Friendship Match at Medinah caps off unforgettable Junior Ryder Cup week

MEDINAH, Ill. -- It was a day that 24 junior golfers from the United States and Europe will not soon forget.

The teams played a 10-hole "Friendship" Match Wednesday afternoon at Medinah Country Club, site of the 39th Ryder Cup, the day after the conclusion of the 8th Junior Ryder Cup at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club.

On the practice range just prior to play, the United States Team was congratulated by 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III for their victory at Olympia Fields. European Captain Jose Maria Olazabal commended the members of the 2012 European Junior Ryder Cup Team on earning a berth in the 2012 Junior Ryder Cup, a premier international team match-play competition, featuring 12 junior golfers from the United States hosting their European counterparts.

"It was a pleasure to be with these juniors today, especially on the week of the Ryder Cup," said Love. "I was able to watch a few of them play at the Junior PGA Championship, and have seen a few more of them here on the range, and they amazing are amazing to watch."

The "Friendship" Match featured a combined mixed four-ball, with six groupings of four players that included one girl and one boy from both Europe and the United States.

The teams played a composite course of 10 total holes, covering both front-nine and back-nine holes, and finishing on the par-4 18th.

The foursome of Quirine Eijkenboom of Germany, Gavin Moynihan of Ireland, Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., and Robby Shelton of Wilmer, Ala., claimed the "Friendship" Match title, with a mixed four-ball score of 4 under par.

"It was an unbelievable experience and something I will never forget," said Lee. "And to finish with a victory in this Friendship Match made it that much better."

Gavin Moynihan, who finished with a 2-0-1 record in the 2012 Junior Ryder Cup, contributed two birdies in the 10-hole match.

"This golf course is incredible and it was not easy out there," said Moynihan. "This was the best week of golf I have had in my life."

The teams traveled to Medinah Country Club after an exciting Junior Ryder Cup that saw the United States take home its third consecutive Junior Ryder Cup, 14 ½ to 9 ½, at Olympia Fields.

The United States now owns a 4-3-1 overall record in the Junior Ryder Cup, and has not lost since 2004 at Westfield Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio. The matches were halved 6-6 in 2006 at The Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales.