U.S. Wins Junior Presidents Cup
EDISON, N.J. (August 26, 2017) -- Though the International Team won Tuesday's final session of singles matches by a 7-5 margin, Team USA took the inaugural Junior Presidents Cup by a 14-10 margin at Plainfield Country Club.
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The event, co-hosted by the AJGA and PGA TOUR, featured many of the world's top junior competitors with 12 making up the U.S. squad and 12 making up the International (non-European) team. The U.S. was led by captain David Toms and honorary captain Jack Nicklaus, while the U.S. was led by captain Trevor Immelman and honorary captain Gary Player. Both Nicklaus and Player were in attendance for the conclusion of play and the closing ceremonies, Tuesday at Plainfield.
The U.S. clinched the victory early on, as Garrett Barber of Stuart, Fla., claimed a 4-and-3 victory over Australian Fred Lee. Barber, Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, N.C., and Trent Phillips of Inman, S.C., all went a perfect 3-0 to help the U.S. to victory.
Old Westbury, N.Y.'s Prescott Butler, who went 2-0 in the opening day of action which included four-ball and foursomes matches, dropped his singles match against Australia's Karl Vilips, 4-and-3.
With the matches completed, the junior competitors will now look forward to attending the Presidents Cup this week at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J.
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EDISON, N.J. (August 25, 2017) -- The opening matches of the inaugural Junior Presidents Cup took place on Monday at Plainfield Country Club, with the U.S. team taking a commanding 9-3 lead following four-ball and foursome mataches, in which Prescott Butler of Old Westbury, N.Y., went 2-0. The Junior Presidents Cup concludes Tuesday with 12 singles matches to decide the victor.
Related: Junior Presidents Cup Homepage
Butler, a 2018 graduate who has committed to Alabama, and Garrett Barber of Stuart, Fla., got off to a hot start, carding three birdies in the opening seven holes to build a 4-up advantage.Their International competitors, Aden Ye and Christo Lamprecht cut the deficit to one following three consecutive wins on Nos. 13-15, but Butler and Barber proved too strong, responding with birdies on 16 and 17 to win by a 2-and-1 margin and earn a point for their team led by captain David Toms.
In the afternoon, Butler and Eugene Hong of Orlando, Fla., paired together for a dominating win over Sean Maruyama and Ye. Five birdies in the alternate shot format led to a 3-up advantage heading into the final nine. Maruyama and Ye won the 10th, but four consecutive birdies on Nos. 12-15 led to three more wins (the par-five 14th was halved) and another point for the U.S., thanks to the 5-and-3 victory.
Tuesday's final session of 12 singles matches is slated to begin at 7:30 a.m.