When the final putt fell into the cup on the 17th hole, it took a few seconds for Caroline Gao to realize what she had done.
Gao, a 13-year-old who's set to enter the 8th grade this fall, became one of the youngest winners of the annual California Junior Girls’ State Championship as she toppled No.1 seed Asterisk Talley, 2 and 1, in the 18-hole finale on the Dunes Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Current LPGA Tour member Yealimi Noh was 12 when she won the title in 2014.
"I think it's kind of unbelievable right now, being so young," Gao said. "I didn't even know if I'd win my first match."
Coming into the event, the No.7 seeded Gao had never competed in match play. To make things even more interesting, she didn't feel all that great during Wednesday's Round of 16 and the quarterfinals. In both matches, she'd end up playing extra holes--winning her opener on the 20th hole and then her quarterfinals match on the 19th hole.
After squeaking past No.6 Melia Gustavson in the morning semifinals, Gao had to face the red-hot Talley, who entered the event coming off a win at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship and low amateur honors at the U.S. Women’s Open.
After see-sawing through the first eight holes, Talley, 15, grabbed a 1-up lead with a birdie on the par-5 9th. Talley maintained her one hole lead over the next five holes, but on No.15 Gao turned into a dynamo herself.
She'd birdie holes Nos. 15, 16 and 17 in succession while Talley could only make par. On the closing 17th, Talley had a birdie putt but it lipped out. After knocking it stiff, Gao's putt, just a 4-footer, dropped in to seal the victory.
"What I liked about match play was that if you messed up, you could quickly get it out of your system," said Gao, who joined the likes of current LPGA Tour member Yealimi Noh and former U.S. Women's Amateur champ Dorothy Delasin as winners of the event. "On the 17th, I couldn't tell how close my shot was on the green. The big relief was when Asterisk missed her putt. She is just so good."
Following a tight opening Round of 16 match, Talley had turned into her dominating self. She won her quarterfinals match, 7 and 5, and her semifinals match, 4 and 3.
Gao's late birdie flurry, however, did her in.
"Caroline played really well," Talley said. "I could've played better."