Oh My! Playoff Survivor Upsets No. 2 Seed in U.S. Girls’ Junior Round of 64

Following a three-hole, 6-for-2 playoff on the dewy fairways of Old Chatham Golf Club Wednesday morning, sunny skies and rising temperatures set the stage for the top 64 players from stroke play to begin match play at the 77th U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.

For certain competitors, like 18-year-old Juliet Oh, of Diamond Bar, Calif., Wednesday's performance served as a triumphant reminder that match play rarely follows the script. For others, like first-year U.S. National Junior Team member and 2026 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier Zoe Cusack, a Round-of-64 victory was simply the first step toward an elusive USGA title. 

Just hours after surviving the playoff with a birdie on the 18th hole, Oh, an incoming University of Pennsylvania freshman, stunned Yujie Liu, 1 up, with another birdie on 18. Liu was coming off an 8-under-par 64 in Tuesday’s final round of stroke play to finish one stroke back of medalist Clairey Lin and earn the No. 2 seed in the bracket.

The match was tight throughout, with neither player taking an advantage greater than 1 up. Tied going into the final hole, Oh managed to roll in her 20-foot birdie putt to earn a Thursday morning tee time against fellow Californian Lily Peng. Peng defeated 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior semifinalist and USNJT member Grace Carter, 3 and 2. 

“We both hit our drives really straight. We were literally copying each other's shots, everything neck and neck,” Oh said of the deciding hole. 

“I had to hit my approach first and ... even though the pin was in a tough spot, I was just going for it. I pulled it left and thought, 'Great, we're probably going to need to play more than 18 holes.' I told my caddie she (Liu) was going to do something crazy, then she went into the bunker. She hit her third shot right next to the hole, and I was left with a 20-footer for birdie. My caddie saw it breaking left to right, while I thought it was the other way, but I trusted her read because she'd nailed a similar one [for me] in the playoff ... and it went in.” 

Her caddie for the day? None other than Kuree Little, a fellow competitor who missed the cut. The pair met through playing against each other on the same junior circuit in Southern California. 

“I wasn’t trying to play as aggressive today,” said Oh of her approach to the match. “I knew she was the No. 2 seed and I was okay if I didn’t win, because I was just happy that I made the cut ... We were both not playing the greatest. It was a tough round because we were both playing equally the entire time.” 

For the match, Oh shot the equivalent of 1-under 71, with the usual match-play concessions, while Liu posted a 73.

The Californian’s upset was one of multiple surprises that headlined a chaotic first day of match play that sent several of the week’s leading contenders packing their bags earlier than expected.  

The aforementioned Cusack, of Potomac, Md., was not one of those players.

The No. 12-seeded University of Virginia incoming freshman made five birdies, cruising to a 7-and-5 victory over Venezuela’s Maria Mercedes Tablante.

“I hit some close approach shots and was luckily able to make a couple of 8-to-10 footers for birdie,” said Cusack. “I think that just kept the momentum going. Then on hole No. 7, Maria made a great 40-foot putt for birdie, and I was able to respond by [making] my own 10-footer ... so, keeping honors and the momentum, that just helped me throughout the rest of the [match].”

Cusack also credited her U.S. National Development Program experience and playing against the world’s best at The Riviera Country Club last month for helping her prepare for this week’s championship. 

While Cusack failed to make the weekend in Pacific Palisades, Calif., she noted playing with the pros gave her confidence going into the rest of the summer: 

“This championship and the other USGA events are really amazing,” said Cusack. “The U.S. Women’s Open is just next level. I mean, you're with the pros, which is super cool, but I also think learning there, about how the pros prepare and go about their practice rounds, it just helped me better prepare for this week.”

After shooting an opening-round 9-under 63 that featured the USGA championship record for lowest nine-hole score by a female (28), Australia's Amelia Harris posted a disappointing 75 in Round 2. Still, she earned the No. 5 seed and wasted little time defeating Rececca Wang, of the People’s Republic of China, 6 and 5. 

“Match play is just a completely different mindset,” said Harris, No. 74 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®. “So, I just forgot about the last few days and just acted like I was going out and trying again to do my best.” 

Harris quickly put the second stroke play round behind her, building a 6-up lead through the first seven holes, thanks to birdies on Nos. 3, 6 and 7. Wang would win the next two holes, trimming the lead to 4 up heading into the turn, before the 2026 Australian Girls’ Amateur champion finished off her opponent with birdies on 11 and 13.  

“Everything,” said Harris when asked about what parts of her game were working during her match. “Today on the range, I was hitting it really well, and on the course, I was hitting [my] driver a lot straighter, hitting [my] irons a lot straighter, and putting a lot of them in. So, I think everything was good.” 

Michelle Lee, 15, a relatively unknown player in a field loaded with national team members and college signees, made waves with a 19-hole playoff victory over Anna Fang, a Class of 2027 Stanford verbal commit who, like Cusack, is a member of the U.S. National Junior Team. 

