36-Hole Final at Old Chatham: Medalist Lin Against USNJT Member Zalsman

Amelie Zalsman, 17, of St. Petersburg, Fla., was in full control on Friday at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, securing victories over 18-year-old Kacey Ly, of Temple City, Calif., and Missouri native Anna Bell to advance to the 36-hole final at Old Chatham Golf Club.

Zalsman, a second-year U.S. National Junior Team player, will face medalist Clairey Lin in Saturday's championship match for the chance to hoist the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy. Some of the game’s greats have etched their name on this trophy, including World Golf Hall of Famers Mickey Wright, JoAnne Gunderson, Amy Alcott, Nancy Lopez and Hollis Stacy as well as future U.S. Women’s Open champions Inbee Park, Minjee Lee and Ariya Jutanugarn, along with major champion Lexi Thompson. 

In her opening match of the day against Ly, a rising UCLA sophomore and reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Zalsman, a Wake Forest commit for 2027, jumped out to an early 2-up lead capitalizing on costly bogeys from the collegian on Nos. 3 and 5. 

Ly's college experience was no match for Zalsman's championship pedigree, as the five-time U.S. Girls' Junior competitor never looked back after taking an early lead. 

The second-year U.S. National Junior Team member piled on birdies on the eighth and 10th holes to extend her lead eventually going 4 up with a 3 on the 140-yard par-3 12th hole. A birdie from Ly on the following hole stopped the bleeding, but Zalsman maintained her 3-up advantage into No. 16, sealing the quarterfinal match with a par to win, 3 and 2. 

In her afternoon semifinal encounter against Bell, the youngest remaining player (15 years old), Zalsman's championship experience again shined through as she cruised to a 6-and-4 victory. 

Riding the momentum from her morning victory, the 17-year-old, who reached the Round of 16 at The Women's Amateur Championship last month at Muirfield in Scotland, claimed a 1-up advantage on No. 2 before winning Nos. 4, 7 and 8 to build a commanding 3-up lead through eight holes.

Bell showed some fight on the ninth, making birdie on the 362-yard par 4 to trim the deficit by a hole, but that would be the Missourians' final shining moment as Zalsman responded with birdies on Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 14, closing out the match in dominant style, 6 and 4, with a two-putt birdie 4 on the par-5 14th. 

“My match this morning went pretty good. I think I honestly played solid all day,” said Zalsman, who qualified for the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club as a 15-year-old. “I mean, the first match I didn't have any bogeys. The second match, I made one bogey but still was able to win the hole.”

Despite the loss, Bell, the pride of Poplar Grove -- a town of 17,000 known as the "Gateway to the Ozarks" -- earned a bronze medal and an exemption into the next two U.S. Girls' Junior Championships. 

“I'm very excited to return next year and hope to make it this far, maybe a little further hopefully,” said Bell following the defeat. “I'm going to prep for it and just keep putting in the hard work and try to come back next year stronger.”

Lin, competing in her third U.S. Girls’ Junior, has been the championship’s most consistent player, earning medalist honors with a 13-under-131 total in stroke-play and dominating the first four rounds of match play. She played the 18th hole for the first time since Tuesday in the semifinals against 2026 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier Athena Singh, holding on for a 1-up win. 

Lin opened Friday with a 2-and-1 victory over Arizona's Aubrey Hilgers, the longest match she had played to that point in the championship. She would go one hole longer in the afternoon. 

In the quarterfinals, Lin struck first with a 5 on the par-5 fifth after Hilgers made bogey. Two down after No. 9, Hilgers brought the match within one with a winning par on the 10th. Matching pars on Nos. 11-14 would keep the match close before Lin broke through with a final birdie on No. 15 to seal her semifinal berth. 

Facing 17-year-old Singh in the afternoon, Lin found herself trailing midway through the match against the Morehead, Ky., resident. 

Trailing in a match for the first time all week after dropping Nos. 6 and 7, the top seed quickly erased the deficit with a birdie on No. 10, capitalizing on a Singh bogey to square the match.

Back in the driver's seat, Lin seized the momentum by extending her win streak to four consecutive holes with birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 13. 

“I think part of it was knowing these pin locations,” said Lin on her consecutive birdies “I played it in the morning, so I was familiar with what the ball was doing, especially near the hole. There came a few putts like on hole 12 and 13, I knew what the ball was going to do exactly. So, I was able to hit good putts and take it from there.”

