First 11 players confirmed for 2022 Junior Presidents Cup teams

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – With less than one month until the third edition of the Junior Presidents Cup begins at Myers Park Country Club on Sept. 19, the Presidents Cup and American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) today announced the first 11 players on both the U.S. Team and International Team, with the final player on each team to be confirmed on Sept. 8.

The Junior Presidents Cup is a two-day, team match-play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top junior boys 19 years old and younger – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe – that takes place just days before the start of the biennial Presidents Cup. The Junior Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European juniors a unique playing opportunity to compete in an international team match-play competition and showcase the global reach of junior golf.

Set in the historic Myers Park neighborhood south of Charlotte, Myers Park Country Club opened in 1921 and debuted its Donald-Ross designed layout in 1944. In 1945, Byron Nelson began his record 11-tournament winning streak at Myers Park Country Club, with his victory at the Charlotte Open giving the club significant national notoriety. Ten years later, Myers Park Country Club added to its championship golf resume by hosting the 1955 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Based on the Rolex AJGA Rankings, the top 10 players qualified for the U.S. Team as of Aug. 19, 2022, with future University of California-Berkeley product Eric Lee of Fullerton, California, finishing atop the rankings. Nine states are represented in the top 10, with Texas fielding two players - Aaron Pounds of The Woodlands, Texas, and Henry Guan of Dallas. Guan, a 2026 high school graduate, is the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Team in the Junior Presidents Cup.

The 11th player – Preston Stout of Richardson, Texas – was selected by U.S. Team Captain Notah Begay III. Stout, who has given his verbal intent to attend Oklahoma State University, finished 14th in the U.S. Junior Presidents Cup standings.

"I'm extremely excited to announce that Preston Stout will be the captain's pick for the 2022 United States Junior Presidents Cup Team,” Begay said. “Stout earned this designation based on a stellar summer of play where he recorded high finishes in some of the most competitive junior golf events in the country.

“He will now have the opportunity to play alongside eleven of the top American players in hopes of retaining the Junior Presidents Cup in September. I look forward to leading this team into a competition that will be memorable for all of us.”

The 12th and final spot will be awarded to the leading player based on the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of Sept. 8, 2022, who is not otherwise qualified. In the event of a tie, the selection will be decided by the individual ranked highest on the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ (WAGR™) list at that time.

On the International Team, China’s Wenyi Ding topped the list of the 10 qualified players based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ (WAGR™). Ding, 17, is the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion, having captured the title at Bandon Dunes in late July. With the win, the Arizona State University commit became the first male player from China to win a USGA championship.

International Team Captain Tim Clark selected New Zealand’s Joshua Bai, who finished 11th in the International Team standings as his captain’s pick.

“There are many young men deserving of a spot on my team, and any one of them would have been a worthy pick,” Clark said. “I decided to take Justin Bai, firstly because he has proven himself deserving of his spot, and secondly, because he narrowly missed out on one of the 10 automatic bids.”

In total, eight countries are represented among the first 11 players on the International Team, with Indonesia, South Africa and New Zealand fielding two players each; one player from Australia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago also earned automatic bids.

Malaysia and Trinidad and Tobago are represented in the Junior Presidents Cup for the first time.

The 12th and final spot will be awarded to the leading player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ (WAGR™) list as of Sept. 8, 2022. In the event of a tie, the selection will be decided by the individual ranked highest on the most previous WAGR™ revision.

The first 11 players for each team are listed below:

International Team Standings

  1. WENYI DING (CHN)
  2. ALDRICH POTGIETER (RSA)
  3. JEFFREY GUAN (AUS)
  4. RAYHAN ABDUL LATIEF (INO)
  5. YURAV PREMLALL (RSA)
  6. PONGSAPAK LAOPAKDEE (THA)
  7. YEO BOON XIANG ANSON (MYS)
  8. JONATHAN XAVIER HARTONO (INO)
  9. CHRIS RICHARDS JR. (TTB)
  10. JAYDEN FORD (NZL)
  11. JOSHUA BAI (NZL)*

United States Team Standings

  1. ERIC LEE (CA)
  2. NICHOLAS GROSS (PA)
  3. BRYAN KIM (MD)
  4. JACKSON KOIVUN (NC)
  5. ETHAN GAO (GA)
  6. JOHNNIE CLARK (AZ)
  7. MATT MOLONEY (VA)
  8. AARON POUNDS (TX)
  9. HENRY GUAN (TX)
  10. PJ MAYBANK (MI)
  11. PRESTON STOUT (TX)*

*Captain’s Pick

Click here for complete Junior Presidents Cup Team Standings.

The 2022 Presidents Cup will be held at Quail Hollow Club, September 20-25. For more information about the Presidents Cup, or to purchase tickets, please visit PresidentsCup.com. For 2022 Junior Presidents Cup information, visit AJGA.org.