Trailing 1 down heading to the final hole, Lee birdied the 393-yard, par-4 18th to force extra holes. Another birdie on the 19th, the par-5 first, secured the 2025 PGA High School Golf National Invitational champion a berth in the Round of 32. Lee next faces Canadian standout and UCLA incoming freshman Michelle Xing, who defeated USNJT member Eliana Saga, 4 and 2. 

“I kind of knew that I needed a birdie to move on, so going into that tee shot – I missed my drives the past two rounds to the right – I just tried aiming a little left,” said Lee of tying the match on No. 18. “On the approach shot, I just hit it and hoped ... because it was a really hard shot ... but it ended up being the best iron shot I've hit this entire tournament, so I'm really proud of myself for clutching up when it mattered.” 

After earning medalist honors – and receiving her medal Wednesday morning from USGA Executive Committee member Jim Gorrie – top-seeded Clairey Lin, of Canada, continued to lean on her red-hot putter en route to a 3-and-2 victory over playoff survivor Annika Chen, of Chinese Taipei.  

Lin jumped to a quick 1-up lead thanks to a birdie on the first hole before Chen responded by winning the next two holes. Lin, the runner-up to Saga in last month’s RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic, answered back with birdies on three of the next six holes to take a 3-up lead into the turn.  

“Today was more up and down,” said the 17-year-old when asked about what went well during her match. “I would still say my putting. I've been putting well. I would say that's what stands out, especially the 15- to 20-foot range.” 

Carrying a 2-up lead into the short 249-yard par-4 16th, Lin watched her tee shot narrowly avoid a greenside bunker, settling just two feet from the back-right hole location, tapping in her putt and closing out her opponent with an emphatic eagle 2.  

“They made it drivable today,” said Lin, “I knew that if I hit a good one, it could get pretty close up there. The pin was in the back, so I just really wanted to try and get it to that front edge and give myself an easier look ... It went at the right edge of the bunker, and I just drew it in.” 

The day’s longest battle came in the form of a 24-hole match – tied for the fourth-longest in championship history – between 17-year-old Madeleine Conser, of Portland, Ore., and Bella Dovey, 18, of Orlando, Fla. 

Facing a 2-down deficit after No. 15, Conser eagled the par-4 16th – with a shot similar to Lin’s – and birdied No. 17 to tie her opponent and force a playoff. Heroic saves from both parties involved, pushed the match to a sixth playoff hole (24th overall) where the Oregonian, who is verbally committed to play at the University of Kentucky in 2027, pulled ahead by sticking a tough greenside bunker shot to 15 feet and burying the birdie putt to end the lengthy match. 

“At some point, you don't really have enough energy to think, so I was saving energy for the next shot,” Conser noted following the round. 

“On the last playoff hole, it was incredible to make that final putt and get up and down from the bunkers. It was sick.”  

Notable

• Annika Chen, of Chinese Taipei, and Juliet Oh, of Diamond Bar, Calif., advanced through the 6-for-2 playoff Wednesday morning.  

• Four U.S. National Junior Team members remain after Anna Fang, Eliana Saga, Mia Clausen and Grace Carter were eliminated in the Round of 64. The remaining four are Zoe Cusack, Amelie Zalsman, 2025 quarterfinalist Emerie Schartz and Jude Lee, who eliminated Raleigh’s Jenna Kim.   
  

• Former PGA Tour professional, Russell Knox, is on the bag for Sofia Rivera, who posted a 1-up victory over Erin Lee. Knox is Rivera’s uncle. He also caddied for her at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open. 

• Just two matches needed extra holes to decide the winner. Madeleine Conser defeated Bella Dovhey in a 24-hole match, the longest in the U.S. Girls’ Junior since 2007. 

• Savera Sandhu conceded her match against Ella June Hannant on the 15th hole due to illness. Hannant was 4 up going with four to play at the time of the concession. 

Quotable

“Yeah, I played a practice round with Anna [Fang] and I had lunch with Grace [Carter] one day. You see them on the range and it’s always good to see friends. I wish them all the best.” - Zoe Cusack on spending time with her U.S. National Junior Team teammates this week

“This course is really, really nice. It's very challenging though and I know that when I hit a bad shot it's on me, not the course. It's tough but I'm just happy to have played so well so far.” - Michelle Lee on her experience playing Old Chatham after three rounds

“Incredible. It still hasn't, like, really sank in yet. Coming into this week, I didn't even think about being medalist or anything close to that, and to leave with one is pretty cool.” - Clairey Lin on earning medalist honors

“It's really scary. I had no idea what was going to happen. I was trying so hard to get everything close to the hole and make birdies. It just didn't work out. Like that on the last hole, [Little] said, ‘If you make me carry your bag more than 21 holes, I'm going to kill you.’ I got really scared of her. I had to make the putt and do something. Whatever happens, whether I win or lose, I knew I would be okay because I made it this far. The fact that I wasn't like 5 down or something, that was already enough for me.” - Juliet Oh on the pressure of her close match and banter with caddie Kuree Little

“Inside, I'm always pretty confident, just believing I can do it. I like to think that I want to win every hole and I'm always trying to be confident. I don’t like to show it on the outside. But yeah, I'd say I'm confident going in tomorrow, so we'll see who I’m facing and how it goes.” Amelia Harris on the importance of playing with confidence