Every time Megha Ganne teed it up in an American Junior Golf Association event in 2021, she contended. For those in the know, it came as no surprise that she also contended in one of women’s golf biggest events – the U.S. Women’s Open.
Ganne was hardly an unknown entering the year, having qualified for the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals four times and advanced to the semifinals at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur. But she took her game to a new level this season, especially on the junior circuit. She played in five events recognized by the Rolex AJGA Rankings without ever finishing outside the top four and has been named the AJGA’s Rolex Player of the Year. It’s the junior golf association’s highest honor for players.
Ganne finished T3 at the Rolex Tournament of Champions and T3 at the ANNIKA Invitational early in the AJGA season. She won the Scott Robertson Memorial, a long-running junior golf event in Virginia, before making big headlines as the 17-year-old contending at the U.S. Women’s Open at Olympic Club.
Ultimately, Ganne finished T14 that week for low-amateur honors.
The back half of her year was a whirlwind of team events. She represented the U.S. as an alternate on the victorious Curtis Cup team and was a playing member of the Ping Junior Solheim Cup team and Junior Ryder Cup team.
Ganne, who is verbally committed to Stanford, ended the year ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek Junior Rankings and No. 22 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Ganne and the rest of the 2021 Rolex Junior All-America Teams listed below will be honored virtually through a Rolex Junior All-America Awards celebration on Friday, Dec. 3 dubbed “The Greatest Night in Junior Golf.”
First Team
Brooke Biermann of Wildwood, Missouri
Gianna Clemente of Warren, Ohio
Anna Davis of Spring Valley, California
Megha Ganne of Holmdel, New Jersey
Mackenzie Lee of North Little Rock, Arkansas
Michelle Liu of Vancouver, British Columbia
Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Florida
Bailey Shoemaker of Dade City, Florida
Kendall Todd of Goodyear, Arizona
Karen Tsuru of Carlsbad, California
Yana Wilson of Henderson, Nevada
Avery Zweig of McKinney, Texas
Second Team
Sara Im of Duluth, Georgia
Xin (Cindy) Kou of (China) Valencia, California
Jaclyn LaHa of Pleasanton, California
Erica Lee of Arcadia, California
Katie Li of Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Gloria Nip of (Hong Kong) Port St Lucie, Florida
Jacqueline Putrino of Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Kiara Romero of San Jose, California
Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville, Florida
Kelly Xu of Claremont, California
Lucy Yuan of San Diego, California
Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang of (China) Plano, Texas
Honorable Mention
Kynadie Adams of Nashville, Tennessee
Vanessa Borovilos of Toronto, Ontario
Leigh Chien of Irvine, California
Kylee Choi of Murrieta, California
Kylie Chong of Torrance, California
Kary Hollenbaugh of New Albany, Ohio
Thienna Huynh of Lilburn, Georgia
Grace Kilcrease of Springdale, Arkansas
Lauren Kim of Surrey, British Columbia
Sophie Linder of Carthage, Tennessee
Angela (Yilin) Liu of Irvine, California
Bridget Ma of Orlando, Florida
McKenzie Mages of Marietta, Georgia
Ava Merrill of Johns Creek, Georgia
Julia Misemer of Overland Park, Kansan
Catherine Park of Irvine, California
Catherine Rao of Camarillo, California
Brooke Rivers of Brampton, Ontario
Alexia Siehl of Fort Mill, South Carolina
Suzie Tran of Poulsbo, Washington
Lily Zhang of Buffalo, New York
Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Washington
Sophie Zhang-Murphy of Saratoga, California
Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California