Men's Golf Southern Conference

USGA Tabs UTC's Fox for Copa de las Americas

FAR HILLS, N.J. – The United States Golf Association (USGA) announced Monday the four amateur players who have been named to the USA Teams that will compete in the 2013 Copa de las Americas, Jan. 3-6, 2013, at Doral Resort and Spa in Miami, Fla.

The players named to the men’s team are Steven Fox, 21, of Hendersonville, Tenn., and Chris Williams, 21, of Moscow, Idaho.

The players named to the women’s team are Lindy Duncan, 21, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Erynne Lee, 19, of Silverdale, Wash.

The captain of the USA Teams is Jim Williams, of Orinda, Calif., a member of the USGA Executive Committee and a member of the USGA International Team Selection Committee.

“These four players are to be congratulated for being named to the USA Teams and for outstanding achievements throughout their careers,” said Williams. “They are undoubtedly up to this challenge, and I am honored to serve as their captain.”

The Copa de las Americas is an amateur team competition for countries in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. There are three 72-hole competitions – men’s, women’s and overall – with 18 holes played on each of the four days.
 
This will be the fifth playing of the Copa de las Americas, and the first time the championship will be conducted in the United States. The USA won the 2010 overall championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jessica Korda and Jennifer Song of the USA won the women’s portion of the championship, while the USA’s Nathan Smith and Peter Uihlein finished second to the team from Argentina.

Duncan, a senior at Duke University, represented the USA at the 2012 Curtis Cup Match. She was a semifinalist in the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur at age 15 and finished as the second-lowest amateur at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open. Duncan is a three-time National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year.

Fox, the 2012 U.S. Amateur champion, is a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Fox defeated Michael Weaver of Fresno, Calif., in 37 holes in the championship match of the U.S. Amateur. He advanced to the round of 16 at the 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and is a two-time All-Southern Conference selection. In 2011, Fox won the Tennessee Golf Association Match Play Championship.

Lee is a sophomore at the University of California, Los Angeles. During her freshman season, she won the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate and earned NGCA Freshman of the Year and All-America First Team honors. She reached the semifinals of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the quarterfinals in 2010-12, and has competed in two U.S. Women’s Opens.

Chris Williams, who won the 2012 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading amateur in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, was a quarterfinalist at the 2012 U.S. Amateur and a member of the USA Team at the 2011 Walker Cup Match. He won the 2012 Western Amateur, while also earning stroke-play medalist honors there in 2011 and 2012. The University of Washington senior earned 2012 All-America First Team honors after winning two tournaments in 2011-12, including the NCAA Southwest Regional.

The alternates for the men’s team are, in order of ranking, Justin Thomas, 19, of Goshen, Ky., and Patrick Rodgers, 20, of Avon, Ind. The alternates for the women’s team are, in order of ranking, Amy Anderson, 20, of Oxbow, N.D., and Alison Lee, 17, of Valencia, Calif.

“The Copa de las Americas is a wonderful opportunity for the USGA to further our relationships with golf organizations from other nations,” said Jim Williams. “Not only do these four days represent the best of international competition and camaraderie, they help establish and strengthen partnerships that help promote and sustain the game around the world.”