BRASELTON, Ga. -- Junior golf's top honors were announced Tuesday, Oct. 27, as 48 boys and 48 girls were named Rolex Junior All-Americans by Rolex and the American Junior Golf Association.

Introduced by the AJGA in 1978, the Rolex Junior All-America Teams annually recognize those players who have established themselves as the world's premier junior golfers. This year's selections distinguished themselves through their outstanding play in 82 national events, 66 of which were conducted by the AJGA. The Rolex Junior All-America Teams were determined exclusively through the Polo Golf Rankings (as of Oct. 27).

The teams are comprised of 96 junior golfers, ages 13-18, from 20 states and seven foreign countries. These standouts will be honored at the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet Sunday, Nov. 22, at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Former Rolex Junior All-Americans comprise the top players on both the PGA and LPGA Tours. Of the PGA TOUR's current top-10 money leaders, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sean O'Hair and Jim Furyk were all Rolex Junior All-Americans. On the LPGA Tour, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome and Cristie Kerr were named Rolex Junior All-Americans as junior golfers before working their way to the top of the pay-for-play ranks. Other notable professional AJGA alumni who help make up the list of past Rolex Junior All-Americans include Stewart Cink, Ben Curtis, Trevor Immelman, Hunter Mahan, Lucas Glover, Morgan Pressel, In-Bee Park, Angela Park, Brittany Lang and In-Kyung Kim.

Headlining the boys on the Rolex Junior All-America First Team is Jordan Spieth of Dallas. A two-time first-team selection, Spieth ascended to the No. 1 spot in the Polo Golf Rankings after winning the U.S. Junior Amateur in July. His 2009 season also included runner-up finishes at the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods and the Junior PGA Championship. In all, Spieth posted top-10 finishes at each of the eight national tournaments in which he competed.

For the record-setting fifth consecutive year, Andrew Yun of Chandler, Ariz., has earned Rolex Junior All-America honors. A first-team selection in 2006, 2008 and 2009, Yun joins Justin Leonard as the only five-time Rolex Junior All-Americans in AJGA history (Leonard's run includes two years as a Rolex Junior All-American in the 11-14-year-old boys division). Yun, who is currently a freshman at Stanford, has 19 AJGA top-five finishes and four victories in his six-year junior career.

Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos, Calif., is the third returning member to the Rolex Junior All-America First Team. Previous Rolex Junior All-Americans earning first-team accolades for the first time are James Back of Cerritos, Calif., Michael Hebert of Orlando, Fla., Jeffrey Kang of Fullerton, Calif., and Bobby Wyatt of Mobile, Ala.

Additionally, five first-time Rolex Junior All-Americans are making their debut on the first team: Emiliano Grillo of Resistencia, Argentina; Shun Yat Hak of Lake Mary, Fla.; Gavin Hall of Pittsford, N.Y.; Yaroslav Merkulov of Penfield, N.Y.; and Patrick Winther of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

On the girls side, seven of the 12 first-team Rolex Junior All-Americans are returning for at least a second year. Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii, is a first-team selection for the third straight year. Overall, she is a six-time Rolex Junior All-American, which is tied for second most in AJGA history (Beth Bauer − 1993-98, Grace Park − 1992-97). Jenny Shin of Torrance, Calif., and Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., also earned first-team honors for the third year, while Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla., Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., Victoria Tanco of Bradenton, Fla., and Kristina Wong of Vestal, N.Y., are each on the Rolex Junior All-America First Team for the second year.

Previous Rolex Junior All-Americans earning first-team accolades for the first time are Sarah Brown of Phillipsburg, N.J., Luz Alejandra Cangrejo of Bogota, Colombia, and Rachel Morris of Carlsbad, Calif. The remaining two players on the first team are newly crowned Rolex Junior All-Americans: Yueer Cindy Feng of Orlando, Fla., and Ani Gulugian of Irvine, Calif.

Rolex, a supporter of the AJGA since 1983, became an AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. The distinguished timepiece manufacturer is the proprietor of the Rolex Junior Players of the Year, Rolex Junior All-America Teams and the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet. Rolex also sponsors the Rolex Tournament of Champions and Rolex Girls Junior Championship, two of the AJGA's most competitive major championships. As a Premier Partner, Rolex is the Founding Partner to the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program and an Official Partner of the biennial PING Junior Solheim Cup.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30 foreign countries.

