USA Leads Australia After Day 1 of National Junior Team Match

The first-of-its-kind match for American golf got underway Tuesday at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis., as the newly developed U.S. National Junior Team hosts Australia’s High Performance Team for a two-day friendly competition.

“This match is another milestone in advancing the vision of the U.S. National Development Program by providing elite juniors with a chance to play on the international stage,” said Chris Zambri, head coach of the U.S. National Teams. “To provide our players with the opportunity to compete under the same formats as the Walker Cup/Curtis Cup and Ryder Cup/Solehim Cup Matches is great preparation for their future as we look to strengthen golf in the United States and bring more trophies home to America.”

After a long day of travel, inclusive of a delayed flight and missed connection, Australian team arrived in the early morning hours Monday. Both teams took to the course for their first look at SentryWorld, which hosted the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior and 2023 U.S. Senior Open, and will next year host the 2025 Rolex Girls Junior Championship.

“It’s a great experience. The course is amazing,” said Sam Casio, of Australia. “Everything is in great condition. Tee boxes, fairways and greens are rolling perfectly.”

Sam Cascio, left, fist bumps Chase Oberle after putting on hole five during four ball matches of the 2024 USA vs Australia Team Match at SentryWorld. (Logan Whitton/USGA)

Each team brought 12 players to the match, six boys and six girls. Day one featured four-ball matches in the morning and foursomes matches in the afternoon. The United States took control in the four-ball portion of the competition, winning all six of its matches.

“It was super fun. Scarlett [Schremmer] and I work really well together, and we play really similarly,” said Nikki Oh, who teamed with Schremmer for a 2 and 1 victory over Australia’s Shyla Singh and Amelia Harris. “It’s fun being partners with her. There were a lot of fist pumps and handshakes out there. The conditions were hard, but we played solidly.”

The closest matches during four-ball were both on the boys’ side, with the duos of Chase Oberle/Sam Cascio and Tyler Mawhinney/Will Hartman as well as Josiah Edwards/Kayun Mudadana and Blades Brown/Tyler Watts all needing 18 holes to decide the matches. Oberle/Casio found themselves 3 down at the turn before rallying to just 1 down after a birdie on 17. A halved 18th hole secured the points for the USA team.

Edwards/Mudadana held a 1 up lead over the home team at the turn, before Brown, who made his PGA TOUR debut earlier this year at the Myrtle Beach Classic, where he made the cut, and Watts won holes 12 through 14 to grab a 2-up advantage. The Aussies won 16, with a birdie on SentryWorld’s signature flower hole, but once again the Americans would tie the 18th hole to secure the point and the morning sweep.

The afternoon foursomes matches, an alternate shot format in which the USA traditionally struggles on international stages, were a bit of a different story, as the Australians came out of the gate hot, picking up their first point of the match with the first tee time of the session. Rachel Lee/Reagan Denton defeated Chloe Kovelesky/Ryleigh Knaub 2 up.

Tyler Mawhinney, left, gives Will Hartman a fist bump after finishing hole five during four ball matches of the 2024 USA vs Australia Team Match at SentryWorld. (Logan Whitton/USGA)

“It’s an honor to be here,” said Lee. “It’s my first time in the U.S., and it’s just a great experience for all of us. Australia is a nice place to compete but competing against the U.S. is just different. Reagan and I were able to do well this afternoon, so it’s very nice to be able to play well on top of the overall experience.”

The side of Hamish Farquharson/Spencer Harrison picked up Australia’s second point of the day, defeating the American duo of Henry Guan/Phillip Dunham, 3 and 2. Sarah Hammett and Ella Scaysbrook quickly followed with a win of their own, defeating 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up Gianna Clemente and U.S. Women’s Open low amateur Asterisk Talley, 1 up.

The American teams of Schremmer/Oh, Mawhinney/Hartman and Brown/Watts all picked up their second points of the day with commanding wins. At day’s end, the Americans led 9 to 3.

Wednesday will feature 12 singles matches beginning at 8:10 a.m. ET. The match is a World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®)-sanctioned event.

Four-Ball Matches

Chloe Kovelesky/Ryleigh Knaub, USA def. Rachel Lee/Reagan Denton, Australia, 2 up

Scarlett Schremmer/Nikki Oh, USA def. Shyla Singh/Amelia Harris, Australia, 2 & 1

Gianna Clemente/Asterisk Talley, USA def. Sarah Hammett/Ella Scaysbrook, Australia, 3 & 2

Henry Guan/Phillip Dunham, USA def. Hamish Farquharson/Spencer Harrison, Australia, 4 & 2

Tyler Mawhinney/Will Hartman, USA def. Chase Oberle/Sam Cascio, Australia, 1 up

Blades Brown/Tyler Watts, USA def. Josiah Edwards/Kayun Mudadana, Australia, 1 up

Foursomes Matches

Rachel Lee/Reagan Denton, Australia def. Chloe Kovelesky/Ryleigh Knaub, USA, 2 & 1

Scarlett Schremmer/Nikki Oh, USA def. Shyla Singh/Amelia Harris, Australia, 4 & 3

Sarah Hammett/Ella Scaysbrook, Australia def. Gianna Clemente/Asterisk Talley, USA, 1 up

Hamish Farquharson/Spencer Harrison, Australia def. Henry Guan/Phillip Dunham, USA, 3 & 2

Tyler Mawhinney/Will Hartman, USA def. Chase Oberle/Sam Cascio, Australia, 4 & 3

Julia Pine is the director of championship communications and content for the USGA. Email her at jpine@usga.org.