United States team holds slim lead on Day 1 of 2012 Junior Ryder Cup

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. -- With one match remaining on the course due to darkness, the United States holds a slim 6 1/2 to 4 1/2 lead over Europe after six morning foursome matches and five afternoon mixed four-ball matches at the 2012 Junior Ryder Cup. Play was delayed 90 minutes in the morning due to frost at Olympia Fields Country Club.

The Junior Ryder Cup, a premier international team match-play competition, features 12 junior golfers from the United States hosting their European counterparts.

The United States team was led in the morning foursomes by Casie Cathrea of Livermore, Calif., and Samantha Wagner of Windermere, Fla., who won their match, 3 & 2, over Bronte Law of England and Quirine Eijkenboom of Germany.

"We lost a few holes in a row a few times today, but we didn't get down and kept each other up all day," said Cathrea, 16. "We played well as a team and it feels great to get a point for the United States."

Wagner and Cathrea were the second group off in the morning, and captured the first point for the United States.

"We putted well all day and that's what you need to do on these greens," said Wagner, who finished runner-up in the 2012 Junior PGA Championship. "It was important to get that first point for our team."

The United States' three girls' teams swept their foursome morning matches.

The European team was led in the morning foursomes by Matthias Schwab of Austria and Dominic Foos of Germany, who won their match in convincing fashion, 5 & 4, over Scottie Scheffler of Dallas, Texas, and Robby Shelton of Wilmer, Ala.

Schwab, 17, was runner-up in this year's British Amateur Championship.

Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., and Esther Lee of Los Alamitos, Calif., paced the United States in the afternoon mixed four-ball, winning their match by a convincing 6 & 5 over the Swedish duo of Victor Tarnstrom and Linnea Strom.

"I had a lot of putts lip out in the morning match and it was pretty frustrating," said Liu, who lost his morning foursomes match, 3 & 2. "But both Esther and I played well this afternoon and were able to help the team out with a full point."

U.S. Captain Roger Warren was pleased with the play of his team on the opening day.

"Any time you come out of the first day with the lead, it's very good," said Warren. "We still need to finish well tomorrow morning and you never know what can happen in singles."

European Captain Stuart Wilson is looking forward to singles play and the opportunity to capture the team's first Junior Ryder Cup since 2006.

"There are still a lot of points to play for tomorrow," said Wilson. "My players will have no problem getting motivated for tomorrow and hopefully we can close well and see what happens."

The final mixed four-ball match, featuring Gavin Hall and Alison Lee from the United States and Matthias Schwab and Quirine Eijkenboom from Europe, will resume at 8:00 a.m. CT. Hall and Lee have a 1-up advantage through 16 holes.

The 12 singles matches are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m.

DAY ONE RESULTS
MORNING FOURSOME MATCHES
Tree/Moynihan, EUR, vs. Champ/Hossler, USA, halved
Cathrea/Wagner, USA, def. Law/Eijkenboom, EUR, 3&2
Schwab/Foos, EUR, def. Scheffler/Shelton, USA, 5&4
Chung/Danielson, USA, def. Lee/Sanjuan, EUR, 2&1
Tarnstrom/Paratore, EUR, def. Hall/Liu, USA, 3&2
A.Lee/E.Lee, USA, def. Strom/Pedersen, EUR, 1 Up

AFTERNOON MIXED FOUR-BALL MATCHES
Cathrea/Champ, USA, def. Law/Tree, EUR, 1 Up
Pedersen/Moynihan, EUR, def. Wagner/Hossler, USA, 2&1
Lee/Paratore, EUR, def. Danielson/Scheffler, USA, def. 5&3
Chung/Shelton, USA, def. Sanjuan/Foos, EUR, 3&2
Liu/E.Lee, USA, def. Strom/Tarnstrom, EUR, 6&5
A.Lee/Hall, USA, vs. Eijkenboom/Schwab, EUR, (USA 1-up thru 16)