International Match Play Event for Top 12 Year Olds Follows Championship on Historic Pinehurst No. 2
ATLANTA, GA (July 11, 2007) – More than 1,100 players from across the U.S. and more than 30 countries will compete in the 2007 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, Aug. 2-4, making the eighth annual event the world’s largest golf tournament for boys and girls 12 years of age and under.
The tournament, which is returning to Pinehurst and the Sandhills area of North Carolina for the second year in a row, will be played on the No. 3, 5 and 8 courses at Pinehurst Resort, along with Longleaf Golf & Country Club, Midland Country Club, Mid Pines Golf Club, Little River Golf Resort and Talamore Resort. The courses will be shortened to gender- and age-appropriate lengths between 1,300 and 6,000 yards.
This field for this year’s event is expected to top the record 960 players from 47 states and 32 countries who competed in 2006, according to tournament director Chris Vonderkall. "Not only will we have a record number of players, but the quality of the field will also be the best we’ve ever had," he said. Vonderkall said new scoring guidelines – boys are required to shoot 45 or lower on 9 holes and 90 or lower on 18 holes; girls are required to shoot 47 or lower on 9 holes and 94 or lower on 18 holes in qualifying tournaments – are adding to the quality of competitors this year.
Following practice rounds and opening ceremonies on Aug. 1, the three- day stroke play event begins on Aug. 2 in 12 age and gender groups. Rounds are 9 or 18 holes per day, depending on age group. Following the World Championship, the U.S. Kids Golf World Cup will be held on Aug. 5 on Pinehurst No. 2 with the top 12-year-olds from the World Championship squaring off in aU.S. vs. international match-play event.
"The opportunity to play great courses and a reputation for attracting the world’s best players combine to make the World Championship the premier tournament for this age group," said Dan Van Horn, founder and president of U.S. Kids Golf.
North Carolina will be well represented in the tournament with players from two World Championship Qualifiers held last month receiving invitations. Winners from the qualifier at Hillandale Golf Club in Durham included (girls 8 and under) Catherine Allred, Pfafftown; (girls 9) Nicolette Donovan, Cary; (girls 10) Emily Salamy, Williamsburg, Va.; (girls 11) Cassidy England, Madison Heights, Va., (girls 12) Britney Smith, Raleigh; (boys 6 and under) Andrew Harvey, Cary; (boys 7) Ryan Gerard, Raleigh; (boys 8) Garret Wantuch, Mooresboro; (boys 9) Saehee Bae Armstrong, Raleigh; (boys 10) Montgomery Fields, Raleigh; (boys 11) Jordan Wrisdale, United Kingdom and (boys 12) Victor Wiggins, Gastonia.
Winners from the World Championship Qualifier at Rocky River in Durham included (girls 8 and under) Lilly Sessions, Winston Salem; (girls 9) Jessica Spicer, Bahama; (girls 10) Isabella Rusher, Salisbury; (girls 11) Victoria Allred, Pfafftown; (girls 12) Jensen Rubinstein, Concord; (boys 6 and under) Jack Heath, Charlotte; (boys 7) Grant Smith, Charlotte; (boys 8) Patrick Wiggins, Gastonia; (boys 9) Adam Alfieri, Chapel Hill; (boys 10) Keenan Huskey, Greenville; (boys 11) Jordan Wrisdale, United Kingdom; (boys 12) Wesley Long, Bluffton, S.C.
About U.S. Kids Golf
U.S. Kids Golf is based in Atlanta, Ga., and manufactures equipment, apparel, balls and accessories specially for kids. In addition to more than 4,000 golf shops and retail locations in the U.S., the company’s products also are available in Europe, Canada, the Middle and Far East, South America,Mexico and Australia. Through the Personal Teeâ?¢ Golf Learning Program and its Local Tours, Regional Championships and the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, U.S. Kids Golf also provides opportunities for instruction and competition. For more information, call 1-888-3 US KIDS or visit the company’s web site at www.uskidsgolf.com.
Contact:
Bill Bryant
Bryant Marketing Communications
2910 Gleneagles Pointe
Alpharetta, Georgia 30005
678-366-3232
bbryant@bryantmarcomm.com
www.bryantmarcomm.com