ARIYA, 17, FROM THAILAND WINS US GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP

FROM THE USGA WEBSITE

It was a long day in humid conditions at the end of a long, hot week, and 15-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn outlasted 17-year-old Dottie Ardina to become the third player from Thailand to win a USGA championship - the US girls' title at the South Course, Olympia Fields, Illinois.

"I'm so happy, I'm so proud," said Jutanugarn on the 35th green, where she closed out the match, 2 and 1. Earlier in the week she earned the No 1 seed status as the leading qualifier from the stroke-play eliminator.

In a nip-and-tuck duel, no lead got larger than 2-up. Jutanugarn carried the 2-up margin on the 31st and 32nd holes.

Statistically, both players were close. Jutanugarn hit 22 of 27 fairways and 26 of 35 greens in regulation. By comparison, Ardina missed just one fairway and three greens. Jutanugarn shot one under par with all of the match-play concessions; Ardina shot three over.

"The key to the match was birdies and pars. I kept making three-putts all day," said Ardina, who is from the Philippines.