The United States Team have won the 13th Junior Ryder Cup presented by HPE with a 17½ – 12½ victory over Team Europe.
With twelve points available in the singles matches at the historic Nassau Country Club, the US needed 5½ points to reclaim the Junior Ryder Cup but were down in nine matches after nine holes.
“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 US Team Captain Suzy Whaley. “They saw a sea of blue on the leaderboard and knew exactly where they stood. They showed grit, perseverance and did not give up.”
Stanford University commit Anna Fang of San Diego claimed the first point for the US 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 US, winning 1-up over England’s Charlotte Naughton, who nearly came back from being 4-down through 14.
Of the 8½ points secured by the US, 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. I couldn’t be more proud of all twelve 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 US Junior Amateur champion, won his match 2&1 over Ireland’s John Doyle.
Team Europe earned 4½ points on the day, including from Frenchman Hugo Le Goff’s 4&3 defeat of US 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 US improves their overall Junior Ryder Cup record to 8-4-1, and for Captain Whaley, it’s a goal achieved by the whole team.
She’s been looking forward to her time as Junior Ryder Cup captain for years, but wants 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 Team USA to bring that Cup home and set the tone for tomorrow’s Ryder Cup, and that’s exactly what we did.”
The US Junior Ryder Cup Team will celebrate their victory by attending the opening day of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
