By RANDY YOUNGMAN
Beau Hossler Jr., an incoming senior at Santa Margarita High School who briefly led the 2012 U.S. Open midway through the second round, has been named to the U.S. team for the eighth Junior Ryder Cup matches to be contested Sept. 24-25 at Olympia Fields Country Club in suburban Chicago.
The PGA of America announced that Hossler, who ranked first on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup points list, will be among an elite group of 12 amateurs – six boys and six girls – on the U.S. team that will face a European team of junior amateurs in the biennial competition.
Hossler, of Mission Viejo, Calif., and Junior PGA Champion Robby Shelton of Wilmer, Ala., headline the boys on the U.S. team, along with Cameron Champ of Sacramento; Gavin Hall of Pittsford, N.Y.; Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y.; and Scottie Scheffler of Dallas, Texas.
The six girls on the U.S. team: Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., the points leader in the Junior PGA Ryder Cup girls rankings; Samantha Wagner of Windermere, Fla.; Esther Lee of Los Alamitos, Cal.; Casie Cathrea of Livermore, Cal.; Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J.; and Casey Danielson of Osceola, Wis.
After the two-day competition at Olympia Fields, the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team members also will play a “friendship match” on Sept. 26 at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club, site of the 39th Ryder Cup matches between Davis Love’s U.S. team and Jose Maria Olazabal’s European team.
Hossler, 17, who finished tied for 29th at the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, has accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Texas golf team beginning in 2013.
