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2016 Eisenhower Storylines

2016 Eisenhower Trophy -  Storyline

NUMBER OF TEAMS

A total of 71 teams are entered in the 30th World Amateur Team Championship, the second-largest field in Eisenhower Trophy history. In 2012, 72 teams competed.

FIRST-TIME PARTICIPANTS

Armenia, Haiti, the Republic of Moldova and the Republic of Kazakhstan are making their first appearances in the World Amateur Team Championship.

DEFENDING CHAMPION

The USA is vying to become the first team to win three consecutive WATC championships since the USA won three straight titles in 2000, 2002 and 2004.

HOST NATION

Mexico is playing in its 28th World Amateur Team Championship. It won the silver medal in 2012. Members of the team were Roberto Halpern, Juan Antonio Estrada and Thomas Lehmann. As the host nation in 1966, Japan finished fifth in the 32-team field.

McCORMACK MEDAL WINNER

Maverick McNealy, 20, of the USA, is the winner of the 2016 Mark H. McCormack Medal, holding the No. 1 position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ at the conclusion of the ranking period.

WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™ (members of the top 25 playing in WATC; ranking as of Sept. 11)

1 – Maverick McNealy (USA)
3 – Curtis Luck (AUS)
4 – Ivan Cantero (ESP)
5 – Matthias Schwab (AUT)
6 – Jack Hume (IRL)
7 – Scott Gregory (ENG)
8 – Adrian Meronk (POL)
9 – Joaquin Niemann (CHI)
11 – Cameron Davis (AUS)
12 – Harrison Endycott (AUS)
13 – Robert McIntyre (SCO)
15 – Jamie Bower (ENG)
16 – Antoine Rozner (FRA)
17 – Juan Alvarez (URU)
18 – Scottie Scheffler (USA)
19 – Grant Forrest (SCO)
21 – Viktor Hovland (NOR)

OLDEST COMPETITORS

Manuel Jimenez (57, born 1-21-59), Ian Espitalier Noel (56, born 2-28-60), Maurice Pasha Brandt (55, born 8-26-61)

YOUNGEST COMPETITORS

Jean-Philippe Mehu (15, born 6-7-01), Kshitij Naveed Kaul (15, born 12-3-00), Panagiotis Pantazopoulos (15, born 9-22-00), Ryan Staykov (16, born 6-13-00), Pedro Silva (16, born 5-9-00), Dean Naime (16, born 5-2-00), Jakub Hrinda (16, born 3-23-00), Adrien Demont de Chassart (16, born 3-1-00), Matyas Zapletal (16, born 2-11-00), Junbin Zhang (16, born 11-27-99), Julian Perico (16, born 11-16-99)

USA COLLEGE ALL-AMERICANS -- Following is a listing of the 15 players from the 2016 WATC who were named to the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA)

Division I, Division II and other division All-America teams for 2015-16:

Division I

First Team
USA – Maverick McNealy, Stanford University
Austria – Matthias Schwab, Vanderbilt University

Second Team
Poland – Adrian Meronk, East Tennessee State University
France – Antoine Rozner, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Third Team
Norway – Kristoffer Ventura, Oklahoma State University

Honorable Mention
Wales – David Boote, Stanford University
Canada – Jared du Toit, Arizona State University
Sweden – Robin Petersson, Augusta University
Netherlands – Lars van Meijel, University of Memphis

Division II
First Team
Canada – Hugo Bernard, Saint Leo University
Second Team
Colombia – Mateo Gomez, Lynn University
Third Team
Venezuela – Manuel Torres, Lynn University
Honorable Mention
Dominican Republic – Juan Jose Guerra, Nova Southeastern University
Ecuador – Jose Andres Miranda, Lynn University

NAIA
First Team
Hong Kong, China – Matthew Cheung, Oklahoma City University

PALMER CUP 2016
Seven players from the 2016 WATC competed in the Palmer Cup, an international team event, at Formby Golf Club in England, from June 24-26. Europe defeated the United States of America 18.5-11.5. Representing Europe from the Eisenhower Trophy were David Boote, of Wales, Mathias Eggenberger, of Switzerland, Adrian Meronk, of Poland, Robin Petersson, of Sweden, Antoine Rozner, of France, Matthias Schwab, of Austria, and Lars van Meijel, of the Netherlands. The only player from the USA at the WATC is Maverick McNealy.

2016 Amateur (conducted by The R&A) Competitors (52): John Axelsen, Andri Bjornsson, Jamie Bower, Ivan Cantero, Rowin Caron, Paul Chaplet, Luca Cianchetti, Ugu Coussaurd, Joshua Davies, Cameron Davis, Owen Edwards, Mathias Eggenberger, Harrison Endycott, Gregory Foo, Grant Forrest, Jeremy Freiburghaus, Mario Galiano, Andres Gallegos, Jeremy Gandon, Mateusz Gradecki, Scott Gregory, Stuart Grehan, Juan Miguel Heredia, Jack Hume, Marco Iten, Kim Koivu, Gudmundur Kristjansson, Hurly Long, Vitor Lopes, Robert MacIntyre, Haraldur Mangus, Stefano Mazzoli, Paul McBride, Adrian Meronk, Guido Migliozzi, Fredrik Nilehn, Jeremy Paul, Robin Petersson, Alfie Plant, Jovan Rebula, Hannes Ronneblad, Antoine Rozner, Matthias Schwab, Pedro Lencart Silva, Tomas Silva, Zan Luka Stirn, Connor Syme, Lars Van Meijel, Vince Van Veen, Kristoffer Ventura, Simon Zach, Matyas Zapletal.

2016 Australian Amateur Competitors (9): Ryan Chisnall, Owen Edwards, Harrison Endycott, Grant Forrest, Curtis Luck, Je-Chang Ryu, Connor Syme, Luke Toomey, Sung-Ho Yun.

2016 U.S. Amateur Competitors (30): Juan Alvarez, Luis Fernando Barco, Hugo Bernard, David Boote, Jamie Bower, Ivan Cantero, Paul Chaplet, Luca Cianchetti, Claudio Correa, Brad Dalke, Cameron Davis, Harrison Endycott, Grant Forrest, Mario Galiano, Jorge Garcia, Santiago Gomez, Scott Gregory, Jack Hume, Curtis Luck, Robert MacIntyre, Maverick McNealy, Jose Andres Miranda, Joaquin Niemann, Robin Petersson, Garrett Rank, Antoine Rozner, Scottie Scheffler, Matthias Schwab, Connor Syme, Nick Voke.

2016 Latin America Amateur Competitors (34): Juan Alvarez, Luis Fernando Barco, Sebastian Barnoya, Gaston Bertinotti, Paul Chaplet, Claudio Correa, Jarryd Dillas, Nicolas Echavarria, Ian Facey, Andres Gallegos, Jorge Garcia, Luis Gerardo Garza, Santiago Gomez, Juan Guerra, Juan Miguel Heredia, Daniel Ishii, Andrew Jarvis, Herik Machado, Jose Mendez, Jose Andres Miranda, Rafael Miranda, Robert Moore, Erick Juan Morales, Jonathan Newnham, Joaquin Niemann, Alvaro Ortiz, Rhadames Pena, Rodrigo Sol, Felipe Strobach, Manuel Torres, Alejandro Tosti, George Trujillo, Mateo Gomez Villegas, Michael Wight.

