U.S. National Junior Team to Host Match Against Canada

The U.S. National Junior Team will host members of Team Canada – NextGen for a World Amateur Golf Ranking® -sanctioned match at Champions Golf Club, in Houston, Texas, from April 12-13. This event marks the second international match-play competition for the U.S. National Development Program, following its victory over Australia at SentryWorld in Wisconsin last July.

The match will feature 12 players representing each nation in a mixed Ryder/Solheim Cup-style format over two days. The format is as follows:

●       Saturday, April 12 – Foursomes Mixed Team Matches (a.m.), Four-Ball Mixed Team Matches (p.m.)

●       Sunday, April 13 – Singles Matches

“Team match play has long been an important part of international competition and introducing our nation’s top junior talent to these formats, competitive situations and championship-level courses early in their development is crucial to building confidence and preparing them for success on the game’s biggest stages,” said Chris Zambri, head coach of the U.S. National Teams. “We’re thankful to partner with Golf Canada on this initiative in support of friendly competition and development for all of our athletes.”

The U.S. National Junior Team has grown year-over-year from an 18-player roster in 2024 to a 22-player roster of 11 girls and 11 boys with seven new members in 2025. The group is one of two active teams within the U.S. National Development Program representing the country’s top golf talent. The Elite Amateur Program was announced in January of this year, and a Young Professional Team will be formed in 2026, with the goal of supporting the nation’s top talent from junior golf to the pinnacle of their careers.

The six male and six female junior golfers representing the U.S. National Junior Team in the match were determined by a qualifier held during a USNDP training camp in Arizona in February. The Canadian roster was selected through its NextGen Program.

“We are excited for our young Canadian athletes to participate in this match play event and give these talented aspiring players another opportunity to compete internationally. We have seen great success with our NextGen players over the past couple years, especially at the World Junior Girls Golf Championship and these matches provide great experience to continue to learn and grow,” said Jeff MacDonald, head coach of the Team Canada – NextGen girls team. “We also want to extend our thanks to the USGA, as these unique matches help to strengthen an already strong relationship between our two national golf federations.”

Team USA for this match is comprised of the following players:

Boys

● Ronin Banerjee, 16, of Irvine, Calif.
● Luke Colton, 17, of Frisco, Texas
● Phillip Dunham, 17, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
● Trevor Gutschewski, 17, of Omaha, Neb.
● Will Hartman, 18, of Marvin, N.C.
● Tyler Mawhinney, 17, of Fleming Island, Fla.

Girls

● Shyla Brown, 16, of McKinney, Texas
● Ryleigh Knaub, 18, of DeBary, Fla.
● Jude Lee, 17, of Walnut, Calif.
● Nikki Oh, 17, of Torrance, Calif.
● Scarlett Schremmer, 18, of Birmingham, Ala.
● Amelie Zalsman, 16, of St. Petersburg, Fla.

For more information on the U.S. players, please click here.

Team Canada is comprised of the following players:

BOYS

●  Charlie Gillespie – 18, Calgary, Alta.
●  Antoine Jasmin – 19, Blainville, Que.
● Austin Krahn – 17, Christina Lake, B.C.
● *Dawson Lew – 15, Toronto, Ont.
●  Jager Pain – 16, Woodbridge, Ont.
● *Alex Zhang – 16, Richmond, B.C.

*- denotes selected player

GIRLS

●  Aphrodite Deng – 15, Calgary, Alta.
●  Clara Ding – 14, White Rock, B.C.
●  Shauna Liu – 16, Maple, Ont.
●  Eileen Park – 15, Red Deer, Alta.
●  Nobelle Park – 15, Oakville, Ont.
●  Michelle Xing – 16, Richmond Hill, Ont.

For more information on the Canadian players, please click here.

Champions Golf Club is a 36-hole private golf club located outside of Houston, created in 1957 by major champions Jack Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demaret. The Cypress Creek Course, designed by Ralph Plummer, opened in 1959, and shortly after came the Jackrabbit course in 1964, designed by George Fazio. Both courses have since undergone renovations; Cypress Creek in 2018 by Chet Williams, and Jackrabbit in 2002, redesigned by Tom Fazio.

Champions Golf Club has been the host site of five USGA championships, most recently the 75th U.S. Women’s Open in 2020, where Korean A Lim Kim was crowned champion after a three-hole stretch of birdies to end her final round. The club also hosted a pair of U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships in 1998 and 2017, the U.S. Amateur in 1993 and the 69th U.S. Open, where Orville Moody claimed a one-shot victory over Deane Beman, Bob Rosburg and Al Geiberger.