June 27, 2018
House of Royalty-NorCal Winners of the U.S. Girls’ Junior
A look at NorCal winners of the U.S. Girls’ Junior as the tournament returns to Northern California
By Gary McCormick
The USGA’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is making a return visit to Northern California this year, at the NCGA’s home course, Poppy Hills Golf Course. This will be the championship’s fifth visit to NCGA territory, and the second time it has been played in the Del Monte Forest.
The event was first played in Northern California in 1952, when the 4th U.S. Girls’ Junior was contested on Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Dunes Course. The tournament returned in 1976, at Del Rio Golf & Country Club in Modesto, again in 1986 at Peach Tree Golf & Country Club in Marysville and most recently the 2012 edition was played at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City.
Over the 69-year history of the U.S. Girls’ Junior there have been four champions from Northern California, including one who captured the trophy in home territory:
1986: Pat Hurst
A native of San Leandro, Pat Hurst has several superlatives to her credit when it comes to the U.S. Girls’ Junior: She is the only Northern California champion to win in Northern California, she is co-holder of the record for longest final match (1949 to 2005), and she later became a U.S. Women’s Amateur champion,
In her championship win, Hurst defeated Adele Moore of Dallas, Texas over 20 holes at Peach Tree G&CC in Marysville. Hurst and Moore later became college golf rivals– Hurst playing three years at San Jose State before turning pro, while Moore played for the Stanford Cardinal.
Hurst’s 20-hole win came in the era from 1949 to 2005 when the final match consisted of 18 holes of match play. Hurst co-holds this record with Judy Eller of Tennessee, who defeated Oklahoma’s Beth Stone over 20 holes at Lakewood CC in Denver in 1957.
Hurst is one of seven U.S. Girls’ Junior champions who have gone on to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur after becoming U.S. Girls’ Junior champion. She captured that title in 1990 at Canoe Brook CC in New Jersey.
After playing three years of college golf at San José State University, Hurst turned pro. She racked up six wins on the LPGA Tour, including one major title, the 1998 Nabisco Dinah Shore (now the ANA Inspiration.)
1988 Jamille Jose
The second Northern California winner of the U.S. Girls’ Junior was in the gallery when the first, Pat Hurst, became the champion. Jamille Jose was just taking up the game of golf in 1986 when her father took her to Peach Tree Golf & Country Club in Marysville for the U.S. Girls’ Junior, where she watched Hurst in her 20-hole victory over Adele Moore. Remarkably, only two years later Jamille hoisted the Glenna Collett-Vare Trophy herself, after defeating Debbie Parks of Carefree, Arizona 5 and 4 at Golden Valley (Minnesota) CC. The 1988 victory earned Jamille an exemption into the 1989 U.S. Women’s Open. Jose would follow Hurst’s path, winning the 1999 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
1996 Dorothy Delasin
Born in Lubbock, Texas, Dorothy Delasin grew up in San Francisco, and started playing golf at the age of eight. She shares with Pat Hurst the distinction of having captured the U.S. Women’s Amateur title, in 1999, along with her 1996 U.S. Girls’ Junior title. Delasin defeated Grace Park of South Korea, 5 and 4, to take the 1996 title at Westward Ho Country Club in South Dakota.
Delasin was also the California Women’s champion in 1996, and was the 1998 medalist in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Merion GC in Pennsylvania, posting a score of 144 for 36 holes on the venerable club’s East Course.
2000 Lisa Ferrero
For her 2000 U.S. Junior Girls’ title, Stockton’s Lisa Ferrero defeated Ina Kim, of Los Angeles, 3 and 1, on the Ghost Creek Course at Pumpkin Ridge GC in Oregon. Ferrero went on to play college golf at the
University of Texas, and also played professionally on the LPGA, Symetra and Futures tours. She won the 2011 Symetra Tour Classic and the 2011 Future Tour Teva Championship as a professional, and was the recipient of the distinguished 2014 Heather Farr LPGA Courage Award.
In 2017 Ferrero was named to the head coach position for women’s golf at Towson University in Towson, Maryland.
