Tag: Gianna Clemente

Gianna Clemente, 14, shoots 65 in Cincinnati to Monday qualify for a third consecutive week on the LPGA

“I definitely didn’t expect a 65, but I got the putter on fire.”

It’s not just that Gianna Clemente has Monday-qualified for an LPGA event a third consecutive week. While that’s certainly impressive enough, consider that she also carded a 7-under 65 at Kenwood Country Club to win by three and earn her spot in the field at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati.

At 14 years old, Clemente becomes the youngest player to ever Monday qualify for three consecutive events. She’s also only the second player to do it, following in the footsteps of South Korea’s Hee-Won Han in 2001. Han went on to win six times on the LPGA.

“I definitely didn’t expect a 65,” said Clemente, “but I got the putter on fire.”

Gianna Clemente watches her tee shot on the fifth hole during the second round of the Dana Open presented by Marathon at Highland Meadows Golf Club on September 02, 2022 in Sylvania, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Monday marked the first time Clemente has qualified on the actual tournament course. Weather kept her from being able to play a practice round at Kenwood, but she did walk 14 of the holes. Her father and caddie, Patrick, walked all 18. Clemente said she didn’t sleep well the night before and chalked it up to life on the road.

Clemente qualified for the CP Women’s Open in late August followed by the Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohio. She has yet to make the cut. The high school freshman was runner-up in her first U.S. Girls’ Junior appearance earlier this summer.

Anna Davis, 16, winner of the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, is competing this week on a sponsor exemption and saw her friend in the parking lot before she teed off.

“I just told her she’s big-time and to have a good round,” said Davis. “Yeah, but she’s a good friend of mine, and she’s solid. Especially being at that young of an age, I thought I was young, and then she just qualified three times in a row, and I was like, maybe I’m not that young.”

Amateurs must apply for an exemption to participate in LPGA local qualifiers. The Clementes live in Warren, Ohio, and Gianna went to the Dana Open as a kid, mostly following Lexi Thompson.

“I’ve learned that this is definitely what I want to do with my life,” said Clemente, “and this is where I want to belong in the future. I stick out a little bit now because I look young and I am young.”

Clemente said putting is what has held her back of late. Before Monday’s round, she used the metronome app on her cell phone to work on the speed of her stroke. She first began working with putting coach David Angelotti at Sea Island 18 months ago.

“I have a really naturally slow stroke,” said Clemente, “so I do my best to speed it up, and when I speed it up that works.”

Rain closed the course again Tuesday, so Clemente took the opportunity to catch up on her schoolwork. She worked on her world history, English, science and algebra classes prior to taking several calls from the media. She planned to get out her metronome again Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s definitely a lot easier to prepare now, having already seen the course,” said Clemente, “knowing what it looks like and knowing how to play it.”

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Meet 14-year-old Gianna Clemente, who has Monday-qualified for the last two LPGA events

It’s Gianna Clemente’s second time in as many weeks to Monday qualify.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lexi Thompson signed a glove for Gianna Clemente not far from where the 14-year-old stood on the first tee at Highland Meadows Golf Club on Tuesday giving an interview. From ages 5 to 10, Clemente and her family made the three-hour trek from Warren, Ohio, to Sylvania to watch what’s now known as the Dana Open.

“A lot of people still think I have the attitude of Lexi,” said Clemente, “really feisty, really serious at times. I literally wanted to watch Lexi for 18 holes, that was me as a kid.”

Clemente, a high school freshman who was runner-up at the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior, played in her first LPGA Monday Qualifier last week in Canada and earned a spot in the CP Women’s Open field for her first LPGA start. Incredibly, she Monday-qualified again for this week’s Dana Open, bouncing back from a late double with two birdies to shoot 3-under 69 and win the qualifier.

“I saw Lexi in the locker room in Canada,” said Clemente, “and I was just way too scared to go up and say hi.”

She played a practice round with Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis and Cristie Kerr and hit balls next to World No. 1 Jin Young Ko. (“I was like oh, oh my goodness.”) Clemente shot 69-74 to miss the cut in Ottawa.

“Just seeing everybody inside the ropes, Nelly and Lexi, all the big names you see on TV,” she said. “To be inside the ropes and playing, that was surreal.”

