Far Hills, N.J (Aug. 16, 2012) – A team of four boys and four girls has been selected to represent the
United States in the USA-China Youth Golf Match, a competition conducted by the
United States Golf Association (USGA) and the China Golf Association to promote
cultural friendship through the game of golf.
The USA-China Youth Golf Match is scheduled for Aug. 23-24 at the CordeValle
Golf Resort in San Martin, Calif.
USGA officials today announced the Team USA members,
all of whom are age 16 or younger. Each player, in addition to being an
accomplished golfer, is a member of Leadership Links, a jointly administered program
of the USGA and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) that promotes
service and volunteerism among aspiring junior golfers. Each of the players is also
a leading candidate for a future USGA-AJGA Presidents' Leadership Award.
The Team USA players are: Patrick
Cover, 16, of Huntersville,
N.C.; Sebastian
Crampton, 16, of Pacific Grove,
Calif.; Jessica
Kittelberger, 16, of Raleigh,
N.C.; Hana
Ku, 16, of Basking Ridge,
N.J.; Divya
Manthena, 15, of Camarillo,
Calif.; Michael
Pisciotta, 16, of Alpharetta,
Ga.; Calli
Ringsby, 16, of Cherry Hills
Village, Colo.; and Thomas Walsh,
16, of High Point, N.C.
“This match is a wonderful opportunity to promote the
game of golf,” said USGA President Glen D. Nager. “The young men and women
representing the U.S. team will
serve as ambassadors for everything that is great about the game here in America.
While the competition will certainly be front and center, the sharing of the
game’s spirit, traditions and camaraderie will be of equal importance.”
The
USA-China Youth Golf Match will consist of four foursomes (alternate-shot)
matches, four four-ball matches and eight singles matches over two days of
competition. An inaugural Youth Match was held in 2008 in China in conjunction with the Beijing Olympics, with
Team USA
prevailing.
“As golf grows internationally, fostering inclusion in
the game worldwide is important to the USGA,” Nager said. “Together with our
partners at The R&A, we are committed to working with emerging golf markets
such as China
to promote a sustainable game for future generations.”
Following
the conclusion of the Youth Match, a delegation from the China Golf Association
will visit the headquarters of the USGA in Far Hills, N.J.,
to learn more about the Association’s role in the global game.
Biographical information on the players for the USA Team is available at www.usga.org, the official
website of the USGA.
Rolex,
a USGA corporate partner, has provided significant assistance to the conduct of
the match through its worldwide presence in golf. It will host a dinner to
celebrate the achievements of each player and the competition between the two
countries.