US Kids Golf European Championship

EUROPEANS BLOW AWAY THE COMPETITION
AT VAN HORN CUP IN GULLANE

PRESS RELEASE
If the Van Horn Cup is any indication of how the Europeans will do at the Ryder Cup, it’s game over.
The Van Horn Cup, a tournament modeled after the fabled Ryder Cup, matches European teams against teams comprised of players from outside of Europe, instead of just Americans.
It was the final event of the U.S. Kids Golf European Championship at Gullane, where more than 450 of the best junior golfers, aged 7 to 14, competed from May 27-30.
The European team trounced the “International” team, winning eight of the ten matches which comprised the competition. Only the Boys 10- year old and Girls 11- year-old escaped European domination.
The blustery winds at the U.S. Kids Golf European Championship didn’t stop the kids from playing well in the birthplace of golf. Hailing from 34 countries, the young golfers traveled from around the world to Scotland for the first U.S. Kids Golf competition outside the U.S.
Highlights included:

Harvey Byers of the United Kingdom, playing in the Boys eight-year-old age group, hit a hole-in-one, the first for the U.S. Kids Golf European Championship. Young Harvey drove his first shot of the day 73 yards from the first tee at Kilspindie Golf Club into the cup, an amazing feat for an eight-year-old.

Brothers Matthias and Johannes Schwab of Austria finished first and second respectively in their age groups. Ironically, both recorded identical 71’s in the first round. Johannes dominated the competition in his age group, Boys 13, firing rounds of 71-71-69=211 to win by 12 shots.

Spread over five courses in East Lothian, tournament play was divided by age, with boys competing in brackets by ages seven through 14, and girls divided into brackets by ages 8 through 14. With a specific age group playing the same course throughout the event, the U.S. Kids Golf European Championship was also played on nearby courses including Craigielaw, Kilspindie, and Luffness New.
The U.S. Kids Golf European Championship is the first of many planned regional championships around the world. U.S. Kids Golf is committed to growing the game and eventually hopes to reach one million youngsters across the globe.
After the company was launched, it expanded from its product line into instruction and tournament sponsorship. Holding its first tournament in 2000 with 250 players, U.S. Kids Golf has grown to more than 400 events each year, with the 2007 World Championship bringing more than 1,100 players from 34 countries.

For updated scores and tournament results, please visit the U.S. Kids Golf Web site at www.uskidsgolf.com.