WATC 2016 Mexico Eisenhower Trophy
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WATC 2016 Mexico Eisenhower Trophy 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.