21 Jul 2022 | Amateur golf |
No stopping Justice at US Girls’ Junior
by PGA of Australia
Queensland’s Justice Bosio has sent a warning to the 31 remaining players in the field following a dominant 6&5 victory in the first day of match play at the US Girls’ Junior in Kentucky.
The No.9 seed after finishing the 36-hole strokeplay section in a tie for sixth, Bosio dusted up American Kristina Xu in the Round of 64 to set up a showdown with another American, Mackenzie Lee, in the Round of 32 on Thursday.
A two-time winner of the Arkansas Junior Match Play, Lee was a 4&3 winner over Canadian Michelle Liu and shapes as a significant opponent as Bosio looks to advance to the final 16 at The Club at Olde Stone.
Bosio has already proved to be comfortable in matchplay scenarios during her amateur career. She notched significant wins over Kirsten Rudgeley and Kelsey Bennett at the Interstate Teams Matches in May, both of whom represented Australia at the Queen Sirikit Cup this year while Bennett made it as far as the quarter-finals of the British Amateur last month.
Temperatures pushed into the low 90s Fahrenheit (33-34 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday, making Bosio’s early finish a reward in its own right.
With the Caboolture Golf Club community behind her, the 18-year-old established a 2-up lead with pars at the two opening holes and didn’t drop a single hole in the 13 that she played, winning the seventh, ninth, 11th and 12th holes for a dominant win.
“I have been here since June, so I think my body is getting a little bit more used to it, if that can happen,” Bosio said of the intensity of the heat and humidity.
“Definitely getting off the golf course a bit quicker was a bit of an advantage coming into tomorrow, getting a little bit more rest.”
Given the quick turnaround between finishing her second round and stepping up for her first match Wednesday morning, the extra rest might prove crucial in the days ahead.
Bosio’s second round match begins at 9.27pm Thursday night AEST.
She is aiming to join Minjee Lee (2012) as the only Australians to win the US Girls’ Junior title.