The United States Team won the 13th Junior Ryder Cup presented by HPE on Sept. 25 in Glen Cove, New York, on Long Island with a 17½ - 12½ victory over Team Europe.
With 12 points available in the singles matches at historic Nassau Country Club, the U.S. squad (pictured above) needed 5½ points to reclaim the Junior Ryder Cup from Europe. However, after nine holes, the U.S. was down in nine matches and those 5½ points felt distant.
However, if there was one thing both teams learned during the week in a back-and-forth competition — no lead is safe and nothing is guaranteed.
“We were down first thing this morning for a long time, and these kids just fought so hard and they got the job done,” said U.S. Captain and PGA of America Past President Suzy Whaley, a PGA Master Professional. “They saw a sea of blue on the leaderboard and knew exactly where they stood. They showed grit, perseverance and did not give up.”
Slowly but surely the leaderboard started to turn red, indicating the U.S. Team was getting its bearings. Stanford University commit Anna Fang of San Diego claimed the first point for the U.S. as one of the only Americans who was leading on the outward nine. She would go on to win her match 5 & 3 over Nagore Martinez of Spain.
Fellow Stanford commit, and the No. 12 amateur in the world, Asterisk Talley earned the next point for the U.S., winning 1-up over England’s Charlotte Naughton, who nearly came back from being four down through 14.
Of the 8½ singles points secured by the U.S., two stood out to Whaley: New Jersey’s Rayee Feng and Georgia’s Hamilton Coleman.
“When I spoke with them this morning, they both said ‘Don’t worry coach, I’m going to get this job done,’ and they did just that, and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Whaley. “I couldn’t be more proud of all 12 of these incredible golfers.”
Feng, one of Whaley’s two captain’s picks, was 1-down to Spaniard Louise Uma Landgraf after five holes. She then took control of the match with wins on holes 7, 9 and 10, with back-to-back birdies on 9 and 10.
Feng reached 3-up through 14, and with one point remaining for the U.S. to reclaim the Cup, won hole 15 with a par.
“I actually did not know it was the last point needed,” Feng said. “A lot of my teammates were there cheering because they knew it was the winning point. It’s been amazing playing for this country and on this team.”
“That was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had,” Coleman said of the week. “You know, not only am I playing for myself but I’m also playing for my country.”
Coleman, the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur Champion, won his match 2 & 1 over Ireland’s John Doyle.
Team Europe earned 4½ points on the final day, including Frenchman Hugo Le Goff’s 4 & 3 defeat of the U.S. Boys’ top-ranked Miles Russell.
“I’m very proud of my team,” said European Captain Stephen Gallacher. “They fought extremely hard until the end, and they are not only fantastic golfers but also fantastic human beings. Their body language, commitment to the team from every one of them was so professional.”
With the win, the U.S. improves its overall Junior Ryder Cup record to 8-4-1, and for Captain Whaley, it was a goal achieved by the whole team.
She’s been looking forward to her time as Junior Ryder Cup Captain for years, but wanted to make one thing clear.
“Being a captain of a team holds a lot of responsibility, but it wasn’t just me,” Whaley said. “This was a team effort for the U.S. Team to bring that Cup home.”
