Three Arizona golfers qualify to play in U.S. Girl’s Junior Championship

Ashley Menne, Breyana Matthews and Kelly Su make the cut at local USGA Girls Junior Amateur Qualifier

Mesa Country Club hosted the USGA Girls Junior Amateur Qualifier on June 13 where 47 girls from five Western states competed for a one of five spots into the upcoming 68th U.S. Girl’s Junior Championship to be held July 18-23 at The Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, N.J.

Ashley Menne of Surprise, Breyana Mathews and Kelly Su (both of Scottsdale) placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively in the one-round qualifier. Menne fired an even-par 72, Matthews finished at one-over par, and Su shot two-over par. Therese Warner of Kennewick, Washington took medalist honors at one-under par, while Zoe Campos of Valencia, California earned the final spot at three-over par.

Semifinal Matches air Friday, July 22 on FS1 2-4 PM EDT, with the Championship Match airing the next day – same time, same channel.

History of the U.S. Girl’s Junior Championship

The U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship was established in 1949, one year after the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Philadelphia (Pa.) Country Club, one of the oldest golf courses in the nation, was the host club for the USGA’s newest championship. The club’s Bala Course was constructed in 1891, three years before the birth of the USGA.

The championship has also helped launch the careers of such outstanding players as Mickey Wright, who won in 1952 and later captured four U.S. Women’s Open Championships, and JoAnne Gunderson Carner, who won the first of her eight USGA titles in the 1956 Girls’ Junior. Nancy Lopez won in 1972 and 1974, interrupted in 1973 by Amy Alcott, who went on to win the Women’s Open in 1980.

Girls’ Junior champions have won the Women’s Amateur 11 times and the Women’s Open 12 times. Furthermore, 19 Girls’ Junior champions have gone on to represent the USA on the Curtis Cup Team through 2015, including such names as Heather Farr, Gunderson Carner, Lopez, Stacy and Lexi Thompson.