TULSA, Okla. — Every once in a while, there’s an occurrence in sport that has never happened before and likely will never happen again. Saturday at Southern Hills Country Club may be one of those moments.
Rianne Malixi, the 17-year-old from the Philippines, and Asterisk Talley, the 15-year-old from California, took part in a day unlike any other in the history of the United States Golf Association. Weather forecasts forced a change in the schedule for the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur, meaning the semifinals were played Saturday morning with the first 18 holes of the championship match taking place in the afternoon.
Malixi and Talley, who have each won an USGA championship in recent months, are a combined 26-1 in match play at USGA events this year. The lone loss came 21 days ago, when Talley fell to Malixi in the 36-hole final at the U.S. Girls’ Junior.
On Saturday, they blasted tee shots down the hill on the first hole, making history as the first duo to play against each other in the U.S. Girls’ Junior final and the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Not only in the same year, but in the history of the events. In fact, not even in the Junior Amateur and U.S. Amateur has had the same pair matched up in the championship final of both events. The duo, by combined age, are also the youngest in the history of the U.S. Women’s Amateur championship match.
Improbable doesn’t even describe the chances of the duo meeting again in the U.S. Women’s Amateur final, only three weeks and 1,450 miles replaced from Malixi’s record margin of victory (8 and 7) at El Caballero in Tarzana, California. They had to grind through two days of stroke play and each win five matches against some players ranked higher than them and many much more experienced than them.
For Talley, a win on Sunday would make her the third youngest to ever win the U.S. Women’s Amateur, and she would do so in her first appearance at the championship. For Malixi, it would make her the second player ever to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same year, joining Eun Jeong Seong in 2016, and she would do so in her fourth attempt.
A historic match is only halfway complete, setting the stage for what’s bound to be an unimaginable 18 holes at Southern Hills on Sunday. Buckle up.
U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos from Southern Hills
Here’s what you need to know from the first 18 holes of the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur championship match: