Five Advance to the US Girls' Junior through Qualifier at OGA Golf Course
Woodburn, Ore.– Rain throughout the week should have meant softer greens and lower scores for the US Girls' Junior Qualifier at OGA Golf Course (6/24), however this was not the case. Forty-nine players started the day, scrapping for five qualifying spots and two alternate positions on the course, which played a long 6,238 yards.
Birdies were few and far between, as the entire field combined to only record 35 cumulative birdies. Megan Ratcliffe (Bowser, British Columbia) made four of those birdies en route to a 1-over par 71, good enough to claim medalist honors. One shot back was Madeline Chou (Santa Ana, California) and Susan Xiao (Surrey, British Columbia) who punched their tickets to the championship by each shooting 2-over par 74s. The final two qualifiers were local players, Ellie Slama (Salem, Oregon) and Camille Dozois (Lake Oswego, Oregon), who each came in with 4-over par 76s. Slama will be making her second consecutive appearance at the US Girls' Junior, after making it to the round of 32 in match play at last year’s championship. Victoria Gailey (Tigard, Oregon) and Han Hsuan Yu (Rancho Santa Fe, California) tied after shooting 5-over 77s to claim the two alternate positions.
The 2016 US Girls' Junior Championship will be held at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey from July 18-23, 2016. The 2016 Championship will be especially unique because the USGA will be using a mix of Ridgewood’s three 9-hole layouts to set up the course. The Ridgewood Country Club is no newbie to big events, hosting the Ryder Cup in 1935, the US Amateur in 1974, the PGA Tour’s Barclay’s Championship in 2008, 2010, and 2014, among other national championships.