2016 European Amateur Competitors (43): Alihan Afsar, Juan Alvarez, John Axelsen, Peter Launer Baek, Andri Bjornsson, Jamie Bower, Rowan Caron, Luca Cianchetti, Ugu Coussaud, Alan De Bondt, Owen Edwards, Grant Forrest, Jeremy Freiburghaus, Mario Galiano, Jeremy Gandon, Mateusz Gradecki, Scott Grehan, Branimir Gudelj, Hurly Long, Haraldur Magnus, Stefano Mazzoli, Guido Migliozzi, Marcus Helligkilde, Viktor Hovland, Marco Iten, Kim Koivu, Gudmundur Kristjansson, Knud Krokeide, Vitor Lopes, Robert MacIntyre, Markus Maukner, Paul McBride, Adrian Meronk, Fredrik Nilehn, Jeremy Paul, Alfrie Plant, Maximilian Schmitt, Tomas Silva, Zan Luka Stirn, Connor Syme, Lars Van Meijel, Vince Van Veen, Simon Zach.

2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Competitors (15): Abdulrahman Al Shahrani, Matthew Cheung, Ryan Chisnall, Cameron Davis, Leon Philip D’Souza, Gregory Foo, Joshua Ho, Devin Zhu Hua, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Joshua Shou, Luke Toomey, Nick Voke, Yu-Chen Yeh, Chun-An Yu, Sung Ho Yun.

2015 Pan American Games Competitors (15): Juan Alvarez, Luis Fernando Barco, Sebastian Barnoya, Ian Facey, Jorge Garcia, Luis Gerardo Garza, Juan Miguel Heredia, Jose Andres Miranda, Jose Mendez, Erick Juan Morales, Alvaro Ortiz, Garrett Rank, Felipe Strobach, Alejandro Tosti, Mateo Gomez Villegas.

2014 World Amateur Team Competitors (44): Saleh Al Kaabi, Abdul Rahman Al Shahrani, Ali Al Shahrani, Ali Altuntas, Juan Alvarez, Sebastian Barnoya, David Boote, Andrew Borg, Matthew Cheung, Jarryd Dillas, Nicolas Echavarria, Mathias Eggenberger, Grant Forrest, Mario Galiano, Jorge Garcia, Santiago Gomez, Mateusz Gradecki, Juan Guerra, Rashid Hamood, Ranko Helc, Devin Zhu Hua, Marco Iten, Manuel Jimenez, Hurly Long, Herik Machado, Markus Maukner, Jose Mendez, Adrian Meronk, John Verlest Micallef, Guido Migliozzi, Sean Morris, Jonathan Newnham, Ian Espitalier Noel, Vitek Novak, Alvaro Ortiz, Mark Phillips, Hannes Ronneblad, Tomas Silva, Zan Luka Stirn, Alejandro Tosti, Lars Van Meijel, Kristoffer Ventura, Chun-An Yu, Simon Zach.

2012 World Amateur Team Competitors (21): Issa Abouelela, Saleh Al Kaabi, Juan Alvarez, Luis Fernando Barco, Sebastian Barnoya, Andrew Borg, Rowin Caron, Jarryd Dillas, Mateusz Gradecki, Manuel Jimenez, Haraldur Magus, Adrian Meronk, Erick Juan Morales, Terrence Ng, Vitek Novak, Rhadames Pena, Agustin Tarigo, Nicholas Tueten, Kristoffer Ventura, Alejandro Villavicencio, Simon Zach.
Storylines – Alphabetical By Country

ARGENTINA

Alejandro Tosti, 20, was the runner-up at the 2015 Latin American Amateur and finished seventh at the 2015 Pan American Games, leading his country to a bronze medal in the mixed team competition. He is a junior at the University of Florida.

AUSTRALIA

Curtis Luck, 20, won the 2016 U.S. Amateur by defeating Brad Dalke, 6 and 4, in the final. He became the third Australian to win the championship. He also won this year’s Western Australian Open. Harrison Endycott, 20, won this year’s Porter Cup with a final-round 66 and was a quarterfinalist at this year’s Australian Amateur. Cameron Davis, 21, was the 2016 Brabazon Trophy runner-up and tied for second in the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur.

AUSTRIA

Matthias Schwab, 22, was chosen Vanderbilt University’s male athlete of the year in 2015-16. He tied for third in the NCAA Division I Championship and clinched the 2016 Palmer Cup for Team Europe.

BERMUDA

Jarryd Dillas, 31, who is playing in his seventh Eisenhower Trophy, is an accounting administrator. In 2016, he won the Bermuda Match-Play title for the fifth time en route to capturing his country’s Order of Merit. Mark Phillips, 26, is a hotel food and beverage manager.

BULGARIA

Asen Mihaylov, 18, was a national 100-meter swimming champion, a top pistol shooter with the Levski Modern Pentathlon Club, a member of Levski Elin FC and competed in snow-boarding for the Bulgarian Ski Federation.

CANADA

Garrett Rank, 29, of Canada, is a National Hockey League game official. He tied for second at this year’s Sunnehanna Amateur, reached the Round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur and won his third consecutive Canadian Mid-Amateur. Jared du Toit, 21, played in Sunday’s final group at the RBC Canadian Open, where he tied for ninth and posted the first top-10 by a Canadian amateur since 1954. A senior at Arizona State University, du Toit posted five top-10 finishes last year. Hugo Bernard, 21, won the 2016 Canadian Amateur and was the NCAA Division II champion as a freshman on Saint Leo University team.

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Andrew Jarvis, 17, was Inter Primary League’s most outstanding cricket player in 2010. He also plays soccer and surfs.

CHILE

Claudio Correa, 20, won the 2015 Mexican Amateur and was runner-up this year. He is a junior on the University of South Florida golf squad. Joaquin Niemann, 17, advanced to the Round of 32 in this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur. He shot a final-round 62 to win the 2016 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan with a 72-hole score of 17-under 267.

CHINESE TAIPEI

Yu-Chen Yeh, 21, claimed the individual bronze medal at the 2016 World University Championships, leading Chinese Taipei to the bronze in the team competition. Chun-An Yu, 18, won the 2015 Western Junior and 2015 AJGA Junior Players. He made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Junior Players. He also tied for fourth in last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur.

COLOMBIA

Santiago Gomez, 23, was the recipient of the Jack Nicklaus Award, given to the NCAA Division II national player of the year, and was a three-time All-America selection at Nova Southeastern University. He led his country to the gold medal in the mixed team competition in the 2015 Pan American Games.

COSTA RICA

Paul Chaplet, 17, won the 2016 Latin America Amateur Championship by posting a one-stroke victory over Venezuela’s Jorge Garcia with a 72-hole score of 3-under 285. Chaplet’s win earned him a Masters Tournament invitation as well as berths in The Amateur Championship and the U.S. Amateur. Playing captain Manuel Jimenez, 57, is competing in his 13th Eisenhower Trophy, which will eclipse Roberto Gomez, of Brazil, for the most career appearances. Jimenez’s first was in 1986. This is his eighth time serving as captain. He is the chairman of the board of directors of La Nacion, a newspaper.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Simon Zach, 20, was third in the 2016 European Amateur. He shot a final-round 66 that included a hole-in-one on the par-3 10th with a 7-iron from 179 yards. Zach is a sophomore on the University of Louisville team.

DENMARK

Torben Henriksen Nyehuus, 51, is serving as captain for the fifth consecutive WATC. Nyehuus, who has competed in marathons, caddied for Lucas Bjerregaard when he won the 2010 European Amateur.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Robert Guerra, 51, is the general secretary of the Dominican Golf Federation and is serving as team captain. His son, Juan Jose Guerra, is a college golfer at Nova Southeastern. The 19-year-old earned Division II All-America honors last year.

ECUADOR

Jose Miranda, 22, was a two-time All-American at Lynn University. He helped the team finish as the NCAA Division II runner-up in 2013 and 2015.

