Junior golf’s top honorees were announced Thursday, Oct. 30, as 48 boys and 48 girls were named Rolex Junior All-Americans by Rolex and the American Junior Golf Association.
Introduced by the AJGA in 1978, the Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize players who have proven to be the world’s premier junior golfers. This year’s selections distinguished themselves through their outstanding play in 123 national events, 108 of which were conducted by the AJGA. The Rolex Junior All-America Teams were determined exclusively through the Polo Golf Rankings as of Oct. 14.
The teams are comprised of 96 junior golfers, ages 14-19, from 18 states, Mexico and nine foreign countries (Bolivia, China, Japan, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Venezuela). These standouts will be honored at the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet, Nov. 23, at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Three girls from the 2013 Rolex Junior All-America First Team return in 2014, including Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, California, who leads the Girls Division for most years as a Rolex Junior All-American at four. Lee earned her third consecutive year on the First Team after making the U.S. Women’s Open cut, capturing back-to-back Invitational wins and posting incredible match play performances. The Stanford commit captured an eight-stroke victory at the Rolex Tournament of Champions and won the inaugural Yani Tseng Invitational presented by the Swinging Skirts in as many weeks. The No. 1-ranked junior advanced to U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship quarterfinals and was a member of the victorious squads at the Wyndham Cup and Junior Ryder Cup.
Megan Khang of Rockland, Massachusetts, was named to the First Team for the second consecutive year behind the strength of six top-10 finishes in national competition. At No. 12 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Khang opened the season with runner-up showings at the Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship and the ANNIKA Invitational, and closed the year with a T5 performance as defending champion at The PING Invitational.
Three-time Rolex Junior All-American Bethany Wu of Diamond Bar, California, earned her spot on the First Team for the second straight year. The No. 3-ranked junior successfully defended her title at the ANNIKA Invitational, becoming the only repeat winner in the event’s history. Wu, who is verbally committed to UCLA, posted runner-up finishes at the Yani Tseng Invitational presented by the Swinging Skirts and the Junior PGA Championship, and contributed to the team match play success at the Wyndham Cup and Junior Ryder Cup.
A 2013 second-team Rolex Junior All-American, Kristen Gillman of Austin, Texas, recorded five top-six national finishes and won the Junior PGA Championship en route to First Team honors. Her breakout season was highlighted by a victory at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. At No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Gillman has verbally committed to Alabama.
In her fourth AJGA season and Rolex Junior All-America Team debut, Jillian Hollis of Rocky River, Ohio, earned a spot on the First Team. The Georgia commit didn’t finish outside the top 20 once in her nine national junior golf starts in 2014. At No. 9 in the Polo Golf Rankings, her season was highlighted by her second career AJGA victory at the AJGA Junior at Sugar Valley and a T3 showing at The PING Invitational.
The seven remaining First Team selections are: Nelly Korda of Bradenton, Florida, Robynn Ree of Redondo Beach, California, Lauren Stephenson of Lexington, South Carolina, Maddie Szeryk of Allen, Texas, Bailey Tardy of Norcross, Georgia, Elizabeth Wang of San Marino, California, and Angel Yin of Arcadia, California.
First-team Rolex Junior All-Americans
Gillman, a junior at Lake Travis High School, earned first-team Rolex Junior All-America honors for the first time after a 2014 campaign that doesn’t include a single finish out of the top 10 in national competition. At No. 2 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Gillman won the Junior PGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. In AJGA competition, the Alabama verbal commit opened her season with a semifinals appearance at the Polo Golf Junior Classic, finished T3 at the Thunderbird International Junior and sixth at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship. Additionally, the 17-year-old played on both the winning Junior Ryder Cup’s United States and Wyndham Cup’s West teams.
Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass.
Nelly Korda, Bradenton, Fla.
Korda, 16, recorded two runner-up finishes and her first career victory in national competition en route to first-team Rolex Junior All-America honors. The IMG Academy junior won the Kathy Whitworth Invitational in March and finished second at the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior at Innisbrook hosted by Sean O’Hair and the Scott Robertson Memorial. After finishing in the top-15 at all of her 2014 events, Korda was boosted to No. 4 in the Polo Golf Rankings.
Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Lee, 16, was named a first-team Rolex Junior All-American for the third consecutive year after earning the No. 1 spot in the Polo Golf Rankings. The 2014 Rolex Junior Player of the Year made the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open, captured an eight-stroke victory at the Rolex Tournament of Champions and won the inaugural Yani Tseng Invitational presented by the Swinging Skirts in as many weeks. Lee posted top match play performances at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, the Wyndham Cup and the Junior Ryder Cup, and closed the season with a T8 showing at The PING Invitational. A junior at Mira Costa High School, Lee has verbally committed to Stanford.
Robynn Ree, Redondo Beach, Calif.
A senior at Redondo Beach High School, Ree, 17, only finished outside the top 20 once en route to first-team Rolex Junior All-America honors. Her season was highlighted by a T3 showing at the Kathy Whitworth Invitational and a runner-up finish at the Rolex Tournament of Champions. A 2013 second-team Rolex Junior All-American, Ree closed the season with a T5 performance at The PING Invitational and moved to No. 10 in the Polo Golf Rankings. Ree, who helped the West Team win the Wyndham Cup, will continue her career at the collegiate level at USC next fall.
At No. 6 in the Polo Golf Rankings, Wang, 14, earned a spot on the First Team behind the strength of two victories in 2014. Wang, who was named an honorable mention Rolex Junior All-American in 2013, earned her second career AJGA victory in April at the AJGA Junior at River Ridge. In June, she won the Rolex Girls Junior Championship wire-to-wire, capturing her first Invitational title and solidifying her spot on the Wyndham Cup roster.
Diamond Bar High School senior Wu was named a first-team Rolex Junior All-American for the second consecutive year. The No. 3-ranked junior made history in January after she successfully defended her title at the ANNIKA Invitational, becoming the first repeat winner in the event’s history. Wu, 17, posted runner-up finishes at the inaugural Yani Tseng Invitational presented by the Swinging Skirts and the Junior PGA Championship, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior. The UCLA commit was also a member of the victorious squads at the Wyndham Cup and Junior Ryder Cup.
Angel Yin, Arcadia, Calif.
After subsequent years as an honorable mention and second-team Rolex Junior All-American, Yin, 16, earned a spot on the First Team after top performances in national competition. She took third at the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship in December 2013, and placed third at the Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club in April. A sophomore at Arcadia High School, Yin finished within the top 10 at the Thunderbird International Junior and Yani Tseng Invitational presented by the Swinging Skirts, and closed the season with a runner-up showing at The PING Invitational. She is currently No. 7 in the Polo Golf Rankings.
Lilia Vu, Fountain Valley, Calif.