Asterisk Talley, the 17-year-old amateur from Chowchilla, Calif., shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 in the third round of the U.S. Women’s Open at The Riviera Country Club on Saturday, recording the lowest weekend round by an amateur in championship history. The round moved her to 1-under for the tournament and into the top 20.
Asterisk Talley was given the Greek name, Asterisk, which means “little star,” by her Greek mum
A day earlier, the Stanford commit had been fighting for survival. Talley shot 75 on Friday and needed a birdie at the par-5 17th hole to make the cut on the number at 4-over.
It was kind of a must-make
Talley said of that Friday birdie.
A Bogey-Free Saturday
With the cut line behind her, Talley played freely from the start. She birdied the par-5 first hole for the third consecutive day, hitting a 280-yard drive to the edge of the fairway before chipping to inches after going over the green. She rolled in a 12-footer for birdie at No. 3, then converted a tricky right-to-left putt at the par-3 sixth to reach 3-under through six holes.
At the drivable par-4 10th, Talley short-sided herself off the tee but recovered with a chip to a few feet and made the birdie putt to reach 4-under. Six consecutive pars followed before she birdied 17 again. A 12-footer on 18 to reach 6-under and tie the low round of the tournament came up inches short.
The hole felt so big to me
Record-Book Company
Talley’s 66 ties the second-lowest 18-hole score ever posted by an amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open. The overall amateur record is a 65 by Ingrid Lindblad in the first round at Pine Needles in 2022. Carol Semple Thompson (1994), Brittany Lincicome (2004), and Gina Kim (2019) also shot 66, but none of those rounds came on a weekend.
The No. 7-ranked amateur in the world, Talley is playing in her third U.S. Women’s Open. She shared low-amateur honors at the 2024 championship at Lancaster Country Club and was runner-up at both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur that same year.
Low-Amateur Race Heading to Sunday
Talley’s record round still left her one shot behind the two other amateurs inside the top 20. Maria Jose Marin and 16-year-old Aphrodite Deng both shot 68 on Saturday and sit at 2-under heading into the final round. Five amateurs in total made the cut from the 23 who started the week.
After Sunday’s final round, Talley is set to head to her second Curtis Cup.
