Tag: Amateur

Asterisk Talley, Rianne Malixi to face off in historic U.S. Women’s Amateur championship match

Now, a historic final is on tap at Southern Hills.

TULSA, Okla. — Déjà vu, anyone?

Twenty-one days ago in California, Rianne Malixi beat Asterisk Talley in the 36-hole final of the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Now, at Southern Hills Country Club, the two will battle it out once again in a historic feat.

Malixi and Talley advanced to the championship match of the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur, which will begin Saturday afternoon at 2:10 p.m. ET and continue Sunday, tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. The first 18 holes were moved to Saturday because of anticipated weather Sunday in the Tulsa area, meaning there will be a rare break between play Saturday night.

It is believed to be the first time in USGA history the championship match of the U.S. Women’s Amateur will begin on Saturday. It’s also the first time in 70 years the final match will be contested over two days.

U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos from Southern Hills

That’s not the only historic moment. Malixi and Talley are the first pair  in USGA history to face off in the finals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur. Not just in a calendar year, ever. There has never been a repeat championship match in the U.S. Women’s Amateur from a duo that made the championship in the U.S. Girls’ Junior, too.

Talley, 15, won her match by concession after medalist Maria Jose Marin injured herself and was unable to continue on the 15th hole facing a 1 down deficit. For Talley, the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champion, the win moves her to 15-1 in USGA match play events in 2024.

Malixi, a Duke commit, is now 11-0 in USGA match play events, and she’s on the verge of becoming the second player ever to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same year. She topped rising Arkansas senior Kendall Todd 1 up after birdies to win the 17th and 18th holes.

Now, a historic final is on tap at Southern Hills.

U.S. Women’s Amateur medalist Maria Jose Marin concedes semifinal match due to injury

Marin tried to tough it out, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

TULSA, Okla. — She tried to tough it out, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Maria Jose Marin, the medalist at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur, conceded her semifinal match against Asterisk Talley on Saturday morning at Southern Hills Country Club because of a left leg injury. Shortly after hitting her second shot on the par-5 13th hole, Marin went down in the fairway in pain and didn’t move for nearly 15 minutes.

USGA medical personnel, her coach at Arkansas and others surrounded Marin, and they taped up her leg before she stood up and attempted to continue play. She was 1 down to Talley, who waited anxiously at the 13th green.

Marin and Talley halved the 13th with bogeys, and then Marin received more treatment on a bench adjacent to the 14th tee. Trainers worked on her left leg near the knee.

After another lengthy delay, she teed off on the par-3, and her ball rolled just off the back of the putting surface. She was able to earn a par and another halve, but the 15th is where things ended.

U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos

She grimaced in pain on her tee shot, which sailed way right into the trees. She was behind a large trunk for her second shot, stood over it a while and attempted to hit a recovery shot, but she conceded the match shortly after.

Maria Jose Marin and Asterisk Talley hug after Maria Jose Marin concedes on the 15th hole during the semifinals of the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)

Marin, a rising sophomore at Arkansas, was playing in her first U.S. Women’s Amateur this week.

U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinal, championship tee times being adjusted because of weather

Weather is adjusting the U.S. Women’s Amateur schedule.

TULSA, Okla. — There has been a change in the schedule for the final two days of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Because of anticipated weather in Oklahoma on Sunday, the championship match, which is 36 holes, will begin Saturday afternoon after the conclusion of the 18-hole semifinals, which are being moved to Saturday morning. The final 18 holes of the championship match will then be contested Sunday.

The semifinals will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET Saturday, with the second match going off at 8:45 a.m. ET. Then, after both matches have completed, there will be a break and then first 18 holes of the championship match will be contested in the afternoon, planning to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET, but that time may change.

Come Sunday, there will be 18 holes remaining to crown a U.S. Women’s Amateur champion. A time has not been set for the resumption of play Sunday morning but will go when the weather allows.

How Anna Davis’ caddie, a local college player, is instrumental in her U.S. Women’s Amateur success

“I kind of got roped into it at the last minute. I’m really glad I did.”

TULSA, Okla. — Jenni Roller wanted to play in her hometown U.S. Women’s Amateur. When she didn’t get through qualifying, she offered to caddie for a friend to stay involved in the event.

Then that fell through.

Enter Anna Davis.

The 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion is no stranger to having her twin brother, Billy, on the bag. However, after playing for three straight weeks, Billy wanted to take some time off before beginning his freshman season at Auburn, where Davis will start her sophomore year this fall.

That left Davis needing a caddie. Enter Roller.

“The caddie master out here called me and asked if I wanted to caddie for Anna Davis,” Roller said, “and I was like, yeah!

“I kind of got roped into it at the last minute. I’m really glad I did.”

Davis is into the quarterfinals at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Oklahoma, her second straight year making the final eight. This time, she did it with Roller on the bag, and that partnership has proven vital for Davis.

“She’s great,” Davis said. “We’re kind of the same age. I’ve never had a girl caddie for me who’s the same age as me, too, so it’s been really fun.”

2024 U.S. Women's Amateur
Anna Davis plays her shot on the 14th hole during the first round of stroke play of the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)

Roller is a rising junior at Tulsa, a program that has made the national championship each of the past two years. She’s also familiar with Southern Hills, a place where she shot 66 before in a competitive round and practices at from time to time with her Golden Hurricane teammates. She also grew up playing the course and comes from a golfing family.

Her mother, Maggie, is the director of instruction at Cedar Ridge, a country club not far from Southern Hills. Maggie also played collegiately at Tulsa and was teammates with Melissa Luellen, Auburn’s coach. The duo played under Luellen’s mom, Dale McNamara, and won the 1988 national championship while Luellen won the individual title (Those were later vacated because of NCAA violations by the track and field team).

Roller’s brother, JP, also plays collegiately at Kansas State.

“Tulsa played at our regional at Auburn, and (Roller’s) mom came and stayed with our coach,” Davis said. “But I think they’re good buddies. They look like they’re having a good time.”

Davis gave credit to Roller in a post-round TV interview that she has been a huge help for Davis in reading greens, and she did so again in another interview a few minutes later.

For Roller, she’s learning just as much from the World No. 16.

“It’s been a good perspective because when you’re playing golf, you just see your own shots, but I’ve been able to see like, obviously her game and a ton of great players, kind of how they interact with the course,” Roller said. “So I’ve learned a lot.”

Roller said she raves at Davis’ ball-striking abilities and how smart she is plodding around a golf course. Davis said the both think similarly around a golf course.

It’s a partnership that came together on a whim, and it’s one that has them in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

“She’s been great on the bag,” Davis said. “I’ve really enjoyed her.”

Asterisk Talley has an incredible match play record in USGA events in 2024

Talley is a match-play assassin.

TULSA, Okla. — Asterisk Talley is only 15 years old, but don’t let her innocent demeanor fool you. She’s a match-play assassin.

Talley dominated her 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Round of 16 match on Thursday afternoon, taking down Angela Heo 7 and 6 to move into Friday’s quarterfinals at Southern Hills Country Club. That came on the heels of her 4-and-2 win over Justice Bosio of Australia earlier in the day in the Round of 32.

While it may seem an impressive achievement for someone as young as Talley, it’s just another week this summer for her.

The victory moved Talley to 13-1 in match play in U.S. Golf Association events this year. On top of earning low amateur honors at the U.S. Women’s Open, Talley and partner Sarah Lim won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball at Oak Hills Country Club in Texas, where Talley won five matches.

Then at the U.S. Girls’ Junior at El Caballero Country Club in California, she made the championship match, going 5-1 on the week in match play.

Now at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, she’s 3-0 and the youngest player to advance to match play.

“I feel like just hitting it within like 20 feet and just trying to get on the green and then just, if a one-putt falls you’re doing well, or if you get within 15 feet, you’re doing really good,” Talley said. “You’re not trying to get anywhere close to the hole, you’re just trying to get somewhere on the green, and then if you make a putt, you make a putt, and I feel like I was.

“Sometimes I would get within like 10 feet and then I would just try and make it, and it’s all working out.”

Talley made a name for herself earlier this year when she won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, leading wire-to-wire. Then she made her Augusta National Women’s Amateur debut before dominating the USGA circuit this summer.

“I feel like the best part of match play is you’re just playing the one person, and you don’t have to worry about everybody else,” Talley said. “Especially this morning with the conditions that there were, there was a bunch of wind, and in stroke play you can have someone going off at like 7 a.m. and there’s no wind, no conditions at all, and I feel like it’s great that you can have someone that has the wind, has the conditions that you have when you’re playing them.”

Now, only time will tell if Talley can add to her impressive mark.

Photos: 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club.

TULSA, Okla. — The best women’s amateur golfers in the world battled it out for the 124th U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club, hosting its 10th USGA championship.

It’s the first big tournament there since the 2022 PGA Championship. The field of 156 players started the week for two rounds of stroke play before a cut is made for the top 64 players.

Defending champion Megan Schofill was in the field, looking to not only go back-to-back but earn a spot on the U.S. Curtis Cup team.

The championship final started on Saturday and concluded Sunday in an effort to avoid weather. In the end it was Rianne Malixi defeating Asterisk Talley.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club.

