Johns Island, South Carolina - Irene Kim of Woodstock, Maryland, leads the third round of the 2023 Rolex Girls Junior Championship with a score of 6-under-par 210.
Kim, No. 32 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, began her first appearance at the all-girls Invitational with rounds of 74-69. In Thursday's final round, she fired a 5-under-par 67 to take a two-shot lead.
In her third round, Kim finished with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 16-18 to move up from her tie for fifth place after the second round.
A member of the class of 2026, Kim had a bogey-free front nine that included two birdies. She has four career AJGA wins since 2021, including the 2023 Lanto Junior Championship earlier this month.
I didn't do anything special. I just focused on my own game and what I was shooting. I kept my focus and I felt pretty good. It was a calm day with lots of wind, so I took advantage of the wind and didn't play against it.
Asterisk Talley, of Cowchilla, California, finished two shots back from Kim at 4-under-par 212. Talley struggled throughout her first six holes, but built momentum with birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 heading into the turn. She carded four birdies on the back nine to finish the day with a third-round score of 70 for the second consecutive day.
Talley is making her second appearance at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship where she finished T12 in 2022. At No. 31 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, she was a 2022 Rolex Junior All-American with two career AJGA victories including last week's Se Ri Pak Desert Junior presented by Bay Area Lyme Foundation.
Holding a share of the lead with Talley is Oregon commit Yana Wilson of Henderson, Nevada at 4-under-par 212. Wilson shot a 67 in the third round- tying the lowest round of the event through 54 holes. She is competing in her third Rolex Girls Junior Championship and is looking for a second straight Invitational win ahead of Friday's final round.
In a tie for fourth place, Megan Meng of Pennington, New Jersey, and Anna Huang, (Canada) of Coto De Caza, California, sit at 2-under-par 214.
About the Rolex Girls Junior Championship Field
Since 1992, the competition brings together one of the strongest fields in junior golf. The 2023 event will include eight of the top 20 girls in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
Of the 72 player field, 54 girls have at least one career AJGA victory. Representatives from eight foreign countries and 20 U.S. states are set to compete in one of the AJGA’s most iconic all-girls events. There are also 22 players have committed verbally or with a National Letter of Intent to play college golf.
Rolex Girls Junior Championship History
The Rolex Girls Junior Championship has occurred annually since 1992, changing host venues each year. Noteworthy courses include: LPGA International – Champions and Legends Course (2002-2005), Long Cove Club (2010), The Country Club of North Carolina – Dogwood Course (2015), and Promontory Club – Dye Canyon Course (2018).
The event returns to The Club at Briar's Creek for the first time since 2019. LPGA Tour rookie Alexa Pano won the 2019 Rolex Girls Junior Championship by four strokes with scores of 70-67-67-70 finish at 14-under-par 274. Pano was the youngest player to ever win an AJGA title at 12 years and 11 days at the PDQ/Philadelphia Runner Junior. She is a five-time Rolex Junior All-American.
Past champions of the Rolex Girls Junior Championship include an AJGA all-star cast: Rose Zhang (2020), Rachel Heck (2017), Alison Lee (2013), Ariya Jutanugarn (2012, 2011), Morgan Pressel (2005), Paula Creamer (2003), and Inbee Park (2002).
Schedule
The final round continues Friday, June 23.
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