World Junior Girls Championship

Republic of Korea holds lead at mid-way point of World Junior Girls Championship

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(Golf Canada/ Golf Ontario)

The Republic of Korea successfully battled the heat once again at The Marshes Golf Club, carding a 6-under 138 on Wednesday to extend their team lead through two rounds of the World Junior Girls Championship.

On the strength of Hae-Ran Ryu’s 4-under 68, the Koreans have built up a seven-stroke team advantage. The trio’s second-counting score was posted by the individual leader, Seo-yun Kwon, who maintained her first-round lead after carding five birdies on the day to move to 9 under for the tournament — good for a four-stroke cushion.

Chasing Kwon for the individual title are five competitors deadlocked in second place at 6 under par: Esther Henseleit (Germany), Alessia Nobilio (Italy), Linn Grant (Sweden), Hana Ryskova (Czech Republic) and Annabel Wilson (Ireland).

Wilson carded the low-round of the day with a six-birdie, 5-under-par effort.

“Everything was going well today, it was a stress-free round of golf,” said Wilson, who played in the inaugural World Junior Girls Championship in 2014. “My putter was hot today which was the biggest difference from yesterday. I hit one more green yesterday but I took five less shots today so it really was all because of the putter.”

The Korean squad are looking to mirror their success from the 2015 championship — also hosted at The Marshes — where they recorded an 18-stroke team victory. They are currently trailed by the Americans at 9 under and Germans at 7 under.

Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., posted four birdies on the day to lead all Canadians at even-par for the tournament (74-70).

“I had a good start, I was hitting the ball well but my long putts were the key,” said the 16-year-old Dao. “I was 3 under after the front nine, which was a great start for me.”

Playing for Canada on home soil was not lost on the reigning Quebec Women’s Amateur champion.

“It’s an honour for me to play for Canada at this tournament,” added Dao. “I know that the scores will be low because it is the best in the world competing but it doesn’t change how I approach my game. It is just great to compare my game with theirs.”

The second round was delayed from 2:45 p.m. to 4:03 p.m. due to lightning.

The third round of tournament play will begin at 8 a.m. Additional information and full results from the competition can be found here.


Pos Team Today Thru Total R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
1 Korea, Republic Of Republic of Korea -6 F * -16 134 138 272
2 United States United States of America E F * -9 135 144 279
3 Germany Germany -4 F * -7 141 140 281
T4 Denmark Denmark -2 F -6 140 142 282
T4 Sweden Sweden -2 F * -6 140 142 282
6 Spain Spain -3 F * -5 142 141 283
T7 France France -1 F * -4 141 143 284
T7 Italy Italy -2 F * -4 142 142 284
9 England England -2 F * -1 145 142 287
T10 Ireland Ireland -4 F E 148 140 288
T10 Philippines Philippines -2 F E 146 142 288
12 Czech Republic Czech Republic +6 F +2 140 150 290
13 Switzerland Switzerland +2 F * +3 145 146 291
14 Mexico Mexico +3 F +4 145 147 292
T15 Australia Australia +8 F +6 142 152 294
T15 Chinese Taipei Chinese Taipei +2 F +6 148 146 294
17 Belgium Belgium +4 F +7 147 148 295
18 Canada Canada 1 +2 F +8 150 146 296
19 Canada Canada 2 +11 F +14 147 155 302
20 China People Republic of China +6 F +17 155 150 305