Kaur makes eagle at the last to claim dramatic one-shot victory in Annika Invitational

   If you wanted a peek at the immediate future of the junior girls scene for 2023 or for the future of the women’s college golf scene for years to come, it was all right there at this week’s Hilton Grand Vacations Annika Invitational, presented by Rolex, the first big American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) event of the year for girls, which wrapped up Tuesday at Eagle Trace Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.

   And you got a pretty dramatic finish, too, at the event hosted Annika Sorenstam, one of the greatest players in the history of women’s golf, so synonymous with the women’s game that her first name suffices for the name of the tournament.

   Ashleen Kaur of Cypress, Texas, who will join the Baylor program at the end of his summer, reached the putting surface at the par-5 finishing hole at Eagle Trace and promptly rolled in a 40-foot putt for eagle that gave her a stunning one-shot victory, her second career AJGA win and her first in an AJGA invitational.

   Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J., who has been playing some really solid golf dating back to the last big AJGA event of 2022, the Rolex Tournament of Champions in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, had a one-shot lead over Kaur and Alice Ziyi Zhao, the 13-year-old phenom from China, going to the 18^th hole at the 6,531-yard, par-73 Eagle Trace layout.

   But Kaur’s clutch eagle putt enabled her to finish with a 4-under-par 69 that gave her a 15-under 204 total that smashed the tournament record by three shots. These kids are good and getting better all the time.

   Kaur had carded a 4-under 69 in Sunday’s opening round, but really made her move in Monday’s second round, posting a sizzling 7-under 66.

   After birdies at the sixth and ninth holes in the second round, Kaur made an eagle at the par-5 13^th before adding birdies at 15, 17 and 18 on her way to the clubhouse as she creeped within a shot of Zhao, who had put together a 66 of her own in the second round after opening with a 68, heading into Tuesday’s final round.

   Kaur got off to a good start in the final round with birdies at the second, sixth and 10^th holes before a bogey at 12 slowed her roll. Kaur made a birdie at the 14^th hole before a bogey at 17 left her a shot behind Li and set the stage for her dramatic finish.

   “It means a lot to compete in this event hosted by Annika,” Kaur told the AJGA website. “She was a huge inspiration to me growing up, so getting to compete here and win it is incredible.”

   Li, who will join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke at the end of the summer, has been playing a lot of golf at a time of year when a lot of players put the sticks away.

   After finishing in a tie for 22^nd place in the Rolex Tournament of Champions in November at TPC San Antonio in Texas, she lost in a playoff to Emma Schimpf in the Women’s Dixie Amateur at the Palm Aire Country Club in Sarasota, Fla. in December and ended up in a tie for 12^th place in The Sally at Oceanside Country Club in Ormond Beach, Fla. earlier this month.

   Li was two shots behind Zhao going into the final round at Eagle Trace after adding a bogey-free 6-under 67 in the second round to her opening-round 69. Li settled for par on the finishing hole for another 4-under 69 that left her a shot behind Kaur with a 14-under 205 total.

   Li has very quietly been of the best players in junior golf for the last few years. And she’s been at her best on some big stages, making a couple of nice runs in the last two U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships and reaching the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.

   It was at Chambers Bay where Zhao, whose base of operation in the U.S. is Irvine, Calif., made her presence known as the 13-year-old earned a share of medalist honors in qualifying for match play with a remarkable 10-under 136 total.

   Like Li, Zhao has been busy as 2022 gave way to 2023. She got a share of second place in the Rolex Tournament of Champions at TPC San Antonio and finished a shot behind Li in a tie for third place in the Dixie Women’s Amateur at Palm Aire.

   A birdie at the finishing hole at Eagle Trace gave Zhao a final round of 2-under 71 as she finished in a tie for second place with Li at 14-under 205.

   Canadian Vanessa Borovilos, who will join the program at Texas A&M in the summer of 2024, was in the hunt the whole week before a final round of 2-under 71 left here alone in fourth place, three shots behind Li and Zhao with an 11-under 208.

   Another Canadian, Lauren Kim, who will join the program at Texas at the end of this summer, had a strong finish with a final round of 6-under 67 as she ended up a shot behind Boroviolos in fifth place with a 10-under 209 total.