EL SALVADOR

Bobby Moore, 31, and Rodrigo Sol, 38, are both competing in their sixth WATC. Moore, who is general manager of El Encanto Country Club, has won two Central America championships. Sol, who is president of Viva Advertising Group, is an 11-time national champion.

ENGLAND

Scott Gregory, 21, won the 2016 Amateur Championship, conducted by The R&A, at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. He defeated Robert MacIntyre, 2 and 1, in the final. Gregory, the 2016 Spanish Amateur runner-up, was one of two amateurs to play in The Open Championship at Royal Troon. Jamie Bower, 23, claimed the 2016 Brabazon Trophy by one stroke over Cameron Davis.

FRANCE

Antoine Rozner, 23, earned Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive year in 2016 as a member of the University of Missouri-Kansas City team. He won the French Amateur in 2014 and 2015.

GUATEMALA

Alejandro Villavicencio, 36, stopped played golf for four years as a teenager and became a Central American and national champion in jet ski racing. Villavicencio, who is a restaurant owner, later became a professional golfer but was reinstated as an amateur six years ago. He won the 2013 and 2015 Central America Amateurs.

HAITI

Maurice Pasha Brandt, 55, serves as team captain as Haiti competed in the WATC for the first time. Brant, who is an interior decorator and designer, was voted 2015 PGA Tour Volunteer of Year for his work at the WGC Cadillac Championship.

HONG KONG, CHINA

Matthew Cheung, 20, has lived on three different continents. He was born in Hong Kong and lived there for eight years before moving to Australia for a nine-year period to attend school. In 2016, he helped Oklahoma City University to the NAIA championship and was the national runner-up.

IRELAND

Jack Hume, 23, was a member of the victorious 2015 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team. Hume reached the first round of match play in this year’s Amateur Championship, conducted by The R&A. Paul McBride, 20, is a sophomore on the Wake Forest University golf team. He is also an accomplished hurler and played both sports for Malahide Community School. He reached the Amateur Championship’s semifinal round.

ITALY

Luca Cianchetti, 21, won the 2016 European Amateur in a seven-hole playoff with Norway’s Viktor Hovland. Both players finished 72 holes at 16 under par. Steffano Mazzoli, 19, is a sophomore on the Texas Christian University team. He captured the 2015 European Amateur and played in the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon.
JAMAICA

Ian Facey, 23, is the son of team captain Robert Facey. Sean Morris, 49, is a construction project manager who did not start playing golf until age 30. Johnny Newnham, 21, is a junior on the Mississippi State University team who won the 2016 Jamaican Amateur.

MALTA

Captain Nick Borg, 44, is the older brother of team member Andy Borg, 43. Nick, who was also captain in 2014, is an executive recruiter and lives in Tokyo. Andy is competing in his third consecutive WATC.

MEXICO

Alvaro Ortiz, 20, is a junior on the University of Arkansas team. His brother, Carlos, led Mexico to a runner-up finish in the 2012 WATC. In 2014, Carlos was chosen Web.comTour Player of the Year and earned his PGA Tour card. Luis Gerardo Garza, 18, was first in the Mexican Junior Golf Ranking in 2014-15. Isidro Benitez, 17, became the second amateur to win a Tecate Professional Tour title in August 2015.
MOLDOVA

Alexsei Koika, 40, competed on Moldova’s national swim team in the 100-meter butterfly and 200- and 400-meter individual medley. Koika, who caddies part-time at San Francisco (Calif.) Golf Club, owns a flooring company.

NETHERLANDS
Lars van Meijel
, 22, became the fourth University of Memphis golfer and first in 30 years to earn All-America recognition last year. He helped Team Europe win the 2016 Palmer Cup.

NEW ZEALAND

Nick Voke, 21, is a senior on the Iowa State University golf squad. A skateboarding accident two years ago left him with a titanium plate and seven screws across his collarbone.

NORWAY

Kristoffer Ventura, 21, is playing in his third consecutive WATC and led his country to a tie for sixth in 2012. Ventura is a junior at Oklahoma State University and was a consensus All-American in 2015-16.

