HINSDALE, Ill. – Hsin Tai Lin got the birdies to fall at just the right time.

The 18-year-old from Taiwan birdied the last two holes at Hinsdale Golf Club on Wednesday to shoot a 3-under 69 and earn medalist honors at the 97th Women’s Western Junior. Lin finished at 2-under across the 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying and will be the top seed as the championship turns to match play.

“I just followed my plan and felt more used to the course on the second day,” Lin said. “Every part of my game feels like it’s on point right now.”

Lin – who will be a freshman at Northwestern in the fall – was stellar off the tee, hitting 13 of 14 fairways. She played the four par 5s in 2-under in the second round and posted five birdies to offset two bogeys.

“Because I hit it a little bit longer and hit a lot of fairways today, I was really able to score on the par 5s,” Lin said. “I’m really looking forward to carrying that into match play.”

Lauren Timpf, of Macomb, Michigan, finished in second place at 1-under par, carding scores of 72-71. The 18-year-old Purdue commit was the lone player to not post a score above par across stroke-play qualifying.

“My plan has been to keep it simple, hitting fairways and greens to keep it in play,” Timpf said. “I’m excited to turn over to match play. I’ll start to play a bit more aggressive and try to make more putts.”

Sophia Lin – a 16-year-old from Taiwan – carded scores of 72-73 to finish at 1-over in solo third place.

Defending champion Suzie Tran, of Poulsbo, Washington, shot 72 in round two, finishing tied for fourth at 2-over par. The 18-year-old Michigan commit is aiming to become the first player to repeat as champion since Monique Gesualdi in 2003.

“It’s all about taking it one round at a time and not putting too many expectations on myself,” Tran said. “My goal was just to make match play, and I know that I can lean on my experience from last year to help me out in matches even when I’m down.”

Tran isn’t the only player returning to the Women’s Western Junior Sweet 16. Jenna Madden – an 18-year-old from McKinney, Texas – finished tied with Tran in fourth at 2-over after reaching the quarterfinals last year at Greenbriar Hills Country Club near St. Louis.

Sayers Allen, of Spring Branch, Texas, and Samantha Brown, of Westfield, Indiana, will each make their third Sweet 16 appearance. Allen and Brown finished in a six-way tie for 10th place at 4-over.

Joining Tran and Madden in the tie for fourth place is Taylor Baker, of Sacramento, California, and 13-year-old Niuniu Zhao, of Woodinville, Washington.

First-round leader Martha Kuwahara, of Northbrook, Illinois, posted a second-round 76 to finish in a tie for eighth with Haper Anne Hinckley, of McComb, Mississippi.

Alongside Allen and Brown, the six-way tie for 10th includes Jiayi Yin, of Hong Kong; Sehee Sim, of Seoul, South Korea; Isabel Emanuels, of Austin, Texas; and 13-year-old Aleah Shields-Rodipe, of Canada. Shields-Rodipe is the second-youngest player in the field and the youngest Sweet 16 qualifier, beating Zhao by 147 days.

A five-player playoff was needed to determine the final spot for match play. Sophia Ellestad of Houston birdied the first playoff hole to advance to her first Sweet 16. 

Four rounds of match play will determine the Women’s Western Junior champion. The Round of 16 and Quarterfinal matches will be played on Thursday. The Semifinals will be played Friday morning, and the Final to determine who earns the Icely Cup will be played Friday afternoon.

The winner at Hinsdale this week will join a past champions list that includes Candie Kung (1998), Christie Kerr (1994), Grace Park (1993) and Nancy Lopez (1972, 1973, 1974). First played in 1920, the Women’s Western Junior is one of the oldest junior golf tournaments in the United States.