Storylines For 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship

Oldest competitors: Mark Mumford, 17, of Rye, N.Y., and Hungarian-born Benjamin Palanszki, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., each turn 18 on July 28 and make the deadline by three days.

Youngest competitor: William Zalatoris of Plano,  Texas, is 12 years, 11 months, 4 days. He shot 3-under 139 at the Carrollton, Texas, sectional qualifier, earning medalist honors.

Foreign countries represented (10): Argentina; Canada; Chinese Taipei; Colombia; Czech Republic; Japan; Korea; Mexico; Peoples Republic of China; Philippines

U.S. states represented (40): Alabama; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Vermont; Virginia; Washington; Wisconsin.

Here are some individual storylines:

Yosuke Asaji, 16, of Japan was the winner of the 2008 Japan Junior Golf Championship in the Boy’s 12-14 Division. He was the low scorer at the Auburn Hills, Mich., sectional qualifier with a 139.

Michael Balzer, 17, of Bismarck, N.D., was in a wheelchair at the end of the eighth grade and returned to playing sports within a year.

Dan Bidle, 17, of Virginia, Minn., broke his femur in 2006 while hunting.

Alec Ceravolo, 16, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., defeated his brother Matthew in a two-hole playoff to take the final spot in the Omaha, Neb., sectional qualifier. Matthew will serve as Alec’s caddie for the Junior Amateur Championship.

Lorens Chan, 15, of Honolulu, Hawaii, played as the only amateur in the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in January 2009. He qualified for the 2008 U.S. Amateur Championship at age 14, becoming the second-youngest to achieve both feats (Sony Open and U.S. Amateur).

Rak Cho, 16, of Brea, Calif., made it to the third round of match play in the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, where he lost to eventual champion Cameron Peck.

Kevin DeHuff, 16, of Coto de Caza, Calif., is the younger brother of Bo DeHuff, who qualified for the 2004 Junior Amateur.

Stephane Dubois, 17, of Canada works with his family’s charity foundation, sending medical supplies to Third-World countries.

Patrick Fishburn, 16, of Ogden, Utah, will celebrate his 17th birthday on Tuesday, the second day of the championship. He earned medalist honors at the Park City, Utah, sectional, shooting 142. He also is the starting point guard on his high school’s basketball team.

Santiago Gavino, 17, of Mexico made a hole-in- one and broke his arm playing soccer on the same day.

Kevin Gorman, 16, of Chula Vista, Calif., is the son of Bryan Gorman, who played on the PGA Tour and mini-tours. Kevin plays left-handed.

John “Austin” Green, 17, of Frisco, Texas, was a professional child model from ages 4-12.

Emiliano Grillo, 16, of Argentina, was a quarterfinalist at the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur. The top-ranked amateur in Argentina, Grillo is a two-time winner of the Optimist International Junior, capturing titles in 2007 and 2008.

Mark Hicks, 17, of Bermuda Dunes, Calif., met Payne Stewart when he was three years old and wore knickers until he was 12.

Charlie Hughes and Justin Shin, both 17 and from Canada, are classmates and friends who took the two spots at the Bremerton, Wash., sectional qualifier.

Shugo Imahira, 16, of Japan was the winner of the 2008 Japan Junior Golf Championship in the Boy’s 15-17 Division. He was the low scorer at the Lake Wales, Fla., section qualifier with a 139, the only sub-par score of the sectional.

Sam Jackson III, 16, Pelion, S.C., and Charles Proveaux III, 15, of Leesville, S.C., each play on the Pelion High golf team.

Michael Johnson, age 16, of Birmingham, Ala., carded a 5-under-par 31 on his final nine holes to capture medalist honors at the Saucier, Miss., sectional qualifier. His brother, Bradley, was runner-up at the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur at Longmeadow (Mass.) Country Club, where he fell to Kevin Tway in the final, 5 and 3. The following March, Bradley was killed in an automobile accident.

Andrew Knox, 17, of Cary, N.C., qualified for the 2009 Rex Hospital Open on the Nationwide Tour. He also finished sixth at the 2009 North & South Junior Championship.

Henry Lebinda, 15, of Winter Springs, Fla., played on his varsity baseball team and hit .407 this past season.

Paul McClure, 17, of Defuniak Springs, Fla., is the starting point guard for his high school basketball team.

Jeffrey McNeil, 17, of Nipomo, Calif., was the most valuable player of his varsity basketball team as a junior. He is also a left-handed player.

Yaroslav Merkulov, 17, of Penfield, N.Y., had open heart surgery at age 11 to fix a congenital heart defect.

Simon Miller, 16, of Albuquerque, N.M., is a righty who plays golf left-handed.

Jordan Niebrugge, 15, of Mequon, Wis., pitched a complete-game no-hitter in the quarterfinal game of the Cal Ripken Tournament in 2008. He gave up baseball this year to focus on golf. He was a 2004 finalist in the MLB’s All-Star Game Pitch, Hit and Run contest.

Cheng-Tsung Pan, 17, of Upland, Calif., was a quarterfinalist at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship. He is appearing in his first U.S. Junior Amateur Championship on a USGA Special Exemption.

Anthony Paolucci, 16, of Dallas, Texas, was runner-up at the 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur, falling to Cory Whitsett in the final, 8 and 7, at Boone Valley Golf Club in Augusta, Mo. A 2008 USA Junior Ryder Cup team member, he won the 2008 Junior PGA Championship.

Stephen Powers, 17 of Naperville, Ill., played ice hockey for 7½ years and was coached by former NHL player Steve Smith.

Easton Renwick, 17, of Punxsutawney, Pa., missed his grandmother’s funeral to play in the Belle Vernon, Pa., sectional qualifier.

Michael Schoolcraft, 16, of Englewood, Colo., stopped playing competitive prep school ice hockey in January 2009 to focus on golf.

Jordan Spieth, 15, of Dallas, Texas, was a semifinalist at the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur. After winning four AJGA events in 2008, he was named a first-team AJGA Rolex All-American selection.

Justin Shin, 17, of Canada advanced to the second round of match play in the 2008 Junior Amateur Championship, losing to eventual runner-up Evan Beck.

Cyril Suk IV , 16, of the Czech Republic is the son of former professional tennis player Cyril Suk III, who partnered with Petr Korda to win the 1985 French Open boys’ doubles title. He also won several other Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Korda’s daughter, Jessica, is competing this week in the U.S. Girls’ Junior.

James Sullivan, 17, of Katy, Texas, is a righty who plays golf left-handed.

Tyler Thomas, 16, of Beaumont, Texas, might miss his brother’s wedding on July 25, where he is the best man, depending on his progress in the championship.

Curtis Thompson, 16, of Coral Springs, Fla., is the younger brother of PGA Tour member Nicholas Thompson and older brother of Alexis Thompson, the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion and 2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior participant. He tied for first at the West Lafayette, Ind., sectional, shooting 144 to qualify for his third U.S. Junior Amateur.

Nick Tremps, 16, of San Antonio, Texas, achieved his Taekwondo black belt at the age of 7. He also competed in several 2007 golf tournaments with his left arm in a cast.

Tyler Wingo, 16, of Fairfax, Va., scored 55 points in a basketball game as an 11 year old.

Storylines compiled by David Shefter, Christina Lance, Dave Fanucchi and Justin Hancher.