U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR

Fast Facts for 2026 U.S. Girls' Junior

By David Shefter, USGA

| Oct 24, 2025 | Liberty Corner, N.J.


Championship Venue	Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham, N.C.
Dates of Championship	July 13-18
Opened	2001
Architect	Rees Jones
Field	156 competitors
Yardage/Par	6,491 yards
Course and Slope Rating	77.9/142
Entries Accepted	1,486
Eligibility	Open to any female amateur players who have not reached the age of 19 by July 18 and whose Handicap Index® does not exceed 5.4.
Qualifying	Qualifying, over 18 holes, was conducted at 42 sites from May 20-July 1. Click here for results.
2025 Championship	Aphrodite Deng, 15, became the first Canadian to win the U.S. Girls' Junior with her 2-and-1 victory over Xingtong Chen, of Singapore at the Atlanta Athletic Club's Riverside Course. The victory capped a great 2025 competitive season for Deng, who also won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and the Mizuho Americas Open alongside LPGA Tour players at Liberty National Golf Club, in Bayonne, N.J. To read more, click here.
Quotable	"It really means a lot. I just can't believe that I won. I didn't really think about the end result because I knew there were a lot of good players here. I just tried to win each match.” -- Aphrodite Deng
What Champion Receives	-A gold medal -Custody of the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy for one year -Exemptions into all future U.S. Girls' Junior Championships for which she is age-eligible -Exemption into the 2027 U.S. Women's Open Championship at Inverness Club, in Toledo, Ohio -Exemptions into the 2026 and 2027 U.S. Women's Amateur Championships -Invitation to the 2027 Augusta National Women's Amateur -Name engraved on 2026 USGA Champions' plaque that resides in USGA Museum's Hall of Champions in Liberty Corner, N.J.
Hole by hole	OLD CHATHAM GOLF CLUB Hole 1: 544 yards (Par 5) Hole 2: 151 yards (Par 3) Hole 3: 353 yards (Par 4) Hole 4: 414 yards (Par 4) Hole 5: 392 yards (Par 4) Hole 6: 544 yards (Par 5) Hole 7: 173 yards (Par 3) Hole 8: 331 yards (Par 4) Hole 9: 340 yards (Par 4) OUT: 3,242 yards (Par 36) Hole 10: 333 yards (Par 4) Hole 11: 544 yards (Par 5) Hole 12: 190 yards (Par 3) Hole 13: 363 yards (Par 4) Hole 14: 495 yards (Par 5) Hole 15: 396 yards (Par 4) Hole 16: 362 yards (Par 4) Hole 17: 163 yards (Par 3) Hole 18: 403 yards (Par 4) IN: 3,249 yards (Par 36) TOTAL: 6,491 yards (Par 72)
Exempt Players (72)	Xingtong Chen (2025 U.S. Girls' Junior runner-up; 2025 U.S. Girls' Junior semifinalist; 2025 U.S. Girls' Junior quarterfinalist; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Zoe Cusack (Qualified for 2026 U.S. Women's Open; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Grace Carter (2025 U.S. Girls' Junior semifinalist; 2025 U.S. Girls' Junior quarterfinalist) Rayee Feng (2025 U.S. Girls' Junior semifinalist; 2025 U.S. Girls' Junior quarterfinalist; Completed 72 holes at 2025 U.S. Women's Open; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Emerie Schartz (2025 U.S. Girls' Junior quarterfinalist) Arianna Lau (2025 U.S. Women's Amateur quarterfinalist; Top 20 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of March 11, 2026; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Aira Nagasawa (Low eight individual scorers and ties from 2025 Women's World Amateur Team Championship; Top 20 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of March 11, 2026) Shauna Liu (2025 champion of Canadian Junior Girls, Presented by BDO; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Lily Reitter (2025 champion of R&A Girls' Amateur Championship) Michelle Xing (2025 champion of Canadian Women's Amateur, Presented by BDO; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Martina Galdeano Autrique (2026 champion of Campeonato Nacional Infantil Juvenil) Anna Iwanaga (Top 20 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of March 11, 2026; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Seojin Park (Top 20 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of March 11, 2026; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Yujie Liu (Top 20 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of March 11, 2026; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Anna Fang (Top 20 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of March 11, 2026; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Amelie Zalsman (Top 20 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of March 11, 2026; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Nikki Oh (Top 20 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of March 11, 2026; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Amelia Harris (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Seoah Kim (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Jude Lee (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Clairey Lin (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Amy Lee (Qualified for 2026 U.S. Women's Open) Jie-En Lin (Qualified for 2026 U.S. Women's Open; Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Kacey Ly (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Yisoo Min (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Lily Peng (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Gio Raad (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Sofia Rivera (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Eliana Saga (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Maria Mercedes Tablante (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Lara Thomsen (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Sabrina Wong (Top 50 age-eligible point leaders in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 6) Maddie Smith (2025 champion of Massachusetts