15-year-old Aphrodite Deng becomes 1st Canadian to win U.S. Girls' Junior golf championship
The 15-year-old Deng 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 a spot in the 2026 U.S. Women's Open at Riviera.
"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."
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.
"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."
Deng was born in Calgary and her family lived in Montreal before moving to New Jersey for her dad's work. She mostly lives in Orlando now but remains a Canadian citizen and plays for Golf Canada's junior program.
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