Malixi to Face Romero in 36-Hole US Girls’ Junior Final

Colorado, United States: Rianne Malixi and Kiara Romero will square off in Saturday’s 36-hole championship match of the 74th US Girls’ Junior Championship at the US Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course.

Malixi, of the Philippines, eliminated American Leigh Chien 4&2 in the first semi-final.

Romero knocked out 2022 runner-up and 2023 US Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champion Gianna Clemente, two-up, in the second of the semi-finals on Friday afternoon.

Malixi, who is 95th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), is looking to become the second Filipina to win this title, following Princes Mary Superal in 2014. Dottie Ardina lost in the 2011 final to future US Women’s Open champion Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand. Yuka Saso also won the 2021 US Women’s Open representing the Philippines.

“It means a lot,” said 16-year-old Malixi, a rising high school junior who hopes to snag her first major junior title.

“I’ve always put myself in these kinds of positions, but I [haven’t] got the job done. But hopefully I do [it] tomorrow. I know it’s not going to be an easy win. So, patience, grit and playing smart out there will really pay off in getting over the hump.”

Coming into the semi-finals, 17-year-old Chien had twice rallied from three-down deficits, including a 19-hole quarter-final victory over Sidney Yermish on Friday morning. The other comeback came in the Round of 32 against 2022 US Women’s Amateur co-medallist Alice Zhao Ziyi of China.

But against the steely Malixi, she never recovered from losing four consecutive holes, beginning on the fifth, to trail three-down at the turn. Malixi eventually closed it out on the par-five 16th hole with a conceded birdie.

“I know I was dominating, but I didn’t try to be as confident. I tried to be as neutral as I can be. Because the match wouldn’t be over until it’s over. I just kept on grinding out there,” said Malixi on her mindset after taking a three-up lead.

Chien, who has committed to attend Stanford University in 2024, said: “I’ve been having some swing issues this week. So as the week goes on I get more tired, it’s just harder to get back. I had trouble hitting fairways. My irons weren’t going very straight. Nothing really worked out [in the afternoon]. But it was a good round.”

Earlier on Friday, Malixi eliminated University of Texas redshirt freshman and 2023 US Women’s Open qualifier Farah O’Keefe, one-up.

An incoming University of Oregon freshman, 17-year-old Romero, the number three seed from stroke play, avenged a 2&1 defeat to Clemente in the Round of 16 of last year’s US Girls’ Junior at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

“I knew going into today I would have to play good, especially against Gianna. She’s a great player,” said Romero, who finished third in the 2022 Girls Junior PGA Championship. “I can’t really control what she’s going to do. I just focused on my game and tried to hit as many greens and fairways as I could and take it from there.”

The match turned on the 15th hole when Romero rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt to tie the contest. One hole later, 15-year-old Clemente, who is 40th in the women’s WAGR, topped her second shot on the 562-yard, par-five.

Her third from 210 yards out came up short of the green and she failed to get up and down for par, ending a string of 47 holes without a bogey. Romero managed a two-putt par to take a one-up lead.

“That putt on 15, the long one, that’s what really got me in,” said Romero. “It got me back to even. Then the next hole I just kept going with it and I got a lot of confidence coming into the last few holes.”

Both players missed the green on the 183-yard, par-three 17th, resulting in matching bogeys. Then on 18, needing to win the hole, Clemente’s approach stopped 30 feet short of the flagstick, while Romero stuffed her approach to six feet. When Clemente missed, Romero calmly converted her fifth birdie of the match.

Clemente had come into the final fresh off a pair of big victories, including a 3&2 triumph in the Round of 16 over world number four Anna Davis, the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion. She then made five birdies in ousting Mexican Clarisa Temelo 6&5, in the quarter-finals on Friday morning.

“I’m pretty frustrated with the ending today, but overall it was a solid week,” said Clemente, now 9-2 in match play at this championship. “I really had it going for a stretch of two-three matches and just had an off afternoon today. Kiara played great and that’s just match play. I will take some good positives from the week and cannot wait to be in Los Angeles for the US Women’s Am at Bel Air Country Club.”

After taking a two-up lead on the front nine, Romero needed a seven-minute medical break on the eighth hole to deal with a bloody nose from the altitude.