MANILA, Philippines — Second seed Rianne Malixi of the Philippines walloped No. 63 Annie Jin, 6 and 5, to barge into the Round of 32 of the 75th US Girls’ Junior Championship Wednesday in Tarzana, California.
Malixi, the runner-up last year, won five of the first seven holes to set the tone for the smashing victory against American Jin that propelled her to the next round against No. 31 Kennedy Swedick, also of the US.
Swedick defeated No. 34 Remi Bacardi with a birdie in the 22nd hole to earn a crack at the Filipina ace.
“I just hit a lot of good shots today and putts just dropped. I’ve just been very consistent, and I haven’t been feeling much pressure. I was just focusing on one shot at a time, playing the best way I know how,” said Malixi, who was tied for second after the two-day stroke play.