The average age of the Girls’ Junior competitors is 15.8 years old.
The youngest player in the championship is Karah Sanford, 12, of Escondito, Calif. She is approximately five months younger than Ellie Szeryk, of Allen, Texas. Yealimi Noh, of Concord, Calif., will turn 13 on July 26, the final day of the championship.
Gabrielle Barker, 17, of Caldwell, Idaho, is the oldest player in the championship. She will turn 18 on Aug. 3.
There are 12 countries represented at the championship: Australia, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States of America and Venezuela.
There are 33 states represented at the championship: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
There are no USGA individual champions in the field. Eun Jeong Seong, 14, of the Republic of Korea, was the runner-up at last week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship.
Cindy Ha, 17, of Demarest, N.J., was a member of New Jersey’s winning team at the 2013 USGA Women’s State Team Championship.
Four Girls’ Junior competitors qualified for the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open Championship:
- Megan Khang, 16, of Rockland, Mass. (75-79—MC)
- Andrea Lee, 15, of Hermosa Beach, Calif. (79-70-77-77—303, T69)
- Kathleen Scavo, 16, of Benicia, Calif. (83-73—MC)
- Bailey Tardy, 17, of Norcross, Ga. (81-78—MC)
Fourteen Girls’ Junior competitors played in last week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.:
- Mariel Galdiano, 16, of Pearl City, Hawaii (lost in round of 64)
- Jacquelyn Galloway,14, of Rio Rancho, N.M. (missed cut)
- Dominique Galloway, 16, of Rio Rancho, N.M. (lost in quarterfinals)
- Cindy Ha (lost in semifinals)
- Rose Huang, 16, of Honolulu (lost in round of 32)
- Michelle Kim, 16, of Canada (missed cut)
- Marianne Li, 17, of Bellevue, Wash. (lost in round of 64)
- Elsa Moberly, 17, of Science Hill, Ky. (missed cut)
- Robynn Ree, 17, of Redondo Beach, Calif. (lost in quarterfinals)
- Eun Jeong Seong, 14, of the Republic of Korea (stroke-play medalist and runner-up)
- Yeji Shin, 16, of Norwood, N.J. (missed cut)
- Patricia Wong, 17, of Walnut, Calif. (missed cut)
- Christina Yang, 16, of Suwanee, Ga. (missed cut)
- Angel Yin, 15, of Arcadia, Calif. (lost in round of 32)
Ten championship competitors are in the top 100 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf RankingTM as of Wed., July 16, the last WWAGR update prior to the start of the championship:
- Andrea Lee (No. 18)
- Megan Khang (No. 32)
- Marijosse Navarro, 17, of Mexico (No. 47)
- Bethany Wu, 17, of Diamond Bar, Calif. (No. 48)
- Mariel Galdiano (No. 51)
- Mika Liu, 15, of Beverly Hills, Calif. (No. 59)
- Princess Mary Superall, 17, of the Philippines (No. 61)
- Shelly Shin, 16, of Australia (No. 67)
- Lilia Khatu Vu, 16, of Fountain Valley, Calif. (No. 79).
There are two sets of sisters in the field:
- Caroline Caudill, 15, and Catherine Caudill, 14, of Clarksville, Tenn.
- Dominique Galloway, 16, and Jacquelyn Galloway, 14, of Rio Rancho, N.M.
General Player Notes
Emma Albrecht, 17, of Ormond Beach, Fla., appeared in a public-service announcement with Lorena Ochoa, Karrie Webb and Natalie Gulbis when she was 8 years old. Her father, Eric, is a former marketing executive with the LPGA Tour.
Gabrielle Barker, 17, of Caldwell, Idaho, won the 2013 Idaho Women’s Amateur and has finished in the top four every year since 2010.
Haley Bookholdt, 15, of Columbus, N.J., is on her high school’s lacrosse team.
Claire Cameron, 15, of Martinsville, Ind., won the 2013 Indiana Girls State Junior Championship and became the youngest winner in championship history.
Abigail Cantwell, 17, of Scottsdale, Ariz., was born in London, and moved to Lake Como, Italy, before her family settled in Arizona. She placed second in a European piano competition at age 10.
