BRASELTON, Ga. — Ten junior golfers have been named to the 2015 PING Junior Solheim Cup U.S. Team based on their position in the American Junior Golf Association Polo Golf Rankings and Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Girls Rankings as of July 27. The final two spots for the 2015 U.S. Team are reserved for captain’s picks and the final 12-player roster will be finalized the week of Aug. 10.
Modeled after the Solheim Cup, the PING Junior Solheim Cup biennially features the 12 best female junior golfers (ages 12-18) from the United States against the top-12 junior girls from Europe. The PING Junior Solheim Cup will be played Sept. 14-15, 2015, and the event will feature three sessions of match play: foursomes, four-ball and singles. St. Leon-Rot Golf Club near Heidelberg, Germany, will host the 2015 Solheim Cup and PING Junior Solheim Cup.
LPGA Tour legend and World Golf Hall of Fame member JoAnne Carner will captain the U.S. Team, and Katie Tahara, the AJGA’s director of major championships, will be the assistant captain.
Representing the United States
Earning entry through the AJGA’s Polo Golf Rankings are Hannah O’Sullivan of Chandler, Arizona, Sierra Brooks of Sorrento, Florida, Mariel Galdiano of Pearl City, Hawaii, Hailee Cooper of Montgomery, Texas, and Kaitlyn Papp of Austin, Texas.
The following players earned positions through the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Angel Yin of Arcadia, California, Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, California, Mika Liu of Beverly Hills, California, Nelly Korda of Bradenton, Florida, and Megan Khang of Rockland, Massachusetts.
Past PING Junior Solheim Cup Team USA members include Paula Creamer (nine-time LPGA Tour champion and winner of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open), Brittany Lincicome (champion at the 2007 Ginn Open, 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship and 2015 ANA Inspiration), Morgan Pressel (champion of the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship) and Lexi Thompson (2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship). Creamer was the first player to make the move from the PING Junior Solheim Cup to the Solheim Cup Team when she helped lead the U.S. to victory in 2005 with a 3-1-1 record.
The United States and Europe head into the 2015 competition with the U.S. leading the series 4-2-1.
Meet Team USA
Sierra Brooks, Sorrento, Fla. (2016)
Brooks, a four-time Rolex Junior All-American, has posted six victories during her AJGA career. The 17-year-old has match-play experience as a four-time Wyndham Cup participant and 2014 Polo Golf Junior Classic champion. The No. 3 player in the Polo Golf Rankings is verbally committed to Wake Forest.
Hailee Cooper, Montgomery, Texas (2018)
At 15, Cooper is the youngest PING Junior Solheim Cup U.S. representative. She has recorded five victories throughout her AJGA career, including the inaugural KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational in July. The two-time Rolex Junior All-American made her first AJGA match-play appearance at the 2015 Wyndham Cup.
Mariel Galdiano, Pearl City, Hawaii (2016)
The two-time Rolex Junior All-American has finished within the top 10 in eight of the 10 AJGA Invitationals in which she has competed. The 17-year-old took third at the 2015 Rolex Girls Junior Championship, her most-recent top AJGA finish and is verbally committed to UCLA.
Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass. (2015)
During her AJGA career, Khang has three top-five finishes including a win at the 2013 PING Invitational. She is a two-time Rolex Junior All-American and recently finished T35 in her third appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Nelly Korda, Bradenton, Fla. (2016)
Korda earned her first AJGA Invitational victory at the 2015 Yani Tseng Invitational presented by the Swinging Skirts. The 16-year-old’s top finish at an AJGA match play event was making it to the round of 32 at the 2014 Polo Golf Junior Classic. The two-time Rolex Junior All-American is the younger sister of Solheim Cup hopeful Jessica Korda, who played in PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2009.
Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (2016)
Lee is the only competitor for the U.S. Team to have played at the 2013 PING Junior Solheim Cup. The four-time Rolex Junior All-American saw success at the 2013 tournament, going 2-0-1. In addition to the PING Junior Solheim Cup, the 2014 Rolex Junior Player of the Year has gained match-play experience as a three-time participant in the Wyndham Cup and four-time Polo Golf Junior Classic participant. The No. 2 player in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Girls Rankings is verbally committed to Stanford.
Mika Liu, Beverly Hills, Calif. (2017)
Liu earned her first AJGA Invitational victory at the 2015 Thunderbird International Junior. The two-time Rolex Junior All-American has tallied eight top-five finishes including three total wins during her AJGA career. Liu has competed at the Polo Golf Junior Classic three times and is verbally committed to Stanford.
Hannah O’Sullivan, Chandler, Ariz. (2016)
O’Sullivan has won three of the four AJGA events she has competed in during 2015. With wins at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship and Rolex Tournament of Champions, O’Sullivan joined elite company with Kellee Booth and Alison Lee as the only girls in AJGA history to win both events in the same year. In 2015, O’Sullivan became the youngest player to win on the Symetra Tour after winning the Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club. In three Wyndham Cup appearances, she has compiled a 5-3-4 record, including a 1-0-3 mark this year.
Kaitlyn Papp, Austin, Texas (2017)
Papp has nine top-five finishes throughout her four-year AJGA career. The two-time Rolex Junior All-American has two AJGA wins, including a victory at the 2013 PING Invitational. Papp has played in two Wyndham Cups and she is verbally committed to Texas.
Angel Yin, Arcadia, Calif. (2017)
The three-time Rolex Junior All-American recorded her first AJGA victory at the 2015 ANNIKA Invitational. Yin has finished within the top 10 in all five AJGA Invitationals she has competed in during 2015. Yin reached the championship match of the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 2012, losing to Ariya Jutanugarn 5 & 4.