States Represented (42): All states except Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia
Foreign Countries Represented (5): Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Korea, Saudi Arabia
Youngest Players: Peter Mathison (age 13, DOB 9/6/1996); William Zalatoris(age 13, DOB 8/16/1996)
Other Selected Storylines:
Alex Andrews, 17, of Kirtland, Ohio, tied the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III State Tournament record for the lowest individual score while playing on Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course in 2009.
Anton Arboleda, 17, of La Cañada, Calif., advanced to the second round of match play at the 2010 U.S. Amateur Public Links and the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur. He won the 2010 AJGA/Heather Farr Classic.
Andrew Ariens, 17, of Mansfield, Texas, serves as a counselor at Camp Impact, a Dallas-based summer day-camp for underprivileged children.
Khaled Attieh, 15, of Saudi Arabia, attends Dubai America Academy in the United Arab Emirates. He considers his bunker play to be his strength, as he has grown up surrounded by sand.
Stephen Behr, 17, of Florence, S.C., won the 2010 South Carolina Golf Association Junior Championship. He scored a 720 on the math portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and has verbally committed to attend Clemson University.
Colby Benton, 17, of Cabot, Ark., has lived in five different U.S. capitols – Little Rock, Ark.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Atlanta, Ga.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Frankfort, Ky.
Taylor Bromley, 16, of Dublin, Calif., competed on a traveling baseball team at age 12 and played in a tournament in China against teams from Korea, Chinese Taipei, Australia, China and Japan.
Wyndham Clark, 16, of Greenwood Village, Colo., won the 2009 Colorado Class 4A individual state championship and the 2009 Colorado Golf Association Junior Stroke Play. He considers his Christian faith to be his most important commitment. He attends Valor Christian High School with fellow competitor Spencer Sheets, and they were both members of the school’s state championship-winning team.
Brandon Dalinka, 17, of Newtown, Pa., collects golf balls from all the courses he plays and has amassed a collection of nearly 300.
Jorge Fernandez Valdes, 17, of Argentina tied the championship record for the lowest nine-hole score, shooting a 30 on the second nine at Shoal Creek outside of Birmingham, Ala., during the second round at the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur. He was a member of Argentina’s winning team at the 2009 World Junior Golf Team Championship.
David Flynn, 17, of Elk Grove Village., Ill., become the third-youngest player in U.S. Junior Amateur history to advance to match play at the 2006 championship at Rancho Santa Fe (Calif.) Golf Club. He is competing in his fourth Junior Amateur Championship.
John Foster, 17, of Canada is the older brother of Christina Foster, who is competing this week at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at The Country Club of North Carolina in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. John and his father are in Grand Rapids, while his mother traveled to North Carolina with his sister.
Michael Gellerman, 17, of Sterling, Kan., competed in his first high school state championship eight weeks after breaking both of his wrists.
Emiliano Grillo, 17, of Argentina, was the individual low scorer at the 2010 Copa de las Americas and led Argentina to the men’s team title. He was one of four recipients of the 2009 Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Award. His most memorable golf experience is leading the field, including 2007 U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera and Andres Romero, through 36 holes at the 2009 Argentina Open.
J.J. Holen, 17, of Castaic, Calif., has Type 1 diabetes and has to closely monitor his blood sugar both on and off the course. He hopes to be a role model for children who also have the disease.
Chris Houston, 16, of Gilford, N.H., won an 8-for-1 playoff to advance to match play at the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. He plays first chair saxophone in his high school’s symphonic band.
Walker Huddy, 16, of Studio City, Calif., considers his greatest golf memory to be scoring his first hole-in-one while on the course with his grandfather, who had been in a heart attack-related coma only four months earlier. At the age of 5, he caught the eye of former PGA Champion Bob Rosburg, who commented that Walker should never have a golf club out of his hands.
Miles Knutsen, 17, of Orono, Minn., broke his arm during his first bantam hockey game and needed screws to repair it.
Kristopher Kowalchuk, 16, of Canada, played hockey with the Burlington Eagles until he sustained three serious concussions and was advised by a neurosurgeon to refrain from playing contact sports.
Aaron Kunimoto, 16, of Lahaina, Hawaii, played a practice round as a 13-year-old with PGA Tour player Rory Sabbatini. Two weeks later, he served as Sabbatini’s standard bearer at the Mercedes Benz Championships at Kapalua.
