Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco provided the drama and then some in the final round of the 50th Junior PGA Championship, and JGAA member Aubrey Hilgers walked away with the hardware. The Surprise, Arizona, native birdied the par-3 17th in regulation to force a playoff, then returned to the same hole to save par from the bunker and defeat Yujie Liu on the third extra hole.
“It means so much,” Hilgers said after her victory. “If you told me a week ago that I would be here standing with this trophy in my hand, I would not believe you. And honestly, I still can’t believe that I have it, and being out here just means so much.”
Hilgers and Liu both entered the final round tied for eighth, two shots behind a crowded leaderboard that saw as many as eight different girls hold or share the lead Friday. Both players shot 6-under 69 to force a sudden-death playoff. After matching pars on the first two playoff holes — the 18th and 10th — both found the bunker off the tee back at the par-3 17th. Liu’s second shot ran over the green, while Hilgers’ landed within a few feet, setting up an easy par putt to secure the win.
The 16-year-old Hilgers was even par through nine holes Friday before birdies on the par-5 14th and par-4 15th got her to 5-under, tying Liu. A clutch Liu birdie on 18 gave the China native a one-shot lead as Hilgers stepped to the 17th tee needing a birdie to force a playoff.
Hilgers, who recently committed to play collegiately at Auburn, played steadily through the first three rounds, firing 70-73-70. Her only rough patch of the week came Wednesday with a triple-bogey on Fields Ranch East’s par-4 12th, but she answered three holes later with a hole-out eagle at the par-4 15th. She carded nine birdies across the final two rounds to close out the win, with 1992 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Warren Schutte on her bag throughout the week.
With the victory, Hilgers earned points toward the 2027 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team, an exemption into the 2027 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and an exemption into the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, among other honors.
“Honestly, I still can’t believe I’m doing that,” Hilgers said of the ANWA exemption. “I had a family friend play in the ANWA a while back, and I still can’t get my mind around the fact that I’ll be playing where she did. It’s crazy.”
All of us in the JGAA family couldn’t be prouder of her recent career milestone and see the hard work pay off in a monumental way. Way to go, Aubrey!
