Kenmore, Wash. – Vanessa Zhang of Vancouver, B.C. shot 1-under-par 71 to earn medalist honors at today’s U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifier hosted by Inglewood Golf Club in Kenmore, Wash. Zhang was the only competitor in the 38-player field to shoot under par in this USGA national championship qualifier.
Claiming the other two spots available in today’s qualifier are Nicole Kato of Redmond, Wash., who shot even-par 72, and Taylor Mularski of Spokane, Wash., who shot 2-over-par 74 and then parred the second hole of a playoff to earn the final spot.
View full scores from today’s qualifier.
With her high school not having a golf team, Zhang, 15, plays mostly in AJGA events. She had been invited to play on the Canadian National Junior Squad but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts.
Kato will be a senior at Redmond (Wash.) High School. Last year she double-bogeyed the final hole of the U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifier to miss qualifying by one shot. Later this summer she will compete at the Junior Worlds. Her older brother Sean won the 2020 Washington Men’s Amateur.
Mularski, 18, just graduated from Mead High School in Spokane, Wash. A three-sport athlete, she is now focused entirely on golf and this fall will be playing on the women’s golf team at Gonzaga University in Spokane.
The first alternate for this qualifier is Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Wash. Second alternate is Rebecca Kim of Canada.
Washington Golf (WA Golf) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association and conducted this Qualifier for the 73rd U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.
The 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship takes place July 18-23 at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. To be eligible, golfers must have a Handicap Index of 9.4 or less. All entrants must not have reached their 19th birthday by June 23, 2022.
