Stanford, CA – Michelle Liu of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada wins the Mariah Stackhouse Girls Invitational with a score of 11-under-par 202.
Liu kept up with the pack for the majority of the week. It was not until the final round that she pulled away and claimed the victory. The 14 year-old sat T2 at 5-under-par 66 after the first round. Liu, a 2024 graduate started her weekend off hot with seven birdies. With the tournament format involving a day of 36 holes, Liu had to turn right around for the second 18. It was during that second round where see took over solo second place with a 4-under-par 67. After a full day of golf her total score was 9-under-par 133.
With seven top-10 finishes, Liu looked to secure her third AJGA victory and her second of the year. She would do just that after a solid round of 2-under-par 69. At No. 104 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Liu saw herself with a two stroke lead heading into hole No. 15. Her only slip up of the tournament would come here with a double bogey evening things up at the top. Liu was quick to regain the lead with a 50 foot birdie and never turned back.
This invitational win would be the first of Liu's young career.
I came in to the whole tournament with the mindset of not having expectations. I'm just here to try and take care of my golf ball and if I'm able to do that well, I think I'll be able to win.
Leigh Chien of Irvine, California, and Karen Tsuru of Carlsbad, California, would finish T2 at 9-under-par 204. Chien carded 14 birdies on the week to continue her solid invitational career. A career that now includes four top-10 finishes in invitational events. Tsuru continues her successful 2021 with her fourth top-10 finish of the year including her win at the AJGA Lake Las Vegas Junior.
Ava Merrill of Johns Creek, Georgia, finished in fourth at 4-under-par 209. Jaclyn LaHa would round out the top-5 in fifth at 3-under-par 210.
To round out the top-10, five juniors finished T6. Kylie Chong of Torrance, California, Catherine Park of Irvine, California, Vanessa Borovilos of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Ashley Yun of West Covina, California, and Kynadie Adams of Nashville, Tennessee, would all finish the tournament at 1-under-par-212.