Andrew Lister, 17, of Haymarket, Va., is the son of a career U.S. Naval officer and has lived in many states and U.S. territories.
Tom Lovelady, 16, of Birmingham, Ala., worked with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) program Playing It Forward to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, in honor of his uncle, who suffers from the disease.
Denny McCarthy, 17, of Burtonsville, Md., is playing in his fourth USGA championship (2007, 2009, 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur; 2009 U.S. Amateur)
Grayson Murray, 16, of Raleigh, N.C., made the cut at the 2010 Rex Hospital Open on the Nationwide Tour. He made a hole-in-one in the second round of stroke play at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship.
Anthony Paolucci, 17, of Del Mar, Calif., was the runner-up at the 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur and is playing in his fourth consecutive Junior Amateur Championship (2007-2010). He won the 2010 AJGA Thunderbird International Junior and the recent AJGA Tournament of Champions.
Camden Price, 16, of North Tustin, Calif., has the middle name Davis in honor of Davis Love III, after his parents watched Love play in a Ryder Cup.
Marcel Puyat, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., advanced to the third round at the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2009 U.S. Amateur. He enjoys traveling and has been to 10 different countries.
Alberto Sanchez, 16, of Nogales, Ariz., walked inside the ropes with Ernie Els during a practice round at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and received advice from him. He overcame an overactive thyroid condition at age 11.
Charlie Saxon, 17, of Tulsa, Okla., had 627 stitches as a first grader when he put his arm through a window.
Oliver Schniederjans, 17, of Powder Springs, Ga., is graduating high school a semester early and will start classes at Georgia Tech University in January 2010.
Spencer Sheets, 17, of Centennial, Colo., enjoying doing volunteer work and has logged over 50 hours of community service during his first three years of high school. He attend Valor Christian High School with fellow competitor Wyndham Clark, and they were both members of the school’s state championship-winning team.
Dan Slavin, 17, of Waban, Mass., will be captain of his high school’s varsity golf and basketball teams this coming school year.
Jordan Spieth, 16, of Dallas, Texas, is the defending champion of the U.S. Junior Amateur. He made the cut at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship, becoming the sixth-youngest player to make a cut in PGA Tour history.
Sam Straka, 17, of Valdosta, Ga., is diabetic. He was born and raised in Vienna, Austria, to an Austrian father and an American mother. He has dual citizenship between the U.S. and Austria.
Scott Sweeney, 17, of Lake Charles, La., has participated in a fundraiser called Checkers for Children, where the players all wore scuba gear and played checkers while underwater.
E.J. Tackett, 17, of Huntington, Ind., is also a competitive bowler.
Justin Thomas, 17, of Goshen, Ky., won the 2010 FootJoy Invitational. He has played with and caddied for Michael Jordan on several occasions. He made the cut at the 2009 Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour.
Curtis Thompson, 17, of Coral Springs, Fla., is playing in his fourth U.S. Junior Amateur (2007-2010). He is the younger brother of PGA Tour player Nicholas Thompson and the older brother of Alexis Thompson, who won the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior and recently tied for 10th at the U.S. Women’s Open.
J.D. Tomlinson, 17, of Gainesville, Fla., was the number one three-point shooter in Florida high school basketball in 2010.
Nick Tremps, 17, of San Antonio, Texas, played in two golf tournaments at age 12 with a broken arm and won them both.
Austin Weatherholt, 16, of San Jose, Calif., climbed to the top of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park in 2009 with his family. He is right-handed but plays golf left-handed.
Kyle Wilshire, 17, of Georgetown, Ky., won the 2010 Kentucky State Junior Amateur on the same day that his sister won the Kentucky State Girls Junior Amateur.
Cameron Wilson, 17, of Rowayton, Conn., advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur. He was named the 2009 Metropolitan Golf Association Player of the Year and won the 2009 Met Amateur, becoming the youngest winner of that prestigious event. He will attend Stanford University in the fall.
Zachary Wright, 16, of Phoenix, Ariz., wears a wristband in honor of Jason Jenson, a close friend of his who passed away in an automobile accident in 2006. Every year, he plays in a fundraising tournament that provides college scholarships in Jason’s memory to rising seniors who plan to play collegiate-level golf.
Bobby Wyatt, 17, of Mobile, Ala., was honored as a recipient of the 2010 Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Award. His greatest golf memory is signing his letter of intent to play for the University of Alabama.
Compiled by Christina Lance, coordinator of championship communications for the USGA.