The Captain's Report - 2009 Junior America's Cup

Teams from British Columbia haven't always done so well but this season the young members of the Boys team selected to represent this province came home with the gold and in exciting fashion. At the same time, the girl's team, competing in Utah, had a strong finish and came home with a respectable third place bronze

As the co-captain of Team BC, here is Harry White's official report following this year's Junior America's Cup championship.

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With GOLD medals gleaming brightly around the necks of the 2009 Team, Junior Golf Foundation of B.C. Captains Harry White and Ed Lex, founding members of the JAC Association, offer kudo's go to the  Annandale Golf Club and it's members who hosted the event and housed all Team members from each of the three Countries.  The Southern California PGA was host for the Junior America's Cup for 2009 and put on a memorable tournament with great teamwork, so evident in the smooth operation of the four-day event.  Blue Golf carried the exciting results on www.junioramericascup.org.

British Columbia's solid Team had three members who returned from 2008 . . . Charlie Hughes from Swan-e-set-Bay Resort & GC, Justin Shin of Meadow Gardens GC and Adam Svensson of Northview GC.  Capilano G&CC's Bryan Lichimo earned his spot on the Team with an outstanding 2009 season.

The Team got off to a great start in Tuesday's first round with the always solid Justin Shin firing a 71, followed by a five-birdie effort of Adam Svensson for 72 and another steady 72 by Bryan Lichimo.  Charlie Hughes was close behind with a 73.  The scoring format sees the best three scores of four count each day of the 54-Hole competition.

Following Day One of competition, Callaway Golf, a sponsor of this year's JAC, put on a special "Team Long Drive Competition", which saw each Team hit one drive only, counting the longest three of four that were in the set fairway for the Team Total.  Team B.C. won that with a total of 912 yards, with Charlie Hughes the best overall with a shot of 324 yards - uphill!  Justin Shin was 301 and Bryan Lichimo and Adam Svensson were close behind with 290 and 287.  We were the only Team to have all four balls in play.  New Callaway "U-Pro's" were the prize for the winners and again congratulations to Team B.C.!

Day two of the Junior America's Cup saw Team B.C. again set the pace with a total of 212, which included an unfortunate two-stroke penalty to Adam Svensson for taking an unauthorized "drop" from a dirt cart path.  Adam was unfazed, however, and had another five-birdie day for a 73.  B.C.'s Justin Shin was as sizzling as the weather, recording a 6-birdie 66 to pace our Team, with Charlie Hughes chipping in a 73 to place Team B.C. in 2nd, just two strokes back of hard charging San Diego.  Nevada stood third after the second round with New Mexico and Utah very close too.

Part of the tradition of the Junior America's Cup is a simple, but fun duty that the junior golfers perform after each round, and that is, having a designated "Hole" that they cover from tee to green, filling in divots and repairing ball marks.  The host memberships are very appreciative and of course, all juniors golfers know that it is "good luck" to do this in the regular course of play.
   
Day Three, the final round, saw an overcast cool morning for the junior golfers and Team B.C. was paired with the other leading Teams.  Our boys played the front nine in five over par as a team, falling further behind leading San Diego, but caught fire on the back nine and particularly on the last six holes, to post a 10-under par back nine Team total that carried Team B.C. to an eight shot victory and BC's first Gold Medal win since 2001.
    A gutsy performance by Capilano's Bryan Lichimo, who birdied two of his last three holes, allowed Bryan to post B.C.'s first score, a solid 72.  Right behind Bryan was Maple Ridge's Charlie Hughes who really got things in high gear with a birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie finish for a Team best 65 and B.C. had mounted a terrific comeback.  Surrey's Adam Svensson was going along smoothly but slipped a bit on the back nine.  Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, and anchorman for the final round, fired four straight birdies to finish a super 68 that solidified the Team B.C. win.  Justin was also the Medalist for 2009, a feat performed in 2006 by Marine Drive's Eugene Wong. 

Team B.C. was full value for their win, with their host families cheering them on.  Good sportsmanship was in full evidence too, with hearty congratulations all round by all the teams, captain's and membership at Annandale.
   
The 2010 Junior America's Cup will be hosted by New Mexico, 2011 in Mexico, 2012 in Idaho and 2013 in British Columbia.  We will be looking for a Host Golf Course to show the world of junior golf, beautiful B.C.  We last hosted the Junior America's Cup in 1996 at Swan-e-set and in 1979 at Capilano G&CC.
   
Our sincere thanks to our sponsors:  Vancouver & District Inter-Club Golf Committee (1913), Optimist Clubs of British Columbia, Top Shelf Feeds of Duncan, B.C. and other private donors who ensure that these types of programs continue to succeed and yield the results we see today!

Yours faithfully,  Harry White,
Captain, 2009 Junior Americas Cup 
www.jrlinkster.com  -  -  - E-Mail: jrlinkster@shaw.ca 
tel/fax  604-261-4390,
 
   
BOYS TEAM BRITISH COLUMBIA: 
Bryan Lichimo, (Capilano G&CC):        72-77-72    (221)
Adam Svensson, (Surrey):             72-73-77    (222)
Charlie Hughes, (Swan-e-set-bay):     73-73-65    (211)
* Justin Shin, (Meadows Gardens):      71-66-68    (205)
* JAC Sally Pini Medalist Award winner
   
Boys Team B.C. GOLD MEDAL Scores:
Day 1: 215 -  Day 2: 212 -  Day 3: 205 =  3 Day Total: 632

GIRLS TEAM BRITISH COLUMBIA
T7     Jennifer Yang,     76-71-72 -- 219
11     SooBin Kim,         75-72-73 -- 220
12     Lauren Taylor,     76-72-73 -- 221
T20   Christine Wong,  79-74-72 -- 225

Girls Team B.C. 3rd Place Scores
Day 1: 227 -  Day 2: 215  Day 3: 217 =  3 Day Total: 659