MANILA, Philippines – For the second time in three weeks, Filipina golfer Rianne Malixi ruled over the Unites States’ Asterisk Talley, this time conquering the US Women’s Amateur in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Sunday, August 11 (Monday, August 12, Manila time).
The 17-year-old Malixi downed Talley, 3-and-2, just weeks after also dominating the American teen, 8-and-7, to capture the US Girls’ Junior Championship last July 21.
Malixi’s feat of winning two United States Golf Association (USGA) championships in a single season is just the second time ever, following Eun Jeong Seong in 2016.
“That’s crazy. Just 22 days. I mean, it feels so surreal right now. Just everything just came in so quickly, and it’s just an honor,” Malixi said after the match.
“It’s exciting. I’m still 17, still about a year left. Just says something about my golf game where I can do the job that as long as I give myself the opportunity to. I think last year, it’s all about my mental game where I was feeling so scared of everything,” she added.
“I was able to get over the hurdle and then, yeah, everything just clicked in this past month or two.”
Malixi has already committed to play for Duke University in the NCAA Division 1. The talented Filipina, who’s planning to study psychology, hones her craft at the Royal Northwoods golf course in Bulacan.
Her feat comes just mere days after Bianca Pagdanganan fell just one stroke short of a podium finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a previous interview, Malixi told Rappler that she had been in constant communication with Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina, who also competed in Paris.
Unlike her previous showdown with Talley, this match was a nip-and-tuck affair, where Malixi even trailed her 15-year-old opponent in the opening half of the 36-hole match.
Malixi was 3-up after the 26th hole, before Talley tied it up by taking the next three.
The Filipina golf wunderkind then halved the 30th hole with a par, before she took the 31st to 33rd holes with birdies, and put the icing on the cake with a par halve on the par-5 34th hole.
“Honestly I just wanted to play good golf. That’s it. I wasn’t expecting to win the Australian Master of Amateurs last January, and then US Girls last month, and then this one,” said Malixi.
“I was like so surprised. Even though I was playing good golf, I was just not expecting it.”
Malixi earns an invitation to the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, as well as exemptions to the US Women’s Open and a 10-year long eligibility to participate in the US Women’s Amateur. – Rappler.com