Quarter-Final Exits for Asia-Pacific Duo

Kentucky, United States: Australian Justice Bosio and New Zealander Fiona Xu had their dreams of glory at the 73rd US Girls’ Junior Championship dashed at the quarter-final stage.

Bosio, bidding to become only the second Australian after Minjee Lee in 2012 to win the title, went down 2&1 against American Gianna Clemente at The Club at Olde Stone.

Meanwhile, Xu suffered a one-down loss to American Sara Im. Nonetheless, her run to the quarter-final was the best performance by a New Zealand player in this championship since Lydia Ko lost in the semi-finals in 2012.

Today’s 36-hole final will be contested by 14-year-old Clemente and 15-year-old Yana Wilson.

The winner not only will join legendary champions such as Mickey Wright, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Hollis Stacy, Lexi Thompson, Ariya Jutanugarn and last month’s US Women’s Open champion Minjee Lee, but she will also earn a spot in next year’s US Women’s Open Presented by ProMedica at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.

Playing one of the best rounds of her burgeoning career, Clemente was as hot as the outside temperature (the mercury reached into the 90s again) by registering eight birdies over 13 holes in eliminating 16-year-old Colombian Maria Jose Marin, 6&5, in the first of the two semi-final matches.

Earlier on Friday, Clemente, who in 2019 became the third youngest to qualify for the US Women’s Amateur, defeating 18-year-old Bosio.

Now she has a chance to become the event’s fifth-youngest champion behind three 13-year-olds (Aree Wongluekiet, Lexi Thompson and Jenny Shin) and 14-year-old Park In-bee.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know that I was eight-under,” said Clemente, an Ohio native who recently relocated to Florida with her family to be closer to her Naples-based instructor Spencer Graham and take advantage of year-round golf. “I wasn’t thinking about that. I was just thinking about the putt that I was over or the shot that I was over. It was nice that all the putts dropped today. I know it’s not always going to be like that.”

Wilson, a quarter-finalist in last year’s championship and 87th in the women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, defeated 17-year-old Im 3&2, ending Im’s hopes of becoming the fourth female to win multiple USGA championships in the same year.

Im won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball in April with fellow Georgian Thienna Huynh. In the quarter-finals, Wilson defeated Nicole Gal, 17, of Canada, 5&4.