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Paul Lawrie will captain Team Europe in the 2020 Junior Ryder Cup at Blue Mound Golf and Country Club, taking place in Wisconsin from September 21-22.
The former Open champion, an eight-time European Tour winner, represented Europe at the 1999 Ryder Cup and was also a member of the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ team, which staged a monumental comeback on the final day to retain The Ryder Cup, winning 14½-13½ on American soil in 2012.
The 50-year-old is also a long-standing supporter of junior golf. In 2001, he launched the Paul Lawrie Foundation, which provides opportunities for juniors to start playing golf. Its main goal is to encourage as many young people to play golf as possible.
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The Junior Ryder Cup, held in the days before the Ryder Cup, sees the best male and female junior amateurs from Europe and the USA go head-to-head in a mixed event.
The biennial contest has seen many stars from world golf feature in the junior competition before excelling at the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup. Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy both succeeded in the event before also winning the Ryder Cup, while Suzann Peterson and Carlota Ciganda both triumphed as amateurs before lifting the Solheim Cup.
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“As soon as the call came in, I didn’t need long to think about taking on the role,” said Lawrie. “To be able to lead a team of the best juniors in Europe against America will be a completely novel experience for me. In terms of how I see the game growing, it’s an important role.
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“It’s going to be full-on over the next ten months. I’m really looking forward to getting to some events during the year and watching the kids play. I’m absolutely delighted that I have been asked to captain the Junior Ryder Cup team.
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“My wife, Marian, and I started the Foundation to get as many kids into the game as we possibly could. I bring a huge enthusiasm for junior golf to the role; it’s where the game needs to be – sadly that still gets lost on some members at golf clubs not treating juniors how they deserve to be treated. Today’s juniors are tomorrow’s adults, and that’s an important message.”
Lawrie’s most recent involvement in the Ryder Cup was as one of Darren Clarke’s vice-captains at Hazeltine in 2016.
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