DURHAM, N.C. – Clairey Lin ensured that the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship title will remain in Canadian hands after defeating Amelie Zalsman 5 and 4 after 32 holes in the final to win the 77th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship on Saturday at the Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C.
“Amazing. Still haven’t processed it yet, but it’s pretty cool,” said Lin following the win on Saturday. “I’ve dreamed of it my entire life. I’ve always wanted to be on the big stage and inspire some people and work hard and see it pay off, and to be able to do that today is amazing.”
With the win, Lin of Langley, B.C. becomes the second consecutive Canadian to win the championship after Aphrodite Deng became the first to win the title last year in Johns Creek, Ga. It also marked the first time in USGA history that back-to-back champions have come from Canada in any championship.
“I remember seeing when Aphrodite won last year, I was really stoked for her, and I was really happy that Canada had its first U.S. Girls’, I think, and coming in this week, of course, I knew I wanted to do it again,” said Lin.
“For it to actually be the first time that two Canadians have won back-to-back in a USGA Championship is pretty cool. I’m glad I get to be a part of that,” she added.
The 16-year-old year old member of Team Canada NextGen entered match play as the No. 1 seed after earning medalist honours following 36 holes of stroke-play where she finished 13-under following rounds of 66-65. Lin’s 13-under 131 score was one shot off the championship record and tied four others with the second lowest stroke-play score in tournament history. In addition, Lin became the first medalist to win since 2021 and has earned an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Women’s Open at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Lin and Zalsman (St. Petersburg, Fla.) battled through the opening six holes of Saturday’s final with Lin taking the lead twice, until Zalsman pulled even and went ahead with a birdie on No. 6. It would be the final time she held the lead.
Lin responded with three straight birdies to move to 2 up following nine. After a par on Nos. 10 and 12, Lin moved ahead of Zalsman to go 4 up. Zalsman pulled within two after a par on No. 13 and birdie on No. 15 before Lin’s par on 18 put her 3 up with 18 to play.
Shortly after teeing off to begin the second 18, play was halted for an hour and thirty minutes due to dangerous weather in the area. Play resumed at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
Following resumption, Zalsman cut the lead to two with a par on No. 22, before Lin quickly regained her three-shot advantage with a birdie on No. 23. That was increased to four following another birdie on No. 24 for Lin before Zalsman’s par brought it back to a 3 up scoreline a hole later.
Lin went 4 up through 29, Zalsman cut it to three before Lin pulled away with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 31 and 32 to go 5 up and finish the match 5 and 4.
After earning medalist honours on Tuesday, Lin opened with a 3 and 2 win over Annika Chen of Chinese Taipei in the Round of 64 on Wednesday. Lin won both her matches on Thursday topping Annika Raja of Irving, Calif. 4 and 3 in the Round of 32 and then defeating Celina Yeo of San Carlos, Calif. 4 and 2 in the Round of 16.
On Friday, Lin edged Aubrey Hilgers of Surprise, Ariz. 2 and 1 and later defeated Athena Sing of Morehead, Ky. 1 up to put herself into Saturday’s Final.
Team Canada teammates, Shauna Liu (Maple, Ont.), Michelle Xing (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Nobelle Park (Oakville, Ont.) all advanced to the Round of 64 finishing above the cutline following stroke-play on Tuesday.
In the Round of 64, Xing defeated Eliana Saga of Stevenson Ranch, Calif. 4 and 2, while Liu beat Vidhi Lakhawala of Kendall Park, N.J. 2 and 1. Park fell to Zalsman 2 and 1.
Xing and Liu both won their Round of 32 matches with Xing topping Michelle Lee of San Antonio, Texas, 2 and 1 and Liu beat Amelia Harris of Australia in 19 holes. Both, Xing and Liu fell in the Round of 16 – Xing to Hilgers 3 and 2 and Liu to Singh, 1 up.
Three additional Canadians were in the field but did not make the cut including Alexis Card (Cambridge, Ont.), Jenny Guo (West Vancouver, B.C.) and Martina Ling (Vancouver, B.C.).
The 77th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship opened on Monday with 36-holes of stroke play over the first two days before moving into match play on Wednesday through to Saturday’s final.
For the final standings and match play results from the 77th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, please click here.