2004 U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FACT SHEET
July 19-24
Mira Vista Golf Club, Fort Worth, Texas

PAR AND YARDAGE – Mira Vista Golf Club will play at 6,256 yards with par of 35-36—71.

VENUE – Mira Vista was designed by Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf and opened in 1987.

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 17, and Sunday, July 18. 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 as follows:

    • Monday, July 19 – First round of stroke play
    • Tuesday, July 20 – Second round of stroke play
    • Wednesday, July 21 – First and second rounds of match play
    • Thursday, July 22 – Third and quarterfinal rounds of match play
    • Friday, July 23 – Semifinals, match play
    • Saturday, July 24 – Final, match play (18 holes)

WHO CAN 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 24, and who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 18.4.

DEFENDING CHAMPION – Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff of Toms River, N.J., came back from a five-hole deficit to earn a 1-up victory over 2002 champion In-Bee Park of Eustis, Fla., at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn., to capture the 2003 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship. Wuesthoff, 16, of Toms River, N.J., rallied after bogeys on three of the first four holes to post 12 consecutive pars and square the match against Park with two holes to play. Wuesthoff took the lead with a birdie on the 17th hole before closing out Park with a par on the 18th. Her victory ranks as the greatest comeback in the history of the championship.

In 2004, Wuesthoff will play in the Girls' Junior for the sixth time, which will tie her with Mika Takayama for second-most times played in the championship. Margot Morton competed in the championship seven times, from 1954 to 1960.

TOP RETURNEES – Sixteen 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, U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and U.S. Women's Open. They are:

  • Sydney Burlison of Salinas, Calif. – 2003 Women's Open; 2003 Women's Amateur (match play)
  • Esther Choe of La Quinta, Calif. – 2003 Girls' Junior quarterfinalist
  • Paula Creamer of Pleasanton, Calif. – 2003 and 2004 Women's Opens; 2004 Curtis Cup, 2003 Girls' Junior semifinalist; 2003 Women's Amateur (match play)
  • Julieta Granada of Paraguay – 2003 Girls' Junior quarterfinalist
  • Megan Grehan of Mamaroneck, N.Y. – 2004 Women's Open
  • Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif. – 2003 Girls' Junior semifinalist, 2003 Women's Amateur (match play)
  • Jennifer Hong of Windermere, Fla. – 2001 Women's Amateur (match play)
  • Jennie Lee of Huntington Beach, Calif. – 2004 Women's Open
  • Taylor Leon of Dallas, Texas – 2004 Women's Open
  • Hsiao-Ching Lu of Chinese Taipei – 2003 Girls' Junior quarterfinalist
  • In-Bee Park of Eustis, Fla. – 2002 Girls' Junior Champion, 2003 Girls' Junior runner-up, 2004 Women's Open; 2003 Women's Amateur (match play)
  • Jane Park of Oak Valley, Calif. – 2003 U.S. Women's Open, 2004 Curtis Cup
  • Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla.– 2001 and 2003 Women's Opens; 2003 Girls' Junior semifinalist
  • Ya-Ni Tseng of Chinese Taipei – 2004 Women's Amateur Public Links winner; 2003 Women's Amateur (match play)
  • Amanda Wilson of Hilo, Hawaii – 2004 Women's Open
  • Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff of Toms River, N.J. – 2003 Girls' Junior champion

ENTRIES – The USGA accepted 811 entries for the 2004 U.S. Girls' Junior. The record for most entries, 870, was set in 2002. Entries closed May 26.

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING – Sectional qualifying was held at 31 sites from June 16-29.

TEXAS GIRLS – In addition to Taylor Leon, there are 12 other players in the field from the state of Texas. They are: Kate Ackerson (Allen); Brynn Anderson (Dallas); Lila Barton (Dallas); Christine Brijalba (El Paso); Lizan Dernick (Houston); Lauren Espinoza (Hickory Creek); Shannon Fish (Spring); Kate Hathaway (Brenham); Lauren Johnson (The Woodlands); Lisa McCloskey (Montgomery) Stefanie Page (The Woodlands); and Sarah Zwartynski (Allen).

YOUNGEST AND OLDEST – The youngest player in the field for the 2004 Girls' Junior is 12-year-old Sharon Shin of West Linn, Ore. Canada's Jessica Potter, who will turn 18 on Aug. 3, is the oldest player in the field.

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' Juniors, if otherwise eligible
  • An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next two U.S. Women's Amateurs
  • An exemption from local qualifying for the next five U.S. Women's Opens
  • An exemption from sectional qualifying for the next U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, if otherwise eligible

USGA AND TEXAS – The 2004 Girls' Junior will be the 12th USGA championship conducted in Texas. The first was the 1941 U.S. Open at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth. The Girls' Junior is making its second stop in Texas. The 1969 championship, held at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, was won by Hollis Stacy – the first of her three consecutive Girls' Junior crowns.

USGA AND MIRA VISTA GOLF CLUB – The USGA is making its first visit to Mira Vista Golf Club.

CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE HOLE BY HOLE – 6,256 yards, par 71

Hole

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Out

Par

4

4

3

4

4

5

3

4

4

35

Yards

391

401

168

362

353

565

130

338

381

3,089

Hole

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

In

Par

4

5

3

4

4

3

4

5

4

36

Yards

394

504

151

408

363

210

307

493

337

3,167

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. In addition, 15 Girls' Junior champions have gone on to represent the United States of America on the Curtis Cup team.

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.

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

FUTURE GIRLS' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP SITES – The 2005 U.S. Girls' Junior will be conducted at BanBury Golf Club in Eagle, Idaho, from July 18-23, 2005.

MEDIA CONTACT – Beth Murrison will be the USGA media contact. Prior to the championship, she can be reached at (908) 234-2300, ext. 1485, or via e-mail at bmurrison@usga.org. Starting July 18th, she can be reached at the Girls' Junior media center at 817-361-5681.

 

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