Gianna Clemente (USGA Photo)
Even though Gianna Clemente has not yet etched her name on the U.S. Girls’ Junior trophy, her performances in three starts have been downright stellar.
Going into the championship’s 75th edition at El Caballero Country Club, the 16-year-old from Estero, Fla., owned a 9-2 match-play record, which included a run to the championship match in 2022 and a semifinal showing a year ago in Colorado. Her overall USGA match-play mark, which counts the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title won at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash., is an impressive 16-6.
Make that 17-6.
Despite a slow start against 14-year-old Zilin (Grace) Xu, of the People’s Republic of China, Clemente broke open a tight match on the back nine to post a 4-and-2 victory in the Round of 64 on Wednesday.
Clemente joined three other U.S. National Junior Team members in the final 32 on what was a 4-0 day for the USGA’s newly created program: Asterisk Talley, 15, of Chowchilla, Calif., the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champion who also shared low-amateur honors in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally; Shyla Brown, 16, of McKinney, Texas; and Scarlett Schremmer, 17, of Birmingham, Ala., all advanced.
Stroke-play medalist and top seed Kinsley Ni, 16, of the People’s Republic of China, who came up a stroke shy of matching the 36-hole championship stroke-play mark after shooting 11-under total of 131, also advanced with a 3-and-2 triumph over No. 64 seed Cathy Zhang, the last survivor from the 8-for-3 playoff that determined the final match-play spots.
“My iron shots and driver, especially the driver, was a little weird today,” said Ni, still wearing the facemask to protect herself from the harsh sun. “I wasn’t able to hit so many fairways and greens. I made a lot of up-and-down [pars], which is pretty good.
“It was not like the past two days [of stroke play]. I am happy to see some positive things to come out of today. So very happy [to advance]. … Hopefully, I can do better tomorrow.”
The Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, 2023 runner-up Rianne Malixi, 17, of the Philippines, and 2024 USA Curtis Cup selection Jasmine Koo, 18, of Cerritos, Calif., each had two of the more lopsided victories. Malixi, committed to play for Duke University in 2025, won five of the first nine holes in eliminating Annie Jin, 6 and 5. Koo, an incoming freshman at the University of Southern California, bounced Marley Pedrique by the same margin.
Natalie Yen, 17, of West Linn, Ore., a 2025 commitment to Texas A&M, registered the largest margin of victory, 7 and 6, over Emma McKoan.
Clemente came into the championship at No. 22 in the WAGR, and despite a pedestrian 1-over 72 in Round one of stroke play, has nicely settled into the nuances of El Caballero Country Club. She dropped the opening two holes against Xu and was tied through 10 before converting a 30-foot birdie on the par-4 11th to take a 1-up lead that she would not relinquish. She then claimed Holes 13-16 to close out the match, getting some necessary rest for a possible 36-hole day on Thursday.
“If you ‘X’ out the first two holes, I played really good golf,” said Clemente. “Just getting it back going and getting a few putts to drop later in the [match]… That comes from experience for sure, because match play can be so up and down.”
Talley, the winner of this year’s Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, also ceded the first two holes to incoming UC Riverside freshman Sofia Vargas. A 10-foot birdie on the fourth hole kickstarted her day. Winning pars on 9 and 10 put Talley 2 up, and when Vargas missed a short par putt on the par-5 12th to go 3 down, the match was essentially over.
“I wasn’t playing my worst,” said Talley, a rising high school sophomore. “I was a little [upset], but I knew I was going to get it back. I was confident with myself. I just know deep down that I can turn it on when it’s important.”
Malixi, now owner of a 7-2 U.S. Girls’ Junior match-play record, played the equivalent of 6-under-par golf – with the usual concessions – over 13 holes to dispatch Jin, one of the three survivors from the 8-for-3 playoff.
Koo, the 2023 Women’s Western Amateur champion, was also 6 under over the 13 holes.
Of the four U.S. National Junor Team wins on Wednesday, Brown’s was the tightest. With several college coaches observing, the 2024 Kathy Whitworth Invitational champion built a 3-up lead through six holes against Kristina Xu, the younger sister of Stanford University standout and 2023 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier Kelly Xu.
Xu, of Claremont, Calif., won Nos. 8 and 9 to trim the deficit to 1 down. Saying it was the turning point, Brown, competing in her first U.S. Girls’ Junior, won the par-5 12th with a par, lost No. 14 with a bogey, and then parred the final four holes to advance, 1 up.
Schremmer, competing in her second U.S. Girls’ Junior, had a wild match with Juliana Hong, posting a 5-and-3 victory. The two competitors only tied four holes. Hong won the first before Schremmer took six of the next eight for a 5-up lead after nine. Hong won 11 and 12 to tighten things up, only to have Schremmer, who plans to attend the University of Texas in 2025, take 14 and 15, the latter with a birdie, to advance.