25th Anniversary Wyndham Cup rosters finalized

The Wyndham Cup rosters have been finalized and 40 players from 18 states have committed to represent the East or West at the 25th annual event conducted at Old Sandwich Golf Club in Plymouth, Massachusetts, July 7-10.

The Wyndham Cup brings together 40 of the nation’s top juniors in an East-versus-West team match play tournament. With the Mississippi River as the division separating East from West, 10 boys and 10 girls from each side are selected based on the Polo Golf Rankings, which reward top finishes in national junior golf events.

No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings and coming off an eight-shot victory at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, California, leads the West in qualifying points. After going undefeated in all 2013 matches, Lee returns for her third Wyndham Cup with a 7-1-0 record.

The West boys squad is headlined by No. 4-ranked Austin Connelly of Irving, Texas, and No. 5-ranked Sam Burns of Shreveport, Louisiana, who each captured signature wins in 2014 at the FJ Invitational and Rolex Tournament of Champions, respectively. Connelly helped the West win the Cup in 2013, while Burns returns to the squad after a one-year hiatus.

Veteran Brad Dalke of Hobart, Oklahoma, will represent the West for the fourth consecutive year. With a 6-3-3 career record, the three-time AJGA Invitational champion was the only West boy in the 2013 competition to notch a point in all of his matches.   

Amy Lee of Brea, California, returns to the West Team for the third consecutive year boasting a 6-1-1 career record. At No. 5 in the Polo Golf Rankings, the two-time AJGA champion won the 2013 Junior PGA Championship and finished runner-up at the 2014 Rolex Girls Junior Championship.  

The East Team will be led by Jorge Garcia of Miami, who will return for the second consecutive year, and Adam Wood of Zionsville, Indiana, who will compete in his third and final Wyndham Cup. In 2013, Garcia posted a 3-1-0 record in his match play debut, then went on to finish runner-up at the Polo Golf Junior Classic, the AJGA’s only other annual match play event. Wood, who won the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 2012, comes off his second consecutive runner-up showing at the Rolex Tournament of Champions.

No. 6-ranked Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, Illinois, will close his junior career at Old Sandwich Golf Club. Ghim, who competed in the 2012 Wyndham Cup, opened the year by breaking Wyndham Cup alumnus Jordan Spieth’s 54-hole tournament record at the CB&I Boys Championship at Carlton Woods for his fourth career AJGA title.

At No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Andy Zhang of Reunion, Florida, will join the East Team for his Wyndham Cup debut. Zhang earned a berth into the match play competition with a second-place finish at the CB&I Boys Championship at Carlton Woods and a victory at the Thunderbird International Junior.

Sierra Brooks of Sorrento, Florida, will represent the East for the third consecutive year. Brooks made her Wyndham Cup debut as the youngest player in the 2012 edition, and has compiled a 4-3-1 record. This will be her first match play event since her semifinal appearance at the 2013 Polo Golf Junior Classic.

Abbey Carlson of Lake Mary, Florida, and Bailey Tardy of Norcross, Georgia, will compete for the second straight year, while Anna Newell of Tampa, Florida, returns for the first time since 2012.      

The top nine boys and top nine girls earned invitations based on the Polo Golf Rankings as of June 16. Play at the Rolex Tournament of Champions determined the final spots on each team. Josh Seiple of Castle Rock, Colorado, and Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas, earned the final two spots on the West Team.

After an East girl withdrawal, three spots for the East were filled based on Polo Golf Rankings as of June 30: Rachel Dai of Milton, Georgia, will return for the second year while Wyndham Cup rookies Shannon Brooks of Vienna, Virginia, and Qi Wen Wong of Bradenton, Florida will round out the squad.

In 2013, the West Team reclaimed the Cup for the first time since 2010 with a 27.5-22.5 victory over the East at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The West holds a 13-9-2 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1990. Site of the 2010 Wyndham Cup, Old Sandwich Golf Club in Plymouth, Massachusetts, will host the Cup for the second time.

Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s leading diversified providers of travel-related products and services for businesses and individual consumers, is the Official Hotel Partner of the AJGA and has supported the Wyndham Cup since 2011. The 25th anniversary of the Wyndham Cup coincides with the 75th playing of the PGA TOUR’s Wyndham Championship. AJGA alumni who have won the Wyndham Championship include Patrick Reed (2013), Sergio Garcia (2012), Webb Simpson (2011), Ryan Moore (2009), Carl Pettersson (2008), Brandt Snedeker (2007) and Davis Love III (2006, 1992).