POLAND

Mateuz Gradecki, 22, and Adrian Meronk, 23, are competing in their third WATC together and were East Tennessee State University teammates. Gradecki, who is a senior, won three Polish Amateurs, from 2011-13. In June 2016, Meronk, who is a playing captain, became the first Polish golfer to advance to the semifinals of The Amateur Championship, conducted by The R&A.

PUERTO RICO

Erick Juan Morales, 33, won his second Puerto Rico Amateur in 2016 and owns two Caribbean Amateur victories. Morales, who played in college at Rutgers University from 2003-06, made an 15-foot putt to make the 36-hole cut at the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open last year.

QATAR

Saleh Al Kaahbi, 22, is in the Qatar armed forces. He is playing in his fourth WATC. Ali Al Sharani, 22, is also competing in his fourth WATC, and is a two-time Gulf champion.

SCOTLAND

Grant Forrest, 23, was a member of the winning 2015 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team. Forrest was a quarterfinalist in this year’s Australian Amateur and advanced to the Round of 16 in The Amateur Championship, conducted by The R&A. Robert MacIntyre, 20, was the runner-up in this year’s Amateur Championship. Connor Syme, 20, won the 2016 Australian Amateur. He is a range keeper at Drumoig Golf Centre, in St. Andrews.

SLOVAKIA

Jakub Hrinda, 16, played in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at age 14. He is the 10th-youngest player to make a start on the PGA European Tour. He earned his spot in the field by winning the Qatar Open Amateur.

SOUTH AFRICA

Dylan Naidoo, 18, was the runner-up to Joaquin Niemann in the 2016 Toyota Junior World Cup. He won the South African Boys U-19 stroke-play championship last year and the Boys U-17 stroke-play title in 2014. When he was in sixth grade, he represented his country in a Math and Science Olympiad.

SWEDEN

Robin Petersson, 24, won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship for the second consecutive year as a senior at Augusta University in 2015-16. He helped hisEuropean team win the Palmer Cup and Bonallack Trophy in 2016.

SWITZERLAND

Toni Matti has been captain of the Swiss team six times. He played for Switzerland in the WATC in 1968. He is an architect and a jazz piano player.

URUGUAY

Juan Alvarez, 23, won the 2016 South American Amateur by one stroke with a 72-hole score of 10-under 278.

USA

Maverick McNealy, 20, was a first-team All-America selection and Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season after leading Stanford University to the conference title. McNealy was a member of the 2015 USA Walker Cup Team. Brad Dalke, 19, was the runner-up to Curtis Luck in the 2016 U.S. Amateur. Dalke, who is a sophomore on the University of Oklahoma team, comes from an athletic family. His mother, Kay (Pryor), played on the first Oklahoma women’s golf team. His father, Bill, was a linebacker on Oklahoma’s 1975 national championship football team. Scottie Scheffler, 20, played in the 2016 U.S. Open and shot a first-round 69. Scheffler, who won the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, helped the University of Texas win the Big 12 Conference Championship and advance to this year’s NCAA match-play final.

VENEZUELA

Freddy Alcantara, 71, has been a delegate and captain 15 times. He served as captain from 1968 through 1990 and again in 2010, 2014 and 2016. He is an engineer and was a piano soloist and a member of the Banda Sinfonica Simon Bolivar in Caracas. Alcantara, who is serving a second term as Venezuelan Golf Federation president 40 years after the first term, was the chairman of the 1986 WATC organizing committee. Jorge Garcia, 20, was the runner-up to Paul Chaplet in the 2016 Latin America Amateur.

WALE

David Boote, 22, recently graduated from Stanford University, where he played in every tournament in four years, earning All-America honors twice and posting 13 top-10 finishes He was a quarterfinalist in this year’s U.S. Amateur and was fourth in the South American Amateur.

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