Team USA is off to a strong start at the Junior Ryder Cup at Nassau Country Club and Bethpage Black in New York.
The Americans lead Team Europe 6.5-5.5 after foursomes and mixed foursomes competition on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Play will continue with mixed fourball on Wednesday with Team USA needing 15.5 points to win the cup.
Florida is well represented in this year’s event with four players on the American squad, including Miles Russell, 16, Jacksonville Beach, Tyler Mawhinney, 17, from Fleming Island, Giuseppe Puebla, 16, from Royal Palm Beach, and Amelie Zalsman, 16, from St. Petersburg.
Puebla, who shot 64 in the final round of the Junior PGA Championships to qualify for the Junior Ryder Cup team, helped give the U.S. momentum in morning foursomes after hitting the drive and eagle putt on the par-5 fourth hole.
“Giuseppe ripped a drive like 350 (yards) down there and I hit it where I was aiming and it ended up being eight feet away,” Luke Colton Colton said. “That felt really big because (Europe) hit it close for birdie. Giuseppe made just about every putt out there and I think that got the match going. We were on fire after that.”
Here’s a look at match results from the first day of the Junior Ryder Cup:
Foursomes
- (USA) Asterisk Talley + Amelie Zalsman def. (EUR) Sara Brentcheneff + Benedicte Brent Petersen — 4 & 3
- (EUR) Hugo Le Goff + Oscar Couilleau def. (USA) Miles Russell + Tyler Mawhinney — 3 & 2
- (USA) Anna Frang + Lily Peng def. (EUR) Charlotte Naughton + Alice Kong — 6 & 4
- (USA) Luke Colton + Giuseppe Puebla def. (EUR) Callixte Alzas + Lev Grinberg — 6 & 4
- (EUR) Nagore Martinez + Louise Uma Landgraf def. (USA) Zoe Cusack + Rayee Feng — 3 & 2
- (EUR) John Doyle + Kris Kim def. (USA) Hamilton Coleman + Lunden Esterline — 1 up
Mixed foursomes
- (USA) Asterisk Talley + Miles Russell TIED (EUR) Sara Brentcheneff + Hugo Le Goff
- (EUR) Charlotte Naughton + Kris Kim def. (USA) Amelie Zalsman + Tyler Mawhinney — 2 & 1
- (USA) Anna Fang + Luke Colton def. (EUR) Benedicte Brent Petersen + Oscar Couilleau — 1 up
- (EUR) Nagore Martinez + Callixte Alzas def. (USA) Lily Peng + Giuseppe Puebla — 3 & 2
- (USA) Zoe Cusack + Lunden Esterline def. (EUR) Alice Kong + John Doyle — 6 & 4
- (USA) Rayee Feng + Hamilton Coleman def. (EUR) Louise Uma Landgraf + Lev Grinberg — 1 up
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
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