Hyler, Lang Named USA Captains for 2014 World Amateur Team Championships
Far Hills, NJ (PRWEB) February 27, 2014 -- The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that past USGA President Jim Hyler and past USGA Women’s Committee Chairman Martha Lang will serve as USA captains for the 2014 World Amateur Team Championships. The events will be played Sept. 3-6 (women) and Sept. 10-13 (men) at Karuizawa 72 Golf East in Karuizawa, Japan.
“Jim and Martha have ably served the USGA for many years, and we are very happy to have them as World Amateur Team captains,” said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and chairman of the Championship Committee. “The World Amateur Team Championships are an opportunity for players around the world to join together in celebration of this game we love. I am sure that Jim, Martha and the players named to the teams will represent both the United States and the USGA with the utmost respect and sportsmanship.”
Hyler joined the USGA Executive Committee in 2004 and served as USGA president in 2010-11. Hyler was introduced to the USGA when he served as chairman of the President’s Council for the 1999 U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, a position he again held during the 2005 championship at Pinehurst. Hyler is a managing director of Investors Management Corporation in Raleigh, N.C., and is a retired vice chairman and chief operating officer of First Citizens Bank. Hyler and his wife, Natalie, reside in Raleigh.
“I am thrilled to captain the USA men’s team at the World Amateur Team Championship,” said Hyler. “This is one of the most exciting and prestigious events in amateur golf, and to receive the opportunity to lead these young men is a tremendous honor.”
Lang is a decorated amateur golfer who joined the USGA Women’s Committee in 1999 and served as chairman in 2011-12. She won the 1988 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Amelia Island (Fla.) Plantation and was the championship runner-up in 1991. Lang played on the 1992 USA Curtis Cup Team and served as its captain in 1996. She has won state titles in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, most recently the 2013 Alabama Women’s State Senior Championship, and she was inducted into the Birmingham Golf Association’s Hall of Fame in 2009. Lang and her husband, Ken, live in Birmingham, Ala.
“I am truly excited to have been named captain of the USA women’s team,” said Lang. “Having the opportunity to be the captain of the three top American amateurs as they compete in Japan this September is a huge thrill. Participating in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship as representatives of the United States and the USGA will be an experience of a lifetime for all of us.”
The World Amateur Team Championship was founded in 1958, and the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship began in 1964. The International Golf Federation (IGF) was founded in 1958 to encourage the international development of golf through friendship and sportsmanship. Today, the IGF consists of 135 national governing bodies of golf representing 129 countries, and is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee. One of its main functions is to conduct the biennial World Amateur Team Championships for men and women.
The 2014 championships will be contested on the Oshitate and Iriyama Courses and hosted by the Japan Golf Association. The World Amateur Team Championships were last played in 2012 in Antalya, Turkey. The USA captured the men’s championship, while the Republic of Korea won the women’s championship. The 2016 championships will be held at El Camaleón Golf Club and the Grand Coral Riviera Maya Resort in Cancun, Mexico.
About the USGA
The USGA conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open, as well as 10 national amateur championships, two state team championships and international matches, attracting players and fans from more than 160 countries. Together with The R&A, the USGA governs the game worldwide, jointly administering the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, equipment standards and World Amateur Golf Rankings. The USGA’s reach is global with a working jurisdiction in the United States, its territories and Mexico, serving more than 25 million golfers and actively engaging 150 golf associations.
The USGA is one of the world’s foremost authorities on research, development and support of sustainable golf course management practices. It serves as a primary steward for the game’s history and invests in the development of the game through the delivery of its services and its ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program. Additionally, the USGA’s Course Rating and Handicap systems are used on six continents in more than 50 countries.
For more information about the USGA, visit http://www.usga.org.
Christina Lance, United States Golf Association, http://www.usga.org, +1 908-326-1882, [email protected]
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