Duke commit Rianne Malixi wins U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship

One year after a runner-up finish, Duke commit Rianne Malixi cruised to an 8-and-7 victory in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship on Saturday.

Future Duke Blue Devil Rianne Malixi won the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in stunning fashion on Saturday.

The 17-year-old defeated Asterisk Talley, a top-10 junior in the world, 8-and-7 for the largest margin of victory in the event’s history.

Malixi, a native of the Philippines, heartbreakingly lost this same event just one year ago, losing the 36-hole title match by a single hole to Kiara Romero.

“After that U.S. trip I just practiced a lot,” Malixi said in an Associated Press recap of her victory. “I spent a lot of hours training in Manila. I sacrificed a lot of my social time, school time.”

This year, she finished in a tie for second during the two-round stroke play portion to again qualify for the match play bracket.

After advancing through the bracket, the title match felt like a watershed battle ahead of the first tee shots. Malixi, the 17th-ranked junior girl in the AJGA Rankings, stared down Talley, who had worked her way up to seventh in the rankings despite being a Class of 2027 prospect.

Instead, Malixi got her revenge on the event early and often. After the duo split the first four holes, Malixi won the fifth, sixth, and eighth holes before winning five in a row from 10-14. She ended the opening round with a 6-up lead and never led by a smaller margin during the second round.

Malixi will join the Duke golf program in 2025-26. She announced her commitment to the school in September 2023.