The younger brother of a PGA Tour rookie is following in his footsteps, winning a prestigious state amateur title

The New Jersey Amateur Golf Championship has its first pair of title-winning brothers.

BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – Reed Greyserman has given the New Jersey Amateur Golf Championship its first pair of title-winning brothers.

Greyserman, 19, won the 123rd Amateur on Wednesday with a record-setting performance to join his older brother, Max, who won it in 2015 and is in his first year on the PGA Tour.

“I was there when Max won, and he’s doing awesome,” Greyserman said. “Obviously, the goal is to be where he is.”

Greyserman, an incoming freshman at Princeton, was a wire-to-wire winner and finished at 14-under 270 at the renovated Forest Hill Field Club. The Short Hills resident shot 3-under 68 during Wednesday morning’s third round and 72 in the afternoon finale for the record-setting 270 and three-shot victory.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Greyserman, who plays out of Hamilton Farm and previously had two top-five finishes. “To finally get it done here is everything.”

Liam Pasternak, 17, of Essex Fells, bidding to become the first high schooler to capture the title, was runner-up at 11-under 273. Pasternak was in Wednesday’s final pairing with Greyserman and shot 68 and 70.

“I thought it went really well,” said Pasternak, who in May won the New Jersey high school Tournament of Champions as a junior at Morristown. “I felt really confident.”

This should be remembered as the “New Jersey Brothers Amateur,” because Jeremy Wall, 29, of Manasquan River also was vying to join his younger brother, Jack – the defending champion – and deliver back-to-back sibling titles. Jeremy closed with 69 and 70 to tie for third at 10-under.

Mark Costanza, 35, of Baltusrol, bidding to become just the seventh player to win the State Open and State Amateur, also tied for third at 10-under. Costanza, State Open titlist in 2020, rallied with 67 and 69 to reach 10-under.

The New Jersey State Golf Association switched the Amateur from match play to stroke play in 1971. The previous record for lowest 72-hole score was set by two-time champion Dawson Jones in 2019 with a 15-under 273 at Neshanic Valley. Jones’ 15-under remains the lowest score relative to par, and Greyserman’s 14-under is tied for second with Jones’ 14-under in 2017 at Tavistock.

The five former champions made a collective stellar showing this week, all finishing among the top 12. Jack Wall of Manasquan River was eighth at 5-under after carding 68 and 70. Will Celiberti of Arcola, the 2022 titlist, was ninth at 4-under after shooting 66 and 70.

Two-time champion Mike Stamberger of Spring Lake tied for 10th at 1-under after a 71 and 70. Corey Brigham of NJSGA E-Club, the 2002 titlist, and Austin Devereux of Manasquan River, the 2020 titlist, tied for 12th at even par. Brigham shot 68 and 70 and Devereux had 70 and 74.

Greyserman once again fought off a challenge with a strong finish in the final round. Leading Costanza by two shots, he birdied the 15th and 16th holes. On the 16th, a 160-yard par-3, he hit an 8-iron to within two feet and sank the birdie putt.

“I knew where the scores were at,” Greyserman said of the leaderboard, adding, “After the birdie on 16, it was smooth sailing coming in.”

Amateur Luke Clanton achieved something not done since the 1950s at John Deere Classic

“It’s unreal to make a birdie on the last hole and do all that.”

Luke Clanton is in the midst of the best stretch of golf of his life. On Sunday at the John Deere Classic, he did something not done since the 1950s on the PGA Tour.

Clanton, a rising junior at Florida State, finished tied for second at TPC Deere Run. With the finish, he became the first amateur with top-10 finishes in back-to-back starts on the PGA Tour since Billy Joe Patton in the 1957 U.S. Open and 1958 Masters.

Last week, Clanton placed T-10 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.

“We came into the week with pretty high expectations,” Clanton said. “I think I kind of reached that expectation for sure. Of course you want to win. But again, to do what I did out there today was awesome. It’s just a blessing to be here, man.

“It’s unreal to make a birdie on the last hole and do all that.”

Clanton made the cut at the U.S. Open and now has in consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour. He’s up to nine points in PGA Tour University Accelerated, a program that awards Tour status for college golfers who earn 20 points for achievements in the professional and amateur game.

He gets a point for every made cut on Tour in addition to another point for top-10 finishes. That’s four in two weeks.

Clanton is third in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and finished the college season as the highest-ranked player in the NCAA Golf rankings. He helped Florida State to a national runner-up finish.

Team USA dominates Sunday Singles to retain Arnold Palmer Cup in Ireland

The United States extended its leads in the Palmer Cup series to 15-12-1.

