The fifth green at Evian Masters Golf Club

The United States team won the sixth edition of the Evian Masters Juniors Cup 2012 on Sunday, in the curtain raiser to this week’s Evian Masters presented by Société Générale.

The USA Team

The Evian Masters Juniors Cup is effectively a world cup for the top juniors aged under-14. A fine performance from the USA saw them finish ahead of Spain, a twice-winner of the event and the 2011 champions.

Played on 21-22 July, the Evian Masters Juniors Cup offered two days of top-level competition bringing together the best young golfers from around the world. There were 10 European nations competing, with Russia taking part for the first time, along with the United States, Japan, China, India and Mexico, with two boys and two girls per team.

Spain, the firm favorite, twice-winner of the event and defending champion, set the tone by taking the lead after the first round on 213, ahead of the United States and France. But the United States were quick to react thanks to excellent performances from the girls, Mika Liu and Sierra Brooks, first and second respectively in the final girls' individual rankings. The United States recorded a winning score of 436, finishing five shots ahead of Spain while France ended third.

Mexico's Jorge Villar gave a strong performance in the boys' rankings category, on 146, one shot ahead of French player Jeong Weon Ko.

The Evian Masters Juniors Cup provides a glimpse of the future of professional golf and once again this year lived up to all expectations with a blend of talent, youth, competitiveness, fair play and team spirit. The proof of this comes with the participation of 16-year-old Chinese professional Xiyu Lin in this year's Evian Masters, having competed in the Evian Masters Juniors Cup in 2009.