15-year-old Aphrodite Deng becomes first Canadian winner in US Girls' Junior history
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.'
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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