July 19, 2002

GLENVIEW, Ill. - The United States held on for a two-point win over an elite collection of golfers from Japan in the Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship at The Glen Club. The win marks the seventh straight victory for the Americans, who lead the series 20-6.

Georgia Tech's Kris Mikkelsen continued the trend of setting the course record during the competition. Mikkelsen posted a 10-under-par 62, bettering the record set yesterday by Brandt Snedeker by three strokes.

"I struck the ball really well today," said Mikkelsen. "It's great to go out and shoot such a low score, but I'm more excited about the team winning."

Entering the final round trailing by four points, Japan tied the score at 29 with only one match to play. The Americans secured the victory when South Carolina's Kristy McPherson closed out a nine-stroke win over Chiharu Tsunekawa.

Mikkelsen and McPherson garnered MVP honors by posting the low 54-hole totals for the tournament. Mikkelsen shot 204 (-12), highlighted by his record performance today, while McPherson carded a score of 217 (+1).

Shintaro Kai was selected by the U.S. team as Mr. Ambassador. Mr./Ms. Ambassador is a sportsmanship award presented annually to a player from the visiting country who best represents his nation.

Final Round Singles Results
The Glen Club, Glenview, Illinois
Friday, July 19, 2002

Singles stroke-play - score of Japanese player vs. stroke-play score of American player. Winner earns two team points, halved match worth one point for each team

Women
JAPAN Hitomi Matsumura
def. USA Kelli Kamimura, 75-83

JAPAN Kyoko Furuya
def. USA Christi Cano, 73-79

JAPAN Izumi Narita
def. USA Danielle Downey, 71-76

USA Kristy McPherson
def. JAPAN Chiharu Tsunekawa, 71-80

Men
JAPAN Satoshi Sakamoto
def. USA Clint Colbert, 72-78

USA Gregg Jones
def. JAPAN Riki Ikeda, 75-78

JAPAN Kunihiro Kamii
def. USA Bryan Clarke, 74-75

USA Kris Mikkelsen
def. JAPAN Haruo Fujishima, 62-73

JAPAN Toyokazu Fujishima
def. USA Brock Mackenzie, 71-76

JAPAN Yuusaku Miyasato
halved with USA Dustin Bray, 71-71

USA Chris Nallen
def. JAPAN Taichiro Kiyota, 67-72

USA Brandt Snedeker
def. JAPAN Shintaro Kai, 70-71

Final Team Points: USA defeats Japan, 31-29