Girls' Junior Amateur Championship) Honorine Nobuta Ferry (2025 champion of Texas Junior Amateur) McKenna Nelson (2025 champion of Wisconsin Junior Girls Championship) Ella Wilson (2025 champion of Idaho Girls' Junior Amateur) Madeleine Conser (2025 champion of Pacific Northwest Junior Girls' Amateur) Kuree Little (2025 champion of Southern California Junior Amateur Championship) Dia Singh (2026 champion of Oklahoma Junior Girls Championship) Niuniu Zhao (2026 champion of Washington State Junior Amateur) Merritt Daniel (2026 champion of Alabama Girls State Junior) Anna Bell (2026 champion of Missouri Junior Match Play Championship) Isabella Coughlin (2026 champion of Tennessee Girls' Junior Championship) Naomi Koontz (2026 champion of Kansas Girls Junior Amateur) Maya Fujisawa Keuling (2026 champion of Indiana Girls State Junior Championship) Brooke Thiele (2026 champion of Nebraska Girls' Amateur) Nikitha Suresh (2026 champion of Ohio Junior Girls Championship) Ainsley Wilson (2026 champion of Iowas Junior Girls Championship) Grace Lee (2026 champion of Georgia Girls' Championship) Elisha Yim (2026 champion of Maryland Girls' Junior Amateur) Lisa Copeland (2026 champion of Illinois State Junior Girls Championship) Bella Dovhey (2026 champion of Florida Girls' Junior Championship) Kieley Hanson (2026 champion of Minnesota State Junior Girls' Championship) Kate Walker (2026 champion of UGA Utah Girls' Junior State Amateur Championship) Cate Leydig (2026 champion of Montana State Junior Championship) Alexis Lamadrid (2026 champion of Arizona Junior Girls State Championship) Jenna Kim (2026 champion of North Carolina Junior Girls' Championship) Willa Borough (2026 champion of Girls' Kentucky Junior Amateur) Mia Carles (2026 champion of Carolinas Junior Girls' Championship) Sixtine Charnelet (2026 champion of Michigan Girls' Junnior Amateur) Nina Choe (2026 champion of New York State Girls' Junior Championship) Hanson Chanhassen (2026 champion of Minnesota State Junior Girls' Championship) Vidhi Lakhawala (2026 champion of New Jersey Junior Girls' Championship) Lois Lee (2026 champion of Texas Junior Amateur) McKenna Nelson (2026 champion of Wisconsin Junior Girls' Championship) Erin Le Nguyen (2026 champion of California Junior Girls State Championship) Juyeon Paek (2026 champion of Connecticut Girls Junior Amateur) Macie Rasmussen (2026 champion of VSGA Junior Girls' Championship) Nikitha Suresh (2026 champion of Ohio Junior Girls Championship) Sadie Westbrook (2026 champion of South Carolina Junior Championship) Eliza Yelverton (2026 champion of Mississippi Junior Amateur Championship) Alyssa Zhang (2026 champion of Pennsylvania Junior Girls' Championship)
U.S. Girls' Juniors in North Carolina (3)	1989: Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines (Brandie Burton) 2006: Carmel Country Club, Charlotte (Jenny Shin) 2010: The Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst (Doris Chen)
Previous notable events held at Old Chatham Golf Club	2009 North Carolina Amateur (Mark McMillen) 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur (Bob Royak)
Notable U.S. Girls' Junior Champions	Mickey Wright (1952); JoAnne Gunderson Carner (1956); Hollis Stacy (1969-71); Nancy Lopez (1972, 1974); Amy Alcott (1973); Pat Hurst (1986); Michelle McGann (1987); Brandie Burton (1989); Kelli Kuehne (1994); Beth Bauer (1997); Inbee Park (2002); Julieta Granada (2004); I.K. Kim (2005); Lexi Thompson (2008); Ariya Jutanugarn (2011); Minjee Lee (2012); Eun Jeong Seong (2015-16), Rose Zhang (2021), Kiara Romero (2023), Rianne Malixi (2024)
Notable U.S. Girls' Junior Runners-Up	Mickey Wright (1950); Barbara McIntire (1951, 1952); JoAnne Gunderson Carner (1955); Amy Alcott (1971); Vicki Goetze (1990); Grace Park (1996); Candie Kung (1997); Inbee Park (2003, 2005); Jane Park (2004); Kimberly Kim (2009); Alison Lee (2012); Angel Yin (2015); Andrea Lee (2016), Asterisk Talley (2024)
Fast Fact	Former USGA president Jim Hyler is a member at Old Chatham Golf Club.
Schedule of Play	Monday, July 13 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes) Tuesday, July 14 (Stroke Play, Round 2, 18 holes) Wednesday, July 15 (Round of 64, match play) Thursday, July 16 (Round of 32/Round of 16, match play) Friday, July 17 (Quarterfinals/Semifinals, match play) Saturday, July 18 (Championship Match, 36 holes)
Match-Play Cut	The low 64 scorers will advance to match play. If necessary, a playoff will be conducted to cut down to 64 players.
Broadcast Schedule (All Times EDT)	Friday, July 17 Quarterfinal Highlights/Semifinal Matches: Golfchannel.com, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Quarterfinal Highlights/Semifinal Matches: Golf Channel, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (Tape Delay) Saturday, July 18 Championship Match (Afternoon 18): Golfchannel.com, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Championship Match (Afternoon 18), Golf Channel, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Future Sites	2027: Canterbury Golf Club, Cleveland, Ohio/July 12-17 2029: Eugene (Ore.) Country Club/July 16-21 2030: The Country Club, Brookline, Mass./July 15-20 2031: Trinity Forest Golf Club, Dallas, Texas/July 14-19 2032: Pinehurst Resort & C.C., Village of Pinehurst, N.C./July 12-17 2033: Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio/Dates TBD 2034: Sand Valley Resort, Nekoosa, Wis./July 17-22 2035: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore./July 16-21 2037: Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis./July 13-18 2038: Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course), Bloomfield Hills, Mich./July 12-17 2045: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore./Dates TBD

Fast Facts for 2026 U.S. Girls' Junior

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