Mostly though, Clemente seems relatively at ease in the professional environment. Certainly when it comes to the media.

“I’ve always loved the cameras and attention,” she said.

Clemente was given an exemption to compete in the Monday qualifier for next week’s new Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, as well. Amateurs must apply for an exemption to participate in LPGA local qualifiers.

Patrick Clemente, a former collegiate player at Youngstown State, gave his daughter her first set of plastic clubs when she was 18 months old. She played in her first tournament at age 5. The Clementes live on a golf course, Avalon Lakes, in Warren.

“At about 9, 10 as crazy as that sounds,” said Patrick, “you could see this is what she wanted to do.”

Gianna has done online schooling since the fourth grade, and at age 11, she became the third-youngest player to qualify for the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly. Only Lucy Li (10 years, 10 months, 4 days) and Latanna Stone (10 years, 11 months and 2 days) were younger.

Patrick, VP of sales for a manufacturing company, is on the bag most weeks. Both father and daughter typically have homework left to do once they leave the course.

“We’re seeing a little bit of overdue marks on my assignments right now,” said Gianna. “It’s OK. I’m going to do it later when I get back to the hotel.”

Next month, Gianna heads to the Amundi Evian Juniors Cup in France. She’ll also try to defend her title at AJGA’s Ping Invitational at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

As for turning professional early, Gianna said she can’t yet talk to college coaches but isn’t ruling anything out.

“For now, I do want to go to college,” she said. “But we’ll see what happens. I still have a lot of time.”

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15-year-old Yana Wilson wins 73rd U.S. Girls’ Junior at The Club at Olde Stone

The next generation of stars duked it out at The Club at Olde Stone in the U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Yana Wilson experienced first hand how the top-ranked amateur in the world handled herself last year.

During the 72nd U.S. Girls’ Junior at Columbia Country Club in Maryland, Wilson fell to then-No.1 amateur Rose Zhang in the match play quarterfinals. Wilson then stayed an extra day and watched Zhang capture the championship.

“I wanted to watch her in the finals,” Wilson said. “And I told myself I was going to win this thing (this year).”

It’s safe to say the motivation paid off.

Wilson captured the 73rd U.S. Girls’ Junior championship at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Saturday. The 15-year-old beat Gianna Clemente 3 and 2 in the 36-hole final.

“It’s amazing. I just really want to thank Rose for that because she taught me a lot last year,” said Wilson. “I’m just really happy to be here right now.”

Zhang, who captured the NCAA individual title as a freshman at Stanford this spring, showed Wilson what it took to win on the biggest stages.

And that’s what Wilson, a native of Henderson, Nevada, needed.

After the first 18 holes, Wilson led Clemente 1 up, but she proceeded to bogey three of four holes after a lunch break. Thanks to a birdie on the par-3 third hole to win it, Wilson and Clemente were tied after 22 holes. Clemente, a 14-year-old from Estero, Florida, birdied the par-4 fifth hole to take a 1 up lead, which she held for the next three holes.

Wilson proceeded to birdie the par-5 ninth hole, bringing the match to all square with nine holes to play. Wilson won the 10th after a Clemente bogey, then Wilson made birdie on the par-3 13th to go 2 up with five to play.

Both girls drove over the short par-4 14th, but neither were able to get up and down for birdie. On the 15th, Clemente lipped out a birdie putt while Wilson connected, going 3 up with three to play.

On the par-3 16th, Wilson’s tee shot came up short and right while Clemente’s trickled over the back of the green but closer to the pin. Wilson’s first putt settled a couple feet from the hole. Clemente hit a great putt, but it came up inches short of dropping for birdie to extend the match. Wilson sunk her short putt to win the United States Golf Association championship.

“I knew I was more of a back nine player, and I knew I would come back,” Wilson said of her slow start on the second 18 holes.

Both Wilson and Clemente have earned exemptions into next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington.

Clemente joked after the match she needed to work on her putting, but she said this week was a valuable learning experience.

“I beat some amazing players this week in stroke play and match play,” Clemente said. “I just didn’t make enough putts today and hit enough greens.”

For Wilson, she also earned an exemption into the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.

“Nothing has really sunken in yet, but that honestly sounds unreal,” Wilson said. “I’m so excited.”

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