Elianna Grace carded a 9-under-par 207 to finish third in the girls' 12-year-old division at the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, capping a four-year climb from 13th place to the top three at the world's largest junior golf tournament.

The tournament, which ran July 30 through Aug. 1, drew 2,048 players from 48 states and 58 countries across all age divisions, according to The Golf Wire.

The Lakewood Ranch seventh-grader posted rounds of 70, 66 and 71 across three days at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, finishing Saturday, Aug. 1. She beat out 116 of the 119 golfers from 19 countries in her division.

Only 16 players finished under par.

Bella Simoes of Boca Raton won the division at 15-under, six strokes ahead of Grace. Simoes is a six-time champion of the event, according to Your Observer.

Four-year rise from 13th place to a top-3 finish at Pinehurst

Grace's trajectory at the event tells the story: tied for 13th at age 9 in 2023, 23rd at age 10 in 2024, fourth at 6-under in 2025 and third at 9-under this year. Her 2024 score was 12 over par. Two years later, she shaved 21 strokes off that total.

Her father, Pat Grace, has caddied every round of her competitive career. He maps courses before rounds, plays practice rounds with her and talks through shot selection.

"She was just striking drives, and women and men on the driving range are turning their heads and watching her," Pat Grace told Your Observer, recalling an early moment when he recognized his daughter's talent. "It was like, 'OK, this kid might have something here.'"

Grace picked up golf at age 4 with a set of Nike clubs from her uncle, Lucas Grace. She had played softball before asking her father to pull her out so she could focus on golf full time. She trains with private coach Craig Skiles and attends Florida Virtual School to accommodate her practice schedule.

Her mother, Lacey Grace, said the results come from daily hours on the course, not luck.

Florida Junior Tour and Callaway titles built ahead of Pinehurst run

The Pinehurst finish caps a strong 2026 season. In March, Grace won the girls' 11-12 division of the Florida Junior Tour's Continental Open in Wildwood, carding a 3-under 141. On June 6, she won the girls' 10-13 division of the Callaway Manatee Junior Golf Tour Championships.

In December 2024, she beat Simoes by one stroke to win the U.S. Kids Golf Holiday Classic in Palm Beach Gardens with a 5-under 139.

"After I made the final putt on 18, I went over to my dad," Grace recalled of that Holiday Classic win. "He said, 'You won,' and I didn't believe him."

The Aug. 1 finish at Pinehurst was Grace's final U.S. Kids Golf event. The tournament is open to ages 5 through 12, meaning she has aged out. Her stated goal now: become the No. 1 golfer in the world.

She ends every tournament the same way, hugging her father after the 18th hole.