CINCINNATI – Gianna Singh gave the first round of the 98th Women’s Western Junior at Maketewah Country Club on Tuesday the most dramatic ending possible.
The 16-year-old from Elk Grove, California, arrived at the par-3 18th 1-over par and left with a share of the first-round lead, watching her tee shot with a 50-degree wedge drop in the hole for her first tournament ace.
“It was my last hole of the day, and I felt so shocked at first,” said Singh, a Grand Canyon commit. “After it was able to sink in, I felt extremely happy.”
Playing 137 yards, the 18th hole yielded a scoring average of 3.21 to the field, with just five birdies recorded all day. The difficult par 3 was no issue for Singh, whose walk-off hole-in-one put her in a three-way tie for first place at 1-under 71.
She’s joined by 16-year-old Alisa Davidova of Roanoke, Virginia, and 17-year-old Vidhi Lakhawala of Kendall Park, New Jersey.
Davidova put together a steady round, going out in even-par 36 and coming home in 1-under 35. She recorded four birdies on the day – three on the course’s four par-5s.
“The course is pure and in really nice shape,” said Davidova. “My mindset was to play it one shot at a time. As long as I had a swing at it, I had a chance to play well.”
Lakhawala, a Wake Forest commit, also turned in a composed round, carding two birdies against a single bogey to match Singh and Davidova at 1-under.
One shot off the lead at even par is Ryan Donaldson of McAlpin, Florida, who made two eagles in her opening-round 72. After starting with a double-bogey on the 10th hole, Donaldson rebounded by going 5-under over her next 11 holes – including an eagle on the par-5 13th and birdies on Nos. 15, 1 and 3. She slipped with bogeys on holes 4 and 5 before making a second eagle on the par-5 6th.
Donaldson is tied for fourth with 2024 runner-up Isabel Emanuels (Austin, Texas), Eliza Yelverton (West Point, Mississippi) and Kara An (Valencia, California).
The tournament continues Wednesday with the second and final round of stroke-play qualifying. After 36 holes, the field of 78 will be trimmed to the low 16 players for match play.
For the full leaderboard, click here.
For tee times, click here.
First held in 1920, the Women’s Western Junior is one of the oldest junior golf tournaments in the United States. Long considered a proving ground for the game’s future stars, the event boasts an impressive list of past champions, including Candie Kung (1998), Cristie Kerr (1994), Grace Park (1993) and Nancy Lopez (1972-74).
This year, the winner of the Women’s Western Junior will have an opportunity to tee it up with LPGA stars in the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G as a tournament sponsor exemption. The 144-player field will go head-to-head at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio, Sept. 11-14. The event will feature some of LPGA Tour’s best, such as Nelly Korda, Haeran Ryu, Lydia Ko and Jeeno Thitikul.
The 2025 Women’s Western Junior marks Maketewah Country Club’s first time hosting a WWGA championship.
Attendance and parking for the Women’s Western Junior are free.