Latest news with #USGirlsJunior
CTV News
20-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Calgary's Aphrodite Deng wins U.S. Girls' Junior Championship
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — 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. The 15-year-old Deng, from Calgary, Alta., 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. '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.'
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How many U.S. Girls' Junior winners have success as a pro? A look back on last 25 years
The 76th U.S. Girls' Junior is underway at Atlanta Athletic Club, where 156 players hoped to join an elite list of past champions that includes Mickey Wright, JoAnne Carner, Nancy Lopez and Lexi Thompson. This year's championship is a global affair, with 16 different countries represented, including six from Thailand and Australia. The average age of the field: 16.42. The adage "anything can happen" is often applied to match play, and success at the Girls' Junior certainly doesn't guarantee future success. And yet, it takes something special to survive and advance over the course of two rounds of stroke play and six matches. Plenty of past champions have gone on to win some of the biggest titles in golf. Over the past 25 years, nine U.S. Girls' Junior champions have won a total of 67 LPGA titles, including 14 majors. The impressive list includes LPGA Hall of Famer Inbee Park, who her first USGA title in 2002 and then finished runner-up to Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff in 2003 and In-Kyung Kim in 2005. Girls' Junior winners who went on to win majors in that timeframe include In-Kyung Kim (1), Lexi Thompson (1), Ariya Jutanugarn (2), Minjee Lee (3) and Park (7). Four of the nine have won more than 10 LPGA titles: Park (21), Jutanugarn (12), Lee (11) and Thompson (11). Yealimi Noh (2018) became the latest Junior champion to break through on the LPGA last February at the LPGA Founders Cup. Rose Zhang, who won in 2021, claimed her first LPGA title two years after she beat Bailey Davis at Columbia Country Club. Julieta Granada won only once on the LPGA, but it was a big one. In her rookie season on tour, Granada won the season-ending ADT Championship and the tour's first $1 million prize. Notable runner-ups who have also won the LPGA include Alexa Pano (2018), Andrea Lee (2016) and Angel Yin (2015). This article originally appeared on Golfweek: How many U.S. Girls' Junior champs win as pros? The list is impressive
Associated Press
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
15-year-old Aphrodite Deng becomes first Canadian winner in US Girls' Junior history
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — 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. 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.' ___ AP golf:
