Bethlehem, Pa. — While her life revolves around golf, Nina Choe enjoys baking in her free time. In U.S. Girls’ Junior Qualifying administered by GAP at Saucon Valley Country Club (Weyhill) (par 72, 6,344 yards) Thursday, the New York, N.Y. resident had the right recipe. Her efforts resulted in a bogey-free, 6-under-par 66 and the day’s qualifying medal.
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The cherry on top? A hole-out eagle from 125 yards on No. 11 (par 4, 381 yards) by way of a pitching wedge.
“[Being medalist] means a lot. I really wanted to qualify for this tournament after trying for several years,” Choe, 17, said. “It’s good to get the job done.”
Keya Naik of Ashburn, Va. took the second available qualifying position after carding a 5-under-par 67. The 77th U.S. Girls’ Junior will take place July 13-18 at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C.
Prior to today, Choe had been on the U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifying trail since 2023 without any luck. Her lone USGA Championship appearance was in last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. Choe and her partner fell, 2&1, in the Round of 32.
Choe selected the SVCC qualifier due to its location and its position within her summer golf schedule. She made the 2-hour drive with her dad yesterday before playing a practice round.
“It’s definitely tricky,” Choe said. “I feel like just playing the right shots, [and] knowing where to miss it is really important.”
A pair of birdies shined on Choe’s front nine. On No. 7 (par 4, 374 yards), she lifted a 50-degree wedge from 105 yards to seven feet. On No. 9 (par 5, 488 yards), she laid up to 40 yards with a 4-hybrid before finessing a 58-degree to two feet.
“Driver was pretty solid off the tee and then I had a lot of good approach shots on the back,” Choe said. “I made a lot of good putts.”
The back nine was even more exciting with the aforementioned spectacle on No. 11. Another pair of birdies crystalized coming in. After taking 3-wood off the tee on No. 13 (par 4, 352 yards), she steered a pitching wedge from 130 yards to six feet. On Weyhill’s closer (par 5, 512 yards), she stuck a 54-degree from 85 yards to eight feet.
Choe’s game has been on a positive trajectory as of late.
At the end of May, she captured her third New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Section 1 Championship title. Choe, who recently graduated from The Ursuline School, took third place in the Association’s state tournament, which she won last year, a week later. Coincidentally, she holed out for eagle from 80 yards on Wild Wood Country Club’s No. 10. She said the feat jump-started her back nine.
Last summer, she experienced another high point in her junior golf career. She won the American Junior Golf Association’s (AJGA) K.J. Choi Foundation Junior Championship by SK Telecom. The collection of her efforts earned her a spot on the University of California, Davis’ Women’s Golf team.
“I struggled a little bit during my sophomore year,” Choe said. “I feel like after I committed, I started playing really good golf.”
Naik just finished her freshman year at Clemson University where she represented the Tigers on the Women’s Golf team. Last year, Naik competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. This year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior will be her second USGA Championship.
“It was a very fun experience to be out,” Naik, 18, said. “I think this is probably some of the best my iron-striking has been as of late, and I was looking forward to playing here.”
Naik says she will prioritize learning as much about the course as possible ahead of the Championship proper.
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 140,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
| Qualifiers | |
| Name, city, state | Score |
| Nina Choe, New York City, N.Y. | 66 |
| Keya Naik, Ashburn, Va. | 67 |
| alternates (in order) | |
| Macie Rasmussen, Chesapeake, Va. | 69 |
| Vidhi Lakhawala, Kendall Park, N.J. | 69 |
| Failed to qualify | |
| Kayley Roberts, Phoenixville, Pa. | 70 |
| Hazel Hegstrom, Providence, R.I. | 73 |
| Avery Nordman, Canada | 73 |
| Alexandra Phung, New York City, N.Y. | 73 |
| Hannah Webb, Woolwich, N.J. | 74 |
| Kiersten Bodge, West Chester, Pa. | 75 |
| Savannah Laverty, Moorestown, N.J. | 75 |
| Ava Zhong, Short Hills, N.J. | 75 |
| Alaina Carson, Broomall, Pa. | 78 |
| Vivienne Powers, York, Pa. | 78 |
| Payton Pattison, Canada | 78 |
| Chloe Donohue, Moorestown, N.J. | 79 |
| Yitong Pan, People’s Republic of China | 79 |
| Makenna Heckman, Stevens, Pa. | 79 |
| Piper Smith, Lancaster, Pa. | 79 |
| Shawna Aurora, Hamden, Conn. | 81 |
| Ysabel Liu, Short Hills, N.J. | 81 |
| Meredith Finger, Wilmington, Del. | 81 |
| Olivia Gaglione, Denville, N.J. | 81 |
| Soleil Demers, Jupiter, Fla. | 81 |
| Giulia Weisser, Reading, Pa. | 82 |
| Athena Lin, West Windsor, N.J. | 82 |
| Chloe Zhang, Short Hills, N.J. | 82 |
| Emma Zhong, Short Hills, N.J. | 83 |
| Charlotte Reid, Cream Ridge, N.J. | 83 |
| Sarah Stumacher, Gladwyne, Pa. | 83 |
| Arden Brunn, Hanover Twp, Pa. | 84 |
| Corinne McReynolds, Wayne, Pa. | 86 |
| Megan Choi, Penn Valley, Pa. | 87 |
| Mia DeCarlo, Glen Mills, Pa. | 88 |
| Emilie Davoli, Ambler, Pa. | 89 |
| Dahlia Garnick, Wilmington, Del. | 89 |
| Nicolette Bottos, Berwyn, Pa. | 92 |
| Lilly Brigido, Bethlehem, Pa. | 94 |
