USA to Compete in TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup

Sunday, June 14, 2009

USA to Compete in TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup
Americans look for first team title since 2005

TOYOTA CITY, Japan ? Even Beck, Jeffrey Kang, Brinson Paolini and T.J.. Vogel will represent the United States beginning Tuesday at the TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup supported by JAL at Chukyo Golf Club?s Ishino Course. Although the Americans have won the tournament five times since its inception in 1992 they have failed to claim the team title since 2005.

Doug Hamilton of Washburn will coach the U.S. squad. Beck and Vogel both earned AJGA Rolex First-Team All-America honors in 2008 while Kang earned second-team recognition and Paolini was named honorable mention. Beck posted an outstanding 2008, winning the Junior Players and Golf Pride Junior and finishing runner-up at the U.S. Junior. Kang tied for eighth earlier this year at the HP Junior and posted top five finishes in 2008 at the Polo Junior Classic, Junior PGA, HP Junior, Rolex Tournament of Champions and Dixie Amateur. He also went 3-0 at the Junior Ryder Cup. Paolini tied for seventh at the Jones Cup after winning the Virginia State Amateur in 2008 while also tying for medalist honors at the Polo Junior Classic and finishing third at both the Dixie Amateur and Eastern Amateur. Vogel placed 10th at the 2009 Terra Cotta Invitational and collected top 10s at the Junior PGA, HP Junior, Western Junior, FootJoy Boys Invitational and Dixie Amateur last year.

The American squad will face tough competition. Defending champion Norway was won two of the last three competitions and fields a strong team again this year despite returning just one player from last year. Sweden won the event in 2007 and posted runner-up showings in 2006 and 2008. Argentina - led by Jorge Fernandez Valdes - fields its strongest team in years while Portugal is led by one of the world?s top amateurs in Pedro Figueiredo and South Africa is seeking its first championship since 2001 and will be led by JC Claassen.

The competition, which is follows a four-players-count-three scores format, will consist of four rounds Tuesday, June 16-19. The TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup 2009 Supported by JAL is the world?s only junior golf championship in which 14 national teams, winners of regional qualifiers held across 6 continents and participated by more than 60 national teams, compete for the world champion trophy.