PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – A haze hung in the air Thursday during U.S. Girls’ Junior Qualifying administered by GAP at The 1912 Club (par 72, 6,348 yards). An air quality alert for the region remains due to the continuing Canada wildfires. On this day, four medalists shined clear after carding even-par 72s: Helen Yeung of Clarksville, Md.; Angelina Tao of Coto De Caza, Calif.; Gwendolyn Powell of Madison Township, Pa. and Sydney Yermish (they/them, Sidney) of Wynnewood, Pa. Joining them in the championship proper is Anushka Sawant of Monmouth Junction, N.J., who survived a seven for one playoff to advance.
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Powell’s piece of the medal came by way of strong mid-range putting and routine pars.
“This is definitely my best performance in one of these [qualifiers],” Powell, 17, a first-time qualifier, said. “[I’m] glad I played well.”
Two birdies and 14 pars sparkled on Powell’s card. On No. 12 (par 5, 510 yards), the Elmhurst Country Club member hit a 5-wood from 300 yards to short of the green. Her 55-yard, 54-degree wedge landed 15 feet from the hole. She jarred the putt for her first red number. On No. 16 (par 3, 168 yards), her hybrid tee shot landed 10 feet from the hole which resulted in another birdie.
“I made a lot of five footers that maybe [do, maybe don’t go in.] They helped a lot,” Powell, who works in the Elmhurst pro shop, said.
Location, timing and prior experience with 1912’s layout attracted Powell to this particular qualifying location.
“I want to perform well.” Powell, a North Pocono High School rising senior, said. “I have a few [college] coaches looking at me, so I want to keep going and trending upwards. It means a lot to do well today.”
Yermish is also a GAP member. Although they call Rolling Green Golf Club home, Yermish is familiar with 1912 as it serves as the Lower Merion High School golf team’s home course. They graduated from Lower Merion this spring.
“Tee to green I felt like I was playing really well,” Yermish, 17, a soon-to-be University of Michigan freshman, said. “I felt pretty solid, I was consistent off the tee and even on approach shots I had many putts for birdie within 10 feet.”
Although some birdie tries failed to drop, Yermish capitalized on three occasions. On No. 3 (par 5, 498 yards), a 5-wood from 215 yards landed nine feet from the pin for a two-putt birdie. A big putt after a 7-iron from 165 yards settled 30 feet from the hole on the par 4, 427 yard, fifth hole resulted in another circle on the card. They’re final red figure came on No. 17 (par 5, 470 yards) after Yermish’s 5-iron from 195 yards stopped 40 feet from the hole. Two putts resulted in another birdie.
“I made it when I was 12 years old, and I haven’t been able to get back there since,” Yermish, who qualified for the 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior, said. “I’ve changed my mindset at these qualifiers several different times. Last year, I was finally able to qualify and was medalist, and then I signed the wrong scorecard (resulting in disqualification from the event). It means a lot [to qualify] because I know how big it is and it feels good to go out on this note.”
Yermish’s family is moving to Pinehurst, N.C. tomorrow. Once they are settled, Yermish’s summer is full of golf tournaments including the Junior PGA Championships.
Yeung, 17, a recent commit to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, had a rough start to the day. She was 4-over par through her first four holes.
“It was a tough course,” Yeung, a rising senior at River Hill High School in Clarksville, Md., said. “The greens can be deceiving and I just kind of put my emotions aside and pushed through. I really didn’t think about the results and I think that’s [how] I made a big comeback.”
After collecting herself, she birdied Nos. 4, 7, 9 and 17. On the par 3, 205 yard, fourth hole, a 4-hybrid landed 40 feet from the hole resulting in a long putt dropping to change her round’s pace. On No. 7 (par 3, 146 yards), her 7-iron landed seven-feet from the hole for another red number. On No. 9 (par 4, 372 yards), she nearly holed her 52-degree wedge from 95 yards. After it came to rest 30 feet from the hole, she capitalized on the putt. On the 17th, she hit a 4-wood from 220 yards into the right greenside bunker. An up-and-down from the sand solidified her last red number.
“This was definitely one of my goals [this] summer, and to accomplish that feels amazing,” Yeung, who played in last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur, said. “Being able to go to Colorado for the first time and experience this really amazing event with all of the girls who are super talented as well is awesome.”
Tao grabbed the last piece of the medal at 1912 by holing three birdies. On No. 2 (par 3, 172 yards), her 7-wood landed 12-feet from the hole for her first red number. A 56-degree wedge from 75 yards landed 10 feet from the flagstick on No. 13 (par 4, 291) resulting in another birdie. Her final circle on the scorecard came on No. 14 (par 3, 192 yards) after she landed her 3-wood 60 feet from the hole and drained the lengthy birdie attempt.
