AJGA Blog

Old Stomping Grounds: From an AJGA event to a TOUR event

 

(left) Bud Cauley at the 2006 Polo Golf Junior Classic; (right) Brian Harman at the 2003 Wyndham Cup. Both events were conducted on the Seaside Course at Sea Island.

By Amanda Herrington, AJGA Communications

As players tee off this weekend at The McGladrey Classic, AJGA alumni will be making their return to the Seaside Course at Sea Island, Ga., a past venue for the Polo Golf Junior Classic and Wyndham Cup. Sea Island Golf Club hosted the AJGA Invitational from 2004 to 2006, a span that saw champions including Morgan Pressel (2004), Esther Choe (2006) and Morgan Hoffman (2006). In 2003, the 14th annual Wyndham Cup was contested on the Seaside Course, a year the West retained the Cup in a comeback victory.

In the field, Bud Cauley, Bobby Gates, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk, Brendon Todd, Cameron Tringale and Chase Wright all previously played the Seaside Course in AJGA events. At the 2003 Wyndham Cup, Gates, Kirk, Todd and Harman represented the East. Harman also played in the Polo Golf Junior Classic held at Sea Island in 2004, the same year as Tringale. Cauley played in both the 2005 and 2006 event, while Wright made an appearance in 2005.

Cauley found the most success on the Seaside Course. In 2006, the Jacksonville, Fla., native tied for eighth during stroke play and advanced to round one of match play. Building on that experience, Cauley returned with a quarterfinal appearance at the 2007 tournament at Reunion Resort. This is not the first time Cauley has played a PGA TOUR event at a former AJGA venue. Last year, Cauley made headlines as the first player to go from the Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf to The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

 

The Seaside Course at Sea Island

 

 

News and Notes: Wyndham Cup (day one)

> Off the bench
Jack Maguire (above) didn’t start his four-ball match, but he was the one that ended it.

A bloody nose kept Maguire off the course for the first four holes Tuesday morning. His partner Tae Wan Lee held his own against Brandon Pierce and Sam Burns, as Lee birdied Nos. 1 and 4 and kept the match all square until his partner was able to join him on No. 5.

After he hit his tee shot to eight feet on the par-3 17th, Maguire made the match-clinching birdie. Said his father: “Good thing he’s not a boxer.”

> Something’s gotta give
The ninth foursome match Wednesday morning features a pair of teams that succeeded in the format in 2011. For the East, Matthew NeSmith and Cody Proveaux combined for a 1-up victory last year, while Scott Scheffler and Connor Black shot 30 on the front nine at Eagle Point en route to a 7-and-5 win.

> Wake up, make up and then warm up
Matthew NeSmith and Sierra Sims having late morning matches is part strategy, part publicity. The two players will travel 4.5 miles down the road and appear on the Golf Channel’s Morning Drive. Their days will begin with a pre-6 a.m. wake-up call, a 6:45 a.m. make-up appointment at the studio, and after their 7:15 a.m. interviews, they will return to Bay Hill to begin warming up by 7:45 a.m.

The strategy probably came into play Tuesday more than anything, as NeSmith and Sims both played in the afternoon mixed foursome matches, meaning they only have to play 18 holes Wednesday.

> Winning
Three players posted a pair of wins Tuesday. Connor Black and Thomas Lim each posted a pair of points for the West, while Tae Wan Lee prevailed twice for the East. Lim’s day was especially bright, as he never trailed en route to his two victories.

