Talley Captains U.S. Team to Victory

David Talley left junior golf competition with a bang.

A day after finishing second at the Teen World Championship at famed Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C., Talley returned to the U.S. Open venue and guided the U.S. team to a 6.5 to 2.5 victory at the U.S. Kids Team World Championship on Sunday.

It was the Virginia High graduate’s last junior tournament before entering collegiate play this fall at Tusculum College.

“The tournament itself was as good as I’ve ever played,” Talley said. “For someone to represent their country in anything they do is amazing, but for me to represent the United States for golf was amazing.”

Sunday’s format pitted the top-4 American finishers against the top-4 International finishers. Talley served as the U.S. captain after finishing as the low American. The competition featured two squads of two playing in morning and afternoon match-play.

Talley won both his morning and afternoon matches. As captain of the American squad, Talley played in the final group, and had the honor of sinking a four-foot putt to end the competition. The matches began with a two-hour opening ceremony and concluded with a one-hour presentation set to bagpipers.

“It won’t be the coming in second that I remember,” he said. “It’s the experience. It’s the people you meet and the experience that you remember in this game.”