BRASELTON, GEORGIA | The field for the
second-annual Puerto Rico Junior Open will
include four of the top 20 boys in the Polo Golf
Rankings, including three Rolex Junior All-Americans, the American Junior Golf Association announced Friday. Additionally, eight
players from Puerto Rico will be among the
78 boys competing in the 54-hole event, Jan.
13-16, 2012, at Trump International Golf Club’s
Championship Course in Rio Grande.
In all, players from 19 states, Puerto Rico
and 15 countries (Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, France, Hong Kong,
India, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, South Korea,
Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
and Venezuela) will contend for the title. For
the second straight year, the champion will be
awarded a sponsor’s exemption into the PGA
Tour’s Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuer-torico.com, March 5-11, 2012.
Jim Liu, of Smithtown, N. Y., is one of the
three Rolex Junior All-Americans that will
compete. He is No. 12 in the Polo Golf Rankings
and earned second-team honors behind the
strength of three top-five finishes during the
2011 season. In 2010, Liu became the young-est-ever champion of the U.S. Junior Amateur
when he won at the age of 14.
Motin Yeung, of Orlando, is No. 10 in the
Polo Golf Rankings and a first-team Rolex
Junior All-American. His 2011 season included a victory at the Jones Cup Junior Invitational and a tie for fourth at the Thunderbird
International Junior.
James Yoon, of Bradenton, Fla., is No. 20
in the Polo Golf Rankings and earned second-team Rolex Junior All-America honors behind
the strength of his win at the 2011 Scott Robertson Memorial.
Wyndham Clark, of Greenwood Village,
Colo., is No. 8 in the Polo Golf Rankings and
had four top- 10 finishes in 2011. He had strong
showings at The Ping Invitational, where he
finished fourth, and the HP Boys Championship
at Carlton Woods, where he finished third.
Competing for the title will also be six players that reside in Puerto Rico: Andrew Baez,
of San Juan; Daniel Caban, of Cabo Rojo; Jose
Cardona, of Guaynabo; Felipe Colon, of Dorado;
and Frederick Thon and Sebastian Toro, both
of Gurabo. Additionally, Puerto Rico will be
represented by Edward Figueroa (Naples, Fla.)
and Juan Santos (Heathrow, Fla.), who now live
in the United States.
The tournament is the only AJGA Open event
to offer a PGA Tour exemption to its champion.
In 2011, Jason Roets, of Howey-in-the-Hills,
Fla., won the Puerto Rico Junior Open and the
right to compete with the pros. l
