Romero Overtakes Malixi to Win Girls Junior Title

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- It was a long week, and the final in the U.S. Girls Junior Championship went all the way to the 18th hole. In the end, it was a question of whether Kiara Romero could make one more par, which she did. The 17-year-old from San Jose made a right-to-left breaking 7-footer on the 36th hole Saturday afternoon, and that sealed her 1-up victory over Riane Malixi.

Romero was the best player in the tournament over the course of the six days. She shot 68-72--140 in 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying at the U.S. Air Force Academy's Eisenhower Blue Course, and finshed just two shots behind the medalist, Yana Wilson, who also happened to be the defending champion. Wilson shot 70-68--138 in the stroke-play portion of the tournament, but she lost in the second round of match play, the Round of 32. The No. 2 seed was Anna Davis, the player with the highest World Amateur Golf Ranking in the field -- No. 4. But she was picked off in the Round of 16 by Gina Clemente, the No 18 seed.

Clemente is only 15, but she was the runner-up in the Girls Junior last year, and she was impressive again this year. She was 4 under in her victory over Davis -- and 5 under in her 6&5 quarterfinal conquest of the No 10 seed, Clarisa Temelo.

It was Romero, the No. 3 seed, who took out Clemente, beating her 2 up in the semifinals.

The only Minnesotan to survive the stroke-play qualifying was Reese McCauley, the two-time state high school champion from Inver Grove Heights -- who made it to the U.S. Junior Girls quarterfinals last year. Thsi year, McCauley was the No. 59 seed, after qualifying with 75-76--151, but she made it through two matches and was tied with No 22 seed Lauren Kim after 16 holes in their Round of 16 match late Thursday, when the match was suspended because of darkness. (There had been a three-hour weather delay earlier in the day.)

Kim, who qualified for the U.S. Women's Open this summer, birdied the 149-yard, par-3 17th hole early Friday morning and edged McCauley 1 up. But then Romero beat Kim 3&1 in the quarters.

Fortunately for Romero, the final wasn't only 18 holes, because she never led in the morning round Saturday, and Malixi was 1 up when they went to lunch. Malixii, a 16-year-old from the Phillipines who qualified with 74-73--147 and was the No 24 seed, had taken a quick lead with a birdie at the first hole, but in a pattern that repeated itself, Romero came back to win the fourth with a birdie. Then Malixi went 2 up with a par at the fifth and a birdie at the 170-yard, par-3 seventh. Romero won the par-5 ninth (549 yards) with a birdie and leveled the match again by winning the 10th with a par. Malixi went 2 up one more time, winning the par-4 12th (373) with a birdie and the 558-yard, par-5 16th with a par.

Romero cut the deficit to 1 down with a par at the 18th. After lunch, she pulled even by winning the fourth hole for the second time, this time with a par.

It wasn't until the the 26th hole, the 402-yard, par-4 eighth, that Romero grabbed the lead for the first time in the match, with a par. But she hit a wedge over the green at the 391-yard, par-4 10th, failed to save her par, and lost the hole to Malixi's 4. The two finalists, who were now playing their ninth rounds in six days and couldn't really be blamed if they were running out of gas, made only two birdies in their second 18 of the day (it was also their sixth round in three days). The two birdies came on the same hole, the 477-yard, par-5 11th,w which they both two-putted.

Romero went ahead for the second -- and final -- time at the 121-yard, par-3 13th hole. The University of Oregon's prize recruit for 2023 made a routine par. Malixi found a bunker with her tee shot and missed a 9-footer for her par. After that, they each made five. consecutive pars.


U.S. Girls Junior Championship

At U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Course -- Blue Course

Par 72, 6,735 yards

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Match Play

Round of 64

No. 1 Yana Wilson def. No. 64 Ashley Kim 5&4

No. 2 Anna Davis def. No. 63 Thanana Kotchasanmanee 4&2

No. 3 Kiara Romero def. No. 62 Claire Wan 2&1

No. 4 Kaili Xiao def. No. 61 Swetha Sathish 1 up

No. 5 Tarapath Panya def. No. 60 Ruilhan Kendria Wang 1 up

No. 59 Reese McCauley def. No. 6 Anna Huang 1 up

No. 7 Emerie Schartz def. No. 58 Veronika Exposito 5&4

No. 8 Sara Im def. No. 57 Leia Chung 1 up

No. 9 Kaitlyn Schroeder def. No. 56 Taylor Baker 6&5

No. 10 Clarisa Temelo def. No. 55 Yujie Liu 2&1

Round of 32

No. 32 Yeji Kwon def. No. 1 Wilson 20 holes

No. 2 Davis def. No. 31 Aphrodite Deng 4&3

No. 3 Romero def. No, 30 Vanessa Borovilos

No. 4 Xiao def. No. 36 Kaatie Li 1 up

No. 37 Kennedy Swedick def. No. 5 Panya 2&1

No. 59 McCauley def. No. 27 Pimpisa Rubrong 3&2

No. 26 Chizuru Komiya def. No. 7 Schartz 5&4

No. 25 Audrey Rischer def. No. 8 Im 2&1

No. 24 Rianne Malixi def. No. 9 Schroeder 1 up

No. 10 Temelo def. No. 42 Martina Yu 20 holes

Round of 16

No. 17 Farah O'Keefe def. No. 32 Kwon 3&2

No. 18 Gina Clemente def. No. 2 Davis 3&2

No. 3 Romero def. No. 46 Natalie Yen 19 holes

No. 45 Leigh Chien def. No. 4 Xiao 3&1

No. 12 Sidney Yermish def. No. 37 Swedick 1up

No. 22 Lauren Kim def. No. 55 McCauley 1 up

No. 10 Temelo def. No. 26 Komiya 2&1

No. 24 Malixi def. No. 25 Rischer 1 up

Quarterfinals

No. 3 Romero def. No. 22 Kim 3&1

No. 18 Clemente def. No. 10 Temelo 6&5

No. 24 Malixi def. No. 17 O'Keefe 1 up

No. 45 Chien def. No. 12 Yermish 19 holes

Semifinals

No 3 Romero def. No. 18 Clemente 2 up

No. 24 Malixi def. No. 45 Chien 4&2

Final

No 3 Romero def. No. 24 Malixi 1 up


Stroke Play

Final results

1. Yana Wilson, Henderson, Nev. 70-68--138 (-6)

2. Anna Davis, Spring Valley, Calif. 68-71--139

3. Kiara Romero, San Jose, Calif. 68-72--140

T4. Tarapath Panya, Thailand 69-73--142

T4. Anna Huang, Canada 74-68--142

T4. Kaili Xiao, China 69-73--142

7, Emerie Schartz, Wichita, Kansas 72-71--143

T8. Sara Im, Duluth, Ga. 71-73--144

T8. Asterisk Talley, Chowchilla, Calif. 72-72--144

T8. Clarisa Temelo, Mexico 70-74--144

T8. Kaitlyn Schroeder, Jacksonville, Fla. 72-72--144

T8. Sidney Yermish, Pinehurst, N.C. 72-72--144

T55. Reese McCauley, Inver Grove Hts. 75-76 --151


Missed cut -- 151 (64 players at 151 or better)

Kathryn VanArragon, Blaine 77-77--154

Oliviia Salonek, Roseville 81-80--161

Lily Vincelli, Rosemount 86-82--168