BECKER, Minn – Kieley Hanson captured the 2026 Minnesota State Junior Girls’ Championship Wednesday at Pebble Creek Golf Club, carding a final-round 73 to complete the 54-hole tournament with a total of 220, and claiming a two-shot victory over Alyssa Raghuveer.
With the win, Hanson also earned an exemption into the 2026 US Girls' Junior Amateur Championship, set for Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C., July 13-18, 2026.
Hanson, a Tema Minnesota member and 2027 St. Thomas women's golf commit, entered the final round with a four-shot lead after opening the championship with a 71 and followed it with a 76 in Tuesday’s second round. Hanson responded to pressure with a steady performance to secure the title.
After making the turn at 1-over-par, Hanson found her momentum on Pebble Creek’s back nine. She recorded back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16. She noted this stretch as the turning point of her round. Hanson played her final nine in even-par 36 to close out the championship.
“I had two birdies back-to-back on 15 and 16, and that’s where I kind of was like, ‘Okay, I can do this,’” Hanson said. “I kind of got my momentum back from there.”
Hanson credited her performance on the greens as the key to her success throughout the week.
“This week I’m definitely most proud of my putting,” Hanson said. “These greens were tough, and I think that’s where I stood apart from the field. I’ve been hitting it well, and I’ve been waiting for putts to drop for the last three weeks, so it was nice to finally feel that.”
She added that staying committed to her routine helped her manage the pressure down the stretch.
“I think just staying in your process, slowing yourself down, and just being confident,” Hanson said.
Raghuveer, who will join the University of St. Thomas women’s golf team this fall, closed the championship with her best round of the week with 71. After rounds of 73 and 78 to begin the tournament, Raghuveer came back on Wednesday with four birdies and matched Hanson’s final-round score through 14 holes before finishing in second place at 222 for the 54-hole tournament.
“I’m definitely most proud of being able to stick with it,” Raghuveer said. “Yesterday was a little bit tougher, and I’m glad that I came back today and was able to fight for second place.”
Raghuveer pointed to her driving as the strongest part of her game throughout the championship.
“Off the tee, I was definitely overall pretty good,” she said. “That put me in a really good position to have approach shots that could give me chances for birdie.”
She also noted the speed and severity of Pebble Creek’s greens as the biggest challenge of the week.
“The greens were very fast,” Raghuveer said. “The first two rounds, I found it hard to control the spin. Today, I did a better job at that.”
With the victory, Kieley Hanson adds the Minnesota State Junior Girls’ Championship to her list of accomplishments.