U.S. Girls’ Junior 1 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship 72nd Record Book 2021 2 U.S. Girls’ Junior Lei Ye Wins the 2019 Championship Seven times in the 36-hole championship match, Jillian green. Ye’s second shot went to the back of the green, leav- Bourdage managed to win a hole after losing the previous ing her a 50-foot downhill putt that she deftly lagged to 3 one to opponent, Lei Ye. feet. An eighth seemed imminent as the final of the 71st U.S. Girls’ “I was trying to make that 50-footer. It’s not impossible,” Junior Championship reached the 36th green at SentryWorld. said Ye. “I’ve made 50-footers before, you know. Yeah, [I was] All that stood between Bourdage, 17, of Taramac, Fla., and hoping for a bit of a miracle there. It got pretty close. I gave extra holes was 5 feet. it a pretty good chance. I guess it was a lot of pressure on her to extend that match with that five-footer.” She stroked what she thought was a perfect putt. But this time, the ball trailed off to the left at the very end, sending That set the stage for Bourdage to force extra holes. Bourdage to her knees in disbelief. “I think I just under-read it,” said Bourdage, “but I felt really Ye, 18, then stepped up and converted her 3-foot par putt to good when I walked over the ball and my aim looked great secure a 1-up victory, becoming the second player from the from where I was standing. I just gave it my best shot, but People’s Republic of China to win a USGA championship. that’s golf sometimes. They don’t all drop.” “This tournament is the ultimate achievement of junior golf, For Bourdage, it was her second championship-match set- so yeah, it’s been a perfect ending,” said Ye, who played her back of 2019. In late April, she and fellow Floridian Casey final junior competition this week. Weidenfeld fell to Duke University incoming freshmen Megan Furtney and Erica Shepherd in the final of the U.S. Women’s “That last putt, though it was three feet, I was definitely ner- Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Timuquana Country Club vous. It’s a big putt. I just told myself, you’ve practiced this in Jacksonville, Fla. thousands and thousands of times, you could do it in your sleep.” Bourdage was also the last remaining player in the field with Wisconsin ties as her mom was born in Manitowoc, and An incoming freshman at Stanford University, Ye joins 2014 she has other family living in Appleton. Two of her cousins U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links winner Alice (Fumie) Jo attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. as the only players from China to claim a USGA champion- ship. The No. 69 player in the Women’s Amateur Golf Ranking Ye, also a past U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball runner-up (WAGR) also is the 13th international player to have her name (in 2018 at El Caballero Country Club with Ya Chun Chang), engraved on the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy, joining the likes appeared as if she might turn the final into a runaway, grab- of major champions Inbee Park (Korea), Ariya Jutanugarn bing a 3-up lead at the lunch break. She won five of seven (Thailand) and I.K. Kim (Korea). holes from the par-5 ninth, a stretch that began with a 6-foot birdie on No. 9. While Bourdage answered with birdies on 11 With the victory, Ye also earned an exemption into the 2020 and 13 to trim the deficit to one hole, a birdie on the par-5 U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston, 14th and a winning par at 15 pushed Ye’s margin to three Texas. holes. Hole 15 proved to be Bourdage’s Waterloo all week, as Ye played the equivalent of 4-under-par golf, with the usual she played the 383-yard, par-4 in 6 over par. match-play concessions, over the 36 holes. Bourdage, however, had chances to trim her deficit going into No birdie was bigger than the par-4 35th hole. Ye took an the break, only to miss good birdie chances at 16 and 18 from aggressive line off the tee on the dogleg-right, leaving just 6 and 9 feet, respectively. 