RCGA Names World Amateur Golf Team
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:44:13
The talented trio will join the world's best male amateur golfers from over 55 countries October 24-27at Saujana Golf & Country Club, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. RCGA President Harry Zuzak, Doug Roxburgh, RCGA Director of Player Development and National Coach Henry Brunton will accompany Team Canada. The tournament is contested over four rounds of stroke play, with the top two scores from each team counting each day.
"This is an outstanding team with a unique combination of international experience and youth," said Roxburgh. "Both Lee and Dan represented Canada at the 2001 Four Nations and have had tremendous competitive seasons in 2002, while James has proven to be Canada's leading junior golfer."
Curry, 23, is a recent graduate of the University of Miami, Ohio and was a member of Canada's victorious Four Nations Teams Championship team in 2001. Last year's Quebec Golfer of the Year, Curry won two of Quebec's three major amateur championships in 2002, the Alexander of Tunis and the Duke of Kent, narrowly missing the sweep with his second place finish in the Quebec amateur.
Swanson, 23, was one of Curry's teammates at the Four Nations Cup, helping Canada to its first-ever victory in the event. Highlights of his 2002 season include a win at Calgary's Glencoe Invitational, second at the B.C. Amateur and a runner-up finish at the Pacific Coast Amateur in San Diego, just one stroke behind the winner.
Lepp, 18, has had an outstanding season in 2002 to finish off his junior career. The University of Illinois student was the top Canadian at the NCAA golf championships and was named Big 10 Conference Freshman of the Year. He captured back to back B.C. and Canadian Junior titles in 2001 and 2002, as well as the 2002 B.C. Amateur Championship.
The biennial World Amateur Golf Team Championships features two consecutive tournaments - the women's event for the Espirito Santo Trophy followed by the men's event for the Eisenhower Trophy.
Team Canada (men) finished a respectable 10th out of 59 countries at the 2000 championship held in Berlin. The team of Calvin Kupeyan, Wes Heffernan, Derek Gillespie and Jon Mills had a strong start, tying for first after the opening round. However they endured wet, stormy conditions in a tough final round that dropped them from 5th to 10th place.
The 2002 Canadian men's team will no doubt have its hands full competing at Saujana G&CC. The courses, designed by Ron Fream and opened in 1985, have undergone a multi-million dollar face-lift including several new greens and tee decks over the past year in preparation for the event. The Palm course, also known as "The Cobra," is one of the toughest layouts in the region with tight, undulating fairways and super-fast greens. The Cobra has hosted five Malaysian Opens including the 2001 event when Vijay Singh defeated Padraig Harrington in a three-hole playoff. The Bunga Raya course, the Malaysian word for hibiscus, the national flower, has earned itself almost equal billing with its sister layout hosting numerous top-level tournaments including the Malaysian PGA Championship. Nicknamed "The Crocodile", the picturesque design also provides a stern test of golf with its tree-lined fairways and abundant water hazards.
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