Written by Isaac Staszkow, IGA Championship Intern
Nampa, Idaho —On a hot Tuesday afternoon in the hills of Nampa, Idaho, Kelli Ann Strand secured her second win in less than a week by winning the U.S. Junior Girls’ Qualifier at Redhawk Golf Course.
After her round, Strand was relieved to say, “I did what I had to do to win.”
Following a double bogey on the fifth hole, where Strand hit her bunker shot out of bounce and struck a poor iron shot off the tee on the following hole, her caddie could only describe that stretch of holes as rough.
Strand, a native of Challis, Idaho, recovered from those slight struggles on the front as she birdied holes seven and nine to shoot two-under-par 34. She then signed for even par on the back to win by five strokes: 34-35—69 (-2).
Following our interview, Strand headed directly to the range to hit balls in the 90-degree heat… I guess you could say there is no rest for the best!
Finishing in second place and joining Strand at the 73rd U.S. Girls’ Junior at The Club at Olde Stone will be Natalie Vo from San Jose, California—who shot a 35-39—74 (+3) to finish tied for second place but beat out two other competitors in a playoff to advance.
In the U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier, the following individuals are those who claimed the available qualifying spots for the said event:
-Jay Leng Jr. 32-31—63 (-7)
San Diego, California
-Jaden Dumdumaya 32-34—66 (-4)
Fairfield, Californa
CLICK HERE for the complete leaderboard of each qualifier.