Sofia Rivera of St. Augustine survived 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying in the U.S. Junior Girls Championship with room to spare.
Rivera, a rising senior at Beachside High School and the Times-Union’s 2025 First Coast girls high school player of the year, posted a 71 on July 14 at the Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C., and at 4-under-par 140 tied for 11th, seven shots clear of the score needed to finish among the top 64 and advance to match play on July 15.
Rivera’s first-round opponent will be determined after the second round of stroke play is completed, and pending any playoff to get to 64 contestants.
Rivera, who plays out of the St. Johns Golf and Country Club, became the youngest player in First Coast history to compete in a major championship last month when she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open. She also played in the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball last year with Sahana Chokshi of Jacksonville, with the two coming one shot away from match play.
After a first-round 69 that left her in a tie for sixth, Riviera got off to a solid start in the second round, making seven pars in a row, then dropping birdie putts at Nos. 17 and 18.
She shot 1-over on the front nine, with a birdie at No. 3 and two bogeys.
Canadian Clairey Lin is the stroke-play medalist and the No. 1 seed in match play after finishing 13-under at 66-65―131.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sofia Rivera’s second round 71 qualifies for U.S. Junior Girls match play
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