Kristin Dahee Chung, 17, of the Republic of Korea, was a top-15 finalist on Superstar K, a Korean singing competition similar to American Idol. Her father, Hwan Chung, was once the No. 1 ranked amateur golfer in Korea.
Annika Clark, 16, of Highlands, Texas, competed in the LPGA Tour’s 2014 North Texas Shootout.
Allisen Corpuz, 16, of Honolulu, Hawaii, played in the 2008 Women’s Amateur Public Links at age 10, making her the youngest competitor in USGA championship history.
Julia Dean, 14, of Brighton, Mich., is a former competitive soccer played and trained with the Michigan Olympic Development program.
Isabella DiLisio, 17, of Hatfield, Pa., was the runner-up at the 2014 Ione D. Jones/Doherty Championship. She is the great granddaughter of Nick Ciocca, who caddied for Ben Hogan when he won the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club.
Dree Fausnaugh, 17, of Lake Mary, Fla., once shot a commercial with Tiger Woods, who taught her how to hit a cut shot.
Megan Furtney, 13, of South Elgin, Ill., may be playing in her first U.S. Girls’ Junior, but she already has some championship experience. She caddied for her cousin at the 2013 Girls’ Junior.
Mariel Galdiano, 16, of Honolulu, qualified for the 2011 and 2013 U.S. Women’s Open Championships. She was the 2013 and 2014 Hawaii state high school champion, and plays the clarinet in the Punahou School band.
Dominique Galloway, 16, of Rio Rancho, N.M., won the 2013 Albuquerque Women’s City Golf Championship, becoming the youngest winner in championship history. She also won the 2013 New Mexico-West Texas Women’s Amateur and the 2014 New Mexico Class 5A high school girls championship.
Jacquelyn Galloway, 14, of Rio Rancho, N.M., became interested in the game of golf at age 5 when her older sister, Dominique, received her first set of golf clubs. Jacquelyn was so jealous of Dominique’s clubs that she snuck into her bedroom and stole the clubs.
Cindy Ha, 17, of Demarest, N.J., reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course in Norman, Okla., where she fell to Raychelle Santos. She made a hole-in-one on the 12th hole in her second-round victory over Grace Park. Ha won the 2011 New Jersey State Golf Association’s Junior Girls’ Championship.
MacKenzie Hawkes, 17, of Madison, Conn., won the 2014 Connecticut Women’s Golf Association’s Match-Play Championship.
Claire Hodges, 15, of Sorrento, Fla., plays golf and throws the shot put and discus for Lake Mary Preparatory School in Florida.
Hannah Ghelfi, 17, of East Falmouth, Mass., is a decorated ice hockey player. She plays for the Cape Cod Storm in the Falmouth Youth Hockey League, and the team won the U19 2014 Toyota-USA Hockey Tier II Girls National Championship.
Anna Hack, 17, of Murray, Ky., considers her high school teammate, 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Emma Talley, to be her greatest golf influence.
Rose Huang, 16, of Honolulu, is fluent in Mandarin. She has received all A’s since the seventh grade.
Megan Khang, 16, of Rockland, Mass., won the 2012 and 2013 Connecticut Women’s Open Championship. In 2009, Khang became the youngest qualifier in U.S. Girls’ Junior history. On the first day of the championship, she was 11 years, 8 months and 28 days of age.
Andrea Lee, 15, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., won the 2014 Rolex Tournament of Champions and Yani Tseng Invitational, both conducted by the American Junior Golf Association.
Binny Lee, 15, of Frisco, Texas, is the daughter of two martial arts masters. She is a first-degree black belt. Her mother, Nanyool Lee, won a gold medal in taekwondo at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
Mika Liu, 15, of Beverly Hills, Calif., won the 2014 Women’s Western Amateur and Southern Amateur Championships.
Janet Mao, 17, of Johns Creek, Ga., plays the piano and the cello. She plays in her high school’s orchestra and is active in the Notes of Joy club, which performs at senior living homes in her community.
Amelia McKee, 15, of Paso Robles, Calif., enjoys fundraising and raising awareness for Down Syndrome and autism, two medical conditions that have affected her family and friends. She wears one long sock and one short sock while playing golf, reminding people that being different and unique is OK.
Marijosse Navarro, 17, of San Antonio, Texas, won the 2010, 2012 and 2013 Mexican Women’s Amateur Championships. She reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur, where she fell to eventual runner-up Jaye Marie Green. Navarro enrolled at Texas A&M University for the spring 2014 semester, and finished sixth at the 2014 NCAA individual championship.
Hannah O’Sullivan, 16, of Paradise Valley, Ariz., qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open at age 14 and advanced to the round of 32 at the 2013 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. She tied for fourth at the 2013 Rolex Tournament of Champions, conducted by the American Junior Golf Association. O’Sullivan won the 2010 California Junior Girls’ State Amateur at age 12, becoming the event’s youngest winner.
Logan Otter, 17, of Saint Peters, Mo., attends John Burroughs School and plays on the girls golf team, where she is coached by six-time USGA champion and 2014 USA Curtis Cup Team Captain Ellen Port. Otter is the 2014 Missouri Women’s Golf Association Junior champion.
Maggie Rees, 17, of Carmel, Ind., was an anchor for her high school’s televised morning news announcements. Her girls golf team won the 2013 Indiana state title.
Kathleen Scavo, 16, of Benicia, Calif., won the 2012 and 2013 California Junior Girls’ State Championships.
Emily Salamy, 17, of Williamsburg, Va., plays the harp.
Karah Sanford, 12, of Escondito, Calif., was a national finalist at the 2014 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship.
Brooke Seay, 13, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., hit the ceremonial first tee shot at the Farmers Insurance Open conducted at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Erica Shepherd, 13, of Greenwood, Ind., is close family friends with Leigh Ann Hardin Creavy, the 1998 Girls’ Junior champion. Erica’s middle name, Leigh, was bestowed in honor of Leigh Ann, and she considers Leigh Ann to be her role model.
Gigi Stoll, 17, of Beaverton, Ore., won the 2014 Oregon Women’s Amateur Championship and the 2013 Oregon Junior Stroke Play and Junior Amateur Championships. At age 11, Stoll advanced to the national finals of the Elks Free Throw Shooting Championship at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., where she finished sixth.
Madison Thomas, 17, of Shelbyville, Ky., enjoys working with special-needs children. She hopes to major in pediatric special needs therapy.
Anita Uwadia, 16, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., won her age division at the 2014 African Youth Games, conducted at the Gaborone Golf Club in Gaborone, Botswana. Uwadia represented her birth country of Nigeria.
Susana Vik, 16, of Norway, has played for her country's junior national team.
Lilia Khatu Vu, 16, of Fountain Valley, Calif., won the 2014 KNC Champions Junior Classic. Her victory earned her a berth in the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship, where she made the cut and tied for 46th.
Samantha Wagner, 17, of Windermere, Fla., was the runner-up at the 2013 Kathy Whitworth Invitational and the 2012 Junior PGA Championship. In 2008, she became the first 11-year-old to qualify for the Girls’ Junior.
Lauren Waidner, 15, of Fleming Island, Fla., participated in equestrian events before she started playing golf. She was an Appaloosa world champion on a horse named Sheza Tattletale.
Brynn Walker, 16, of St. Davids, Pa., won the 2013 Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship.
Elizabeth Wang, 14, of San Marino, Calif., won the 2014 Rolex Junior Championship.
Emma Whitaker, 15, of Wichita, Kan., will carry the bag tag of her grandfather, Mark Whitaker, who competed in the 1961 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and introduced her to the game. Mark Whitaker passed away of melanoma, and Emma hopes to raise awareness of melanoma and sunscreen protection via the AJGA’s Leadership Links program.
Bethany Wu, 17, of Diamond Bar, Calif., won the 2013 and 2014 ANNIKA Invitationals.
Compiled by Christina Lance, the assistant manager of championship communications for the USGA. Email her at clance@usga.org.