In-Bee Park Becomes Second Youngest Player To Win Girls’ Junior

Westfield, N.J. – Fourteen-year-old In-Bee Park of Eustis, Fla., defeated Jenny Tangtiphaiboontana, 17, of Long Beach, Calif., 4 and 3, Saturday to win the 54th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at the par-73, 6,353-yard Echo Lake Country Club in front of roughly 500 fans. In doing so, Park became the second-youngest champion behind Aree Wongluekiet, who won the event in 1999 at 13 years, three months and seven days.  

An Audio Interview with the Champion

Hear an audio interview with 2002 U.S. Girls' Junior Champion In-Bee Park. 

A Look At The Semifinalists

In-Bee Park, 14, of Eustis, Fla., is playing in her second Girls’ Junior. In 2001, she made it to the final 32 of match play. She was this year’s medalist with a score of 141, 5 under par. She has been playing golf since the age of 10. She was born in Seoul, Korea, but moved to the U.S. to pursue her dreams in golf. She attends 8th grade at Christian Home & Bible School. She enjoys playing the piano, computer games and swimming. Some of her recent wins include: 2002 AJGA Girls’ Junior, 2002 Florida State Girls’ Junior and 2001 Westfield PGA Junior. She was a 2001 AJGA Polo All-American Honorable Mention. Her career low is 66 at Mission Inn in the 2001 Florida Junior Invitational.  

Brady Trying To Follow In Footsteps Of Mom

Westfield, N.J. — When Chris Brady captured the Trans-National Junior trophy two years ago, a familiar name jumped out at her. There under 1968 was Peggy Harmon. That might not mean much to most, but Chris recognized her mom’s maiden name right away.  

Buelow, 11, Not Intimidated By Championship

Westfield, N.J. — Call it a “rookie” mistake. Any unsuspecting 11 year old could have committed the error. The twig was just sitting there in the bunker and Alexandria Buelow thought she could just pick the stick up and toss it aside like any other loose impediment. So at the 13th hole of Buelow’s U.S. Girls’ Junior sectional qualifier at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla., she did just that.  

2002 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship Fact Sheet

July 22-27
Echo Lake Country Club, Westfield, N.J.

 

PAR AND YARDAGE – Echo Lake Country Club will play at 6,353 yards and par is 36-37—73.

VENUE – Echo Lake was designed by Donald Ross and George Low and opened in 1919.

TICKETS – Admission for all six days of the championship is FREE of charge. Spectators are invited to walk the fairways behind the players, but no cameras are allowed during the days of competition.

SCHEDULE – Practice rounds will be held Saturday, July 20, and Sunday, July 21. The starting field of 156 players will play two rounds of stroke play, with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play. The schedule is below:

  • Monday, July 22 – First round of stroke play
  • Tuesday, July 23 – Second round of stroke play
  • Wednesday, July 24 – First and second rounds of match play
  • Thursday, July 25 -- Third and quarterfinal rounds of match play
  • Friday, July 26 —Semifinals, match play (18 holes at 8:30 and 8:45 a.m.)
  • Saturday, July 27—Final, match play (18 holes) at 9 a.m.

CAN I PLAY? – The U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is open to female amateur players who will have not reached their 18th birthday on or before July 27, and who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 18.4.

ONLINE—Log on to the USGA Internet site at www.usga.org for the latest and most complete U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship information.

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DEFENDING CHAMPION – Nicole Perrot of Santiago, Chile, defeated Whitney Welch, 3 and 2, to win the 2001 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Indian Hills Country Club in Mission Hills, Kan. She was 17 when she won the title and is not eligible to defend her title.

2001 CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP – Nicole Perrot, 17, of Santiago, Chile, birdied the 10th hole of the seesaw match to gain the lead for good to defeat Whitney Welch, 17, of Las Vegas, Nev. Perrot hung on to win her first USGA title, 3 and 2, by winning the 15th and 16th holes.

"This match was really difficult because we were all square, 1 up and 1 down," said Perrot. "On hole No. 9, I missed the putt and then said, ‘Now if this match is going to anyplace, I have to put the pressure on her for the second nine.’"

Welch, who started playing golf less than three years ago, hit her drive on the par-4 15th into a fairway bunker and could not convert her par putt. With a 2-up lead at the 16th tee, Perrot drove into the fairway and hit a 4-iron to 20 feet and two-putted. Perrot, who hit all 13 fairways in the match, won the championship when Welch’s short par putt edged pass the hole.

Two weeks after winning the U.S. Girls Junior Championship, Perrot almost did the unheard of – winning the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same year. Perrot went all the way to the final of the Women’s Amateur before falling to Meredith Duncan in 37th holes.

