Four girls share the lead at PGA Frisco, and the score is about the only thing their third rounds had in common.
Gia Ahlowalia attacked Fields Ranch East with seven birdies and a 5-under 67. Alexandra Phung and Ava Zhang absorbed matching 73s while playing alongside one another. Alexa Takai shot 76, watched her two-shot overnight advantage disappear and still left the course tied for first.
When Thursday ended, all four were at 5-under 211 through 54 holes of the 50th Junior PGA Championships. Alexandra Snyder, Alli Wiertel and first-round leader Carolyn Liu sit only one shot behind at 4 under.
There is no clear favorite heading into Friday’s final round. Instead, four players reached the same position through four very different forms of championship golf.
That makes the final less about who can produce the prettiest round and more about who can best accept what Fields Ranch East gives her.
Junior PGA Girls Division
Four Players Share the Lead
Seven players will begin the final round separated by a single shot at Fields Ranch East.
Gia Ahlowalia
-5
211 total
Alexandra Phung
-5
211 total
Ava Zhang
-5
211 total
Alexa Takai
-5
211 total
One Shot Back
Alexandra Snyder, Alli Wiertel and Carolyn Liu are tied at 4-under 212.
Gia Ahlowalia Changes the Shape of the Championship
Ahlowalia began Thursday at even par and tied for 27th. She finished it tied for the lead.
The 17-year-old from Southlake, Texas, made seven birdies in a 67, the lowest score in the Girls Division during the third round. Her five-shot improvement moved her 26 places up the leaderboard and turned a championship that appeared to be taking shape around Takai into something far less predictable.
Ahlowalia, who has verbally committed to TCU, credited a sharp putter and precise approach play.
“My putting was really good,” she said. “I made almost every putt, and I hit it pretty close out there. It just felt right today.”
The confidence became clear at the par-3 fourth. From approximately 130 yards, Ahlowalia used the slope to feed a pitching wedge to 6 feet and converted the birdie.
It was one shot in a seven-birdie round, but it also showed the difference between simply navigating Fields Ranch East and understanding how to use its contours.
Ahlowalia also benefited from an early tee time, when temperatures were slightly cooler and the wind had not fully developed. She did not treat the conditions as an explanation for the round, however. Her position was simpler: The course remains scoreable when a player hits the correct sections and converts the opportunities that follow.
The challenge Friday will be different. Ahlowalia is no longer chasing anonymously from the middle of the field. Every birdie, mistake and leaderboard change will carry championship consequences.
Alexandra Phung and Ava Zhang Lean on Patience
Phung and Zhang reached 5 under together.
The two players were teammates and roommates at the Wyndham Cup earlier in July, then found themselves paired during the third round at PGA Frisco. They walked away with identical 1-over 73s and another shared experience waiting for them Friday.
Their rounds, however, unfolded differently.
Phung was 2 over after a double bogey at the par-4 seventh. Rather than chase the lost shots, the 15-year-old from Forest Hills, New York, played the final 11 holes without a bogey and made a birdie at the 15th.
She had a chance to claim the outright lead at 18 but settled for par.
“I know when you try to do something, especially in golf, it never really happens,” Phung said. “If it drops, it drops. If it doesn’t, that’s just how it is. You’ve got to live with it.”
Then she delivered perhaps the most fitting description of her final-round plan.
“I’m just going to try and give whoever’s the leader a hard time,” Phung said. “I’m gonna linger.”
Zhang’s 73 was steadier. The 16-year-old from Lake Mary, Florida, recorded one birdie and two bogeys while avoiding the large number that could have pushed her out of Friday’s final groups.
Her explanation of Fields Ranch East could double as the governing strategy for the final round.
“There are a lot of tough pin positions, so you kind of just have to take your medicine on some shots, play safe and then stay patient,” Zhang said.
That sounds conservative until the alternative is considered. This course creates temptation through slopes, angles and potential recovery routes, but it also punishes players who turn a difficult par into an unnecessary double bogey.
Zhang and Phung did not create much separation Thursday. They did something equally important. They remained in position to win.
Alexa Takai Finds Value in an Imperfect Day
Takai’s third round tested a different part of her game.
After shooting 66 on Wednesday to take a two-shot lead, the 17-year-old from Honolulu struggled to control her approaches and adjust to the changing conditions. Her 4-over 76 included a double bogey at the par-5 third and enough missed greens to prevent her from establishing the same rhythm she found one day earlier.
The scoreboard said she had lost four shots to par and her outright lead.
Takai saw something else.
“You can’t really change what happened in the past, but all you can do is dictate your attitude and how you execute moving forward,” she said.
Takai also reminded herself that contention, rather than perfection, was the objective.
“Even though I shot 4-over today, I would have taken this spot at the beginning of the week,” she said. “There are so many great players out here, such a big field, that anytime you’re in contention out here, it’s just a pretty good opportunity.”
That perspective will matter Friday.
A player who begins the final round after shooting 67 may feel she needs to preserve momentum. A player coming off 76 has a different assignment. Takai must leave Thursday’s mistakes where they occurred without abandoning the game that put her in front after 36 holes.
Her week has already included a 66 and a 76. She enters the final round tied with three players whose own paths have been no less revealing.
Seven Players Begin Friday Separated by One Shot
The four-way tie is only the first layer of the Girls Division leaderboard.
Snyder, Wiertel and Liu are one shot behind at 4-under 212. Snyder moved forward with a 71, while Wiertel and Liu each posted 73. Liu, who held the first-round lead, now has another opportunity to return to the top.
Thirty-three girls survived the second cut, which fell at 3 over. The final round will again be played on Fields Ranch East, where patience has become nearly as valuable as a well-struck iron shot.
The championship carries consequences beyond Friday’s trophy presentation. The Girls Division winner will receive an exemption into the 2027 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, adding another significant opportunity to an already important junior title.
The final round will be streamed on the PGA of America’s YouTube channel beginning at 11 a.m. Central and noon Eastern. The official schedule lists final-round starting times from 7:10 to 9:42 a.m. Central.
Four co-leaders will begin the day with identical scores, but none will arrive at the first tee carrying the same emotions or recent experience.
Ahlowalia has the round everyone else wants to reproduce. Phung and Zhang have remained patient through difficult stretches. Takai has already lived through the kind of day that can derail a championship and discovered she is still tied for the lead.
One of them may leave PGA Frisco as the Junior PGA champion.
Three players one shot behind intend to make sure the answer is not that simple.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.
