Liu Underscores Title Credentials with Flawless 64

Durham, North Carolina, United States: China’s Liu Yujie fired a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to lead the way for the Asia-Pacific at the 77th US Girls’ Junior Championship.

A two-time winner on the China LPGA Tour, the 16-year-old recorded the best round of day two at Old Chatham Golf Club.

With a two-day aggregate of 12-under 132, Liu ended the 36-hole stroke play segment in second place, one stroke behind Canadian Clairey Lin.

Joining Liu among the top-64 who qualify for the match play phase were Japan’s Anna Iwanaga (136), Australians Amelia Harris (138) and Lara Thomsen (140), Singapore’s Chen Xingtong (139), Koreans Kim Seo-ah (140), Amy Lee (143) and Min Yi-soo (144), Chinese Taipei’s Lin Jie-en (141), Hong Kong’s Arianna Lau (142) and China’s Rebecca Wang Zige (146).

Hong Kong’s Sabrina Wong and Chinese Taipei’s Annika Chen posted 36-hole totals of 147 and were among six players who will return to the course early on Wednesday battling for the final two spots in match play.

Liu, who resides in Encinitas, California, was flawless in a round that contained eight birdies, four on the front nine and four on the back. Her 30-foot birdie attempt on the ninth hole, her last of the round, slid just an inch past the hole, preserving Lin's one-shot edge for medallist honours. 

Through 36 holes, Liu, 20th in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), recorded just one bogey.

Although she’s barely older than the field average of 16.37, Liu is one of the championship’s most accomplished players, winning the China LPGA Tour Beijing Women’s Open this year and the 2025 Guandong Women’s Open, while also recording a top-20 finish in this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur and reaching the Round of 64 in last year’s US Girls’ Junior.

“I feel like my favourite clubs in my bag are the driver and putter,” said Liu. “This golf course gives you so many opportunities. I’ve been saving a lot of up-and-downs in the last two days. I feel like that’s the part that I did really well.”  

Iwanaga, 16th in the WAGR, earned the number three seed for match play, posting eight-under-par 136. Following an inspired first-round of 66, the Osaka native posted just two birdies, but also made 16 pars.  
 
“Today, the shots were generally good,” said Iwanaga. “I was getting chances. I think it was good that I didn’t get myself into too many dangerous situations.”