> Looking ahead…
Based on Tuesday’s afternoon foursome pairings, it’s certain that Wednesday’s afternoon four-ball pairings will be comprised of the 20 players below:

East Boys

• Parker Derby, Columbus, Ga. (2013)
• Jack Maguire, St Petersburg, Fla. (2013)
• Cody Proveaux, Leesville, S.C. (2012)
• Adam Wood, Zionsville, Ind. (2014)
• James Yoon, Bradenton, Fla. (2012)

East Girls

• Sierra Brooks, Sorrento, Fla. (2016)
• Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis. (2013)
• Yu Liu, (China) Aventura, Fla. (2013)
• Anna Newell, Tampa, Fla. (2014)
• Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale, Ga. (2012)

West Boys

• Brad Dalke, McKinney, Texas (2016)
• Zecheng Dou, (China) Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (2015)
• Brandon Pierce, Covington, La. (2013)
• Scott Scheffler, Dallas, Texas (2014)
• Dylan Wu, Medford, Ore. (2014)

West Girls

• Hee Wook Choi, (South Korea) San Diego, Calif. (2013)
• Allisen Corpuz, Honolulu, Hawaii (2016)
• Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. (2013)
• Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (2016)
• Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz. (2012)

Written by Chris Richards, AJGA Communications

News and Notes: Wyndham Cup (East preview)

> Recurring Dream
In 2011, the 20 players on the East Team each donned a red wristband (foreground above) with the words “One Team, One Dream.” In the 12 months since last year’s Wyndham Cup, Matthew NeSmith has worn that in every tournament he’s played in. This week it is being retired, only to be replaced with a new one with the same mantra.

> Recurring Pairing
Jaye Marie Green and Casey Danielson won their four-ball match in 2011, and they’ll look to do the same in 2012. The duo will face Lindsey Weaver and Sierra Sims in the eighth match of the day.

> Recurring Success?
Matthew NeSmith and James Yoon will team-up as the only senior-senior team Tuesday morning. Each player will look to draw upon their flawless performances from a year ago, as NeSmith went 4-0-0 last year, while Yoon went 1-0-3.

Written by Chris Richards, AJGA Communications

News and Notes: Wyndham Cup (West preview)

> Same-state chemistry
Of the 10 pairings, eight feature players from the same state. A pair of players from Oregon will lead the West out of the gate, as Clayton Madey and Dylan Wu will tee off in the first match against Cody Proveaux and Doug Ghim. Sam Burns, who turned 16 Tuesday, and Brandon Pierce of Louisiana will square off against Tae Wan Lee and Jack Maguire, while there are two pairings of Texans and four pairings of Californians.

> A winning combination
Lindsey Weaver and Sierra Sims, who have a combined six AJGA victories this season, will face-off against Jaye Marie Green and Casey Danielson in the 8:54 a.m. match. Weaver’s four wins give her 11 for her career, which is tied for sixth most in AJGA history, while Sims posted back-to-back wins in April.

> Sweet ‘16
Two of the West’s players from the Class of 2016 will compete in the first three matches. Andrea Lee, who is the youngest player among the 40 players, is in the 7:42 a.m. group, while Brad Dalke will begin his second Wyndham Cup in the 7:54 a.m. group.

Written by Chris Richards, AJGA Communications

Five years of Wyndham Cup memories

To play in the Wyndham Cup is a prestigious honor, but to return for a fifth time speaks volumes in and of itself. Although her team leaves Eagle Point Golf Club without the Cup, Kristen Park of Buena Park, Calif., ends her final AJGA event with five years of Wyndham Cup memories.

“This is my first time experiencing a team loss,” said Park, who is one of just five players in AJGA history to compete in five Wyndham Cups. “But this one is no different from the others, they were all fun. I am so happy that I got to play a team event like this, one that is so important, as my last tournament.”

Park first joined the Wyndham Cup West Team in 2007 as an eighth grader, and leaves her AJGA career heading into her freshman year at the University of Southern California.

“I played with my best golf friends and got to know some of the future golf stars,” Park said. “A lot of players from my first Cup are on top now, so it’s a big honor.”

In her five years with the West Team, Park played against rising golf star Vicky Hurst and alongside Jenny Shin. While Park used to look up to these players with awe, she now finds herself as one of the players that the younger admire.

“You just don’t expect what if feels like to be looked up to like that,” Park said.

From all of us in the AJGA, we wish Park the best and good luck!

-Matt Tradewell

Midday Report (Wed.)

After the morning session of the second day of the Wyndham Cup, the East still holds onto the advantage with a 15-10 mark, but the matches were a lot closer than that figure says.

