Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States: Back in March, Asterisk Talley and Rianne Malixi were room-mates at the Sage Valley Junior Invitational. Talley won the event, and Malixi finished runner-up, six shots back.
Last month, Malixi got her revenge at the 2024 US Girls’ Junior with an 8&7 victory over Talley in the 36-hole final match. On Sunday afternoon, the pair settled their friendly-yet-competitive stalemate in the 36-hole championship match of the 2024 US Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club.
Malixi, 17, became the fourth female to win two USGA titles in the same year with her 3&2 defeat of Talley and the first native of the Philippines to win the US Women’s Amateur.
She’s also just the second player in history to win the US Girls’ Junior and US Women’s Amateur in the same year, a feat previously only accomplished by Korean Seong Eun-jeong in 2016.
In total, now nine women have won both championships, with Rose Zhang (2020 US Women’s Amateur, 2021 US Girls’ Junior) being the last to do so.
“Honestly, I just wanted to play good golf. That’s it,” Malixi said of her expectations for the year. “I wasn’t expecting to win the Australian Master of Amateurs in January and then win the US Girls’ last month and then this one. I was so surprised. Even though I was playing good golf, I was just not expecting it.”
Talley, 15, held a one-up lead following the opening 18 holes, which were contested on Saturday afternoon to combat the inclement weather in the Tulsa area on Sunday morning.
The Californian native played the equivalent of an even-par 71 with normal match play concessions while Malixi came in at two-over 73 (with an early conceded hole before she reached the 12th green).
Hours of rain in the morning softened the course a bit by the time the players returned to Southern Hills on Sunday afternoon, but it didn’t make the tricky track any easier to navigate for the players.
Par won the first four holes of the final 18, including the opener where Talley extended her lead to two-up. Then Malixi took advantage of some Talley mistakes and claimed the next four holes to flip the match in her favour.
The 2025 Duke University commit made the first birdie of the day at the par-five fifth hole to go two-up and held that margin over the next two holes after the pair traded pars and birdies on six and seven.
Malixi, 10th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) at the start of the week, took the first three-up lead of the day after a Talley three-putt on the par-three eighth, but the rising high school sophomore responded with a dart on the ninth that was conceded for birdie to cut Malixi’s lead to two-up at the final turn through 27 holes.
Talley rode that momentum for two more wins to start the last nine and squared the match with a birdie and par on 10 and 11, but missed a chance to retake the lead on the 12th. She flagged her approach within five feet from the rough but hit the edge with her birdie putt and settled for a tie with par.
“I just hit it too hard. Maybe just misread it a little bit,” Talley said of her missed opportunity.
The momentum flipped like a switch as Malixi made three straight birdies – the most impressive being a long, curling putt from outside 20 feet on 14 to take a three-up lead with three holes to play.
“I think on the 12th hole we tied, and then I was like: ‘Just treat the next six, seven holes as your last four holes like I did with training with my dad’,” Malixi said of her closing stretch. “And then just flipped the switch there and just kept on making birdies, and I was hitting really good shots and then putts happened to drop.”
“It was crazy seeing her birdieing four holes in a row,” Talley said of Malixi’s run. “I mean, I was just trying to make birdies to tie the holes and hopefully I could win a couple on the last.”
From the bunker guarding the right side of the par-five 16th green, Malixi hit the bottom of the pin and nearly holed out for the win. Talley then stepped up and made her putt to apply some pressure to Malixi, who remained calm and made her four-footer to claim her second USGA championship of the summer in a span of just 22 days.
“That's crazy. Just 22 days. I mean, it feels so surreal right now. Everything just came in so quickly, and it's just an honour,” said Malixi, who has had top-five finishes in two of the past three Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific championships.
Reflecting on her performance, Talley said: “Just to be my first Women’s Am and being able to make it this far was really cool. I feel like I can take a lot from this week just knowing that.
“Just playing against someone like Rianne and getting so far is amazing. I feel like I can take away some good parts and some bad parts and work on what I have to work on.”
While many amateurs don’t play very many 36-hole matches, Malixi, a four-time participant in the US Women’s Amateur, learned from her past experiences and worked on both her mental and physical game to prepare for her major moments.
“Honestly, it’s all part of training. I think I told someone 22 days ago at (the US Girls’ Junior) that it was part of my training to play with a pro, my dad’s friend,” she said of her practice back home.
“I would have match play with him for 36 holes and it was almost the same thing as this week, and it helped a lot.
“I’m thankful for my dad who kept on pushing me beyond my limits. I know I was kind of self-deprecating last year and then my dad just kind of like pep talked me. He tried to let me stay on the positive side of things. Everything is just all about perspective and I kind of realised that at the beginning of the year. Everything just went skyrocket.”
WHAT THE CHAMPION RECEIVES
· A gold medal
· Custody of the Robert Cox Trophy for one year
· Exemption into the 2025 US Women’s Open Presented by Ally (May 29-June 1) at Erin Hills in Wisconsin
· Exemption into the next 10 US Women’s Amateur Championships, if eligible
· Exemption into the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews (must be an amateur)
· Exemptions into the 2025 Chevron Championship and Amundi Evian Championship (must be an amateur)
· Invitation to the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur
