TOURNAMENT RECAPS The United States won eight of 12 singles matches Sept. 18 to cruise to
victory at the inaugural Ping Junior Solheim Cup at Oak Ridge Country Club
in Hopkins, Minn. The U.S. squad led 8-4 after the first day and quickly
picked up the points it needed to claim the cup in a 17-7 rout.
Paula Creamer, who finished the 2001-02 season No. 3 in the
Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, got the Americans off to a fast start
with a 3-and-2 triumph over Claire Schreefel of Holland and Jane
Park followed with a 5-and-3 victory over Sweden's Louise
Stahle.
Spain's Carmen Alonso downed No. 5 Brittany Lincicome to
lead a brief European rally but Amanda Blumenherst cruised to
victory over Ines Diaz-Negrete of Spain, 6 and 5, and Allison
Martin edged fellow Spaniard Elisa Serramia, 2 and 1, to secure
the cup. * IJGT at Talking Stick Golf Club
Anthony Verna of Orinda, Calif., and Andrea Ratigan of
Tucson, Ariz., captured the boys and girls titles respectively Sept. 22 at
the IJGT at Talking Stick Tournament.
Verna posted a final-round 70 to finish at 140. Matt Marshall of
Los Gatos, Calif., posted a final-round 73 to go along with his opening
69, which was good for a tie for second. John Skelton of La Verne,
Calif., also placed second.
Andrea Ratigan of Tucson, Ariz., followed her round of 79 with a
closing 76 to claim the Girls 15-19 Division by one stroke. Jill
Womble of Pleasanton, Calif., finished alone in second place.
* PING Junior
Solheim Cup
-- For more, visit http://www.golfweek.com/juniorgolf/.
-
For complete results visit www.golfweek.com/amateur/
ELLIOTT: TOMORROW'S
STARS We all know the 34th Ryder Cup Matches will be played Sept. 27-29 at
The Belfry in England, but a few days earlier over in Ireland at The K
Club, the Junior Ryder Cup Matches also will be contested.
Some of the top American and European juniors will be showcasing their
talents in a team event Sept. 24-25. As with the 34th Ryder Cup, the
Junior Ryder Cup was postponed a year by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks..
TO SHINE AT JR. RYDER CUP
-- For more, visit www.golfweek.com/articles/juniorgolf/.
NEWS AND
NOTES To be ranked throughout the season a player must have played in a
minimum number of tournaments (two tournaments by Jan. 1, three by May 1,
four by June 30, five by July 29). To be included in the year-ending
rankings a player must have played in six events from September 2002 to
September 2003.
-- For all of the boys' ranked events, visit: www.golfweek.com/juniorgolf/boys/. * Ty Tryon can erase the dreaded nickname ''Keep'' (as in ''Keep
Tryin' ''). The 18-year-old PGA Tour rookie made his first cut as a
professional at the Tampa Bay Classic and earned his first paycheck
($8,620) Sept. 22. Tryon had rounds of 73-65-72-75 (1 over) to finish tied
for 41st.
''I cashed,'' Tryon said. ''I am pretty happy about that.''
Tryon, 18 and Jay Haas, 48, were paired together in the third
round. In 1999, Tryon played against Haas' son Bill (now a
sophomore at Wake Forest) in the American Junior Golf Association's Polo
Junior Golf Classic.
Four of Tryon's friends, all from the David Leadbetter Academy and
ranked in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings, Trent (No. 68) and
Tyler Leon (No. 9), Jonathan Moore (No. 4), and Tommy
Rymer (No. 169) made the trip to Innisbrook Resort to show their
support.
''They were cool today and they were cheering for me real loud. It was
cool because I didn't play very well but they kept it light hearted out
there,'' Tryon said.
''It was awesome, we were trying to fire him up,'' said Trent Leon,
whose brother Tyler jokingly asked Tryon for his autograph.
Moore added, ''We shut up and he made a bogey.''
''I makes me realize just how lucky I am to be out here,'' Tryon said.
* Two Florida players have finished atop the Golfweek/Titleist Junior
Rankings.
James Vargas of Miami and In-Bee Park of Eustis, Fla.,
finished the 2001-02 season ranked No. 1 in the rankings. However, each
took a different path to earning Golfweek Player of the Year honors.
Vargas did his damage early in the season. Park used consistent play
throughout the year, capped by a late-season victory that vaulted her to
the top.
Vargas, who finished his junior career with seven ranked events, shot
15-under 129 in stroke-play qualifying at the AJGA Polo Golf Junior
Classic last November before losing in the semifinals to eventual champion
Spencer Levin.
In his next event, he shot 4-under 212 to win the Doral Publix Junior
Classic in December. One week later, he shot a 23-under 261 to win the
Orange Bowl Junior International Championship by 11 shots.
The Korean-born Park spent most of the year in the top 10, but it was
not until her July 27 victory at the U.S. Junior Girls' Championship that
she took over the top spot, where she remained the rest of the summer.
Park, 14, became the second-youngest player, behind Aree Song
Wongluekiet, to claim the national title. Park also captured the AJGA
Rolex Girls' Junior Championship June 14. Along with her two victories,
she placed in the top 10 in all nine ranked events she participated in.
Even more impressive may have been her 72.3 scoring average in 28
rounds. Park recorded seven rounds in the 60s, with a low of 66 in the
opening round of the Westfield PGA Junior in July.
* The 2002-03 Golfweek/Titleist Performance Index list of
ranked tournaments has been compiled.
--
For all of the girls' ranked events, visit: www.golfweek.com/juniorgolf/girls/.
PLAYER TO
WATCH ''No matter how bad she's playing, she still beats me,'' the younger
Brady said.
Chris Brady, who plays with clubs she finds at neighborhood garage
sales, says that her most memorable golf moment was when she drained a
15-foot putt to win the North Carolina High School State Championship her
sophomore year.
In addition to her success on the golf course, Brady also runs track
for her high school. She also played basketball for two years and was the
team's high scorer her freshman year, averaging around 16 points per game.
In the fall of 2003, Brady will be following her mother's footsteps
when she travels to Nashville to play golf for Vanderbilt University.
Name: Chris Brady
Age: 17
Golfweek/Titleist
Ranking: 35th (final 2001-02 ranking)
Residence: Apex,
N.C.
The Skinny: Chris Brady may have beaten some of the best junior
golfers in the country when he won both the North Carolina State Amateur
and the North and South Junior Championship earlier this summer, but there
is one player she has yet to overcome -- her mother. Brady's mother,
Margaret, won the 1968 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship as well as a
number of state amateur titles.
Golfweek/Titleist
Performance Index (final 2001-02 ranking) GIRLS:
BOYS:
1.
James Vargas 68.88
2. Spencer Levin 70.30
3. Webb
Simpson 70.30
4. Jonathan Moore 70.38
5. Kevin
Larsen 70.40
6. Daniel Im 70.44
7. Jessie Mudd
70.51
8. Anthony Kim 70.59
9. Tyler Leon 70.62
10.
Seung Su Han 70.65
--For complete rankings visit www.golfweek.com/juniorgolf/ratings/boys.asp
1. In-Bee Park 70.24
2. Brittany Lang
70.33
3. Paula Creamer 70.49
4. Julieta Granada
71.29
5. Brittany Lincicome 71.68
6. Jane Park
71.81
7. Irene Cho 72.20
8. Allison Martin 72.23
9.
Jennifer Pandolfi 72.26
10. Nicole Hage 72.29
--For
complete rankings visit www.golfweek.com/juniorgolf/ratings/girls.asp
WINNER'S
MOVEMENT
The first edition of the 2002-03 Golfweek/Titleist
Performance Index will be published in early December.
THIS WEEK'S
EVENTS
Sept. 27-29-- McCormick Woods, Port Orchard, Wash.
Sept.
27-29-- Hershey Country Club, Hershey, Pa.
RECRUITING
CENTRAL Proposed rules would base continuing eligibility on cumulative academic
performance (GPA minimum would be required) to ensure that
student-athletes who meet yearly eligibility requirements will complete at
least 120 credit hours after five academic years, with a corresponding GPA
that satisfies institutional requirements.
Current requirements of degree completion (25/50/75 percent after
sophomore/junior/senior years) with no GPA requirement would increase to
40/60/80 percent of degree completion with the cumulative GPA requirement.
These proposals must be approved by the NCAA.
At the January 2002 NCAA Division I Board of Directors
meeting it was proposed that the core-course requirement for freshman
eligibility be increased from 13 to 14. The Directors also proposed new
standards to determine continuing eligibility past the freshman year.
Current guidelines base eligibility on a student-athlete's academic
performance only from the previous year in measuring satisfactory progress
toward a degree.
--For more college
recruiting information, visit the Ping American College Golf Guide at www.collegegolf.com/.
THIS WEEK IN
GOLFWEEK
Be sure to check out the Sept. 28 issue of Golfweek which
features our Golfweek Junior Players of the Year. Log on to golfweek.com
and participate in the ''It's Your Honor'' poll question. This week: Who
was the Most Valuable Player of the United States' Solheim Cup victory?
Have a question about the Golfweek/Titleist Performance Index? E-mail
rankings@golfweek.com.
Have an
interesting junior note to report, or know an interesting junior we can
profile? E-mail Golfweek scoreboard editor Graham Elliott at gelliott@golfweek.com.