Tide Golfer Named To USA World Team

Alabama sophomore Justin Thomas was named to the 2012 USA World Amateur Team the United States Golf Association announced on Thursday.

The World Amateur Team Championship will take place on Oct. 4-7 at the Cornelia Golf Club in Antalya, Turkey.

Thomas was one of three players named to the team on Thursday, less than a week after he advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur. Steven Fox, the winner of the U.S. Amateur, and Chris Williams of Washington were also selected to the team. Jim Vernon of Pasadena, Calif., who was the USGA president in 2008-2009 and served on the USGA Executive Committee for seven years, will be the captain of the USA Team. “These three young men have shown that they are proven competitors and we salute them for the accomplishments that led to their selection,” Vernon said. “I am honored to be their captain and we look forward to representing the USA in Turkey in October.” Thomas is second in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He won the 2012 Haskins Award and the 2012 Jack Nicklaus Award, both of which recognize the nation’s top collegiate golfer, as well as the 2012 Phil Mickelson Award, as the outstanding freshman in Division I men’s golf. Thomas won four college tournaments during the 2011-12 season, including the 2012 NCAA Athens Regional, and was named a first-team All-American. Thomas won the 2012 Jones Cup and was also the runner-up at the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. The alternates, in order, are: Patrick Rodgers, 20, of Avon, Ind., and the Crimson Tide’s Bobby Wyatt, 20, of Mobile, Ala. Thomas is the fourth Alabama player to participate in the World Amateur, joining Jerry Pate (1974), Lars Brovold (2000 & 2004) and Max Alverio (2002, 2004 & 2006). A record 72 teams have entered the 2012 World Amateur Team Championship. The biennial competition has been played since 1958, with the winner taking home the Eisenhower Trophy. France won the 2010 title in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by four strokes over Denmark and five over the USA. The USA last won the championship in 2004, and has captured the trophy a record 13 times. The World Amateur Team title is determined by four days of stroke play. A country may field a team of two or three players. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day total is the team's score for the championship.