Storylines For 2009 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship

Youngest competitor: Megan Khang of Rockland, Mass., is 11 years, 8 months, 27 days. She began playing golf at 5½ and attends Roger Middle School. She shot 83 at the Milton, Mass., sectional qualifier.

Oldest competitor: Isabelle Lendl, 17, of Goshen, Conn., turns 18 four days after the championship ends. She is the daughter of eight-time Grand Slam tennis champion Ivan Lendl. She is competing in her fifth U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and is planning to matriculate at the University of Florida in the fall, where her older sister, Marika, already attends.

Foreign countries represented (12): Argentina; Canada; Chinese Taipei; Colombia; Italy; Japan; Mexico; Northern Ireland; Peoples Republic of China; Philippines; Thailand; Trinidad and Tobago

USA – 32 states:  Alabama; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Kansas; Kentucky; Massachusetts; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Nevada; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oregon; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Virginia; Washington

Here are some other individual storylines:

Sarah Almond, 17, of Albemarle, N.C., has competed in seven USGA championships – 2006-2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior, 2008 U.S. Women’s Open, 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur, 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links.

Amy Anderson, 17, of Oxbow, N.D., graduated this past June at 16 and will attend North Dakota State on an academic scholarship. She scored a 31 on the ACT.

Serena Aoki, 16, of Japan won the 2008 All Japan High School Golf Championship and the 2008 All Japan Women’s Public Amateur Golf Championship. She also is proficient at playing the jazz piano.

Elyse Archambault, 17, of Canada, is quite the athlete. Besides golf, she played volleyball four years and went to nationals and she also is an avid skier.

Shannon Aubert, 13, of Champions Gate, Fla., has already had seven holes-in-one, but she can’t remember where and when because she has had so many.

Devon Brown, 17, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., was the girls’ club champion at Rancho Santa Fe in both golf and tennis at the age of 10.

Sarah Brown, 17, of Lopatcong Township, N.J., was a quarterfinalist at the 2007 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and advanced to the third round of match play in the 2008 championship. She also advanced to match play in the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championships and was a member of the 2008 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team. She is the second-oldest of nine kids.

Luz Alejandra Congrejo, 16, of Colombia, won the Colombia Women’s Amateur at age 13.

Casie Cathrea, 13, of Castro Valley, Calif., was a quarterfinalist at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, falling to eventual champion Jennifer Song, 4 and 3. She played in last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior but did not qualify for match play.

Jackie Chang, 17, of Paradise Valley, Ariz., is a three-time Arizona state doubles champion in tennis.

Annie Cheng, 14, of Torrance, Calif., had only been playing golf for four months when she registered her first hole-in-one during her first tournament. Two of her high school teammates are in the field: 2006 U.S. Girls' Junior champion Jenny Shin and Demi Frances Runas.

Karen Chung, 14, of Livingston, N.J., was runner-up at the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior. A first-team AJGA Rolex All-American selection in 2008, she advanced to the first round of match play at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links.

Hannah Collier, 17, of Hoover, Ala., caddied during the U.S. Junior Amateur last year at Shoal Creek.

Allison Emrey, 16, of Charlotte, N.C., won the 2009 North & South Junior Championship at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.

Yueer “Cindy” Feng, 13, of the Peoples Republic of China was the youngest competitor in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. Feng advanced to the second round of match play at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links.

Ellese Dias, 17, of Crockett, Calif., played with Bob Charles at The First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

Dana Finkelstein, 16, of Chandler, Ariz., always gets a hotel wake-up call when traveling for golf events after she overslept  the morning of her first invitational. She was spared disqualification by a rain delay. She also played with Lindsey Wright during the pro-am at this year’s LPGA Tour stop at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix.

Kate Gallagher, 17, of Savannah, Mo., started playing golf right-handed, but switched to left-handed at age 6.

Jaye Marie Green, 15, of Boca Raton, Fla., advanced to the third round of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, where she lost to eventual champion Tiffany Joh.

Ani Gulugian, 17, of Irvine, Calif., played in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open but missed the cut. In 2008, she advanced to the second round of match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the first round of match play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior. She can also read, write and speak the Armenian language.

Jennifer Hahn, 15, of Henderson, Nev., enjoys playing the piano, keyboard and guitar. She also enjoys singing and plays in her church band.

Kathryn Harris, 14, of St. Simons, Ga., loves to bake, especially chocolate cakes.

Katie Rose Higgins, 17, of Charleston S.C., is the daughter of Kevin Higgins, head football coach at The Citadel and the former coach at nearby Lehigh University. Her brother, Tim, was a wide receiver for the 2006 NCAA national champion Florida Gators. Her mom, Kay, also is a former college women’s basketball coach. She only took up golf 18 months ago after giving up basketball and volleyball.

