Parsells Defeats Chen By 1 Shot To Win Junior Girls
Christina Parsells of Baltusrol was more than happy to learn she had been paired with two-time champion Alice Chen of Neshanic Valley for the final round of the 60th Junior Girls Championship on Thursday at the Royce Brook Golf Course (West) in Hillsborough.
“I was excited about it,” said Parsells, who trailed Chen by three strokes heading into the final 18 holes. “I had never played with her. I knew she was a great player and a great competitor.”
Parsells, who lives in Bernardsville saw first-hand what a grinder Chen can be, yet it was the 16-year-old Parsells (74-69-143) who fired seven birdies and recorded a career-best three-under-par 69 to defeat Chen (71-73-144) by one shot to win the 60thJunior Girls in a match-play like setting that went down to the final putt.
Chen won this championship in 2013 and 2012.
Kelly Sim of River Vale (76-69-145) was third, followed by Anina Ku of Neshanic Valley (73-76-149). Megan McLean of Fiddler’s Elbow (77-74-151) and Erica Han of Laurel Creek (74-77-151) tied for fifth.
“My short game was great and I was hitting it straight. I was getting to the greens in regulation and the birdie putts were dropping. It felt like match play. I was taking it one shot at a time and not really paying attention to who it was I was playing against,” said Parsells, a rising senior at Kent Place.
Parsells could not have played much better over the front nine Thursday, carding a 3-under 33, compared to Chen’s 3-over 39. That gave Parsells a three-shot lead with nine holes remaining.
But things got sticky in a hurry as Parsells bogeyed the par-4 No. 10 while Chen birdied to cut the lead to just one shot. Parsells quickly added a birdie on the par-5 No. 11, and when she bogeyed the par-3 No. 12, compared to Chen’s birdie, the championship was tied.
But Parsells maintained her birdie streak, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 No. 13 to open a one-shot lead, then adding a birdie from two feet on the par-4 No. 15 to open up a two-shot lead. Both players birdied the par-4 No. 16.
Both players bogeyed the par-3 17th, setting up a wild finish on the par-5 No. 18. For the first time in two days, Parsells’s drive found a fairway bunker and she could only advance the ball 50 yards from there while Chen split the fairway on her drive. Chen’s second shot was right of the green on a lower tier, 60 feet from the hole.
Parsells’s third shot found a fronting bunker. Chen’s chip rolled 10 feet past the cup and Parsells’s bunker shot was 12 feet beyond the hole. Parsells missed the par attempt by two feet. Chen now needed to sink a birdie putt to potentially tie the match, but the putt slid just left of the cup. Parsells made the comebacker for a bogey and the one-shot victory.
“I like the greenside bunker shots,” Parsells said. “I held my breath when Alice putted for birdie on 18 and her putt almost went in. Winning this is important. For me, it shows I can play with the best players.”
Parsells last summer won an IJGT Junior Tournament at Crystal Springs. So far this summer, she won the American High School Championship in a field of 50 based at St Andrews in Scotland; qualified for the Big I Tournament with a 74 in the sectional at Canoe Brook, and then with a 73-76-149 in the regional at Old York, and qualified for the U.S. Girls Junior with a 74 in the qualifier at Neshanic Valley. That will be contested July 21-27 at Forest Highlands in Flagstaff, Ariz.
“Christina was great all day. She deserved it. It was an uphill battle all day. I lost by one shot, but it felt a lot worse,” said Chen, who Thursday night boarded a flight to Seattle for the 38th U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship at The Home Course in Dupont, Wash.
“I missed three or four short putts on the front nine and in a big tournament like this, you can’t do that. I didn’t play as smart as I could have. She played great and she deserves it,” said Chen, who last week won the NJSGA Women’s Public Links in playoff over Noelle Maertz of Hyatt Hills.
Chen, who lives in Montgomery, has committed to play at Furman University next fall. This past spring, Chen fired a 7-under 65 to win her second scholastic Tournament of Champions at Cherry Valley Country Club.
Chen last summer became the first golfer to win the NJSGA Women’s Amateur, Junior Girls and state high school championship in the same season. Later in the summer of 2013, she led New Jersey to its first title in the 10th USGA State Team Championship on September 19, 2013, was featured in the October 7 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.
