Team Colorado players finish strong in Sunday singles, but American squad falls just short of victory at 3-team international ‘friendly’ junior match in Puerto Rico; Sophia Lee, Brayden DeStefano post winning records
By Gary Baines
Team Colorado — and the Americans as a whole — saved their best for last in this weekend’s international friendly junior golf match, and very nearly emerged with a comeback victory as a result.
Alas, while the USA squad made a big-time comeback after trailing the leaders by five points going into Sunday singles, the rally left the Americans one-half point shy of the top spot in their matchup in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, with junior elite teams from Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Mexico earned the victory with 21 points in the three-session event, which featured concurrent matches in singles (Saturday morning), foursomes/alternate shot (Saturday afternoon) and singles again (Sunday morning). The Americans, who stood third going into Sunday singles, ended up placing second at 20.5 points, with Puerto Rico third at 18.5. In all, 24 golfers competed in the competition.
While it was designated a USA squad, the Americans were comprised exclusively of just four players each from Team Colorado and Team Georgia. Those are two of the seven inaugural members of the USGA’s National Development Program’s State Junior Team component, which debuted in 2024. The U.S. National Development Program was established with the intention of fostering future generations of American golf talent. It’s been developed and managed by the USGA and largely administered on a local level by state and regional golf associations, including the CGA in Colorado. The USNDP provides a pathway to success in golf by delivering competitive opportunities, support and training, and mitigating financial burdens.
The event in Puerto Rico marks the first international competition for USNDP State Junior Team golfers. It was recently announced that all 50 states are now represented in the State Junior Team Program.
Team Colorado members who participated in this weekend’s friendly matches were Brayden DeStefano of Peyton, Ash Edwards of Boulder, Sophia Lee of Columbine Valley and Ella Scott of Castle Rock.
In Sunday’s singles matches — against Mexico and Puerto Rico concurrently — Team Colorado players went 5-3, with the boys going 4-0. For the session overall, the U.S. defeated Mexico 4.5-3.5 and Puerto Rico 6-2.
But Mexico beat Puerto Rico 6.5-1.5 in the final session to eke out enough points for the overall title.
In the six matches in Puerto Rico (two singles sessions and a foursomes session while competing against both opponents), Team Colorado players posted the following individual records for the friendly: Lee 4-2; DeStefano 3-2-1 (wins-losses-ties), Edwards 2-2-2 and Scott 1-5.
Team Colorado and Team George are coached, respectively, by Kelli McKandless and Garreth Carpenter.
U.S.-Puerto Rico-Mexico International Friendly
Oct. 17-18 in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
OVERALL FINAL SCORE: MEXICO 21, USA 20.5, PUERTO RICO 18.5
(RESULTS FOR PLAYERS FROM COLORADO)
SATURDAY SINGLES
USA 4, Mexico 4
Sophia Lee, Team Colorado, def. Maria Navarrete, Mexico, 3 and 2
Martina Galdeano, Mexico, def. Ella Scott, Team Colorado, 2 up
Ash Edwards, Team Colorado, tied Alain Petitjean, Mexico
Brayden DeStefano, Team Colorado, def. Carlos Moreno, Mexico, 3 and 2
Puerto Rico 6, USA 2
Sophia Lee, Team Colorado, def. Sofia Rivera, Puerto Rico, 2 up
Amelia Santiago, Puerto Rico, def. Ella Scott, Team Colorado 3 and 2
Ayden Febres, Puerto Rico, def. Ash Edwards, Team Colorado, 3 and 1
Tomas Rodriguez, Puerto Rico, def. Brayden DeStefano, Team Colorado, 5 and 4
SATURDAY FOURSOMES
Mexico 2.5, USA 1.5
Regina Jimenez/Alejandra Botaya, Mexico, def. Sophia Lee/Ella Scott, Team Colorado, 6 and 4
Ash Edwards/Brayden DeStefano, Team Colorado, tied with Pablo Fernandez/Miguel Garcia, Mexico
USA 2, Puerto Rico 2
Sophia Lee/Ella Scott, Team Colorado, def. Sofia Rivera/Amelia Santiago, Puerto Rico, 1 up
Ayden Febres/Tomas Rodriguez, Puerto Rico, def. Ash Edwards/Brayden DeStefano, Team Colorado, 1 up
SUNDAY SINGLES
USA 4.5, Mexico 3.5
Ash Edwards, Team Colorado, def. Carlos Moreno, Mexico, 2 up
Brayden DeStefano, Team Colorado, def. Pablo Fernandez, Mexico, 2 and 1
Martina Galdeano, Mexico, def. Sophia Lee, Team Colorado, 4 and 3
Regina Jimenez, Mexico, def. Ella Scott, Team Colorado, 3 and 2
USA 6, Puerto Rico 2
Ash Edwards, Team Colorado, def. Evan Peňa, Puerto Rico, 4 and 3
Brayden DeStefano, Team Colorado, def. Fernando Leduc, 5 and 4
Sophia Lee, Team Colorado, def. Arabella Lopez, 4 and 3
Khishny Lope, Puerto Rico, def. Ella Scott, Team Colorado, 2 and 1
For all the results from Puerto Rico, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com