U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

July 16, 2026

Clairey Lin

Old Chatham Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Congrats on making it through 36 holes today. Can you talk about both of your matches?

CLAIREY LIN: The morning match, I just kind of played steady. Well, both of my matches I just kind of played steady.

Hit the fairway, hit the green, and try and sink the putt. That's kind of been my mindset the entire week, and today was no different.

Q. I know yesterday you wanted to work on your tee balls a little bit. How did that work out today?

CLAIREY LIN: A little bit better. Like towards the middle, in between the end of my first match and the beginning of my second one, it was good, but like near the beginning and the end, it kind of got shaky a little bit. So I think I'm going to do the same thing right after this.

Q. Your round of 16 match got out to an early lead. Is that something you really try to emphasize in these types of matches is striking early and then kind of maintaining that throughout the day?

CLAIREY LIN: Not necessarily, but I think it's very helpful, especially on a golf course like this where anything can happen, and it's a very gettable course. Having an early lead can definitely help kind of give you a little bit of a cushion for the rest of the match. So I would say it's pretty nice.

Q. Obviously you're playing with a ton of confidence. Can you talk about confidence, and is that something that you really focus on when you're talking to yourself throughout a round?

CLAIREY LIN: Yeah, I don't really think about confidence. I wouldn't say I'm super confident, but I mean, I love this course. It's pure, and more than it being pure, it's also fun to play.

Like for example, if I have a bad hole, the next hole I could always like look forward to it and be like, well, this is a good pin. I like this hole. If I hit some good shots, I can birdie it. So there's always a turnaround into something from something bad, and there's always like a next hole.

So just kind of having that kind of mindset is what kept me going this week.

Q. Last question. Do you have any secrets to dealing with this type of heat?

CLAIREY LIN: I've just been under my umbrella the entire day. I feel bad for my caddie. Yeah, just lots of water and an umbrella is nice.