MARKHAM, Ont. – Undeterred by cold and blustery conditions, Spaniard Cayetana Fernández saved her best for last at Angus Glen Club as the 17-year-old shot a final-round 2-under 70 to lead Spain to victory at the 2022 World Junior Girls Golf Championship, presented by Sargent Farms.
Competitors faced challenging conditions Saturday that included a 46-minute weather delay with heavy morning winds in the Markham area. When play resumed, Fernández would emerge as one of only two players to score under par, leading Spain to victory and claiming the tournament’s individual title.
Fernández paired with teammate Andrea Revuelta to deliver Spain (140-143-146-146—575) a cumulative team score of 2-over on the day and 1-under for the tournament. The Spanish duo along with teammate Paula Martin, who shot a non-counting final-round 76, began the tournament as early favourites with all three players ranked inside the top-100 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
With the victory, the Spanish trio helped claim the country’s second-ever team title (2022 & 2017), joining the Republic of Korea (2019 & 2015) for most team titles at the annual World Junior Girls Golf Championship, presented by Sargent Farms.
“We are very proud to be world champions,” said Spanish team coach Alvaro Salto. “The golf course was tough test, it played really different conditions and the weather changed a lot, so patience was the key. With these three girls, we have a really special generation now in Spain, and with a few more that could have come to the team this year, we are in good position for the next two, three years.”
Team Sweden (147-138 -142-153—580), who entered final-round action with a two-shot lead over Spain, shot a cumulative score of 4-over to finish alone in second, five shots back. The runner-up placing was the Nordic country’s best result since finishing third in 2017.
Chinese Taipei (144-150-141-147—582) finished alone in third at 6-over followed by Colombia (145-146-147-151—589) in fourth at 13-over and Germany (147-150-146-152—595) at 19-over rounding out the top-five.
The Canada 1 squad of Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C.(72-76-72-79—299), Angela Arora of Surrey, B.C. (68-80-75-80—303), and Michelle Liu of Vancouver (72-77-74-83—306) finished alone in sixth at 22-over.
The Canada 2 squad of Anna Huang from Vancouver (72-77-76-76—301), Yeji Kwon of Port Coquitlam, B.C. (73-75-75-81—304) and Michelle Xing of Richmond Hill, Ont. (74-83-82-80—319) finished solo eighth (+28).
The following are final team results at the World Junior Girls Championship, presented by Sargent Farms:
1 Spain -1 (140-143-146-146—575)
2 Sweden +4 (147-138-142-153—580)
3 Chinese Taipei +6 (144-150-141-147—582)
4 Colombia +13 (145-146-147-151—589)
5 Germany +19 (147-150-146-152—595)
6 Canada 1 +22 (140-153-146-159—598)
7 France +24 (156-146-148-150—600)
8 Canada 2 +28 (145-152-151-156—604)
9 England +31 (150-151-152-154—607)
10 Belgium +33 (144-157-152-156—609)
11 Mexico +35 (146-152-155-158—611)
12 Denmark +40 (150-150-158-158—616)
T13 Italy +46 (154-156-154-158—622)
T13 Wales +46 (152-159-157-154—622)
15 Ireland +50 (150-158-155-163—626)
16 Switzerland +52 (156-158-154-160—628)
17 Finland +54 (154-161-153-162—630)
18 Austria +58 (156-158-155-165—634)
Click here for a link to the full team competition leaderboard.
In the individual competition, Spaniard Cayetana Fernández, who was T2 through 54 holes, hoisted double titles, shooting 2-under 70 in difficult conditions to finish at 6-under for the tournament (70-70-72-70—282).
“We feel great, super proud of ourselves,” said Fernández, whose older sister Bianca helped lead Spain to victory in 2017. “We knew today was going to be tough, and when we stopped with the weather, we knew we had to fight for it, give it our best and stay fighting. The whole team, we are very happy, we don’t have words!”
Fernández becomes the fourth player to win the individual title and lead their country to victory joining Yuka Saso of the Philippines (2016), Hye-jin Choi of Korea (2015) and Mika Kelly of the United States of America (2014) as the only players to accomplish the feat. Fernández’s finish is also the best individual result for a Spanish athlete since her older sister Bianca Fernández along with Dimana Viudes finished third and fourth respectively in 2017.
Runner-up María José Marin of Colombia (72-71-71-70—284) joined Fernández as the only players to score under par Saturday, finishing 2-under 70 on the day and 4-under for the tournament, two shots back.
Sweden’s Meja Őrtengren (71-68-70-76—285), who entered final round action with a 3-shot lead, struggled with a final-round 76 to finish solo third at 3-under. Ting-Hsuan Huang of Chinese Taipei (70-73-69-75—287) finished at 1-under in fourth with Sweden’s Nora Sundberg (76-70-72-77—295) and Belgium’s Savannah De Bock (69-76-74-76—295) at 7-over rounding out the top-five.
Lauren Kim of Surrey, B.C.(72-76-72-79—299) finished as the low Canadian at 11-over (T9), the lone Canuck to finish inside the top-10.
The following are Top-10 final results in the individual competition at the World Junior Girls Championship, presented by Sargent Farms:
1 Cayetana Fernández, Spain 70-70-72-72—282 (-6)
2 María José Marin, Colombia 72-71-71-70—284 (-4)
3 Meja Őrtengren, Sweden 71-68-70-76—285 (-3)
4 Ting-Hsuan Huang, Chinese Taipei 70-73-69-75—287 (-1)
T5 Nora Sundberg, Sweden 76-70-72-77—295 (+7)
T5 Savanah De Bock, Belgium 69-76-74-76—295 (+7)
7 Andrea Revuelta, Spain 70-76-74-76—296 (+8)
8 Larissa Carrillo, Mexico 71-75-76-76—298 (+10)
T9 Lauren Kim, Canada 1 72-76-72-79—299 (+11)
T9 Constance Fouillet, France 80-71-74-74—299 (+11)
Click here for a link to the full individual leaderboard.
The 2023 World Junior Girls Championship, presented by Sargent Farms will return to Angus Glen next year with the date still to be determined.
In total, 54 athletes on 18 teams representing 17 countries—including two teams from host nation Canada—competed Oct. 12-15 at Angus Glen for the team and individual titles. The event marked the celebrated return of the prestigious global competition after two years of cancellation due to the pandemic.
This year’s field for the World Junior Girls Championship, presented by Sargent Farms is highlighted by 11 competitors ranked inside the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) top 100. A full list of competitors including their WAGR position is here.
Angus Glen Golf Club, which hosted the World Junior Girls Championship for the third time, is home to two 18-hole championship golf courses in Markham, Ontario. The North and South courses offer variety, beauty, and challenges. Angus Glen has been ranked as one of the top 80 golf courses in the world outside of the United States. It was home to the 2002 and 2007 Canadian Open and an official host of the 2015 Toronto Pan/Parapan American Games. The 2022 World Junior Championship will be contested on the South course.