Feng Run in U.S. Girls’ Junior Comes to an End

UPDATE (July 17, 2025) — Though Rayee Feng of Short Hills, N.J., picked up a 19-hole victory in the quarterfinal round of the 76th U.S. Girls’ Junior, her run at Atlanta Athletic Club came to an end in the afternoon as she fell to Aphrodite Deng, 2 and 1.

Related: U.S. Girls Junior Homepage

Feng faced a three-hole deficit to Emerie Schartz of Wichita, Kan., after losing Nos. 6-8, but she never dropped another hole. Feng won the par-4 ninth with a birdie, and converted birdies on the par-5 12th and 18th holes to tie the match and force extra holes. A par on the par-4 first sent her on to the semifinal round.

In her afternoon match against Canada’s Deng, who also resides in Short Hills, N.J., the pair went back and forth with 10 holes won in the match. While Feng won the first with a birdie on the par-5 opener, Deng won Nos. 2 and 4 to earn a 1-up lead. The two exchanged wins until Deng won Nos. 13 and 16 to take a 2-hole advantage. A pair of par threes on the 17th led Deng to Saturday’s 36-hole title match.

Feng, who made the cut in the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this year, is exempt into August’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at at Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Ore.

UPDATE (July 17, 2025) — Rayee Feng of Short Hills, N.J., continued her run in the 76th U.S. Girls’ Junior on Thursday, capturing a pair of victories to move on to the quarterfinal round at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Related: U.S. Girls Junior Homepage | Scoring

The 17-year-old rising senior at The Pingry School carded rounds of 73-70 in stroke play qualifying to land the No. 31 seed in her second U.S. Girls’ Junior appearance. After a 5-and-3 win in the Round of 64 sent her to Day 2 of match play, Feng notched a pair of 2-up victories, defeating Zilin (Grace) Xu of China and Anita Lumpongpoung of Thailand.

Feng, who was one of five amateurs to make the cut at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, didn’t trail in either of her first two matches. While she fell into an early 2-hole deficit to Lumpongpoung, Feng won four holes in a seven-hole stretch to earn a 1-up lead through 13 holes. A birdie on the closing par-5 18th locked in her spot in the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, Feng squares off against 17-year-old and No. 55 seed Emerie Schartz of Wichita, Kan.

Feng is building upon a stellar 2024 in which she captured the New Jersey Women’s Open and had a pair of AJGA victories. Thanks to making the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open, Feng is already exempt into August’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Ore.

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (July 14, 2025) – The 76th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is set to take place at Atlanta Athletic Club’s Riverside Course in Johns Creek, Ga., starting Monday with several Met Area players set to compete.

Related: U.S. Girls Junior Homepage | Pairings

Ysabel Liu of Short Hills, N.J., qualified for the event at Chambersburg Country Club in Pennsylvania, earning medalist honors by recording a 2-under 71. Liu already has USGA success to build on from this year, having advanced to match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in May.

Alexa Phung of Forest Hills, N.Y., and Ava Zhong of Short Hills, N.J., both advanced through the MGA-conducted qualifier at Bonnie Briar. Phung, who earlier this year captured her second career Drive, Chip and Putt title, earned medalist honors recording an even 72. In 2025 she has also tied for second at the AJGA Junior All-Star at College Station and was runner-up in the 2025 New York State Girls Junior Championship, which her sister Amelie Phung won to claim her spot in the event. Amelie has had a strong season as well, placing second at the New England Women’s Amateur Championship and Florida Junior Tour MLK Major earlier this year.

Rayee Feng of Short Hills, N.J., is another with USGA success in 2025, having earned her exemption into the Girls’ Junior after qualifying for and ultimately making the cut in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open. Feng was winner of the 2024 New Jersey Women’s Open and in 2024 also notched wins in the AJGA Salt Lake City Junior and the FM Global Championship.

Related: Feng Looking to Ace More Tests at U.S. Girls’ Junior [USGA]

Jordan Levitt of Bedford, N.Y., notched her spot in the championship by qualifying in Florida, doing so at the Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida with a round of 70 that placed her as medalist. Maddie Chang of New York, N.Y., matched the low score in qualifying at River Oaks Golf Club in Sherman, Conn., but ended up as first-alternate with just one spot on the line. However, the alternate spot still earned the 13 year old a spot in the field.

After 36 holes of stroke play on Monday and Tuesday, the top 64 finishers will move on to match play to decide a champion. The Round of 64 takes place Wednesday, July 16, while two rounds of matches are slated for both Thursday and Friday, with a champion getting crowned in a 36-hole final slated for Saturday, July 19.

The semifinals are slated to air from 3-5 p.m. on Peacock on Friday, July 18, with a re-air on Golf Channel from 9-11 p.m. The championship match is slated to have the same scheduled air times and locations on Saturday, July 19.

* denotes 10th tee start.