BRASELTON -- The Wyndham Cup rosters have been finalized and 40 players from 14 states have committed to represent the East or West at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, July 23-26 -- including recent Habersham Central graduate Lee McCoy.
The AJGA Wyndham Cup brings together 40 of the nation’s top juniors in an East-versus-West team match play tournament. With the Mississippi River as the border that separates East from West, 10 boys and 10 girls from each side are selected based on the Polo Golf Rankings, which reward top finishes in national junior golf events. McCoy will take part in the competition after claiming Class AAAA low medalist honors and before he heads to play for the University of Georgia.
The East Team will be led by the last four champions of the Polo Golf Junior Classic, the AJGA’s only other annual match play event. Matthew NeSmith won the 2011 Polo Golf Junior Classic and has ascended to No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings after wins at the Jones Cup Junior Invitational, FJ Invitational and Rolex Tournament of Champions.
Cody Proveaux is currently No. 15 in the Polo Golf Rankings and won in 2010 en route to Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors. Proveaux and NeSmith will be making their second Wyndham Cup appearances, as they combined for a 7-1-0 record in their debuts last year.
The girls will be led by Jaye Marie Green and Nicole Morales, who won the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Green posted a 2-1-1 record in her Wyndham Cup debut in 2011 and claimed her third career AJGA Invitational crown after winning the Rolex Tournament of Champions. Morales has moved to No. 9 in the Polo Golf Rankings and will make her first appearance on the East Team. In all, the East’s 20-player roster has a combined nine years of Wyndham Cup experience.
The West Team has eight years of Wyndham Cup experience and is led by Lindsey Weaver, who has compiled a 6-2-0 record in two previous appearances. With wins at the 2012 Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club and PING Phoenix Junior at ASU Karsten, Weaver has nine career victories, which is tied for 10th most in AJGA history.
By contrast, Andrea Lee, 13, is the youngest of the 40 players, but is No. 5 in the Polo Golf Rankings and led West girls in qualifying points en route to her first Wyndham Cup berth. She has five top 10s in her last seven AJGA starts, including a semifinal appearance at the Polo Golf Junior Classic.
The West boys will be led by Scott Scheffler and Connor Black. Both players made their debuts in 2011, and Scheffler carded a 2-1-1 record while Black finished 3-1-0. Scheffler has four top 10s in his last six AJGA Invitationals, while Black won the 2011 Western Junior and has six career AJGA top-five finishes.
The final player to earn his place on the West squad was Brandon Pierce, who recently received the USGA-AJGA Presidents' Leadership Award. As a result of the award, he was invited to compete at the Rolex Tournament of Champions where he tied for third place.
"Playing in the Rolex was an honor and has led to me playing in Wyndham Cup," Pierce said. "I'm really excited to go out and help my team."
For both the East and West Teams, the top-eight boys and top-eight girls earned invitations based on the Polo Golf Rankings as of June 26, 2012. The final two boys and girls spots on each team were awarded to the highest-ranked players in the Polo Golf Rankings as of June 29, 2012, who were not already eligible and who were participants in the 2012 Rolex Tournament of Champions.
In 2011, the East Team reclaimed the Cup for the first time since 2004, as it beat the West, 32-18, at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C. The West holds a 12-9-1 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1990.
WYNDHAM CUP ROSTERS
East – Boys
Parker Derby, Columbus, Ga. (2013)
Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. (2014)
Tae Wan Lee, Orlando, Fla. (2013)
Jack Maguire, St. Petersburg, Fla. (2013)
Lee McCoy, Clarkesville, Ga. (2012)
Matthew NeSmith, North Augusta, S.C. (2012)
Cody Proveaux, Leesville, S.C. (2012)
Greyson Sigg, Augusta, Ga. (2013)
James Yoon, Bradenton, Fla. (2012)
Adam Wood, Zionsville, Ind. (2014)
East – Girls
Sierra Brooks, Sorrento, Fla. (2016)
Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J. (2013)
Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis. (2013)
Jaye Marie Green, Boca Raton, Fla. (2012)
Yu Liu, Aventura, Fla. (2013)
Nicole Morales, South Salem, N.Y. (2014)
Anna Newell, Tampa, Fla. (2014)
Annie Park, Levittown, N.Y. (2013)
Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale, Ga. (2012)
Samantha Wagner, Windermere, Fla. (2015)
West – Boys
Connor Black, Houston, Texas (2014)
Sam Burns, Shreveport, La. (2015)
Brad Dalke, McKinney, Texas (2016)
Branson Davis, McKinney, Texas (2013)
Zecheng Dou, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (2015)
Thomas Lim, Moorpark, Calif. (2013)
Clayton Madey, West Linn, Ore. (2013)
Brandon Pierce, Covington, La. (2013)
Scott Scheffler, Dallas, Texas (2014)
Dylan Wu, Medford, Ore. (2014)
West – Girls
Hee Wook Choi, San Diego, Calif. (2013)
Allisen Corpuz, Honolulu, Hawaii (2016)
Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. (2013)
Amy Lee, Brea, Calif. (2015)
Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (2016)
Esther Lee, Los Alamitos, Calif. (2013)
Summar Roachell, Conway, Ark. (2013)
Sierra Sims, Austin, Texas (2013)
Jessica Vasilic, Anaheim Hills, Calif. (2013)
Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz. (2012)
