G’Day, Old Chatham: Aussie Harris Opens with Historic 63
July 13-18, Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham, N.C.
Amelia Harris, 18, of Australia, recorded a blistering first-round 9-under 63, which included a historic back-nine 28, to take the solo lead at the 77th U.S. Girls’ Junior at Old Chatham Golf Club.
A dreary day in Greater Raleigh didn’t stop Harris and the rest of the field from going low, as 53 of the 156 players posted sub-par rounds on the 6,491-yard, par-72 Rees Jones design.
None, however, played better than Harris, a University of South Carolina incoming freshman who entered the second nine at 1-under 35 before unleashing what was the most dominant nine-hole stretch in U.S. Girls’ Junior stroke-play history.
Following her opening nine, which included a bogey 5 on the ninth hole, Harris carded birdies on eight of her final nine holes, including six in a row from No. 13. The lone par came on the 191-yard, par-3 12th.
The catalyst for her incredible round of 63, just the fourth in U.S. Girls’ Junior history and one off the championship record held by four players, was an exceptional day with the putter.
Harris needed just 24 putts (1.33 per hole), including the shot of the day: a 40-footer from the fringe just off the back of the 18th green that struck the flagstick and dropped into the hole, drawing a loud roar from the spectators.
Only two other known 28s have been posted in a USGA championship, both in the U.S. Senior Open by Tom Kite (2012) and Kenny Perry (2015).
Harris’ feat is also the lowest known nine-hole score in a women’s USGA championship, surpassing the 29 Christina Kim shot in 2001 at the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Indian Hills Country Club, in Mission Hills, Kan., en route to the first-ever 62 shot in the championship, and Chella Choi’s 29 posted in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club.
“I just couldn’t miss a putt on the back nine,” she said following the round. “Coming through the turn, I had missed a really short putt on No. 9 and thought to myself, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that anymore.’ So, I don’t really have many words other than I putted the ball really well and got lucky on some shots.”
For Harris, competing at such a high level is nothing new. The reigning Australian Junior Amateur champion has six victories in 2026 and recently finished fifth at the 2026 Toyota Junior World Cup in Japan, where she carded an 8-under 64 in the second round. She is also no stranger to the U.S. Girls’ Junior. This is her third start after advancing to the Round of 32 of last year’s championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
“Making match play, obviously,” Harris said of her goals for the rest of the week. “I think that’s the goal for everyone … keep my head on straight, stay steady and see how far I go.”
Another Toyota Junior World Cup competitor, notably the tournament’s 2026 individual champion, Anna Iwanaga, was one of three competitors to post 6-under 66. Joining the 17-year-old from Japan was 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up Xingtong Chen, of Singapore, and Canada’s Clairey Lin.
For Iwanaga, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 16 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, birdies came early and often.
More than 6,000 miles from her hometown of Amagasaki, which sits across the Yodo River from Osaka – Japan’s third-most populous city – Iwanaga went the opposite of Harris, carding a 5-under 31 on Old Chatham’s front nine with consecutive birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 and then registering four more on Nos. 4, 6 and 8, a 326-yard, par 4.
Iwanaga added two additional birdies on Nos. 10 and 13 to reach 7 under for the day before bogeying No. 15.
“I didn’t think the pin positions were that hard, so it was easy to make birdies,” said Iwanaga following her round. “I made a lot of birdies and on 14 I missed a birdie putt, and my rhythm started to get bad.”
Playing in the afternoon wave, Lin, 16, who is No. 80 in the WAGR, registered eight total birdies against one double bogey.
Lin began her round with two opening birdies and was nearly flawless down the stretch, with a lone misstep on her third hole of the day, the challenging par-3 12th hole, where she carded a 5.
“I putted really well,” said Lin. “I think this is one of those courses where if you get the putter going, it can be a really good day. And I was hitting it well. I hit a lot of greens, but mostly in the 10- to 15-foot range, and I made almost all of those. Once you get a few of those going, it usually works out for you.”
Lin is coming off a runner-up showing in the AJGA RLX Junior Classic at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course, where she lost to fellow U.S. Girls’ Junior competitor Eliana Saga in the final. Saga, a U.S. National Junior Team player who finished her first round at Old Chatham with a 1-under 71, defeated Lin, 2 and 1, to earn her first AJGA Invitational title.
