Singh set for Jr Presidents Cup as Montreal teams are finalised

File photo of 14-year-old Kartik SIngh who will make his Junior Presidents Cup debut in Montreal next week. Image courtesy AAC.

By Rahul Banerji

Indian teenager Kartik Singh will see action in edition four of the Junior Presidents Cup in Montreal, Canada, from September 22 with the two teams finalised last week.

The DLF Academy trainee continues to build on his international exposure and experience having played the 2023 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in Melbourne and the US Junior Amateurs, besides the R&A Junior Open this year.

In a statement, the Presidents Cup and American Junior Golf Association named the final teams for the two-day competition at Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac’s Blue Course, four days before the 2024 Presidents Cup begins at the nearby Royal Montreal Golf Club.

Michael Riebeof California, and China’s Hanjie Yu earned the final places on the two teams for the match-play competition featuring the top 24 under-19 juniors from around the world other than Europe, the PGA Tour said.

Held 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 an opportunity to compete in an international team match-play competition and showcase the global reach of junior golf.

Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac was founded in 1917 and is ranked in the country’s top 100 courses. The Blue Course was redesigned in 2013 by 2024 International Presidents Cup captain Mike Weir and Ian Andrew.

Hanjie Yu is the third player from China to join the Internationals at 229 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He gained entry to the team as the highest-ranked player in the WAGR not otherwise qualified as of September 5 with two wins this year.

Eight countries are represented on the International Team, with China fielding three players and Vietnam and Thailand each with two representatives. Indonesia, New Zealand,, Canada and Colombia are also represented.

The Internationals are led by 2013 Presidents Cup alumni Graham DeLaet as they seek their first victory in the Junior Presidents Cup.

Experienced hand

For the US, Riebe has three top-10 AJGA Invitational finishes this season, including a fourth-place finish at the Rolex Tournament of Champions.

He also had top-five finishes at the Boy’s Junior PGA Championship and the Western Junior Championship. Riebe makes his first appearance on the US team as the highest-ranked player on the Rolex AJGA Rankings who was not otherwise qualified.

Riebe also competed in the Wyndham Cup in July for the West Team. He will look to bring that match play experience into the Junior Presidents Cup.

USA are represented by eight different states, including two players from Florida, Texas, North Carolina and California including Ronin Banerjee who will be the second youngest in the field after Singh.

Eight members are Rolex Junior All-Americans, they being Miles Russell, Tyler Watts, Blades Brown, Will Hartman, Banerjee, Tyler Mawhinney, Jackson Byrd, Michael Riebe).

Charley Hoffman, a former Presidents Cup participant, will captain the team as they look for a fourth straight win in the competition after Plainfield Country Club (2017), The Royal Melbourne Golf Club (2019) and Myers Park Country Club (2022).

The teams

Internationals: Graham DeLaet (capt), Xihhuan Chang (China), Nguyen Anh Minh (Vietnam), Rayhan Abdul Latief (Indonesia), Thanawin Lee (Thailand), Joshua Bai (New Zealand), Kartik Singh (India), Le Khanh Hung (Vietnam), Liangliang Gu (China), Warut Boonrod (Thailand), Antoine Jasmin (Canada), Samuel Gonzalez* (Colombia) and Hanjie Yu (China),

United States: Charley Hoffman (capt), Miles Russell (Florida), Tyler Watts (Alabama), Blades Brown (Tennessee), Pennson Badgett (North Carolina), Asher Vargas (Texas), Luke Colton (Texas), Will Hartman (North Carolina), Ronin Banerjee (California), Tyler Mawhinney (Florida), Jackson Byrd (Georgia), Logan Reilly* (Virginia) and Michael Riebe (California).

*Captain’s picks

Also read: Kartik Singh leads Indian challenge at Asia Pacific Amateur golf