OTTAWA, Ont. – Under misty skies at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Ottawa, Italy’s Alessia Nobilio was off to the races in the first round, rifling a 6-under 66 to seize the lead in the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship.

Nobilio, who currently sits No. 22 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, took advantage of the windless conditions and went bogey free on Tuesday, notching six birdies along the way. She led the charge for Italy as they registered an aggregate score of 139, to sit one back of first round co-leaders Thailand and the United States.

“This is my third World Juniors, I’ve been here (Canada) three times now. I shot minus 6 today, so it was a very good round. My best ever was minus seven at the European Junior Championships this year,” said the 17-year-old from Milan.   

“The greens were really fast here (at Camelot), really challenging. For tomorrow, I’ll just do my regular practice routine. I’m feeling happy, really good about my round, I played a solid game. I’m just going to play my game and do my best.”

In the team competition, the United States, propelled by solid outings from Brooke Seay (-4) and Zoe Campos (-2), sit in the lead at 6 under in a tie with Thailand. The Thai team followed their leader Atthaya Thitikul, who fired a 68 in the opening round to sit T2 with Seay in the individual competition. Campos is tied for 4th with Cecilie Nielsen from Denmark and another Thai, Kultida Pramphun, who are all at 2 under.   

United States Team Captain Delia Nava was thrilled by her team’s performance in the first round. “We are very pleased with our result today. The girls stayed calm when they got in trouble and they all played well. Eighteen is a very tough finishing hole, it’s very tricky.”

Team USA do not intend to change anything heading into Wednesday’s second round. “We just have to play like we did today and we’ll have a good result.”   

Canada One, featuring Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Qué., Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont. and Tiffany Kong from Vancouver, B.C., share 6th place with Sweden at 2 over par. Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) who make up Canada Two, trail behind at 15 over par in 18th place. Kong and Dao were the low scorers for Canada at 1 over par. 

Team Canada is looking for its first medal since capturing bronze at the first ever World Junior Girls in 2014.

The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario and supported by the R&A and the International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the World Junior Girls Championship is in its fifth edition.

Full results and tournament information can be found here.  

Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.

NOTE TO MEDIA: A selection of images from the first round of the World Junior Girls Championship can be downloaded here. When making use of the images, please credit (Golf Canada/ Golf Ontario).

2018 WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP – TOP 20 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1. Alessia Nobilio, Italy, *33-33-66 -6

2. Brooke Seay, United States, *33-35-68 -4

2. Atthaya Thitikul, Thailand, *33-35-68 -4

4. Zoe  Campos, United States, *35-35-70 -2

4. Cecilie Nielsen, Denmark, *36-34-70 -2

4. Kultida Pramphun, Thailand, *36-34-70 -2

7. Yu Ping Huang, Chinese Taipei, *36-35-71 -1

7. Ingrid Lindblad, Sweden, *34-37-71 -1

9. Ho-Yu An, Chinese Taipei, *34-38-72 E

9. Elena Moosmann, Switzerland, *36-36-72 E

11. Kan Bunnabodee, Thailand, *35-38-73 +1

11. Céleste Dao, Canada 1, *38-35-73 +1

11. Caterina Don, Italy, *36-37-73 +1

11. Tiffany Kong, Canada 1, *35-38-73 +1

11. Michaela Morard, United States, *38-35-73 +1

11. Annabel Wilson, Ireland, *38-35-73 +1

11. Shi Bing Yu, China, *34-39-73 +1

18. Sophie Bert, Belgium, *34-40-74 +2

18. Mathilde Delavallade, France, *37-37-74 +2

18. Marina Escobar, Spain, *38-36-74 +2

18. Cory Lopez, Mexico, *34-40-74 +2

18. Candice Mahe, France, *35-39-74 +2

18. Euphemie Rhodes, England, *36-38-74 +2

18. Ellie Szeryk, Canada 1, *35-39-74 +2

18. Lauren Walsh, Ireland, *38-36-74 +2

2018 WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP – TEAM RESULTS

T1  Thailand        69-69–138 -6  

T1  United States   68-70–138 -6  

3   Italy           69-70–139 -5  

4   Chinese Taipei  70-73–143 -1  

5   Denmark         71-74–145 +1  

T6  Canada 1        73-73–146 +2  

T6  Sweden          71-75–146 +2  

8   Ireland         76-71–147 +3  

T9  France          72-76–148 +4  

T9  Switzerland     73-75–148 +4  

11  China           73-77–150 +6  

12  Czech Republic  75-76–151 +7  

13  England         73-79–152 +8  

T14 Belgium         74-80–154 +10 

T14 Mexico          72-82–154 +10 

T14 Spain           78-76–154 +10 

17  Scotland        80-78–158 +14 

18  Canada 2        78-81–159 +15 

19  Colombia        76-84–160 +16

ABOUT THE WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
The World Junior Girls Golf Championship is an annual event conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario. The international competition features three-player teams of 18-and-under athletes. As host country, Canada will field two of the tournament’s 20 teams competing over 72 holes for both individual and team honours. The event receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Ottawa Tourism; the Golf Canada Foundation (Women’s Golf Fund); Sport Canada; the R&A; and Levelwear. Admission and parking for the World Junior Girls Golf Championship is free. For more information, visit www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

GOLF ONTARIO
Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 100,000 individual members and 450 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the largest golf associations in the world. From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact, to growing the game at the grassroots level and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to shaping lives through golf.

GOLF CANADA
Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing 319,000 golfers and 1,400 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to grow participation, excellence and passion in the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our goal is to be relevant to and respected by all Canadian golf enthusiasts from coast to coast. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca.

For more information:

Tyler Costigan
Manager, Content & Community
Golf Canada
(t) 1-800-263-0009 x 315
(e) tcostigan@golfcanada.ca