The Americans are bringing home the cup again.

Team USA and the International squad entered Sunday Singles tied at 18 with 24 matches left to decide the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup. However, the Americans left no doubt, dominating the final day of competition to win the Palmer Cup for the second straight year and third time in the last four.

The Americans won Sunday Singles 14½-9½ to claim the Palmer Cup on Sunday at Lahinch in Ireland. Although the Internationals won the first three matches of the day, Team USA stormed back, beginning with World No. 1 amateur Gordon Sargent’s 5-and-4 win over Bastien Amat for the first point of singles. The final margin was 32½-27½.

Also earning points for Team USA in singles was Melanie Green, who last week became the first American in 28 years to win the Women’s Amateur Championship in Europe, and stalwart Rachel Kuehn, who was again a key piece for Team USA in an international competition.

The Arnold Palmer Cup trophy the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch in Ireland. (Photo: GCAA)

In the final four matches out, Jackson Koivun, the consensus national player of the year, Preston Summerhays, Anna Morgan and 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up Latanna Stone each claimed victories for Team USA.

Mary Kelly Mulcahy, a Division II player at Findlay for Team USA, became the fourth American to go 4-0 in the Palmer Cup since 2018, joining Amari Avery, Gina Kim and Emilia Migliaccio. She’s the first non-Division I player to accomplish the feat.

“I’ve been working toward getting here for months and believed that I prepared the right way,” Mulcahy said. “Knowing that, I was able to come here with confidence and just enjoy the experience.”

The United States extended its leads in the Palmer Cup series to 15-12-1. The Arnold Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition featuring men’s and women’s collegiate golfers from the United States against their International counterparts.

The win was USA’s first on international soil since 2018 at Evian Resort Golf Club in France and second since 2010 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

The Internationals led after the opening day of play before the Americans stormed back Saturday to tie the competition heading into singles.

On Sunday, Auburn rising sophomore Anna Davis made an ace on the par-3 16th hole.

“I haven’t had a hole-in-one since I was about 8 years old, so the 10-year drought is over,” Davis said right after her ace.

Need something to cheer for at 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic? How about the strong contingent of amateurs

The kids are good.

If it were any other week at Detroit Golf Club, 15-year-old Miles Russell wouldn’t be allowed into the locker room. Good for him it’s not an ordinary week.

Members have to be 16 to go into the locker room, but surely they’ll make an exception for Russell, who’s in the field this week at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic on a sponsor exemption. In April, he became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make a cut. Now, he’s making his first PGA Tour start in the Motor City.

“This has always been the goal, to play at the highest level,” Russell said. “Don’t know, kind of just happened a little faster than I was thinking it might, but it’s just what happens when you have some good play.”

In addition to Russell, Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – Jackson Koivun, Ben James and Luke Clanton – are teeing it up this week in Detroit.

Koivun recently helped Auburn win its first national championship and won every major individual award, including the Fred Haskins Award, and he’s on the verge of earning a PGA Tour card by summer’s end. If you didn’t know, he was only a freshman last year.

Then there’s James, the 2023 Phil Mickelson Award winner for Freshman of the Year. The rising junior at Virginia nearly won the NCAA individual championship last month at Omni La Costa and was on the 2023 Walker Cup team.

Don’t discount Clanton, either. The incoming junior at Florida State finished the year as the top-ranked golfer in the NCAA golf rankings. He also made the cut at the U.S. Open two weeks ago and helped the Seminoles to a runner-up finish at the NCAAs.

In a field that is lacking of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars, perhaps the amateurs can carry the torch this week. Three of the best players in college golf, plus the 15-year-old stud who is gaining popularity by the tournament, could be a shot in the arm for the Tour this week.

For Russell, it’s just another chance to prove he belongs.

“I have my own goals, but my goal is just to come out here and have fun,” Russell said. “That’s my main goal, have fun, maybe learn something, take something to my next event.”

Min Woo Lee has taken notice of Russell. A talented golfer in his amateur days, Lee said he was nervous when he teed it up in events at that age, but he also just tried to go out and just play golf.

“Again, he’s only 15, so I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of, you know, too much expectation,” Lee said. “Obviously he’s a great golfer. I mean, he’s got plenty of time to turn pro and still, yeah, years ahead of him. Hopefully he has fun and doesn’t beat me, but does well.”

When asked about Russell on Tuesday, Willie Mack III, who punched his ticket into the tournament thanks to his win Sunday in the John Shippen,  was joking about the locker room situation for Russell.

“Yeah, he’s been playing well,” Mack said. “Hopefully he plays well this week and keep going.”