CHARLOTTE, NC – After the first day of competition, the International team leads the United States team by a score of 7.5 to 4.5. A total of 12 matches were played on the first day with the International team coming out victorious in seven. This marks the first time the International team has held a lead after the first day of competition.

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.

“I am proud of how these guys played,” International Captain Tim Clark said. “They battled hard, especially this afternoon and that is all I could ask of them. We are going to focus on tomorrow and not dwell on the scoreboard right now. Tomorrow I am going to tell them to play their own game and focus on themselves and we will see how it all comes out.”

Leading the International team was Jeffrey Guan of Australia, who was victorious in both his morning four-ball and afternoon foursomes matches. In the morning he was paired with Yurav Premlall of South Africa and beat the United States team’s Eric Lee of Fullerton, California, and Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2&1. In the afternoon he was paired with Premlall again and defeated the United States team’s Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Arizona, and PJ Maybank of Cheboygan, Michigan, 3&2.

The largest margin of victory didn’t come from the International side. In the morning four-ball matches, Ethan Gao of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Henry Guan of Dallas, Texas, beat the International’s Chris Richards Jr. of Trinidad and Tobago and Juan Velasquez of Colombia, 5&4. Guan carded five birdies through the 14 holes of the match.

The International team came out hot in the morning four-ball, claiming the first three matches. The United States team pushed back by winning the next match and the Internationals closed out the morning winning the final match of the day.

The afternoon began with the United States team claiming the first point from Nicholas Gross of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and Preston Stout of Richardson, Texas, who defeated the International’s Pongsapak Laopakdee of Thailand, and Wenyi Ding of China, 1 up. The Internationals would rally however, claiming the next three points before surrendering one point to the United States before the final match of the day ended tied on 18.

After the first day of competition, four players won both of their matches:

• Jeffrey Guan - INT
• Aldrich Potgieter - INT
• Yurav Premlall - INT
• Carson Kim - USA

The final day of competition will feature 12 singles matches to wrap up the competition.