Kylee Choi (USGA Photo)
It was another scorcher in Southern California on Monday with temperatures creeping into the 90s. It was just as sizzling on the golf course at El Caballero Country Club for the opening round of stroke play at the 75th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.
Nearly one-fifth of the 156-player field (30 golfers) bettered the par of 71 on the 6,365-yard Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that was recently renovated by his son, Rees.
Kylee Choi, 17, of Murrieta, Calif., and 14-year-old, rising high school freshman
Aphrodite Deng, of Canada, led the way with 6-under-par 65s. Kinsley Ni, 16, of the People’s Republic of China, was one stroke back, while
Natalie Yen, 17, of West Linn, Ore., and Athena Singh, 15, of Morehead, Ky., were two off the pace.
Eight others, including 2023 runner-up Rianne Malixi, 17, of the Philippines, posted 3-under 68s. Also in that group were: 2023 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier Kaili Xiao, 15, of the People’s Republic of China, U.S. National Junior Team member Shyla Brown, 16, of McKinney, Texas, 2024 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier Amelie Zalsman, 15, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and 2024 Virginia State Golf Association Girls’ Junior champion Kathryn Ha, 17, of Roanoke, Va. Ha originally failed to advance to the championship from her qualifying site but became exempt through the USGA’s new category for Allied Golf Association junior champions.
Choi, who has verbally committed to play for Pepperdine University in 2025, didn’t have to travel too far to the championship site as Murrieta is only a two-hour drive. Coming off a recent semifinal showing at the Women’s North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 and a fourth-place finish in last week’s Southern California Golf Association Women’s Amateur at nearby Saticoy Country Club, Choi continued to build on her momentum.
After opening with two consecutive birdies and then making her only bogey on No. 5, Choi played 5-under golf over her last 10 holes, capping the day with an 8-foot birdie on the 387-yard closing hole. Her 66 was a personal best, bettering a 67 the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier posted two years ago at an American Junior Golf Association event at Pronghorn Resort in Oregon.
This is her third U.S. Girls’ Junior appearance, but first since advancing to the Round of 16 in 2022 at The Club at Olde Stone, losing to semifinalist and current Arkansas Razorback Maria Jose Marin, of Colombia. That year, she beat current University of Southern California All-American and 2024 USA Curtis Cup competitor Catherine Park in the Round of 64 as the No. 60 seed. A year earlier, she lost in the Round of 64 to Kylie Chong, an incoming freshman at USC who posted an even-par 71 on Monday.
“I honestly didn’t even realize I was shooting that low,” said Choi. “I guess today was one of those days where it all clicked together.”
Deng, who lost in the Round of 32 last year to 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and current Auburn University standout Anna Davis, played nearly flawless golf as well with the only hiccup coming on the 140-yard, par-3 10th. Up to that point, she was 4 under par, and she would add three birdies coming home, including a 6-footer on No. 18.
In the past eight months, Deng owns a win in the prestigious AJGA Tournament of Champions and The Nelly Invitational. The home-schooled Deng is already No. 161 in the latest Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR® and recently claimed the New Jersey Junior Girls’ Championship. Born in Canada to Chinese parents, the family moved to Short Hills, N.J., when she was 5, but she spends most of the year in Orlando, Fla., playing and practicing.
Yen, a rising high school senior who has verbally committed to Texas A&M, made a nice run in last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior before losing a 19-hole decision to eventual champion Kiara Romero. That gave Yen some motivation heading into this year’s championship, especially seeing what Romero did as a college freshman this past year at the University of Oregon. Although still age-eligible, Romero chose not to defend her title.
“It kind of gave me a little bit of incentive that you can play at this level,” said Yen, who also lost a 19-hole match in this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball with partner Asia Young. “I’m here to … play good golf and have fun, but I definitely think I can play well.”
ABOUT THE
U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur
The Girls Junior Amateur is one of 15
national
championships conducted by the USGA.
The
event is open to female golfers who have
not
reached their 19th birthday prior to the
close
of competition and whose USGA Handicap
Index does not exceed 5.4. Players that qualify for the national championship compete in a 36-hole
stroke
play qualifying from which 64 players
advance
to match play. Regional qualifying is held at
sites
around the United States.
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