AJGA CANON CUP
Biltmore Forest Country Club
Asheville, North Carolina
August 6-9, 2001

EAST RALLIES AFTER SLOW START TO TAKE EARLY LEAD
12th annual Canon Cup gets underway at Biltmore Forest Country Club

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The West squad started strong, but the East scored points in all five afternoon matches to take the lead following the first day at the 12th annual Canon Cup held at Biltmore Forest Country Club. The East team holds an 8 ½- 6 ½ advantage heading into Wednesday.

The Canon Cup, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, features the nation's top 40 junior golfers, ages 13-18. The competition pits the East vs. West in a match-play format similar to the Ryder Cup. Teams (10 boys and 10 girls) were selected based on a point system and include four captains' picks per squad. In the field are 28 Polo Golf Junior All-Americans, including eight first-teamers.

Brittany Lincicome of Pinellas Park, Fla., and Lisa Tyler of Lighthouse Point, Fla., won the East's first point with a 3-and-2 victory over Sunny Oh of Torrance, Calif., and Stella Lee of Irvine, Calif. The twosome was down two holes through six, thanks in part to a case of the nerves for the two first-timers from Florida.

"We played terrible the first five holes," Tyler said. "We were both so nervous."

"I had a 6-foot birdie putt on the first green, and I was so nervous I was shaking," Lincicome added.

The duo then got going on No. 7, winning the next four holes to go 2-up. They proceeded to go 3-up through 12 holes, before closing out the match.

"Once Brittany got going, I started playing well," Tyler said. "It was just a case of the nerves early in the round. Once we got playing, we played very well as a team."

Jay Choi of Buena Park, Calif., and Jonathan Moore of Portland, Ore., won the first point of the day for the West squad with a 1-up victory over James Vargas of Miami and Colby Beckstrom of North Muskegon, Mich.

The East duo led by two holes after Vargas recorded three straight birdies on Nos. 9-11. Choi responded for the West with a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 12 to get back within one hole, and tied the match with a 35-foot birdie from the fringe on No. 16. Moore won the match with a 6-foot par putt on No. 18.

"Jon and I really worked out well," Choi said. "He'd have a bad hole, but I would play well and vice versa. We helped each other out a lot."

The East team got a big point from the duo of Chan Song Wonglukiet of Bradenton, Fla., and Nick Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla. The two trailed essentially the entire round in their matchup with Matthew Rosenfeld and Drew Pigg, both of Plano, Texas. Thompson parred No. 17 to square the match, then both East players won the match with par on No. 18.

The best match of the day may have been the draw between the East duo of Webb Simpson of Raleigh, N.C., and Casey Wittenberg of Memphis, Tenn., against Jeff Bell of Plano, Texas, and Ryan Baca of Richmond, Texas.

The duo from Texas went 2-up after two holes, but the East team squared the match on No. 6. The East took their first lead on No. 12 with a Simpson birdie to go 1-up. Bell squared it again for the West with an eagle on the 289-yard par-four 14th hole. Bell drove the green, then walked in a 25-foot putt. The match ended all square when Wittenberg rolled in a 4-foot "kneeknocker" to end the match on No. 18.

In the afternoon matches, Whitney Code and Thompson of the East team halved the first match with the West squad's Oh and Choi. The West duo led the entire match, taking the lead on the second hole. However, the East duo evened the match on No. 18 when Code nailed a 5-footer for par.

Brian Duncan of Greenville, S.C., and Ashley Hoagland of Palmetto, Fla., had day one's largest comeback. The duo trailed Pigg and Alison Martin of Bakersfield, Calif., by three through six holes. Duncan, who was battling flu-like symptoms on the front nine, and Hoagland tied it up on No. 12 with a par. After falling one back with two holes to play, the East duo then won the final two holes with pars, and wrapped it up when Duncan drained a slick 2-foot downhill putt on No. 18 for the win.

Four of the five afternoon matches were decided on the 18th hole.

