Prelude? U.S. claims Junior Ryder Cup

• By Will Gray
• Sep 26, 2012 10:35 AM ET

In what Davis Love III hopes is a prelude for his team this weekend, the U.S. squad captained by Roger Warren captured their third consecutive Junior Ryder Cup on Tuesday, defeating their European counterparts 14.5-9.5.

The Americans entered Tuesday's final session with a two point advantage and went on to win seven of the 12 singles matches, halving another. This year's Junior Ryder Cup was contested at Olympia Fields CC, a short drive from Medinah and site of the 2003 U.S. Open.

Alison Lee, runner-up at this year's U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, clinched the winning putt for the United States, winning her singles match over Linnea Strom by a 6&5 margin. Karen Chung, Esther Lee and Casie Cathrea all finished with a perfect 3-0 record in their respective matches to help pace the American squad that featured six boys and six girls.

Among the boys on the U.S. side was 17-year-old Beau Hossler, who was notably in contention for all four rounds at this year's U.S. Open before ultimately finishing T-29. Hossler went 0-2-1 in his three matches at Olympia Fields. 

The Europeans were led by Ireland's Gavin Moynihan, who won each of his three matches including a 4&3 victory over Jim Liu in Tuesday's singles play.

Held every other year in conjunction with the Ryder Cup, the Junior Ryder Cup has now been played eight times with the U.S. holding a slim 4-3-1 margin. The 2014 Junior Ryder Cup will take place at Blairgowrie Golf Club in Perthshire, Scotland.