Carding only one bogey in 36 holes, Kelly Xu of Claremont held a steady command of the SoCal Junior Amateur Championship from start to finish.
“I was trying to stay cool and calm out there and not try to prevent any mistakes but just fix mistakes,” Xu said. “That one bogey was just a little slip up, but I was just trying to stay calm and stable and get through it.”
Her one bogey came in Sunday’s round on the ninth hole after an errant tee shot landed in a drainage cover.
Everything about Xu’s game was working in harmony, which she credited to a recent stretch of several tournaments.
“I recently came off a three-week tournament stretch so that just made me feel a lot more confident and comfortable with my game this week. Every aspect of my game was just working.”
Not making any errors kept Xu’s competitors at bay, but she wasn’t fully out of the woods until the end. With her playing partners staying just within reach, Xu outlasted Jasmine Koo and Yurang Li. Koo finished in solo second at -6 and there were four girls tied at -5 in third place. Despite the competitive environment, Xu and her playing partners enjoyed the final round and each other’s company.
“I love the people in my group today,” Xu said. “I always love playing with Jasmine, this is probably my third time playing with her this summer and we always talk about our common interests, we talk about anime. And Yurang was super nice, too. It was just amazing. It was just so much fun.”
Xu is the champion of the sixth annual SoCal Junior Amateur Championship, which is co-hosted by the SCGA and the SCPGA. Xu joins a remarkable group of girls who have taken home the title including Zoe Campos and two-time winner Briana Chacon.
“It’s amazing to actually have my name somewhere for such an amazing event, especially because it spans Southern California,” Xu said. “I love competing with all these girls who are so talented and just great, so it’s an honor.”