Emilee Klein

Emilee Klein won three of four holes starting at the 12th and claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Kimberly Marshall in the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, at Crestview Country Club.

Klein, 17, of Studio City, Calif., never led until the 12th hole, where she holed a three-foot putt for par and Marshall missed from six feet away. She then capitalized at the 344-yard 13th when Marshall found trouble off the tee. They halved the 14th before Klein went 3-up at 15 by sinking a 12-foot putt for birdie. Marshall left a 10-footer hanging on the lip of the cup. Another halve at 16 brought the title to Klein, who had shot two-under 142 to win the qualifying medal by five strokes.

It was the fifth time in eight years that the qualifying medalist has won the Championship. It also was the second year in a row that a foreign-born player was in the final. Marshall, of Flatts, Bermuda, is the reigning Bermuda Women's Amateur champion. She shot 148 in qualifying stroke play, and then won several close matches to advance through the lower bracket of match play. She won twice at 2 and 1, once at 1 up, and was forced to the 19th hole before she edged Jo Jo Robertson, of Roswell, N.M., in her semifinal match.

Klein was eliminated in the first round of match play in 1990. This time, however, she was never extended past the 16th hole in any of her six matches. She defeated Alicia Allison, of Santa Ana, Calif., 3 and 2, in her semifinal match.