Teenage sensation Chiara Noja shoots into a tie for fourth at the ShopRite LPGA Classic

GALLOWAY, N.J. — Rose Zhang might not be competing at the ShopRite LPGA Classic this weekend because of Stanford’s final exam schedule, but even so, there’s no shortage of young talent on display.

Chiara Noja, a 17-year-old from Berlin, Germany, is one of those rising stars.

A week after Zhang became the first player in 72 years to win her LPGA debut at Mizuho Americas Open, Noja is making her own LPGA debut at the Seaview Hotel and Golf Club. Noja finished the second round on Saturday with a 67 and is 7-under par, good enough for a share of fourth place. One of three sponsor invites to the ShopRite LPGA Classic, Noja shot up the leaderboard on Saturday after finishing the first round tied for 13th at 3-under.

“The first tee is probably the only place you don’t enjoy it as much, because you’re a little nervous. Then coming up on 9, 18, those are really cool moments,” Noja said.

» READ MORE: Dani Holmqvist alone atop the leaderboard after first round of ShopRite LPGA Classic

Noja shot a bogey on the second hole on Saturday, but rebounded with a birdie on the third and finished with five birdies.

“It was a really up and down day all day today, and I think yesterday as well,” Noja said. “I had to chip quite a bit around the greens. I just tried to keep myself in contention as much as I could. I had some tricky situations and I hit some awful shots in the midst of everything. I am proud of how I managed to fight back.”

Heading into the final day, it’s crowded at the top of the leaderboard. Noja is tied for fourth with Matilda Castren, Atthaya Thitikul, Yan Liu, Brianna Do, and Jenny Shin.

Do carded a 64 for the low round of the day. She had seven birdies and went bogey-less to surge up from a tie for 51st place. Do, 33, is leading all Americans and has never recorded a top-10 finish on the tour.

This weekend marks Noja’s first time in New Jersey and just her second time playing in the U.S. after competing in New York last year.

“[The fans have] been so nice. I had a group on 17 yesterday. They had ‘Noja’ written on their shirts, which is really cool, so shout out to them,” she said. “The fans are really, really great this week, and it’s really cool being able to play in front of so many people.”

Noja, who is still in high school, turned professional at age 15. Noja has seven Ladies European Tour top-15 finishes this season, including runner-up at the Belgian Ladies Open on May 28. She won her first LET event at the Aramco Team Series event in Jeddah in November 2022.

“Both my parents are really keen golfers,” Noja said. “They played golf and they took me with them. They didn’t really expect me to do anything. I just sort of sat there building forts. I guess eventually I saw Dad doing something, and when you see Dad doing something, you really got to beat him.”

» READ MORE: PGA Tour caves to rival LIV Golf to chase the money

Noja currently lives in Dubai with her parents. Her family moved there in 2020, seeking a climate where she could continue to golf through the winter.

Next up for Noja is the Amundi German Masters in Berlin. After that, she’ll briefly be putting down the clubs for a chance to be a normal high schooler — she’s got a prom to get to.

“I’m literally just missing a week for prom and sort of to do a bit of rest and recover a little bit, and then I go back out like nothing happened,” Noja said. “At the end of the day, I’m a professional golfer, and that’s always going to be the priority.

“The LPGA is the big tour. That’s where everybody wants to go. Hopefully, I can one day. Experiences like this are going to help me make it there one day, and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and take advantage of the opportunity this week.”

Leading the pack into the third round is Dani Holmqvist, who is 11-under par to hang onto her lead from Day 1. Holmqvist, after a bogey-free round on Friday, finished Round 2 with three bogeys and seven birdies. She will seek her first LPGA win on Sunday.

“It’s a great community and always a great showing of fans. They’re so supportive,” Holmqvist said. “I mean, crowds from Philadelphia and all of New Jersey, it’s just phenomenal. I think we always feel really welcome to come here, and this is one of my favorite stops of the year.”

In second place, Hyo Joo Kim trails Holmqvist by a single stroke, while Ashleigh Buhai carded a 6-under in Round 2 to put her total at 8-under and secure third.

Kim had two bogeys and eight birdies. Buhai had one bogey and seven birdies.