105 yards to the flagstick. Her approach with a gap wedge After some lunch, Bourdage’s attitude changed for the after- stopped 6 feet from the flagstick and she calmly converted. noon 18. She took a more free-wheeling approach and by the “On 17 I saw her hit it left, and I thought it might have gone 26th hole, the match was tied. While Ye never trailed coming in the water (the ball stayed dry),” said Ye. “I mean, it didn’t home, her lead was never more than 1 up. She hit a beauti- change too much how I was going to approach that shot ful wedge approach to 2 feet on the par-5 27th, only to see because it was 105 yards, which is a wedge shot, which I have Bourdage answer with a 6-foot birdie on the par-5 28th. been hitting well this week, so I just thought that I’d land it Ye took No. 30 with a par when Bourdage failed to get up about 100 [yards], a couple yards right on that slope and and down from a bunker, but lost the advantage two holes have it carry it down towards the flag.” later on the par-5 32nd as Bourdage’s third shot with a wedge On the 36th hole, Bourdage, playing first from the fairway, stopped 4 feet from the hole. stuffed her 8-iron approach from 130 yards to 5 feet, getting It set the stage for a dramatic finish. a big applause from the 300 spectators gathered around the U.S. Girls’ Junior 3 71st U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship Qual. Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinal Round Semifinal Round Score Wednesday, July 24 Thursday, July 25 Thursday, July 25 Friday, July 26 Friday, July 26 (132) Yuka Saso, Philippines Saso (150) Kaylee Sakoda, Cypress, Calif. 6 and 4 Saso Par: 36-36—72 (146) Valery Plata, Colombia 3 and 2 Brinker Yardage: 6,307 (146) Phoebe Brinker, Wilmington, Del. 1 up Saso Entries: 1,559 (144) Hsin-Yu Lu, Chinese Taipei 5 and 4 Chen (148) Anne Chen, Sugar Land, Texas 4 and 3 Chen (144) Julia Misemer, Overland Park, Kan. 1 up Van Der Biest (148) Isabella Van Der Biest, Kingsport, Tenn. 4 and 3 Saso (143) Bohyun Park, Republic of Korea 2 up Morard (149) Michaela Morard, Huntsville, Ala. 6 and 4 Zhang (145) Sophie (Yixian) Guo, People’s Rep. of China 7 and 6 Zhang (147) Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif. 19 holes Zhang (143) Erica Shepherd, Greenwood, Ind. 4 and 3 Xu (149) Kelly Xu, Claremont, Calif. 3 and 2 Xu (145) Jennifer Koga, Honolulu, Hawaii 2 up Kim (147) Yoona Kim, Fair Lawn, N.J. 2 and 1 (141) YoonMin Han, Republic of Korea Bourdage Todd 2 up (149) Kendall Todd, Goodyear, Ariz. 3 and 1 Beaudreau (146) Lauren Beaudreau, Lemont, Ill. 2 up Beaudreau (147) Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn. 1 up Beaudreau (144) Megha Ganne, Holmdel, N.J. 3 and 1 Gamble (149) Madelyn Gamble, Pleasant Hill, Calif. 19 holes Ly (144) Jasmine Ly, Canada 4 and 2 Ly (148) Emma Zhao, Windermere, Fla. 19 holes Bourdage (141) Jillian Bourdage, Tamarac, Fla. 2 and 1 Bourdage (149) Savannah Hylton, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 2 and 1 Bourdage (146) Isabella Fierro, Mexico 6 and 4 Fierro (147) Kynadie Adams, Nashville, Tenn. 3 and 2 FINAL Bourdage Saturday, July 27 (144) Maisie Filler, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 2 and 1 Filler Lei Ye (149) Jiarui (Joyce) Jin, People’s Rep. of China 1 up def. Jin Jillian Bourdage, (145) Katherine Muzi, Newport Beach, Calif. 2 and 1 Jin 1 up (148) Mika (Meijia) Jin, People’s Rep. of China 2 and 1 4 U.S. Girls’ Junior July 22-27, 2019, SentryWorld, Stevens Point, Wis. Semifinal Round Quarterfinal Round Round of 16 Round of 32 Round of 64 Qual. Friday, July 26 Friday, July 26 Thursday, July 25 Thursday, July 25 Wednesday, July 24 Score Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Australia (137) Hodge 19 holes Carolina Hodge, Larchmont, N.Y. (150) Seay 3 and 2 Ashley Menne, Phoenix, Ariz. (146) Seay 1 up Brooke Seay, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (146) Seay 21 holes Grace Kim, Australia (144) Kim 4 and 3 Alexa Pano, Lake Worth, Fla. (148) Kim 3 and 2 Chun-Wei Wu, Chinese Taipei (144) Wu 3 and 2 Elle Nachmann, Boca Raton, Fla. (148) Ye 1 up Lei Ye, People’s Republic of China (142) Ye 6 and 5 Elina Sinz, Katy, Texas (149) Ye 2 and 1 Yue Zhang, People’s Republic of China (145) Ding 19 holes Virginie Ding, Hong Kong, China (147) Ye 6 and 5 Erika Smith, Orlando, Fla. (143) Smith 2 and 1 Isabella McCauley, Inver Grove Hts., Minn. (149) Summerhays 1 up Sarah Arnold, St. Charles, Ill. (145) Summerhays 5 and 4 Grace Summerhays, Scottsdale, Ariz. (147) Sophia Bae, Norwood, N.J. (139) Ye Bae 3 and 2 5 and 4 Alexis Sudjianto, Charlotte, N.C. (149) Bae 2 and 1 Grace Ni, Cypress, Texas (146) Gregg 3 and 1 Julia Gregg, Farmers Branch, Texas (147) Whiston 1 up Nicole Adam, Pinehurst, N.C.