Rewind: 2006 Canon Cup at Conway Farms

The most prestigious annual team event for USA’s junior golfers is the ‘Ryder Cup-style’ East vs. West competition conducted by the American Junior Golf Association. Currently known as the Wyndham Cup, the event pits 20 junior golfers from each half of the country (divided by the Mississippi River).

The event’s first sponsor was Canon, U.S.A., Inc. Each team consists of 10 boys and 10 girls with the rosters based on the current junior Rolex Golf Rankings. The age eligibility is 13-18 years of age.

The first event was played in 1990 at Lake Nona Golf Club and was called the Canon Cup for twenty-one years (1990-2010). The Canon / Wyndham Cup pits East vs. West in a team match play format over three days. The first two days of competition include foursome, four-ball, and mixed foursome matches with the final day reserved for singles matches.

During the run as the Canon Cup, the West had 12 wins and the East had 9 wins; title sponsorship became the Wyndham Cup in 2011, and overall, in the 32 times the event has been played, the West has won 18 and the East has won 14. In 1998 and 2012 the score ended in a tie, but the East was designated the winner based on holding the cup from a victory the previous year.

2006 Canon Cup at Conway Farms

2006 Canon Cup at Conway Farms

The event has been played every year since 1990, with the exception of 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. In 1990, Stewart Cink and Tiger Woods joined 38 other top juniors at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando for the inaugural Canon Cup; participating in subsequent years, recognizable names have been Hunter Mahan, Charles Howell III, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Cristie Kerr and Grace Park.

On two occasions the AJGA’s Canon / Wyndham Cup has visited the Chicago area, and both competitions were hosted by Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest. 2006 was a banner year for Conway Farms as a tournament site; in addition to hosting the Big Ten Men’s Golf Championship, the club also hosted the Canon Cup. It was a return appearance in the upscale suburb for the AJGA’s premier team event, as it was contested there four years earlier in 2002.

Forty of the nation’s top junior golfers assembled in early August at Conway Farms for the 2006 East / West battle. Among the top golfers for the East squad were Bud Cauley, Vicky Hurst, Patrick Reed, and Peter Uihlein. The West team had their own group of standouts: Rickie Fowler, Tadd Fujikawa, Kyle Stanley, and Kevin Tway.

Entering as the current champions from 2005, the West Team retained possession of the Canon Cup as it cruised to a 31-19 victory over the East on Thursday, August 3, the final day of the 16th annual event. The overall series victories total now became nearly balanced as the East won 8 times, the West came out on top 7 times, with one match ending in a tie (1998).

Conway Farms Clubhouse

Conway Farms Clubhouse

Located on the site of former farmland straddling a stretch of old Conway Road in Lake Forest, Conway Farms Golf Club was designed by architect Tom Fazio and opened on August 3, 1991. Designed around Scottish links-style golf traditions, the course occupies 209 acres.

The Conway Farms members remain dedicated to the protection and preservation of the game, encourage walking, swift play and advocate strong support of amateur golf, thus embracing competitions like the AJGA Canon Cup. During the 2006 Canon Cup, Conway Farms members and their families supported the AJGA and its junior golfers by attending and cheering for the players, performing volunteer services, and opening up their residences to lodge players.

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Greg Miles

Greg Miles has been a writer following golf in Chicago since 1990. For the past 30 years he has been a member of the Golf Writers Association of America and currently is classified as a GWAA "Life Member". He played his first round of golf on his 11th birthday, and since then has played more than 7,300 rounds of golf in his lifetime at 517 different courses. He has interviewed more than 280 golfers across all the professional tours along with famous celebrity golfers. Additionally, he is a member of several other competitive and honorary golf associations, as well as the Golf Nut Society.

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