Junior PGA Champion Shelton looks to cap strong year at Junior Ryder Cup

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- It's been quite a year for Alabama native and top-ranked junior golfer Robby Shelton.

The 16-year-old from Wilmer, Ala., followed up an impressive performance at the summer's premier junior championship, the 37th Junior PGA Championship presented by Under Armour and Heritage Food Service Group, with a victory in the 2012 Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

"I guess I'm on a hot streak right now or something," Shelton said after his victory at the Junior Players. "Going into this tournament, you know you're one of the top juniors in the world, so it feels great to win."

His three-stroke victory in the 2012 Junior PGA Championship included a Sycamore Hills Golf Club course-record 8-under-par 64 in the third round.

"I am lucky to have won the [Junior PGA] Championship," said Shelton. "It is the biggest win of my career and feels so amazing."

He hopes his exemplary play in 2012 continues into late September at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club, when a group of 12 junior golfers from the United States host their European counterparts in the 8th Junior Ryder Cup, Sept. 24-25, at the Club's South Course.

"I have never been on a team like that before and just to have a spot on that team is great," said Shelton. "It will be a huge honor and something I will never forget."

The Junior Ryder Cup competition features one day of six foursome matches (three boys' matches and three girls' matches) in the morning, same day of six mixed four-ball matches in the afternoon and one final day of singles matches involving all 12 members of each team.

Participants in the 2012 Junior Ryder Cup will also play a "Friendship" Match on Sept. 26, at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club, site of the 39th Ryder Cup.

The match will feature a combined mixed four-ball, with six groupings of four players that includes one girl and one boy from both Europe and the United States. The teams will play a composite course of ten total holes, blending both front-nine and back-nine holes.