Six of the 10 matches matches went to the 18th hole (three of the six were all square through 17), and the East was able to pull out four points (3-1-2 record) compared to the West’s two points. The East fought for a half-point when Jonathan Garrick/Beau Hossler birdied the final hole to halve their match against Motin Yeung/James Yoon. For the West, Esther Lee/Gabriella Then parred the final hole to secure a point against Mariah Stackhouse/Casey Danielson.

A back-and-forth battle between AJ McInerney/Marcel Puyat and the East’s Michael Johnson/JD Tomlinson fittingly went the distance after the West birdied No. 17 to bring the match to all square. Neither team lead by a margin of more than 1-up, and Tomlinson sealed the victory when he knocked down his birdie putt on the par-5 18th.

The most exciting shot of the morning came from Jake McBride, whose first-career ace came on the par-3, 190-yard 10th hole. The low, cutting 4-iron one-hopped into the back-left hole location and the excitement could be heard around the course. He and Henry Do went on to win their match, 2 and 1.

Can the West take control of the afternoon session and gain some ground? Stay tuned to the action with FJ Live Scoring.

-Jessica Souto

A winning attitude

All teams need an emotional leader, and for the East, Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Fla., has taken that role this week. She has adopted the “just win” attitude and spreads it amongst her team by being the voice in the huddle that both congratulates and encourages her teammates. She’s even been known to give a chest-bump or two; just ask Casey Danielson (see above).

“We’re just going to have to win,” Green said. “That’s my mindset, whatever match or whoever I’m caddying for, we just have to win.”

Emotional leaders are always the ones who are there to uplift teammates whenever they’re struggling, and Jaye Marie does just that.

“Sometimes you see people aren’t hitting it well and I just remind them that they got on the team because they’re good,” Green said. “Everyone’s going to hit good shots and bad shots so I just remind them that we’re here to have fun.”

-Nick Moreland

If it ain’t broke…

As mentioned in a blog written Monday night, the East boys’ four-ball pairings mirrored this week’s rooming assignments. The result? The East went 3-0-2 in the boys’ four-ball matches and raced to a four-point lead after the morning session.

Not surprisingly, Wednesday’s foursome matches feature the same five boys’ pairings that were used Tuesday morning.

Midday Report: Two Halves Make a Whole (Point)

Smiles, fist pumps and high fives were all around Eagle Point Golf Club Tuesday morning as both sides battled it out. The East Team took the first two points, so it was up to the third match to bring some points home for the blue-and-white clad West squad.

The morning’s most dramatic match featured the West’s Scott Scheffler and Brad Dalke (pictured above) against the East’s Jake McBride and Henry Do. The West held a 2-up lead through 11 holes, but McBride and Do responded by making five birdies in the next six holes to take a 1-up lead to No. 18.

Dalke’s aggressive second shot into the par-5 18th left him with just a 40-yard pitch. The West claimed its first half-point after he made a seven-footer for birdie and gave a celebratory fist pump (reminiscent of the one that followed his tournament-clinching putt at the Thunderbird International Junior in May).

Another half a point came from the match between the West’s Marcel Puyat and Nicolo Galletti and the East’s Motin Yeung and James Yoon. The West held the advantage for the first 13 holes, but an East birdie on No. 14 brought the match to all square. Yoon notched the East’s fifth birdie of the day on No. 18 to salvage a halve during a match it never led.

Proveaux’s little toe woes

To shoot a bogey-free 64 and only win 1-up is a battle in and of itself, but Cody Proveaux had an additional obstacle during Tuesday morning’s four-ball match.

Monday night, he accidentally kicked a door jamb and broke the pinky toe on his left foot. After the athletic trainer taped him up Tuesday morning, he and Matthew NeSmith promptly went out and birdied five of the first seven holes.

Proveaux said that he only felt pain on his tee shot on No. 16 when he over-rotated. He has the afternoon off and will have another day to prepare for 36 holes on Wednesday.