For more information, please contact Chris Richards (crichards@ajga.org) in the AJGA Communications Department at (770) 868-4200, or visit the AJGA's Web site at ajga.org.

BOYS DIVISION
First Team
James Back, Cerritos, Calif.
Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif.
Emiliano Grillo, Bradenton, Fla.
Shun Yat Hak, Lake Mary, Fla.
Gavin Hall, Pittsford, N.Y.
Michael Hebert, Orlando, Fla.
Jeffrey Kang, Fullerton, Calif.
Yaroslav Merkulov, Penfield, N.Y.
Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas
Patrick Winther, Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala.
Andrew Yun, Chandler, Ariz.

Second Team
Austin Cody, North Charleston, S.C.
Logan Harrell, Huntersville, N.C.
Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif.
Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y.
Cheng-Tsung Pan, Upland, Calif.
Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas
Patrick Rodgers, Avon, Ind.
Oliver Schniederjans, Powder Springs, Ga.
Johnathan Schnitzer, Houston, Texas
Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky.
Preston Valder, Yorba Linda, Calif.
Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn.

Honorable Mention
Byeong-hun An, Bradenton, Fla.
Anton Arboleda, La Canada, Calif.
Sam Bernstein, Riverdale, N.Y.
Lucas Bjerregaard, Frederikshavn, Denmark
Thomas Bradshaw, Columbia, S.C.
Matthew Ceravolo, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Wyndham Clark, Greenwood Village, Colo.
Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Payne Denman, Riverwatch, Tenn.
Joey Garber, Petoskey, Mich.
Zachary Herr, New Hope, Pa.
Ben Itterman, Carlsbad, Calif.
Billy Kennerly, Alpharetta, Ga.
Tanner Kesterson, Plano, Texas
Tom Lovelady, Birmingham, Ala.
M.J. Maguire, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Ian McConnell, Riverview, Fla.
Will Pearson, Memphis, Tenn.
Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, Texas
Nicholas Reach, Moscow, Pa.
Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.
Jay Vandeventer, Bristol, Tenn.
Richard Werenski, South Hadley, Mass.
Motin Yeung, Orlando, Fla.

GIRLS DIVISION
First Team
Sarah Brown, Phillipsburg, N.J.
Luz Alejandra Cangrejo, Bogota, Colombia
Yueer Cindy Feng, Orlando, Fla.
Ani Gulugian, Irvine, Calif.
Kimberly Kim, Pahoa, Hawaii
Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla.
Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif.
Rachel Morris, Carlsbad, Calif.
Jenny Shin, Torrance, Calif.
Victoria Tanco, Bradenton, Fla.
Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.
Kristina Wong, Vestal, N.Y.

Second Team
Laetitia Beck, Caesarea, Israel
Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla.
Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J.
Simin Feng, Orlando, Fla.
Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, Calif.
Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash.
Stephanie Meadow, Jordanstown, Northern Ireland
Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif.
Kelly Shon, Port Washington, N.Y.
Alexandra Stewart, Peoria, Ariz.
Banchalee Theinthong, Bangkok, Thailand
Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Honorable Mention
Shannon Aubert, ChampionsGate, Fla.
Sunshine Baraquiel, Valencia, Calif.
Elizabeth Breed, Waynesboro, Pa.
Austin Ernst, Seneca, S.C.
Bonnie Hu, Fremont, Calif.
Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Kyung Kim, Chandler, Ariz.
Tanaporn Kongkiatkrai, Bradenton, Fla.
Suzie Lee, East Northport, N.Y.
Harin Lee, Bayside, N.Y.
Hana Lee, Hacienda Heights, Calif.
Jordan Lippetz, Bradenton, Fla.
Kaira Martin, Paradise Valley, Ariz.
Amy Meier, Rochester Hills, Mich.
Seo Hee Moon, Mukilteo, Wash.
Kelli Oride, Lihue, Hawaii
Victoria Sungmin Park, Irvine, Calif.
Annie Park, Levittown, N.Y.
Maria Piccio, Bradenton, Fla.
Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale, Ga.
Emma Talley, Princeton, Ky.
Jessica Vasilic, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
Lauren Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Nicole Zhang, Calgary, Alberta