With pressure mounting, Singh, a runner-up in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball with Kiera Yun, found her stride, earning a pivotal win on No. 14 to get within 2 down. She closed to within a hole with a brilliant tee shot on the par-3 17th hole to 6 feet to send the match into the final hole of regulation. 

However, Singh's hopes of forcing extra holes were short-lived as she missed the green to the left with her approach, while Lin calmly two-putted. Lin can now become the first medalist to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior since Rose Zhang in 2021.

Despite the loss, Singh, like Bell, earns an exemption into next year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior at Canterbury Golf Club, in Cleveland, Ohio. It will be her last opportunity to win the title before she ages out of the championship.  

“I'm really excited for next year,” said Singh, an incoming freshman at Texas A&M. “That will be my last one. It's nearby. I live in Kentucky, so Ohio is a next-door neighbor to us. I'm excited I get to play. Especially being in college, I think it would be a really unique experience to be in college and still play in this event.”

If history serves as any indication, Lin’s chances of winning the final are a strong possibility; the last four medalists to make the finals have all won their championship match (Rose Zhang, 2021; Ariya Jutanugarn, 2011; Amy Anderon (now Olson), 2009; and Julieta Granada, 2004). The last medalist to make the finals and not win the championship was Inbee Park in 2003. Park, the defending champion, led 5 up after 10 holes, yet lost the match to Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, 1 up.   

“I'm so excited,” Lin said about making it the finals. “I did a lot of work coming into this tournament and a lot of thinking ... To see all of the work pay off, to like really make it this far, it means everything.”

What’s Next

Saturday’s 36-hole championship match will begin with the morning 18 at 7:30 a.m. EDT and then resume for a second 18 after a short lunch break. Live stream coverage will begin on GolfChannel.com at 2 p.m. EDT. Golf Channel will re-air the final match broadcast at 6 p.m. EDT. Tee times were moved up one hour due to an impending late-afternoon thunderstorm. 

Notable

• The semifinal losers, provided they are age-eligible, are exempt into the next two U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships. Next year’s event will be contested at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2028 U.S. Girls’ Junior host site has yet to be announced.  

• The two finalists are now exempt into next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at The Honors Course, in Ooltewah, Tenn. The champion earns an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Inverness Club, in Toledo, Ohio., while also receiving a spot in the 2027 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort & C.C. (Course No. 2).  

• A win in tomorrow’s match for Clairey Lin, of Canada, would mark the first time that back-to-back Canadian players have won a USGA championship.  

• Amelie Zalsman has played 81 holes during her five rounds of match play. Lin has needed 82 to reach the final.  

• Zalsman, who is competing in her eighth USGA championship, is looking for her first USGA title. Her best finish in a USGA championship was a Round-of-32 appearance in the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior at El Caballero Country Club, in Tarzana, Calif. 

Quotable 

"This tournament, the stroke play [rounds] is what kind of boosted my confidence. I competed against some really great players, and I beat a lot of them. So that kind of boosted my confidence, just seeing that I could really contend to this level. I've made it this far throughout my matches, which I'm very proud of myself about." - Anna Bell reflecting on her run to the semifinals in the U.S. Girls' Junior 

“I try not to let it, but I think it's a huge honor to have these cameras on us and have these people following. I think it's really cool that people take their time to come out and watch me play. So it's more of an honor than anything.” - Clairey Lin on if playing in front of the television cameras affects her play. 

"A bit tired, honestly, but it's amazing. This is my fifth time playing this championship, and I haven't even been close to making it this far. So whatever happens tomorrow, I'm just really happy with how I have been performing this week." - Amelie Zalsman on how she's feeling going into tomorrow's championship round. 

“Yeah, I was excited to play with her today. I think it's interesting, since I was one of the lowest seeds coming in, so seeing that match and seeing that we both got this far, it was pretty exciting for me. She's a really great player, and she really deserved to win.” - Athena Singh on playing against medalist Lin during the semifinals.  

“First of all, I didn't know about that. Now I feel amazing, like whoa! I was in the locker room with a few of my friends before, and although they left this week already, they keep telling each other, ‘I'll see you at [The U.S. Women’s Amateur], I'll see you there.' And I'm like, well, I won't see them at the Am, but I guess I am now. Pretty cool. I'm so excited.” - Lin reacting to earning an exemption into next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at The Honors Course, in Ooltewah, Tenn.