Royal Palm Beach’s Giuseppe Puebla can add international glory to his prodigious junior golf resume.
Puebla, No. 2 in the American Junior Golf Association’s latest boys rankings, played a key role in the United States’ victory over Europe in the 13th Junior Ryder Cup this week at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, New York.
The 17-year-old scored two of the Americans’ 17.5 points with wins in foursomes and mixed four-ball. He twice rallied from two-hole deficits to score a draw and half point against Europe’s Kris Kim in singles play.
It was the only tied match of the singles round and critical to stymying the Europeans’ comeback hopes.
“Through about nine holes there was just a ton of blue on the board,” Puebla said. “Honestly, my job was just to not contribute to that. I just wanted to put some red on the board for my team. To be able to scrap out a tie, I felt like my tie was very important.”
The Junior Ryder Cup victory is arguably the peak of a golden 2025 for Puebla.
A member at Mayakoo Lakes Country Club, Puebla began the year by qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Chile Classic at just 16 years old. He played the South American pro event with his dad on the bag as caddy.
Puebla’s AJGA ranking rose to new personal-bests over the summer thanks to five Top 10 finishes at elite-level junior tournaments.
On Aug. 1, Puebla shot a final-round best 64 to surge into a tie for second place at the 49th Junior PGA Championships, earning him the final qualifying spot on the Junior Ryder Cup team.
In early September, Puebla committed to play golf at the University of Florida in early September.
“I try my best [to soak it all in] but it just feels like time flies, especially in the summer with so many tournament and traveling,” Puebla said. “I do my best.”
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.
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