Lakhawala Wins 69th Junior Girls’ Championship
HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Vidhi Lakhawala captured the 69th Junior Girls’ Championship at Royce Brook GC on Friday. Lakhawala, 15, defeated Samantha Galantini 1UP to win the title.
Following 18-holes of stroke play on Wednesday, and two rounds of match play on Thursday, Lakhawala bested Galantini in the tightly contested final matchup of the championship which saw both players finish under-par on the scorecard.
“Samantha is a great player all around. I think we both really rallied today,” Lakhawala said. “I just tried to keep my focus and got it done.”
Tied following the first 10 holes, Lakhawala drained a long birdie putt on the par-five, 11th to go 1UP and build her momentum
“It kind of fired me up,” Lakhawala said. “It helped me gain momentum and gave me the confidence to know I can make long putts under pressure.”
Galantini rallied just two holes later with a big putt of her own to square things up following the 13th hole. The match would remain tied as the duo headed to the par-three, 17th. There, Lakhawala would knock her tee shot to just a few feet before rolling home what would go on to be the match-sealing birdie.
“I was just trying to stay focused on the process,” Lakhawala said. “My mindset was if it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn’t, it’s fine.”
Just as the already humid day began to heat up with the sun peeking through the overcast sky, Lakhawala kept her cool on 18, making a par to seal the victory.
“It means a lot. I know a lot of big names have won it in the past, so just to etch my name on the trophy means so much,” Lakhawala said.
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