Ysabel Liu capped a remarkable summer by winning the 101st New Jersey Women's Amateur Championship, defeating Vanderbilt rising junior Angelina Tolentino, 2 up, in a tightly contested final at Essex Fells Country Club. The incoming Princeton freshman earned the title—and an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women's Amateur at The Honors Course in Tennessee—after a match that featured multiple lead changes and wasn't decided until the 18th hole.
Liu raced to an early 2-up advantage with a birdie on the opening hole, but Tolentino battled back, winning three straight holes late on the front nine to square the match before taking her first lead with a birdie at the 11th. Liu never let the momentum swing get away from her, answering with a birdie at the 13th before pulling even again on the 16th. She then delivered the decisive blow with another birdie at the 17th and closed out the championship after safely reaching the 18th green. "Coming in to today, I wasn't expecting to have a huge lead," Liu told the New Jersey State G.A. "I knew it was going to be tight, so that helped my expectations throughout the round. I just took it one shot at a time."
A former Millburn High School standout, Liu drew on her familiarity with Essex Fells while navigating windy conditions. "I like playing in the wind," she told the New Jersey State G.A. "The greens are super pure so I could really trust that if I put a good stroke on it and had the right speed and break, the putts would drop." After securing the title, Liu summed up the battle simply: "All I can say is that was a really difficult round. It was a great battle and I'm happy it turned out in my favor."
The victory continues an impressive season for Liu, who also captured the AJGA Lake Charles Junior Championship in April. She now heads to Princeton with momentum and another opportunity to compete on one of amateur golf's biggest stages after earning a return trip to the U.S. Women's Amateur, where she'll look to improve on last year's appearance.
