Around the Green

Shyla Brown, Henry Guan make First-Ever U.S. National Junior Team

In a press release yesterday, the USGA announced the inaugural U.S. National Junior Team that includes Texans Shyla Brown and Henry Guan.

With the 2024 Olympics kicking off and the Presidents Cup taking place in September, the United States of America has a big year ahead in sports. The USGA elevated it more by grabbing golfers’ attention with their announcement for the U.S. Junior National Team. The team is the newest addition of the U.S. National Development Program which was established to make the United States the global leader in golf. The elite 10 girls and eight boys on the roster will represent the United States on a global level while nurturing the future of America’s top junior players.

The 18-player roster was announced on March 26^th and will grow to 30 players over the next three years. The roster will be evaluated annually by a selection committee while the players will participate in bi-annual camps and compete internationally with the first international friendly taking place this summer against Australia. The players will also receive year-round world-class coaching, sports psychology, and nutritional guidance. By 2033, the USGA plans to have state pilot programs to launch players into the U.S. National Junior Roster.

Out of the eight boys and 10 girls announced for the U.S. National Junior Team, two familiar faces from Texas made the roster. Shyla Brown of McKinney and Henry Guan of Irving made the inaugural roster with other junior golfers from the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington. Brown and Guan, both elite golfers, could not be more deserving of the recognition and the chance to represent the United States of America.

Shyla Brown, the 15-year-old sophomore and two-time Legends Junior Tour winner is coming off a strong 2023 and 2024 season. Brown was one of four junior golfers elected to compete in the Southwest Airlines Showcase, a collegiate event at Cedar Crest Golf Course in November. Brown showed off her skills finishing second behind Allyn Stephens of Houston. Earlier in the year, Brown finished second at the Texas Junior Amateur held at White Bluff Resort in Whitney, Texas. As if that wasn’t impressive already, she went on to finish eighth at the Texas Women’s Open, a professional event held by the Northern Texas PGA Section.  Brown is just getting started and adding U.S. Junior National Team to her resume just shows the skill the Texas Golfer has.

Henry Guan of Irving has an impressive resume that helped propel him into the U.S. Junior National Team roster. The 425^th-ranked World Amateur Golfer competed on the Junior Presidents Cup team alongside former Legends Junior Tour player Preston Stout. Guan finished secnd  at the 2022 Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship and heading into 2023 finished in the Top 20 at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. His list of achievements and wins in tournaments builds every year and playing on the U.S. Junior National Team will only make him more successful.

The eyes of Texas fall on Brown and Guan as they take this big step in junior golf but rest assured, they will be ready.

To read more on the U.S. Junior National Team selection, click here.