“[The U.S. Girls’ Junior] is a really big [and] prestigious event to get into,” Tao, 14 and a rising sophomore at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., said. “I’m really grateful I am able to qualify.”
This is Tao first U.S. Girls’ Junior appearance.
The final qualifying position was captured by Sawant in a playoff. In regulation holes, she eagled No. 10 (par 4, 383 yards), her first hole, after her punch 7-iron trickled up onto the green and found the bottom of the cup. Birdies followed on Nos. 13, 3 and 7. She saw No. 10 again for the playoff. This time, she hit her 7-iron.
“[Qualifying] shows how my hard work over the years has paid off because this is a big moment for me,” Sawant, 17, a South Brunswick High School rising senior who will also be making her first trip to the Championship, said. “It’s going to motivate me to keep practicing and working hard.”
The 74th U.S. Junior Girls’ will be held at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 17-22.
| Name, club | Score |
| Gwendolyn Powell, Madison Township, Pa. | 72 |
| Angelina Tao, Coto De Caza, Calif. | 72 |
| Sydney Yermish, Wynnewood, Pa. | 72 |
| Helen Yeung, Clarksville, Md. | 72 |
| *Anushka Sawant, Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 73 |
| Alternates (in order) | |
| *Rhianna Gooneratne, Plymouth Meeting, Pa. | 73 |
| *Annelea Lavoie, Canada | 73 |
| Failed to qualify | |
| *Abigail Avallone, Bethesda, Md. | 73 |
| *Emma Lee, Scarsdale, N.Y. | 73 |
| *Claire Lu, Edison, N.J. | 73 |
| *Sunny Tianlang Wang, Peoples Republic of China | 73 |
| Lydia Portlock, San Antonio, Texas | 74 |
| Rui Sunny Wang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. | 74 |
| Elizabeth Beek, Blue Bell, Pa. | 75 |
| Zimo Li, Peoples Republic of China | 75 |
| Taylor Sieg, Summit, N.J. | 75 |
| Angelina Tolentino, Mount Laurel, N.J. | 75 |
| Lanzhi Victoria Wang, Hong Kong, China | 75 |
| Brooke OberParleiter, Jupiter, Fla. | 76 |
| Hannah Rabb, Watsontown, Pa. | 76 |
| Kayley Roberts, Phoenixville, Pa. | 76 |
| Mia Pace, Exton, Pa. | 77 |
| Zi Ge Rebecca Wang, Peoples Republic of China | 77 |
| Michelle Yeung, Clarksville, Md. | 77 |
| Kiersten Bodge, West Chester, Pa. | 78 |
| Mary Grace Dunigan, Kennett Square, Pa. | 78 |
| Julia Hua, Boyds, Md. | 78 |
| Elle Overly, Lititz, Pa. | 78 |
| Kate Roberts, Phoenixville, Pa. | 78 |
| Fannie Sukhumparnich, Bethesda, Md. | 78 |
| Caylin Wong, Great Neck, N.Y. | 78 |
| Renna Chang, Jericho, N.Y. | 79 |
| Kanchana Duangsam, Haymarket, Va. | 79 |
| Alexandra Engart, Harleysville, Pa. | 79 |
| Sophia Hong, Windermere, Fla. | 79 |
| Alexa Prettyman, Dublin, Ohio | 79 |
| Olivia Cong, Germantown, Md. | 80 |
| Danielle Higbee, Mickleton, N.J. | 80 |
| Megan Kirkpatrick, Woodbine, Md. | 80 |
| Sarah Lydic, Ocean View, Del. | 80 |
| Jillian Burks, Paoli, Pa. | 81 |
| Meredith Finger, Wilmington, Del. | 81 |
| Katherine Ng, Wellesly, Mass. | 81 |
| Allison Yang, Santa Clara, Calif. | 81 |
| Addison Butler, Bristow, Va. | 82 |
| Isabella Christy, Paintsville, Ky. | 83 |
| Sirina Ganne, Holmdel, N.J. | 83 |
| Kayla Maletto, Sinking Spring, Pa. | 83 |
| Jiezheng Grace Huang, Peoples Republic of China | 84 |
| Ava O’Sullivan, Exton, Pa. | 84 |
| Kiran Bagga, Blue Bell, Pa. | 85 |
| Mia Holbrook, Pound Ridge, N.Y. | 85 |
| Jewel Schaefer, Jamison, Pa. | 85 |
| Amanda Phillips, New York, N.Y. | 86 |
| Sarah Stumacher, Gladwyne, Pa. | 86 |
| Serena Bagga, Blue Bell, Pa. | 87 |
| Tanya Chowdary, Belle Mead, N.J. | 87 |
| Chelsea Nguyen, Oviedo, Fla. | 94 |
| Kexin Guan, Peoples Republic of China | NS |
| *-determined in playoff | |
| NS-no show |
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 340 Member Clubs and 100,000 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.