Cali Hipp, 16, of Caldwell, Idaho, once played in a golf tournament where contestants also got to shoot clay pigeons for extra strokes. Hipp hit all three of her targets and her team won the event.

Ginger Howard, 15, and Robbi Howard, 13, of Bradenton, Fla., are one of two pairs of sisters competing at the championship, having both qualified at the Pinehurst, N.C., sectional. Ginger, a righty, has played in the past two U.S. Girls’ Juniors and advanced to the first round of match play in 2008, while Robbi, a lefty, is playing in her first USGA championship.

Jennifer Johnson, 17, of Carlsbad, Calif., advanced to the second round of match play at the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. She is a 2007 and 2008 AJGA Rolex First Team All-American and was a member of the 2008 Junior Ryder Cup team. She will attend Arizona State University in the fall.

Aurora Kan, 15, of Boothwyn, Pa., is half-Chinese and during the winter swims for her high school team.

Kim Kaufman, 17, of Clark, S.D., has competed in seven USGA championships – 2005, 2008, 2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior; 2008, 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links; 2007, 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Kimberly Kim, 17, of Hilo, Hawaii, was the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and the youngest winner in the championship’s history. Kim was runner-up at the 2006 and 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and played in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. She was a member of the victorious USA Curtis Cup team in 2008, going 2-1 in her matches, and will be playing in her sixth U.S. Girls’ Junior, tying her for second-most all time. She also played on the 2006 USA Women’s World Amateur team that competed in South Africa.

Lauren Kim, 14, of Los Altos, Calif., is left-handed, but plays golf right-handed.

Soobin Kim, 16, of Canada was born in Korea and is an artist. She won the 2008 Canadian Junior Girls National Championship.

Jessica Korda, 16, of Bradenton, Fla., has made the cut at each of the past two U.S. Women’s Opens, tying for 26th in 2009 and sharing 19th in 2008. This is her first U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Olivia Lavy, 15, of Fayetteville, Ark., has four other sisters who all play golf.

Alison Lee, 14, of Valencia, Calif., tied for 26th at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. She advanced to match play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior in 2007 and 2008, and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2008.

Erynne Lee, 16, of Silverdale, Wash., advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur, losing to eventual champion Amanda Blumenherst.  She also qualified for the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open.

Sandra Hee Lee, 16, of Euless, Texas, has made a deal with her father that if she wins any major golf event, including the U.S. Girls’ Junior, he’ll buy Sandra an airplane ticket to her native Korea.

Suzie Lee, 17, of East Northport, N.Y., owns a first-degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She also is a competitive swimmer and can play the piano, clarinet, drums and flute.

Rebecca Lee-Bentham, 17, of Canada also competes on her high school girls’ and co-ed volleyball teams as a setter. She was the youngest player to win the Ontario Women’s Amateur.

Daniela Lendl, 16, and Isabelle Lendl, 17, of Goshen, Conn., are sisters competing in their second U.S. Girls’ Junior together. Last year, Daniela qualified for match play while Isabelle did not. Isabelle, who is playing in her fifth U.S. Girls’ Junior, reached the third round of match play in 2006.

Blair Lewis, 16, of La Mesa, Calif., says she’ll eat anything with pasta in it. “I am obsessed with it,” she says.

Brittany Marchand, 17, of Canada comes from an interesting ethnic background. She is part French-Canadian, Chinese, Dutch and South African

Kaira Martin, 17, of Paradise Valley, Ariz., is a righty who plays lefty. She plays at Xavier Prep, which has produced such golfers as the late Heather Farr, Missy Farr and most recently Kimberly Kim.

Lisa McCloskey, 17, of Houston, Texas, was a quarterfinalist at the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior where she was stroke-play medalist after shooting 71-63. She enters the 2008 championship having completed one year of college – a rarity for a U.S. Girls’ Junior participant – at Pepperdine University. She finished 10th at the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Championship and set an NCAA record at the 2008 Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown by becoming the first women’s college player to shoot less than 200, finishing at 17-under-par 199.

Allyson McDonald, 16, of Fulton, Miss., has had two doubles eagles but no holes-in-one.

Stephanie Meadow, 17, moved to the U.S. from Northern Ireland with her parents in 2006 to pursue golf. Last week she helped Ireland win the European Team Championship, the first time in history that Ireland had won.

Lindsey Murray, 13, of Tipp City, Ohio, won the Elks National Free Throw Competition.

Brenna Rae Nelson, 15, Monte Sereno, Calif., was a competitive figure skater for seven years. She was forced to quit skating due to a foot injury, after which she took up golf.

Taylor Newlin, 16, of Frisco, Texas, once appeared in Chuck E. Cheese ad when she was younger. She also won the Texas State 3A golf title as a freshman.

