The biggest news from the first day of the early signing period in college golf came from a player who didn’t sign a letter of intent.
Asterisk Talley, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and top-ranked female in the high school Class of 2027, had verbally committed to Stanford more than a year ago and was expected to join the Cardinal next fall. But the 17-year-old from Chowchilla, Calif., now is re-thinking her college golf plans.
“It’s still definitely in conversation,” Talley told Golf Channel on playing college golf. “It’s definitely an undecided still, but I think it’s something to think about over the next few months, and it’s definitely going to be an interesting path to kind of take.”
What’s changed for Talley since initially intending to play college golf is the fact that she has earned 15 points based on her play in amateur and pro events through the LPGA’s Elite Amateur Pathway program. If Talley can get to 20 points by July 1, 2027, she would earn an LPGA card.
That number is a realistic goal considering the schedule Talley has between now and when she would start school at Stanford. She is exempt into four LPGA majors in 2027 thanks to her U.S. Women’s Am win. Making the cut in majors earns her a point, with top-25s getting her an additional point. She can also earn two more points if she were to reach No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (she’s No. 4 currently) and yet another point if she got to No. 1. A win at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April gets her two points as well.
The LPGA launched the LEAP program in 2025, a parallel pathway to the PGA Tour Accelerated program. Lottie Woad became the first player to earn a LPGA card through the program, doing so that summer.
It’s unlikely that Talley would turn pro before any time before July 1, even if she secured the 20 points before then. The way the LEAP program works is that if she turns pro on July 1 and accepts a card then, she would have playing privileges for the rest of 2027 and all of 2028. If she turned pro earlier, she would only have LPGA status through 2027. And if she didn’t earn her 20 points, she could fall back on playing at Stanford.
“Both have their upsides and their cons, too,” Talley told Golf Channel. “It’s definitely going to be a go-with-the-flow kind of thing and see what happens in these coming months.”
On Monday, Talley was named the AJGA’s Rolex girls player of the year.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
