Junior President's Cup: Final Drive for Team USA

The picture in Ponte Vedra Beach, at TPC Sawgrass is clearing up for who, and how, the 12th spot on the inaugural Junior President's Cup Team USA will be filled.  On Sunday afternoon, a new champion will be crowned at the AJGA Junior Players Championship, and we should be able to determine who gets that final spot to play in New Jersey later this month.

I say "should" because the Rolex AJGA rankings do re-access tournament point levels, and that could change things when the final announcement is made on September 6.  However, I feel good about the following scenario's being needed.

First I should point out that after two rounds, Akshay Bhatia looks to be the strongest contender to nail down the final spot - depending on who wins tomorrow.  He enters the final round at 4 over par, in a T34 spot.  Coming into the event, he trailed Reid Davenport for the final spot.  However, now he has a 5 shot cushion on Davenport, but more importantly, he's 22 spots higher on the leaderboard.  If Bhatia were to finish T34, Davenport would need to climb from his current T56 up to T18.  That would be a big move.

Now, with that being said, there are a lot of players in contention who can win the tournament, and bounce Bhatia from the 12 spot on the team.  Take, for instance, the 36 hole leader, Logan McAllister.  A win and he is on the team.  Then there is Ricky Castillo, who starts the final round in a tie for 3rd in the final group.  He has two paths to making Team USA.  A win would get him on the team, or a 2nd place finish with Bhatia finishing lower than 7th (Akshay's 6 shots outside of that number) and Davenport finishing below 9th (Reid is 10 shots off that number)  Castillo would also need for any of the other players to win who would not get that player on team - like Garrett Barber, who is in second, and already a Team USA member.

Travis Vick is T5 and would make the team with a win.  So could Ryan Burnett, who starts the final round T13.  Burnett also could finish 2nd and make the team, if Bhatia is 21st or lower, and Davenport is 15th or lower.  Charles Osborne will start the day T18, but would make the team with a win. As would Clay Merchent, who is beginning the day T30.

There are also players not already on the team, who are eligible for Team USA who would not make the team, even with a win.  Guys in the top 5 that fall in this category are twins Parker and Pierceson Coody, and Aman Gupta.

Here's a breakdown of the American's in the top 30 at the Player's and where they stand going into tomorrow's round: