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Press release

West Team Wins 11th Annual Ballenisles Junior Cup At Ballenisles Country Club

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (July 23, 2024) – The West Team won the 11th Annual BallenIsles Junior Cup at BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The two-day, Ryder Cup-style tournament was played Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21 on the Club’s legendary East Course and featured the area’s most accomplished male and female junior golfers, ages 18 years and younger. The final score was West Coast 13.5, point, East Coast 4.5 points.

The 11th Annual BallenIsles Junior Cup featured 16 male and 8 female golfers. East and West Team members included:

  • Gatlin Albright
  • Polina Anisimova
  • Aiden Arce
  • Ashley Balcom
  • Madyson Barone
  • Nick Cecchini
  • Hyun Her
  • Brayden Jenard
  • William Keiley
  • Antonio Macias
  • Punchy Mahathep
  • Christiana Marcellus
  • Adin McMaster
  • Aiden Miller
  • Brett Moore
  • Gordon Nip
  • Derek Pickerill
  • Staci Pla
  • Morgan Rodriguez
  • Nicco Salemi
  • Abigail Sheldon
  • Mason Tome
  • Elijah Zamarron
  • Chris Zambito

Since 2011, BallenIsles Country Club has invited South Florida’s top junior golfers to participate in the BallenIsles Junior Cup. Many past participants in the BallenIsles Junior Cup have gone on to play at the collegiate level, including at Auburn University, Duke University, Florida Gulf Coast, University of Florida and Florida State University. Played on the club’s Nicklaus Design East Course, the BallenIsles Junior Cup is a fun team competition, and is sponsored by Cleveland Golf and Srixon.

“The most enjoyable aspect of the BallenIsles Junior Cup is the strong bond and friendship among the talented participants,” stated Jeff Fitzherbert, PGA, Director of Golf at BallenIsles Country Club. “They displayed genuine interest in each other’s matches and were extremely thrilled to be part of this annual team event.”

About BallenIsles Country Club
In 1963 legendary Florida developer John D. MacArthur and the PGA of America teamed up with golf course architects Dick Wilson and Joe Lee to design a championship-caliber golf facility. Over the next ten years, BallenIsles, then called PGA National Golf Club, hosted numerous major tournaments like the PGA Championship and PGA Seniors Championship and was home for the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. The Club was also the host site for the original PGA TOUR Qualifying School and held the inaugural PGA Merchandise Show. When the MacArthur/PGA of America agreement expired in 1973, the Club was renamed the JDM Country Club for John D. MacArthur. For the next 15 years, the prestigious local country club hosted many celebrities and professional golfers and staged many events on the three golf courses on the property. In 1988, the three golf courses and surrounding property were sold by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and renamed BallenIsles Country Club. A multi-year and multimillion dollar plan to develop a private country club community was unveiled. Since the early 2000’s, BallenIsles Country Club has been consistently ranked as one of the Top 100 Clubs in America.

A $35 million clubhouse renovation was completed in November 2018, featuring 115,000 square feet of luxurious space; three championship courses with 54 holes of golf; a world-class 21-court tennis and 9-court pickleball complex; and a state-of-the-art Sports Complex with a full-service Cosmo & Company salon and spa, fitness center, Pilates & spin studios and resort-style swimming pool.

The recent $9.3 million golf enhancements to the East Course by Nicklaus Design, practice grounds and ‘71 Golf Learning Center follow the construction of a $1.3 million pickleball complex in 2021; and the 2020 redesign of BallenIsles’ South Course by famed golf course architect Rees Jones. The Club also recently announced a $19 million renovation and expansion project of the Club’s existing Sports Complex. Construction began in 2023 with project completion slated by the end of 2024.

For more information visit www.BallenIsles.org

Media Contact:
Becky Collison
BallenIsles Country Club
Director of Marketing & Communication
561.249.5818
bcollison@ballenisles.org