TOP RETURNEES – Thirteen golfers are exempt into this U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship by virtue of their play in past USGA women’s events, including the U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur, and U.S. Women’s Open. They are:

  • Mallory Code of Tampa, Fla. –2000 and 2001 Girls’ Junior round of 16, 2001 U.S. Women’s Amateur match play qualifier
  • Sukjin Lee of Inchun, Korea – 2000 and 2001 Girls’ Junior round of 16
  • Nicole Hage of Coral Springs, Fla. – 2001 Girls’ Junior round of 16 and 2002 U.S. Women’s Open
  • Eom Ji Park of Seoul, Korea – 2001 Girls’ Junior round of 16
  • Jane Park of La Crescenta, Calif. – 2001 Girls’ Junior round of 16
  • Amber Prange of Noblesville, Ind. – 2001 Girls’ Junior round of 16
  • Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla. - 2001 Girls’ Junior round of 16and 2001 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier
  • Whitney Wade of Glasgow, Ky. – 2001 Girls’ Junior round of 16
  • Cindy Shin of McKinney, Texas – 2000 Girls’ Junior round of 16"
  • Christy Larrimore of Severna Park, Md. – 2000 Girls’ Junior round of 16
  • Anna Grzebian of Narragansett, R.I.– 2000 and 2001 U.S. Women’s Amateur match play qualifier
  • Jennifer Hong of Mishawaka, Ind. – 2001 U.S. Women’s Amateur match play qualifier
  • Dana Je of Seoul, Korea – 2000 U.S. Women’s Amateur match play qualifier

FOR THE WINNER— The champion of the U.S. Girls’ Junior will receive:

• A gold medal, and custody of the Glenna Collett Vare Trophy for the ensuing year. The runner-up receives a silver medal; the other semifinalists receive bronze medals. The qualifying medalist receives a bronze medal

• An exemption from sectional qualifying for future U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships, if otherwise eligible

• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next two U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships

• An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, if otherwise eligible.

ENTRIES – The USGA accepted a record 870 entries for the 2002 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. The previous high was 858 in 2001. Entries closed June 5.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING – Sectional qualifying was held at 30 sites from June 24 - July 9.

HISTORY OF THE GIRLS’ JUNIOR – The U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship was established in 1949, one year after the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. The inaugural Girls’ Junior drew a starting field of 28 girls from 17 states, although 10 of the players were from the Philadelphia area. The first champion, Marlene Bauer, 15, came all the way from Los Angeles to win her first national golf title.

The championship has also helped launch the careers of such outstanding players as Mickey Wright, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott and Hollis Stacy. Stacy’s record of three consecutive Girls’ Junior championships, from 1969 to 1971, is among the most remarkable accomplishments in USGA history.

While victory in the U.S. Girls’ Junior by no means guarantees a successful career in women’s golf, Girls’ Junior champions have won the Women’s Amateur 11 times and the Women’s Open 10 times. Furthermore, 15 Girls’ Junior champions have gone on to represent the United States on the Curtis Cup team.

USGA AND NEW JERSEY -- The 2002 Girls’ Junior will be the 49th USGA championship conducted in New Jersey. The first was the 1896 U.S. Women's Amateur at Morris County Golf Club. The Girls’ Junior is making its third stop in New Jersey. Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield previously hosted the 1994 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

MULTIPLE VICTORIES – Hollis Stacy won the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship three consecutive years (1969,1970,1971). Judy Eller won in 1957 and 1958, and Nancy Lopez captured the championship in 1972 and 1974.

GIRLS’ JUNIOR CHAMPIONS & OTHER USGA TITLES –

Twelve U.S. Girls’ Junior champions (year listed in parentheses) have won other USGA championships. They are:

Amy Alcott (1973) – U.S. Women’s Open (1980)

JoAnne Gunderson Carner (1956) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1957, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1968), U.S. Women’s Open (1971,1976)

Lori Castillo (1978) – (U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (1979,1980)

Dorothy Delasin (1996) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1999)

Heather Farr (1982) – U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (1984)

Pat Hurst (1986) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1990)

Kelli Kuehne (1994) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1995,1996)

Pat Lesser (1950) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (1955)

Cathy Mockett (1984) – U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (1990)

Marcy Newton (1995) – U.S. Women’s Amateur (2000)

Hollis Stacy (1969,70,71) – U.S. Women’s Open (1977,1978,1984)

Mickey Wright (1952) – U.S. Women’s Open (1958,1959,1961,1964)

OTHER PROMINENT PAST CHAMPIONS –

Marlene Bauer, 1947; Nancy Lopez, 1972, 1974; Penny Hammel, 1979; Laurie Rinker, 1980; Heather Farr, 1982; Pat Hurst, 1986; Michelle McGann, 1987; Brandie Burton, 1989; Kellee Booth, 1993; and Beth Bauer, 1997.

CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE HOLE BY HOLE –

Holes 1 through nine: No.1, 369-yard, par 4; No. 2, 234-yard, par 4; No. 3, 352-yard, par 4; No. 4, 479-yard, par 5; No. 5, 343-yard, par 4, No. 6, 378yard, par 4, No. 7, 128-yard, par 3; No. 8, 362-yard, par 4; No. 9, 381-yard, par 4; 3,026 yards, par 36.

Holes 10 through 18: No. 10, 359-yard, par 4; No. 11, 528-yard, par 5; No. 12, 516-yard, par 5; No. 13, 373-yard, par 4; No. 14, 193-yard, par 3; No. 15, 448-yard, par 5; No. 16, 372-yard, par 4; No. 17, 154-yard, par 3; No. 18, 385-yard, par 4; 3,327 yards, par 37; Total: 6,353 yards, par 73.

FUTURE GIRLS’ JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP SITES – The U.S. Girls’ Junior will be conducted at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn., from July 21-26, 2003; and at Mira Vista Golf Club in Fort Worth, Texas, from July 26-31, 2004.

MEDIA CONTACT - The Media Center for the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship will be in part of the clubhouse's dining area. The phone number for the USGA Media Center is 908-301-1445. The voicemail number is 908-301-1459. Ken Klavon is the media contact. Prior to the championship, you can reach him at (908) 234-2300, ext.1286.