'Really means a lot': Calgary golfer Aphrodite Deng first Canadian winner of U.S. Girls' Junior
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Aphrodite Deng became the first Canadian winner in U.S. Girls' Junior history, beating Xingtong Chen of Singapore 2 and 1 on Saturday in the 36-hole final at Atlanta Athletic Club.
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The 15-year-old Deng, from Calgary, won her third junior major title of the year, following the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in April and the Mizuho Americas Open in May. She earned spots in the U.S. Women's Open next year at Riviera and the U.S. Women's Amateur this year and next.
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'It really means a lot. I just can't believe that I won,' Deng said. 'I didn't really think about the end result because I knew there were a lot of good players here. I just tried to win each match.'
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Deng had a 4-up lead over the 16-year-old Chen — the first player from Singapore to reach the championship match — after 18 holes. Chen cut the deficit to two twice on the second 18, the last with a par win on the 34th. Deng ended it on the 35th by matching Chen's par.
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'I think I stayed in the moment throughout the whole match,' Deng said. 'I did get a little tired at the end. I learned that I'm pretty consistent and I'm pretty good, and I think that I stay pretty calm in front of a crowd and cameras.'
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Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Top ranked Jannik Sinner, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic have all pulled out from the tennis tournament in the past two days. Auger-Aliassime said he understood why they pulled out, but that he understood how it would disappoint Canada's tennis community. 'Wimbledon was not long ago, so the guys like Sinner and Alcaraz both played in the finals, and maybe other guys either picked up an injury, or were playing with an injury, they're going to want to break at some point,' said Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday. 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Kent MorganMemories of Sport Memories of Sport appears every second week in the Canstar Community News weeklies. Kent Morgan can be contacted at 204-489-6641 or email: sportsmemories@ Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
