Bellambi golfer Sam Cascio has done it again.
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The 16-year-old recently became the first golfer from the Illawarra to win the Australian Junior Amateur Championships, joining the likes of Cameron Smith, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby on the honour roll.
The breakthrough win secured the Corrimal High School student a spot on Australia's team to compete at this year's Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan.
Now Cascio and fellow NSW Blues Stars Kayun Mudadana, Ella Scaysbrook and Rachel Lee will spearhead a 12-person Australian Junior High Performance squad against a United States Golf Association (USGA) National Junior Team in Ryder Cup-style competition in July.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) announced the first-of-its-kind competition overnight.
The match will be played at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on July 1-3 (Australian time).
A World Amateur Golf Rankings® (WAGR®)-sanctioned event, the match will feature 12 players representing each nation in a mixed Ryder Cup-style format over three days.
The format is as follows:
Tuesday, July 1: Four-Ball Team Matches (a.m.), Foursomes Team Matches (p.m.)Wednesday, July 2: Singles Matches (12).
Australia and US would each have six boys and six girls in their squads.
Chris Zambri, head coach of the US National Teams, said the contest, the first of its kind, was an important part of the development of the newly developed US National Development Program.
"This match is another milestone in advancing the vision of the US National Development Program by empowering elite juniors with a chance to play on the international stage," Zambri said.
"The initiative will allow our athletes to compete and learn from one another in what we hope is the first of many more events to come."
The US squad for this match comprises the top six male and top six female junior golfers on the US National Junior Team based on their WAGR ranking, while Golf Australia's High-Performance selection committee selected the Australian side.
"We are delighted to partner with the USGA in this exciting initiative as a first for the US Team," said Brad James, general manager of High Performance at Golf Australia.
"We see this as a tremendous opportunity not only from a competitive standpoint, but as a great chance for the USGA and Golf Australia to share information on high performance."
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