"I was pleased with the way we played in the afternoon," East Captain Todd Garten said. "We had a slow start, but I was happy with the way we played on the back nine in the morning matches. That gave us a lot of momentum heading into the afternoon."

For more information on the AJGA Canon Cup, please call tournament headquarters at (828) 274-1261, ext. 281.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Day one results from the 12th annual Canon Cup, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Biltmore Forest Country Club, par 35-35-70. Yardage: Boys 6,602; Girls; 5,957.

DAY ONE TOTALS: EAST 8 1/2 WEST 6 1/2

MORNING FOUR-BALL MATCHES
WEST 5 1/2 EAST 4 1/2

Jay Choi, Buena Park, Calif., & Jonathan Moore, Portland, Ore. (WEST) def. James Vargas, Miami, Fla., & Colby Beckstrom, North Muskegon, Mich. (EAST), 1 up.

Ina Kim, Encino, Calif., & Whitney Welch, Las Vegas, Nev. (WEST) def. Mallory Code, Tampa, Fla., & Whitney Code, Tampa, Fla., (EAST), 2 and 1.

Chan Song Wongluekiet, Bradenton, Fla., & Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla., (EAST) def. Matthew Rosenfeld, Plano, Texas, & Drew Pigg, Plano, Texas (WEST), 1 up.

Brittany Lincicome, Pinnellas Park, Fla., & Lisa Tyler, Lighthouse Point, Fla., (EAST) def. Sunny Oh, Torrance, Calif., and Stella Lee, Irvine, Calif. (WEST), 3 and 2.

Webb Simpson, Raleigh, N.C., & Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn., (EAST) vs. Ryan Baca, Richmond, Texas & Jeff Bell, Plano, Texas (WEST), halved.

Lani Elston, Spokane, Wash., and Lisa Ferrero, Lodi, Calif. (WEST) def. Elizabeth Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn., & Ashley Hoagland, Palmetto, Fla., (EAST), 5 and 3.

Brian Duncan, Greenville, S.C., & Brendon Todd, Cary, N.C. (EAST) def. Jay Reynolds, Austin, Texas, and Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. (WEST), 3 and 2.

Aimee Cho, Orlando, Fla., & Jackie Beers, Midlothian, Va., (EAST) def. Nicole Melton, San Antonio, Texas, & Brittany Lang, McKinney, Texas (WEST), 4 and 3.

Anthony Kim, La Quinta, Calif., & Nathan Lashley, Scottsbluff, Neb. (WEST) def. Roberto Castro, Alpharetta, Ga., & Mark Donnell, Mobile, Ala., (EAST), 1 up.

Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif., & Allison Martin, Bakersfield, Calif. (WEST) def. Kelly Husted, Sarasota, Fla., & Whitney Wade, Glasgow, Ky., (EAST), 2 and 1.

AFTERNOON MIXED FOURSOME MATCHES
EAST 4 WEST 1

Whitney Wade, Glasgow, Ky., & Colby Beckstrom, North Muskegon, Mich. (EAST) def. Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif.,& Nathan Lashley, Scottsbluff, Neb. (WEST), 3 and 2

Whitney Code, Tampa, Fla., & Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (EAST) vs. Sunny Oh, Torrance, Calif., & Jay Choi, Buena Park, Calif. (WEST), halved

Jackie Beers, Midlothian, Va., & Webb Simpson, Raleigh, N.C. (EAST) vs. Stella Lee, Irvine, Calif., & Anthony Kim, La Quinta, Calif. (WEST), halved

Ashley Hoagland, Palmetto, Fla., & Brian Duncan, Greenville, S.C. (EAST) def. Allison Martin, Bakersfield, Calif., & Drew Pigg, Plano, Texas (WEST), 1 up

Lisa Tyler, Lighthouse Point, Fla., & Mark Donnell, Mobile, Ala. (EAST) def. Nicole Melton, San Antonio, Texas, & Jay Reynolds, Austin, Texas (WEST), 2 up