U.S. Girls Junior Championship: Day 1 Of Match Play

The first match of the day at the U.S. Girls Junior Championship set the bar high.

Top seed Megan Khang and 64th seed Shannon Brooks battled all the way down the back nine at Tulsa Country Club.

After winning 14 to get within one, Brooks hit a nine-iron from 122 yards out to just inches from the pin to tie the match through 15.

On the par-5 16th, Khang stuffed her approach to a few feet, leading to a tap-in birdie and a 1-up lead she'd keep the rest of the way to advance.

"I was thinking ‘you gotta capitalize on this after you just saw what she did,’” said Khang. “She doesn't make many errant shots, so I had to take advantage of that."

Two Oklahomans qualified for the match play field of 64, and both of them proved they belong on the national stage.

Kaitlin Milligan finished second in the 6A state tournament as a sophomore at Norman North this spring.

Milligan made a number of great putts, including one on the number ten to hang on to a 1-up lead.

Down one on the 18th, she cleaned up a birdie to tie the match and force extra holes.

On the 19th, her drive found the trees, leading to a bogey and a tough sudden-death loss.

"I was striking my irons good, putting a lot better than yesterday,” she explained. “Off the tee, I could have hit more fairways. My short game was better than it has been, so I was happy with that."

Yujeong Son will be a freshman at Norman High this fall.

Son dropped in a birdie on number seven to keep a 1-up lead, and then scrambled for a par on number eight to win the hole and take a 2-up lead. 

She went on to win, 3 and 2.

The tournament continues with two rounds of matches to cut the field from 32 down to eight.