Junior Amateur
Championship, as well as a third-place showing at The Junior PLAYERS
Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.
Nicole Morales, 16, of South Salem, N.Y., will follow her
performances in 2012 with an appearance for the East team. At No. 6 in the Polo Golf
Rankings, Morales proved to be a strong competitor throughout the year,
beginning with her win at the Polo Golf Junior Classic. She maintained her steadiness
at the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior at Innnisbrook hosted by Sean O’Hair,
where she tied for second. The 2013 AJGA Player Representative claimed top-10
finishes at the Rolex Tournament of Champions (T6) and the U.S. Girls Junior
Championship (T9), capping off the year with a win at the Genesis Junior Open
in August.
Adam Wood,
of Zionsville, Ind., will join the East after a successful 2012 campaign that
included five top-15 performances. His season was highlighted by a victory at
the Western Junior Championship and a third-place finish at the Junior PGA
Championship. The Duke verbal commit was named a first-team Rolex Junior
All-American and is No. 4 in the Polo Golf Rankings.
For
information on the Winn Junior Cup Challenge, please contact Tournament
Director Katie Wilson (
kwilson@ajga.org) at 678-425-1743.