Cyd Okino, 15, of Honolulu, Hawaii, is appearing in her 10th USGA championship, having started at age 11 at the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. She has also competed in the 2006, 2008, 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links; the 2007-2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior; the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open; the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur; and the 2005 USGA Women’s State Team.

Gabriella Oubre, 15, of Mobile, Ala., had a hole-in-one the same day as her grandfather. She keeps a picture of her late father in her golf bag.

Annie Park, 14, of Levittown, N.Y., advanced to match play at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links after finishing second in stroke-play qualifying. She plays out of Bethpage State Park, which hosted the 2009 U.S. Open on its Black Course.

Jisoo Park, 14, of Korea was a semifinalist at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, falling to eventual champion Jennifer Song, 2 and 1. This is her first U.S. Girls’ Junior and has already qualified for next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Kristen Park, 16, of Buena Park, Calif., was the 2007 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, beating Ayaka Kaneko in the final, 4 and 3, at Tacoma Country and Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash. She reached the third round of match play in 2008, and played in the U.S. Women’s Open in 2008 and 2009.

Ri-Hyang Park, 16, of Hilton Head, S.C., moved to South Carolina from Japan to attend a golf academy on her own at age 14 in order to learn English.

Katherine Perry, 17, of Cary, N.C., played in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open but missed the cut. She won the North Carolina Women’s Amateur and tied for second at the North and South Junior Championship in 2009.

Scotland Preston, 15, of Mountainside, N.J., was a runner and standard bearer at the 2002 Girls’ Junior held at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, N.J.

Heather Proctor, 16, of Silver Springs, Fla., is a competitive high school tennis player and weightlifter.

Kyle Roig, 16, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., has represented Puerto Rico at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship. She can understand four languages and speak three.

Taelor Rubin, 16, of Raleigh, N.C., has been playing on the boys golf team since eighth grade.

Demi Frances Vasquez Runas, 17, of Torrance, Calif., is competing in the championship with two of her high school teammates: 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion Jenny Shin and Annie Cheng.

Daffodil Sanchez, 15, of Mesa, Ariz., grew up in the jungles of the Philippines and moved to the U.S. six years ago when her mother married American Troy Koon. A Philippine ambassador gave her the Fillipino-American Journal Award of Excellence on May 31, 2008.

Stani Schiavone, 17, of Bangor, Pa., said her biggest fear while on the golf course is seeing a frog. She saw one by her bag during her Girls’ Junior sectional qualifier following a rain delay.

Jenny Shin, 16, of Torrance, Calif., won the 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior, defeating Vicky Hurst in 37 holes at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. In 2008, she missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open by one stroke and was a semifinalist at the U.S. Girls’ Junior. Two of her high school teammates are in the field: Demi Frances Runas and Annie Cheng.

Paige Spiranac, 16, of Monument,  Colo., is a former competitive gymnast who passed the International Elite Compulsory Testing at the National Team Training Center (Karolyi Ranch) in 2004.

Samantha Stevens, 17, of Hereford, Texas, played a 2007 high school tournament with a broken arm.

Victoria Tanco, 15, of Argentina, played in the U.S. Women’s Open in 2008 and 2009 but has yet to make the cut. Last year, she reached the third round of match play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior and the first round of match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Julia Thead, 17, of Poway, Calif., was born exactly at midnight in 1991. Because of the timing, her parents got to choose the actual date of birth between Sept. 11 and 12.

Alexis Thompson, 14, of Coral Springs, Fla., is the defending champion. She beat Karen Chung in the final, 5 and 4, at Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, Conn., to become the second-youngest winner in the championship’s history at 13 years, 5 months, 17 days. She tied for 34th at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open – marking her third Women’s Open – and was the championship’s youngest qualifier in 2007 at 12 years, 4 months, 1 day. Thompson, the younger sister of PGA Tour member Nicholas Thompson,  tied for low amateur at the 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship, sharing 21st.

Victoria Trapani, 16, of Hollywood, Fla., is quite the entrepreneur. She mows lawns to help pay for her golf.

Mariko Tumangan, 15, of San Jose, Calif., played in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open but failed to make the cut. Tumangan, the 2008 San Jose Mercury News girls’ golfer of the year, is playing in her third U.S. Girls’ Junior (2006 and 2008).

Tanya Wadhwa, 16, of McKinney, Texas, advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2007 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, where she lost to eventual runner-up Vicky Hurst. She was born in India, and she will attend Southern Methodist in the fall.

Maria Yacaman, age 16, of Colombia, will celebrate her 17th birthday on July 24, which if she advances that far would be the day of the quarterfinals and semifinals. She carded a 75 at the West Lafayette, Ind., sectional to qualify for her first U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Storylines compiled by David Shefter, Christina Lance and Justin Hancher.