WEST COMPLETES COMEBACK ON DAY THREE TO RETAIN CANON CUP
Cochran scores decisive point at Sea Island

SEA ISLAND, Ga. – Match play golf doesn’t get much closer than it did at the 2003 AJGA Canon Cup. Trailing by two points entering the singles matches, the West team earned 12 of the possible 20 points on day three to retain the Canon Cup, 26-24. It is the third consecutive year the West has hoisted the trophy.

The tournament was conducted at the Sea Island Golf Club, Seaside Course. The 40-player event consisted of 32 Polo Golf Junior All-Americans among the East and West teams, each composed of 10 girls and 10 boys. Past competitors in the event include Charles Howell III, Kelli Kuehne, Grace Park and Tiger Woods.

The tournament featured three days of match play competition. The first two days included foursome and four-ball matches, and the final day was played in singles format. In the 14-year history of the event, the East team has claimed victory seven times, and the West has captured six titles, including four of the last five. One tie occurred in 1998.

The West team began day three with a two-point deficit, 16-14, but wasted little time pulling even. Randy Lowry of Spring, Texas, opened up the day with a 2-up win against Chris Kirk of Woodstock, Ga. Hannah Jun of San Diego, who finished the event with a 4-0 record, followed with a 1-up win against Sukjin Wuesthoff of Toms River, N.J.

“The one thing I really wanted bad was to be on a Canon Cup team,” Jun said. “Then after I achieved that I wanted to win a Canon Cup, and that’s the best part.”

Luke List of Ringgold, Ga., responded for the East with a victory against Seung Su Han of Chino Hills, Calif., 3 and 2. Jenny Suh of Fairfax, Va., put the East in the lead by two with a triumph against Lauren Espinosa of Irving, Texas, 7 and 6.

The West took control with a flurry in the next seven matches. When the dust settled, the West earned six points, winning five and halving two. The final match of the stretch proved to be crucial.

Chanin Puntawong of Bradenton, Fla., led Will Osborne of Wichita Falls, Texas, 1-up with one hole to play, but Osborne won the 18th hole to force a halved match.

“This was definitely the hardest of the three (Canon Cup wins),” said West Captain Gus Montaño, who has served as West captain during the team’s three-year winning streak. “We stayed strong, stayed to the game plan, and when we had a window of opportunity, we took advantage of it.”

The West vaulted to the front with a 22-20 lead, but the East refused to go down easily. Christie Reed of Coral Springs, Fla., cut the lead to one point when she defeated Kristen Svicarovich of Hillsboro, Ore., 3 and 2. Reed provided a bright spot on an otherwise disappointing day for the East as she and Jun were the only players to win all four matches.

“It got so exciting starting halfway through (Wednesday’s) morning matches,” East Captain Matt Cuccaro said. “(The West) really started to turn it on and start creeping closer and closer, and they just kept closing that gap. We built a pretty good lead that first day, and I really thought we were going to hang on to it. I thought we were going to excel in the singles matches, but it just didn’t work out like that this week.”

Daniel Im of La Mirada, Calif., Amanda Blumenherst of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Taylor Leon of Dallas subsequently recorded victories to push the West’s total to 25 points.

Needing only a half point, Amie Cochran of Torrance, Calif., halved her match with Whitney Myers of East Berlin, Pa., to collect the decisive point.

“It’s really cool (to score the decisive point),” Cochran excitedly said. “The first day was kind of scary because we were way down, but I knew we could bring it together and come back.”

In 2002, the West won 35.5-14.5 at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill., and won 30.5-19.5 at Biltmore Forest Country Club in Asheville, N.C., in 2001. Next year the AJGA Canon Cup will be played at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mill, Md.

For more information, please contact AJGA National Headquarters at (770) 868-4200.

SEA ISLAND, Ga. – Day three results from the 14th annual AJGA Canon Cup, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at Sea Island Golf Club, Seaside Course. Par 35-35—70. Yardage: Boys 6,945; Girls 5,991.

DAY THREE TOTAL: WEST 26, EAST 24

SINGLES MATCHES
WEST 12, EAST 8

Randy Lowry, Spring, Texas (2005) WEST def. Chris Kirk, Woodstock, Ga. (2003) EAST, 2 up

Hannah Jun, San Diego, Calif. (2003) WEST def. Sukjin Wuesthoff, Toms River, N.J. (2005) EAST, 1 up

Luke List, Ringgold, Ga. (2003) EAST def. Seung Su Han, Chino Hills, Calif. (2005) WEST, 3&2

Jenny Suh, Fairfax, Va. (2003) EAST def. Lauren Espinosa, Irving, Texas (2005) WEST, 7&6

Jonathan Moore, Portland, Ore. (2004) WEST def. Brendon Todd, Cary, N.C. (2003) EAST, 2&1

Angela Park, Torrance, Calif. (2006) WEST def. Brittany Lincicome, Seminole, Fla. (2004) EAST 2&1

Charlie Holland, Dallas, Texas (2005) WEST def. Jon Curran, Hopkinton, Mass. (2005) EAST, 2 up

Julieta Granada, Bradenton, Fla. (2005) EAST vs. Ki-Shui Liao, Alameda, Calif. (2005) WEST, halved

Zac Reynolds, Edmond, Okla. (2003) WEST def. Robert Gates, Jr., Gainesville, Fla. (2004) EAST, 7&6

Jennie Lee, Huntington Beach, Calif. (2005) WEST def. Amber Prange, Noblesville, Ind. (2003) EAST, 2&1

Chanin Puntawong, Bradenton, Fla. (2006) EAST vs. Will Osborne, Wichita Falls, Texas (2004) WEST, halved

Christie Reed, Coral Springs, Fla. (2004) EAST def. Kristen Svicarovich, Hillsboro, Ore. (2003) WEST, 3&2

Daniel Im, La Mirada, Calif. (2004) WEST def. Jarred Texter, Millersville, Pa. (2004) EAST, 5&3

Mallory Code, Tampa, Fla. (2003) EAST def. Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana, Long Beach, Calif. (2003) WEST, 2 up

Martin Ureta, Wesley Chapel, Fla. (2003) EAST def. Chad Wilcox, Peoria, Ariz. (2003) WEST, 2&1

Whitney Myers, Berlin, Pa. (2004) EAST vs. Amie Cochran, Torrance, Calif. (2004) WEST, halved

Brett Lange, Atlanta, Ga. (2004) EAST def. Jeff Gerlich, Austin, Texas (2005) WEST, 3&2

Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz. (2005) WEST def. Chris Brady, Cary, N.C. (2003) EAST, 3&2

Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (2005) EAST vs. Anthony Kim, La Quinta, Calif. (2003) WEST, halved

Taylor Leon, Dallas, Texas (2005) WEST def. Jennifer Pandolfi, Navarre, Fla. (2004) EAST, 5&4

Day Two Results

Day One Results