October 13, 2010 - BRASELTON, Ga. – Meg Mallon, a four-time Major champion and a 2009 Solheim Cup U.S. Assistant Captain, has been selected by Ping and the American Junior Golf Association to captain the 2011 Ping Junior Solheim Cup U.S. Team.
The Ping Junior Solheim Cup, which biennially features the 12 best female junior golfers (ages 12-18) from the United States against the top 12 junior girls from Europe, will be held Sept. 20-21, 2011, at Knightsbrook Hotel Spa & Golf Resort in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland.
“I’m very excited to have been chosen to Captain the U.S. Team in 2011,” Mallon said. “I was a big proponent of the Ping Junior Solheim Cup since it began in 2002. I am really looking forward to working with these talented young players next year in Ireland.”
Before retiring from professional golf in July 2010, Mallon was an eight-time Solheim Cup selection and played in every event between 1992 and 2005. She owns a 13-9-7 record and is tied with Juli Inkster as the U.S. Team’s all-time leading point earner.
“It's real exciting to have Meg be the captain of the Junior Solheim Cup. She is such a dynamic player and gets so much into her game, it will be fun to watch her work with the girls and show them how to get more out of their game. It gives them a real flavor,” said John A. Solheim, Chairman and CEO of PING, Inc. “To Ping, and to me, the Junior Solheim Cup is the most fun part of the week. Seeing those young players, a good number of them will probably play in the full Solheim Cup. There's a special joy seeing those young players come up and challenge.”
The 2011 event will mark the sixth Ping Junior Solheim Cup, with the U.S. leading the all-time series, 3-2-0. The team hosting the event has won the Ping Junior Solheim Cup in all five instances. In 2009, the U.S. prevailed, 15.5–8.5, at Aurora Country Club in Aurora, Ill.
In its short history, the Ping Junior Solheim Cup already has a reputation for showcasing the world’s up-and-coming female junior golfers. Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lincicome, Brittany Lang, Louise Stahle and Minea Blomqvist all participated before turning professional.
Paula Creamer, who was 4-2-0 in two PING Junior Solheim Cup appearances, was the first to go on to play on a Solheim Cup Team and helped the United States win at Crooked Stick in 2005 with a 3-1-1 record. The American team in 2009 featured four former PING Junior Solheim Cup team members – Creamer, Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel.
The Solheim Cup, the most prestigious team event in women’s professional golf and sponsored by Ping golf equipment, is named in honor of the company’s founder, Karsten Solheim, and his family. It is a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play competition featuring the best American-born players from the LPGA and the best European-born players from the Ladies European Tour.
The U.S. leads the Solheim Cup series, 10-3-0, and has never lost on home soil. The 2011 Solheim Cup will be played Sept. 23-25 at Killeen Castle Golf Resort in Co. Meath, Ireland
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