UPDATE (July 20, 2016) - South Salem, N.Y., native Kyra Cox's run in the 2016 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship has come to an end after being defeated by Andrea Lee by a 3&2 margin, Wednesday at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J.

Cox, making her first start in a USGA championship, garnered the No. 52 seed after posting rounds of 75-79 in the stroke-play portion. Her opponent, Andrea Lee of Hirmosa Beach, Calif., carried the No. 13 slot in match play and opened up a four-hole advantage through six holes, propelled by three birdies in the first five holes.

Cox's first birdie, coming on the par-5 seventh, trimmed the deficit to three, but Lee won the next two holes with par. Cox won the 11th hole with a par-4, only to have Lee answer again with a birdie to return her advantage to five holes. A relentless Cox added birdies on the par-5 13th and par-3 15th to help extend the match with a pair of wins, but when the pair halved the par-4 16th, Lee claimed the 3&2 victory.

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UPDATE (July 19, 2016) - Following 36 holes of stroke play over two days at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., Kyra Cox will advance to match play of the 2016 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.

Related: Scoring

Cox of South Salem, N.Y. opened stroke play with a 2-over 75, and closed the stroke-play portion with a 79 to finish tied for 49th. Cox, a 2016 finalist in the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship, carded four birdies during Monday's round, and, though she did not card any on Tuesday, her 79 helped her advance in her first USGA championship. Cox, the No. 52 seed, will begin match play at 9:30 a.m. against 13th-seeded Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, Calif.

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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (July 16, 2016) - The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., is hosting the world's best for the 2016 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship on July 18-23, 2016. A field of 156 girls will tee it up for two rounds of stroke-play qualifying on Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19, after which the low 64 players will advance to match play for the duration of the championship.

The Met Area will be well represented at this year's championship with a number of local girls looking to hoist the same trophy that Lexi Thompson, Inbee Park, Nancy Lopez and Amy Alcott have won.

The local contenders are:

Kyra Cox, South Salem, N.J., a 2016 Drive, Chip & Putt finalist who has claimed the Met PGA Player of the Year three consecutive years.

Ami Gianchandani of Short Hills, N.J., a rising junior at Pingry who won the NJSGA Girls' Junior in 2015.

Yoona Kim of Oradell, N.J., winner of several IMG and Hurricane junior golf tour titles.

Kelly Sim of Edgewater, N.J., the 2015 winner of the NJSIAA girls Tournament of Champions as a freshman.

Holes from all three of Ridgewood’s nine-hole courses – East, Center and West – will be incorporated into the championship course, which will be set up at 6,406 yards and play to a par of 36-37—73

For more information about the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, click here.