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Juniors head to Baltusrol for 15th Carter Cup

The par-three 4th hole of Baltusrol Golf Club's Lower Course (Photo: Baltusrol GC)


ELMSFORD, N.J. (July 31, 2017) – The 15th Carter Cup returns to its home at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., on Wednesday, August 2. The area’s best junior competitors will face the historic club’s Upper and Lower Courses to determine a champion in the official MGA Junior Stroke Play Championship.

Related: Pairings | Carter Cup History | Carter Cup Records

The Carter Cup was first played in 2003 and is named in honor of Michael P. Carter, an accomplished junior player at Baltusrol and standout member of the golf team at New Jersey’s Delbarton School who died in a car accident in 2002. Carter had won the junior club championships at both Baltusrol and Winged Foot, and at the time of his death played for Penn State.

Even with its brief history, the Carter Cup has produced an incredible list of champions, including PGA TOUR player Morgan Hoffmann (2005), now professionals Max Buckley (2007), Cameron Wilson (2009), and David Pastore (2010), and current Wake Forest standout Cameron Young (2011). This year’s field is once again filled with the area’s best up-and-coming talents.

Chance to Defend
Ethan Ng
of New York City has the opportunity to become the first-ever player to successfully defend the Carter Cup title. Ng won last year’s event in a playoff over Brent Ito, claiming victory at Winged Foot Golf Club as Baltusrol hosted the PGA Championship.

The Junior Sweep?
Jake Mayer
of Scotch Plains, N.J., is looking to become just the second player to win both the Met Junior Championship and the Carter Cup in the same year, following his recent Met Junior win at Plainfield Country Club. Pat Fillian, now the head golf professional at Echo Lake, did so in 2004. David Pastore and Cameron Young have also claimed both titles, though in different years.

Winning Ways
Following a quarterfinal appearance in the 100th Met Junior, Jack Wall of Brielle, N.J., went all the way in the NJSGA Junior Championship, defeating Mayer for the title. Wall is looking to continue the family success in the Carter Cup, with older brothers Ethan (2011, and 2012) and Jeremy (2014) having claimed runner-up finishes.

Boys – Carter Cup Combo
Two-time MGA/MetLife Boys champion Nathan Han of Somers, N.Y., has the opportunity to join Cameron Wilson as the only player to have won both the Boys Championship and the Carter Cup. Han finished T16 in 2015 at Baltusrol and T6 last year at Winged Foot.

Keep it Rolling
Chris Gotterup of Little Silver, N.J., and Brendan Hansen of Spring Lake, N.J., are both looking to continue their quality summers of competition. Gotterup finished T8 in the Ike Championship, made an appearance at the U.S. Junior Amateur, and recently qualified for the 102nd Met Open. Hansen finished third at the NJSGA Open. Both are also slated to compete in the 115th Met Amateur this week as well.

Junior Momentum
Shane DeVincenzo of Port Jefferson, N.Y., and Jack Maguire of Ridgefield, Conn., are looking to build momentum from their runs to the semifinal of the 100th Met Junior. Both are making their first appearance in the Carter Cup. Jackson Fretty of Cos Cob, Conn., and Johnny Bush of Cranford, N.J., are two more names to watch in a deep field, following their co-medalist honors in the 100th Met Junior Championship. Bush finished T9 last year at Winged Foot, while this is Fretty’s first appearance in the Carter Cup.

Climbing Finishes at the Carter Cup
William Rand of New York City will aim to continue his upward trend in the Carter Cup, having finished T11 in 2015 and T6 last year. Rand also advanced to match play at the 100th Met Junior, but was defeated by eventual champion Mayer in the quarterfinals.

The Race is On
The Carter Cup is another marquee event in the season-long race for the MGA Junior Player of the Year Award, Presented by Callaway—which is in its inaugural year. Eight of the current top-10 competitors in the race are in the field for the Carter Cup. The winner will receive 225 points.

Format

  • Invite-only championship, based on criteria set by the MGA and MGA Foundation
  • One day, 36 holes of stroke play upon Baltusrol’s Upper Course and Lower Courses

Baltusrol Golf Club

  • Its A.W. Tillinghast-designed Upper and Lower Courses are consistently ranked among the best in the world
  • Has hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur and PGA Championship, all on multiple occasions
  • Most recently welcomed the PGA Championship in 2016 and will host the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2018

Coverage

  • 9 and 18-hole updates during the morning round
  • Live hole-by-hole scoring during the final round in the afternoon
  • Social Media: @MGA1897 on Twitter for updates through the day; additional content on Facebook and Instagram
  • Scoring, recaps, interviews and photos on mgagolf.org