3 Things to Know: U.S. National Junior Team Match Against Team Sweden

This Friday, the U.S. National Junior Team will host members of Team Sweden for a World Amateur Golf Ranking®-sanctioned, two-day match at the Vaquero Club, in Westlake, Texas. Six boys and six girls from each team will compete in mixed four-ball and foursomes matches on Friday, and 12 singles matches on Saturday. This will be the third international match for the U.S. National Junior Team following its victory over Team Canada - Next Gen last April.  The USNJT also faced Australia at SentryWorld in Year 1 of the U.S. National Development Program (USNDP) in 2024.  

Here are three things to know heading into the match: 

No “I” in Team 

Although the United States holds an all-time winning record in the Ryder and Solheim Cups, Team Europe has been the dominant team of late, winning nine of the last 12 Ryder Cups and three of the last four Solheim Cups. A large part of Europe’s success is due to the comfort level of its players in the team-oriented format: four-ball and foursomes. While the USA players have typically been comfortable in singles, the USNDP has continued to intentionally focus on developing players’ skills in team events through international matches and match-play training during biannual U.S. National Junior Team camps. 

Several USA players will use this week’s match as a foursomes tune-up for the upcoming U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Desert Mountain Club, in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Daniel Island Club, in Charleston, S.C. Grayson Baucom, a member of the USNDP North Carolina State Junior Team, has qualified for this year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, while Jude Lee and 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior semifinalist Grace Carter are competing on separate sides in their quest for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title.  
 
In 2025, U.S. National Junior Team members Will Hartman and Tyler Mawhinney captured the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title a couple of weeks after their international friendly against Team Canada – Next Gen. 

Fresh off Augusta 

Three members of the U.S. National Junior Team are coming to Vaquero after competing in the Masters Tournament and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Anna Fang, of San Diego, Calif., shot an opening-round 70 before missing the cut by one stroke. Amelie Zalsman, of St. Petersburg, Fla., shot an opening-round, 5-under-par 67 at Champions Retreat, eventually making the cut. She carded an even-par 72 during her final round at Augusta National Golf Club to finish in a tie for 11th.  
 
Thanks to his triumph last August at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., reigning U.S. Amateur Champion Mason Howell, of Thomasville, Ga., is competing in this week’s match fresh off his appearance in the 90th Masters Tournament. As is tradition at the Masters, Howell was paired alongside defending Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who went on to become just the fourth back-to-back winner, and Players Championship winner Cameron Young. 

The Blueprint 

Sweden has long been one of the premier golf-producing nations in the world. With nearly 600,000 registered golfers in a country of only 10 million people, Sweden has produced generational golf talents from Annika Sörenstam, Liselotte Neumann and Jesper Parnevik, to up-and-coming stars such as Ludvig Åberg, reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion Maja Stark, Linn Grant and Ingrid Lindblad. 

Team Sweden’s national development model was one of the main inspirations for USGA CEO Mike Whan when launching the U.S. National Development Program. Whan was galvanized by a conversation with a college coach, who noted that Team Sweden maintained a house in Arizona where the country’s best juniors could train and be discovered by top colleges. This week at Vaquero Club, the U.S. National Junior Team faces the model it was built to emulate.