14th July 2009 - The European PING Junior Solheim Cup Team has been announced ahead of the 2009 matches against the United States at Aurora GC, Illinois, on August 18-19.

The team includes the talented 14-year-old Maguire twins, Lisa and Leona, who formed half of the four-strong Irish team that won the recent European Girls' Team championships at Kokkola, Finland.

Leona and Lisa's awesome foursome and four ball pairings were a major factor in Ireland's success at this championship, with the girls boasting a 100 percent record in the foursomes matches played over the week.

Leona was the first of six players to qualify automatically, while her sister Lisa received a wildcard selection from Carin Koch, the European Captain. The United States team will be announced on July 20 by US Team Captain Nancy Lopez.

Leona is the current French U21 Champion and won the recent Helen Holm Scottish Open Strokeplay title, while Lisa is the 2009 Irish Women's Amateur and Irish Women's Close champion.

On qualifying for The PING Junior Solheim Cup, Leona said: "I am really looking forward to this event. Last week at the European Girls' Team Championship, Ireland played really well and Lisa and I were unbeaten in the foursome matches. It is great to have her in the team. We would like to bring the Cup home to Europe."

Lisa added:"We might look exactly similar to one another but our swing is different. You can definitely see the difference. Right now, I hit it a little bit further and Leona might be a little bit better around the green. I am so happy about receiving a wild card."

The five other players who earned automatic selection for the European squad were the 2009 German Girls' Open champion Klara Spilkova (Czech Republic), Ana Fernandez de Mesa (Spain), Johanna Tillström (Sweden), Spanish amateur champion Anna Arese (Spain) and Tonje Daffinrud (Norway).

The five further players selected were Sherlyn Popelka (Switzerland), Sophia Popov (Germany), Rosanna Crepiat (France), Sally Watson (Scotland) and Kelly Tidy (England).

The breakdown of the 10 nationalities represented by the 2009 squad is: Ireland (2), Spain (2), Czech Republic (1), England (1), France (1), Germany (1), Norway (1), Scotland (1), Sweden (1) and Switzerland (1).

European Captain Carin Koch commented: "There are ten nationalities in the European team and it means that golf is getting more and more popular, with more countries represented. The PING Junior Solheim Cup is a great golf event to take part in and I am really looking forward to sharing my experience with the juniors.

"They will learn so much by being on site and from playing in the matches but also by watching The Solheim Cup. It is also important to have fun. It will create a good atmosphere which is important in a team competition. It is rare that we play competitions like this and so the juniors should take this opportunity to have a great time.

"I will also learn a lot from being the Captain for the European team because it is something new for me and I am looking forward to this new challenge."
The PING Junior Solheim Cup was founded by Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, makers of PING equipment, to give junior golfers experience and to prepare them for their future golf careers. The event is always played prior to The Solheim Cup, which this year takes place at Rich Harvest Farms from August 21-23.

John A. Solheim, Chairman and CEO of PING, Inc., commented: "It is really neat to see so many European countries represented by these talented young ladies. This is a perfect testament to how much the game has grown all over Europe. The Solheim family and PING are very excited to be a part of what will be a very special PING Junior Solheim Cup."

The PING Junior Solheim Cup is the only girl's team event of its kind at a junior level. Participants must be aged between12-18 and must not have reached their 18th birthday prior to January 1, 2009. Participants must be amateurs and must not be members of a collegiate golf programme in order to be eligible to play in the PING Junior Solheim Cup.

The event features teams of 12 players from Europe and the USA, playing a two-day match play competition of six four-ball, six foursomes and 12 singles.

The 2009 European PING Junior Solheim Cup Team:

Automatically qualified:

1. Leona Maguire, Ireland
2. Klara Spilkova, Czech Republic
3. Ana Fernandez de Mesa, Spain
4. Johanna Tillström, Sweden
5. Anna Arese, Spain
6. Tonje Daffinrud, Norway

Wild cards:

1. Sherlyn Popelka, Switzerland
2. Sophia Popov, Germany
3. Lisa Maguire, Ireland
4. Rosanna Crepiat, France
5. Sally Watson, Scotland
6. Kelly Tidy, England

European PING Junior Solheim Cup Team Announced

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