TULSA, Okla. — Asterisk Talley left the door open. Rianne Malixi made sure to slam it shut.
On the par-4 12th hole, Talley was on a hot streak. After Malixi missed a birdie putt, Talley had one of her own to win a fourth straight hole and take a 1 up lead with only six holes to play.
She made the stroke, a bit too firm, and the ball hard lipped out.
Two shots later and another hole later, Malixi’s ball was on the 13th green with an eagle putt, and she never looked back.
Malixi, a 17-year-old from the Philippines, topped Talley 3 and 2 on Sunday to win the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in historic fashion. Malixi was patient, riding the waves of momentum all day until she reached the summit: a second USGA championship in the span on 22 days. Four straight birdies from Nos. 13-16 were the dagger in a two-day historic marathon.
U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos at Southern Hills
Three weeks ago and 1,350 miles away from Southern Hills, Malixi topped Talley, a 15-year-old from California who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball earlier this year, 8 and 7 in the championship match of the U.S. Girls’ Junior, a record margin of victory. On Sunday at the famed Perry Maxwell design, Malixi beat Talley again, this time in one of the oldest amateur championships in golf.
Malixi is the second player ever to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior in the same year, joining Eun Jeong Seong in 2016. Her and Talley are also the first duo to meet up in the championship match of both events ever, let alone in the same year.
Malixi, a Duke commit in the 2025 class, went 12-0 in USGA match play events this year. Talley went 15-2, but at least this year, Malixi proved her kryptonite.
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