Kendall Allen has won more than her share of golf tournaments in Western Pennsylvania the past couple years ... now she is going for a national championship.

Allen, a 15 year-old Fox Chapel resident who will be a sophomore at Shady Side Academy in the fall, qualified for the USGA Girls' Junior Championship. To do so, Allen had to place among the top four at a regional qualifier late last month at Prestwick Country Club in Canton, Ohio.

"It's fantastic to qualify for a national championship. That's just an incredible and wonderful achievement," said Helene Gosse, Allen's coach at Shady Side Academy.

"Of course, that's just the beginning, the first step ... but look at the number of people she beat out so far in the qualifying. Even at her one qualifier, with the strength of the field, and only four spots were available. Then multiply that by all the sites across the country, to be there, I'm excited for her, and she'll do well, I think."

The 61st USGA Girls' Junior Championship will take place Saturday through July 25 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. One-hundred fifty-six girls under the age of 17 will participate in the tournament, which begins with two days of stroke play to whittle the field down to 64. Those 64 then participate in bracket-style match play to determine the winner.

More than 1,000 girls across the country -- and from around the world -- entered the dozens of qualifiers. The qualifier at Prestwick, which played at 6,300 yards, included players from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, the Philippines and Canada. Allen shot a 73 to tie for third.

"I'm really excited," Allen said. "I'm looking forward to it; it'll be a good experience. I've been preparing for it."

Allen was an excellent swimmer growing up in addition to her golf prowess, which she attributes to her mother, Joan, an avid golfer.

"She wanted to get me into it since it's a life-long sport," Allen said. "I really got into it."

Allen ultimately began to focus primarily on golf at about age 9. A member at the Longvue Club in Penn Hills, Allen has been playing competitively for more than five years, winning several Kings Junior Tour events (including triumphing in every one she entered last summer) and playing Western Pennsylvania Golf Association, International Junior Golf Tour and American Junior Golf Association tournaments.

This past fall, Allen helped lead Shady Side Academy to WPIAL and PIAA team championships.

Allen cites her approach shot as the strongest part of her game. That's encouraging, because many top players at her age can get by hitting the ball a mile off the tee or on the strength of a good short game. If she already has the art of the approach shot down, look out.

"In golf, to be successful, it's just not one thing; it's got to be the whole package," said Gosse, who was once one of the top amateur golfers in Canada.

"You can't just be a good driver or a good putter; you've got to be strong mentally to start with and then have a sound swing -- and then to you've got to be good with a driver and have got to be accurate and have got to be a good putter. And you've got to be able to get out of trouble, no matter how good you are. You need to chip and hit from the sand. And you need to be able to handle the four or five hours out there on the golf course, keeping your head.

"I think Kendall has that very strong ability. She's got the tools to get there."

Allen said her goal is to earn a college scholarship on the basis of her golf. Beyond that, Gosse said she has the potential for even greater things.

Already, by the tender age of 15, Allen has narrowly missed qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Amateur.

"She has what it takes to make it to the LPGA, it's as simple as that," Gosse said. "It's a matter of how much work -- hard work -- she puts in. There's a lot of talent in America. She has what it takes to get there if she stays focused and interested and keeps her love of the game.

"She has what it takes to get to the LPGA tour and have a downright very nice career."