USNJT Members to Compete in Sahalee Players Championship

The U.S. National Junior Team will have the unique opportunity to test its skills against top collegiate programs this weekend at the Sahalee Players Championship, an annual event at Sahalee Country Club that attracts many of the nation’s top men’s golf programs. This year’s competition will be contested Sept. 6-7 just east of downtown Seattle.

Five members of the 2025 U.S. National Junior Team will represent the program: Ronin Banerjee, Luke Colton, Jessy Huebner, Tyler Mawhinney and Tyler Watts. Each participating team will field five or six players, giving the juniors a true taste of what it’s like to play in a college event. Teams featuring five players will count the four lowest scores from each round, with the overall lowest scoring team crowned champion after 54 holes.

Played on Sahalee Country Club’s championship “South” and “North” nines, the event is a 54-hole, stroke-play tournament, with 36 holes scheduled for Saturday and the final 18 on Sunday.

This appearance comes at a meaningful time for the U.S. National Junior Team. Several team members begin their college journeys this fall and therefore are not eligible to compete with the U.S. National Development Program for this event. Kihei Akina, Ryleigh Knaub, Henry Guan, Scarlett Schremmer, Will Hartman and Michael Riebe all started their 2025-26 seasons with their respective college programs.

The Sahalee experience will provide invaluable insight into the structure, pressure and atmosphere of college golf, helping prepare players for the next step in their journeys.

Leading the team is Chris Zambri, head coach of the U.S. National Development Program. Zambri brings deep collegiate expertise, having spent 14 years coaching at the University of Southern California – including 12 as head coach – where he guided the Trojans to 33 team victories, three conference titles and three NCAA Regional championships. He also served on the coaching staff at Pepperdine prior to joining the USGA. In addition, Coach Tiffany Joh, a former standout at UCLA, will also be in attendance after spending two seasons as a coach for the USC women’s golf team.

"The chance for our junior boys to experience college-level competition before they arrive on campus is a tremendous learning opportunity,” said Zambri. “We are grateful to Coach [Alan] Murray at the University of Washington for inviting us to be a part of a powerhouse field on one of the most challenging courses in the country."

In addition to host Washington, the University of Arizona, Arizona State, Florida, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Texas and UCLA are in this stellar field.

The Sahalee event is another milestone in the USNDP’s mission to provide America’s top juniors with the resources, competition and guidance they need to thrive.