Chen, who fell to Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, 2 and 1, in last year’s 36-hole finale in Georgia, matched Lin and Iwanaga with eight birdies. Since her runner-up finish a year ago, Chen owns three top-10 finishes, the most recent of which came at The Royal Junior in Japan, where she placed eighth.
Seoah Kim, one of the younger players this week, finished four back of Harris with a bogey-free 67, the only one on Day 1. The 14-year-old from the Republic of Korea is a neophyte to American golf.
A relative newcomer to golf – she took up the game four years ago – Kim has made huge strides and it showed in Round 1 with a flurry of early birdies to post 3-under 33 after nine.
Overall, the course’s longer holes proved to be no issue for Kim, who reportedly was hitting 280-yard drives as a 12-year-old. She played Old Chatham’s four par-5 holes in 3 under par, including the course’s longest hole, the 549-yard 11th.
Out of the four North Carolinians in the field, 16-year-old Ella June Hannant carded the lowest round with a 69. Hannant, who lives on a farm in Pikeville, N.C., a town with only 712 residents (as of the 2020 census), carded eight pars and a birdie down the stretch to get her championship off to a solid start.
Victoria Davis, from nearby Cary, was one back with a 70. Jenna Kim, a Raleigh-native who hit the first ball of the championship, finished with a 72, while Riley Grimm rounded out the local group at 73.
What’s Next
The second and final round of stroke play will take place on Tuesday, beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET off the first and 10th tees. Following the round, the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers for match play, which begins on Wednesday. Match play will continue each day until Saturday’s 36-hole championship match. Admission to the championship is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.
Notable
Amelia Harris’ first-round 9-under 63 is the lowest stroke-play score in the championship since Rose Zhang, the eventual winner, carded a 62 during the second round of the 2021 event at Columbia C.C., in Chevy Chase, Md. Harris’ second-nine 28 is believed to be the lowest nine-hole score recorded by a female in USGA championship history.
Harris’ 63 is the fourth in championship history, joining Taylore Karle (2005), Angela Park (2005) and Lisa McCloskey (2008). There have been four rounds of 62 in championship history. Of the eight players who have posted 63 or better, only Rose Zhang has gone on to hoist the trophy.
Molly Spector, 16, of Atlanta, Ga., withdrew from the championship due to a wrist injury.
Jim Hyler, past USGA president and a founding member of Old Chatham, was the first-tee starter.
Bella Simoes, the youngest player in the field at 12 years, 11 months and 10 days old, shot a 3-over 75.
Kanchana Duangsam Rudd (2-over 74) led the field in greens in regulation, hitting 17 of 18.
Quotable
“First of all, the course here is so beautiful. It also features grass that you can’t see [on courses] in Korea, which makes it a great experience” – Seoah Kim on her initial impressions of Old Chatham G.C.
“It’s like amazing. Probably the biggest event I’ve played in. It is just so well organized. It is above and beyond any event I’ve played in. It’s just so special. You get like presents every single day. I don’t want to leave. I just want to be here every week.” – Lara Thomsen on playing in her first USGA championship
“My game plan today was just [aim for] center green and make the putt. If not, just two-putt. Once you take the big numbers away, it gets a lot easier.?So I think for match play, allow yourself to be a little more aggressive in places where you need to. You can change your game plan up a little bit, where some pins, especially if it suits your eyes, like, go for it. I think that will be just the main difference.” – Clairey Kim on the difference in her approach from stroke play to match play
“I think I’ll just do some recalibration… then I might [go to] Target. Stephanie Na (Australian National Team coach) said that we’re going to go to Target, because we didn’t have a good Target like the Americans do. So maybe we’ll go there and get a celebratory dinner.” – Amelia Harris on her plans following her historic first round
“I was super nervous coming into the tournament, because after a missed cut in 2024, it’s easy to get scared of the big name, like the U.S. Girls Jr. But coming into this year, just realizing it’s just another few rounds that you have to play. It’s a week where you get to see a lot of your friends. It’s a week where you can have a lot of fun if you let yourself. So, just like soaking in the moment, smelling the flowers and just enjoying my time here. Once you get yourself in that kind of better mindset, the golf will translate as well.” -Clairey Lin on what she learned from her previous two appearances in the U.S. Girls’ Junior
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