   Kim teed it up in last spring’s U.S. Women’s Open at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C.

   Kiara Romero of San Jose, Calif., a prized Class of 2023 recruit for the program at Pac-12 power Oregon, headed a strong trio tied for sixth place at 9-under 210. After matching par with a 73 in the opening round, Romero recorded a solid 6-under 67 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 3-under 70.

   Romero had a big summer in 2022, reaching the round of 16 in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. before falling to eventual runnerup Gianna Clemente. Along the way Romero knocked off Japan’s Saki Baba, a victory Baba flattered a few weeks later by marching to the U.S. Women’s Amateur crown at Chambers Bay.

   Romero also finished in third place in the Girls Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in suburban Chicago.

   The best round of the week, a sizzling 8-under 65, was turned in in the final round by Rianne Malixi of the Philippines as she made a big move up the leaderboard to get a share of sixth place at 210.

   Malixi, a Class of ’25 competitor based in San Bernardino, Calif. in the States, was the runnerup in last summer’s Girls Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill. She was coming off a runnerup finish in last month’s Citrus Golf Trail Ladies Invitational at Sun ’N Lake Golf Course in Sebring, Fla., the successor to the old Harder Hall.

   Rounding out the trio at 9-under was Japan’s Nika Ito, a Class of ’24 entry who also finished strong, carding a 6-under 67 in the final round. Ito was another young amateur player who earned herself a starting time in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles last spring.

   Anna Davis, the winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur last spring, registered her second straight 3-under 70 in the final round to get a share of 14^th place with a 5-under 214 total. Davis has risen to No. 7 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   The Spring Valley, Calif. left-hander, who recently announced her intention to join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn in the summer of 2024, was coming off victory in the Junior Orange Bowl International Championship earlier this month at the Donald Ross classic at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Springs, Fla.

   A year ago, the Annika Invitational proved to be a preview of things to come in 2022 as Yana Wilson of Henderson, Nev. holed out from 75 yards out for an eagle to beat Davis in a playoff for the title. Davis would go on to win at Augusta and Wilson captured the U.S. Girls’ Junior crown at Olde Stone in July.

   Gianna Clemente of Estero, Fla. and No. 58 in the Women’s WAGR finished in a group tied for 22^nd place with a 3-under 216 total. Clemente, the 14-year-old who lost to Wilson in the U.S. Girls’ Junior final at Olde Stone, opened with a 2-under 71 and added a 1-under 72 in Monday’s second round before matching par with a 73 in the final round.

   Clemente, a native of Warren, Ohio, was coming off a nice win in The Sally, a stop on the unofficial Orange Blossom Tour at Oceanside that oozes history and tradition.

   Also in the group at 3-under was Megan Meng, a Jersey girl from Pennington who closed with a 2-under 71. Meng a junior at Hopewell Valley Central High plans to join the program at Big Ten power Northwestern in the summer of 2024.

   Meng was coming off a tie for sixth place in the Citrus Golf Trail Ladies Invitational at Sun ’N Lake in Sebring.

   Wilson, the defending champion and No. 83 in the Women’s WAGR, closed with a 1-under 72 to finish in a tie for 30^th place with a 1-under 218 total. Wilson is a junior at Coronado High.

   Tower Hill junior Avery McCrery finished with her best round of the tournament, a 2-under 71, to end up in a tie for 35^th place with a 1-over 220 total. After opening with a 1-under 72, McCrery struggled a little in Monday’s second round with a 77.

   McCrery was coming off a really solid third-place finish in The Sally at Oceanside.

   Kiera Bartholomew of Wake Forest, N.C., who will join the program at Virginia at the end of this summer, finished alone in 58^th place with an 8-over 227 total as she registered a pair of 77s in the last two rounds after matching par with a 73 in the opening round. Bartholomew began her junior career playing out of Indian Valley Country Club.

   Sussex Academy sophomore Sawyer Brockstedt finished in 68^th place with a 230 total. Brockstedt had a pair of 3-over 76s in the first two rounds before closing with a 78.