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It was our 7th trip to Pinehurst and this was the one Kyle had
been waiting for. Dan Van Horn added the US Kids World Cup when he moved the World Championships from Williamsburg,
W. VA to Pinehurst, NC - the home of American golf. Kyle was only 6 then, but when he saw the United States Golf
bags that the top 10 American twelve year old boys would receive - he told everyone that that was what he wanted. We
went out that Sunday morning to watch some of the matches on Pinehurst No 2 golf course. Needless to say, back
in 2006 - the idea of seeing Kyle playing on this beautiful course seemed a very distant dream. . 6 years later - that dream was coming true.
. Now, it would be Kyle's turn.
He had never come to Pinehurst without finishing in the Top 10 overall. He's had 2 wins, 2 runner-ups and 2 tenth place
finishes. This year, he finished 3 rounds on Pinehurst No 4 at 1 under par - rounds of 70, 72 & 73 and he was 4th overall
and the 2nd highest of the American players. 147 in Kyle's group, from over 40 countries around the world, playing over 6000
yards each day. Pinehurst No 4 course was in beautiful condition - it is ranked 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.
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| Teeing off at Pinehurst No 4 |
On day 1 - Kyle teed off at 7:20 and was doing well. When we got to
the 8th green, however, the dark clouds that had been keeping things cool, now signalled storms in the area and the siren
went off. Lightning was in the area and the course was evacuated for almost 2 hours, but we didn't get any rain.
Kyle and his group - Jarod Buffone from Maryland and Brandon McBride from South Carolina were able to finish the rest of the
round without any further interference from Mother Nature. That was not the case for the golfers who were given afternoon
tee times. .
We knew
how they felt. . Last year, Kyle had been unable to finish the second round and
had to go back on day 3; play 5 holes and then come back to play the final 18. This year, it happened on Round 1.
It meant that the golfers would keep their same tee times from Round 1; so Kyle, Jarod and Brandon arrived bright and early
on Friday to play their second round. . However - Mother Nature wasn't quite finished and we had another 1 hour weather delay as storms
passed by. It worked out well for Kyle. Halfway through his round, we got the results from round 1 and learned
that he was tied for 3rd behind Cole Hammer (from Houston, Tx) and Brandon Mancheno (Florida). It wasn't until that
evening that we got the final results from round 2. Kyle was excited to learn that his second round 72 put him in a
tie for 2nd with Kevin Wai from China - who we had played a practice round with.
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| Kevin, from China joins Kyle and Cole both Texans |
Kyle was able to secure 4th place, shooting a 73 and finishing the tournament
at 1 under par. Only the top 4 boys completed the 3 day event under-par, and they would be in the elite final pairing
for the World Cup Competition on Sunday to be played on the top-rated Pinehurst No. 2 course; which is slated to host, not
only the Men's US Open in 2014, but the LPGA's US Open, as well. (Martin
Kaymer and Michelle Wie were the winners)
| Top Texas 12 year old Boys |
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| Travis Vick and Cole Hammer from Houston joins Kyle as the top Texas golfers |
At the award ceremony that evening, we learned that a change had been made and
now the Top 5 - plus ties - would all receive trophies. So Cole
Hammer from Tx was 1st, Graham Hutchinson from South Africa was 2nd, Kevin Wai, China took 3rd. Kyle was 4th and tied
for 5th were Galven Green (Malaysia), Brian Terlesky (Ohio), Alberto Martinez (Florida) and Felipe Ramirez (Columbia)
Then came the part that Kyle had waited 7 years for: the announcement of the
United States World Cup Team - the Top 10 American 12 year olds. They would receive not only hats and shirts to represent
the US, but an awesome Sun Mountain Golf Bag - embroidered with United States on it. Cole and Kyle would anchor the
team, playing in the final, 8th match. Brian Terlesky and Alberto Martinez would be paired up in the 6th match,
directly in front of our top American girls.
| 2012 United States Boys World Cup Team |
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| After the trophies were handed out, the top 10 American boys were announced |
The teams arrived back at Pinehurst at 6 am for a light breakfast, team meeting and
photo. The bag pipes lead the parade of golfers out of the clubhouse to the course where Dan Van Horn gave a welcoming
speech and invited the International and United States Team Captains to speak. Both made sure that everyone knew they
wanted the kids to go out - do their best - have fun and bring home the trophy. The Internationals had never won it
in 6 years of competing and US Captain Chris Vonderkall had no intention of relinquishing it without a fight.
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| USKids Founder Dan Van Horn wished his final pair good luck as they prepare to tee off |
It was a hard fought match between the top 4 twelve year old golfers in the world
and neither pair was ever up by more than one stroke. Kevin chipped in on the 17th green to give the Internationals
a one stroke advantage, but Kyle made his par putt on 18 to square the match and the boys shook hands and exited the green
learning that the United States had indeed won the 7th USKids Golf World Cup - 5.5 pt to 2.5
| 18th Green |
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| Kyle tips his hat, acknowledging the crowd who watched the US retain the World Cup |
| Captain Chris Vonderkall presents World Cup |
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| The sign behind says it all !!! |
The winning golfers were announced and a replica of the World Cup was brought out,
filled with soda (instead of champagne ) and the kids were allowed to pass it around - Just like the pros.
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