The United States, powered by a strong singles performance, captured its third consecutive Junior Ryder Cup, 14.5 to 9.5, on Tuesday at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois. The U.S. Team, which opened its final session with a two-point advantage, won seven of the 12 singles matches and halved another.
The Junior Ryder Cup, a premier international team match-play competition, features 12 junior golfers from the United States hosting their European counterparts.
The United States now owns a 4-3-1 overall record in the Junior Ryder Cup, and has not lost since 2004 at Westfield Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio. The matches were halved 6-6 in 2006 at The Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales.
The United States battled to a 7-5 lead after the first day of foursomes and mixed four-balls, then sprinted out in singles Tuesday by winning four of its first five matches. Leading the way were Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., with a 6-and-5 win over Linnea Ström of Sweden; and Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J., who beat Germany’s Quirine Eijkenboom, 4 and 2.
U.S. Captain Roger Warren was overwhelmed by the entire experience of serving as the United States Captain and came away impressed with the performance of both teams.
“We are really fortunate to have won, because these teams are so evenly matched and each have such a wealth of talent,” said Warren, who was the 34th president of The PGA of America. “We came because we wanted to compete and win. But in the end it was all about friendships and goodwill between the teams that made this a truly special experience.”
Alison Lee, who finished runner-up in the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, clinched the winning point for the United States team.
“I had to come out this morning and finish my four-ball match so that helped me warm up a bit,” said Lee. “I felt really comfortable all day and to make that clinching point was so awesome. It feels great to know that I helped the team.”
Karen Chung, Esther Lee of Los Alamitos, Calif., and Casie Cathrea of Livermore, Calif., won all three of their matches at the Junior Ryder Cup.
“It’s exciting to know that I was able to close out my first Junior Ryder Cup with three points and winning all three matches,” said Cathrea. “This whole experience has been incredible.”
JUNIOR RYDER CUP
SINGLES RESULTS
Casie Cathrea, United States, def. Emily Pedersen, Europe, 2 up.
Cameron Champ, United States, halved with Toby Tree, Europe.
Karen Chung, United States, def. Quirine Eijkenboom, Europe, 4 and 2.
Robby Shelton, United States, def. Renato Paratore, Europe, 2 and 1.
Casey Danielson, United States, def. Harang Lee, Europe, 3 and 2.
Dominic Foos, Europe, def. Beau Hossler, United States, 3 and 1.
Covadonga Sanjuan, Europe, def. Samantha Wagner, United States, 1 up.
Matthias Schwab, Europe, def. Scottie Scheffler, United States, 3 and 2.
Alison Lee, United States, def. Linnea Strom, Europe, 6 and 5.
Gavin Hall, United States, def. Victor Tarnstrom, Europe, 2 and 1.
Esther Lee, United States, def. Bronte Law, Europe, 1 up
Gavin Moynihan, Europe, def. Jim Liu, United States, 4 and 3.
