TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Lydia Lin and Amelie Zalsman were crowned champions at the 64th Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship in wire-to-wire fashion at Seminole Legacy Golf Club on Saturday. Lin captured the victory in the 16-18 Division with a 4-over 220, while Zalsman was victorious in the 13-15 Division at 7-under 209.
Beginning the final round with a four-shot lead, Lin got off to a slow start with bogeys on three of her first four holes. The Reunion native turned it around with birdies on two of her next three holes to make the turn at 2 over for the championship and with a two-shot lead over Gabriella Albert.
Lin ran into some more trouble as she got the back nine started, playing the first four holes at 3 over with a double bogey on the 13th. Meanwhile Albert added another birdie on the 10th and moved into a tie at the top after the 13th hole. Lin finished the 14th with a par, while Albert carded a bogey, giving Lin back the one-shot lead.
A Florida Junior Tour winner, Lin rolled in a birdie putt on the 18th to secure the victory with a final-round 75. Lin earned her first FSGA championship with rounds of 73-72-75 for the week.
"This win means a lot," Lin said. "There were so many good players in the field and the course was playing hard, so it is great to win this week."
Albert finished the weekend in a runner-up finish at 6-over 220 after rounds of 79-70-73 for the championship. Her second-round 70 was the only under-par rounds in the16-18 division over the three days.
Catalina Harvey and McKinley Holding finished tied for third at 11-over 227.
Zalsman began the final round with a six-shot lead over the field at 5-under 139. She got off to a fast start with birdies on two of her first three holes. The Saint Petersburg resident added another birdie on the seventh hole to move to 7 under for the championship.
"It means so much to win this championship," Zalsman said. "This is only my second event of the year, but I played really well and its going to give me a lot of momentum going into the rest of the year."
She ran into some trouble on the par-3 eighth hole, finishing with a double bogey, but quickly rebounded with a birdie on the ninth to head to the back nine. Zalsman added a birdie and bogey on the 11th and 12th. She birdied the par-4 17th to extend her lead to four shots and secure the win with a final-round 70.
"My shot on 17 was the best of the day," Zalsman said. "I almost holed out for eagle so it helped me finishing the day strong."
Playing in her first FSGA tournament, Zalsman earned the championship victory with rounds of 67-72-70 for the week. She was the lone player in the field to post three rounds at even-par or better.
Sophia Dyer made a run at the 13-15 title, firing a final-round 66 to finish four shots back of Zalsman at 3-under 213. The Saint Petersburg native carded three birdies on the front side and an eagle on the par-4 eighth hole. She added three more birdies on the back nine to earn a runner-up finish with round of 72-75-66.
Bella Dovhey finished the week in third place at 1-under 215 with rounds of 74-72-69, while Miranda Lu took fourth place at 2-over 218.
