USGA Announces 2014 USA World Junior Girls' Team


The United States Golf Association (USGA) has selected the three players who will represent the USA at the 2014 World Junior Girls' Team Championship. The inaugural event will be held September 26 through October 1 at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ontario, Canada.

The three players are: Megan Khang, 16, of Rockland, Mass.; Mika Liu, 15, of Beverly Hills, Calif.; and Angel Yin, 15, of Arcadia, Calif.

"The World Junior Girls' Team Championship is a wonderful example of how we can help promote and shape the game of golf for generations to come," said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and chairman of the International Team Selection Committee. "Megan, Mika and Angel will no doubt serve as fine representatives of the United States, and we wish them the best as they become the first USA competitors in this exciting event."

Khang is a junior at Rockland High School and ranked No. 35 in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking™ as of August 20. Khang qualified for the 2012 and 2014 U.S. Women's Open Championships, and reached the semifinals of the 2013 U.S. Girls' Junior, where she fell to eventual champion Gabriella Then. Khang won the 2013 PING Invitational, and was runner-up at the 2014 ANNIKA Invitational and the 2013 Junior Orange Bowl and Scott Robertson Memorial. She also won the 2012 and 2013 Connecticut Women's Open Championships. Earlier this month, Khang tied for 15th at the Symetra Tour's New England Charity Classic.

Liu is a sophomore at IMG Academy and ranked No. 58 in the WAGR. Liu had a breakthrough summer in 2014, when she won the 2014 Women's Western Amateur and Southern Amateur Championships. In February, Liu tied for fifth at the Symetra Tour's Volvik Championship. She posted runner-up finishes at the 2013 Harder Hall Invitational, Ione D. Jones/Doherty Championship and Scott Robertson Memorial. Liu represented the USA at the 2012 and 2013 Evian Championship Junior Cups.

Yin is a sophomore at Arcadia High School and ranked No. 61 in the WAGR. In July, Yin was the stroke-play medalist at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, where her two-day total of 13-under 131 was the second-lowest 36-hole score in both U.S. Girls' Junior and USGA amateur championship history. She qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women's Open at age 13, and is a two-time California Women's Amateur champion. Yin won the 2013 KNC Champions Junior Challenge, which secured her spot in the LPGA Tour's Kraft Nabisco Championship. She also received an amateur exemption into the championship in 2014. Yin made the cut both years. Bailey Tardy, 18, of Norcross, Ga., was named as an alternate.

The World Junior Girls' Team Championship is conducted by Golf Canada, the country's governing body for the game of golf. The 72-hole, stroke-play competition will include three-player teams from 15 countries competing for team and individual honors. The qualifying field was based on performance in the 2012 Women's World Amateur Team Championship. The United States finished eighth in 2012, while the Republic of Korea fielded the winning team.

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information, visit www.usga.org.