TARZANA, Calif. — Asterisk Talley is becoming a household name in golf, yet she believes she has a lot to prove. The 16-year-old rising star enters the JM Eagle LA Championship on the heels of a second-place finish in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She’s had such a great last year of golf that tournament organizers are blowing up her phone with offers of sponsor exemptions.
She has a new opportunity to challenge herself against professional golfers in her home state on a course outside Los Angeles. It should feel like a second home, and that should serve her well.
Talley walked into the clubhouse Tuesday afternoon at El Caballero Country Club and ran into Phil Lopez, the general manager and COO, who was thrilled to see her and gave her a hug. Not the typical entrance to an LPGA Tour event for an amateur, but that’s what happens when you spend a week playing terrific golf on this track that’s quite a challenge.
Last summer at “El Cab,” Talley advanced to the final match of the U.S. Girls’ Junior before falling 8 and 7 to winner Rianne Malixi. Now, the California native is back playing in her first LPGA event on a sponsor invite after making her debut in a pro tournament last year in the U.S. Women’s Open. She also brings with her a very strong understanding how the course plays—she played 154 holes in the U.S. Girls’—while many of the pros will be seeing it for the first time. (Wilshire Country Club has previously hosted the LA Championship, but the venue is undergoing a renovation.)
“The greens are always tough,” Talley said of El Cab. “That’s something you kind of have to get used to on the course; you know, some changes in the course and the renovation. So I think the course is still something you have to get used to every time.
“But the course knowledge really helps you with knowing the quirks of the course, knowing where to hit and not to hit. And especially playing the holes in a little different order this week [the ninth and 18th holes are being swapped], that’s going to play a part in how you finish and how you start. So I think that’s something to get used to as well, something that’s going to help me through the week, knowing that I’ve played here before and I know a little bit about the course to help me get through.”
In the U.S. Girls’ final, Talley was overcome by Malixi’s scorching play that included seven birdies over the first 14 holes. Until then, Talley played strongly in a hot July week, including a win in her Round of 32 match on the 21st hole and beating another teen star, Gianna Clemente, 3 and 1 in the semifinals.
The Girls’ Junior wasn’t the only USGA highlight for Talley last summer. She also lost to Malixi in the U.S. Women’s Amateur final, made the cut in the U.S. Women’s Open and tied for 44th, and combined with Sarah Lim to win the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball— becoming the first golfer to finish runner-up or better in three USGA events in the same year.
“Knowing I’ve gotten more comfortable with these types of players … even in amateur golf there’s players that are better than what people think I am,” Talley said. “People think that I don’t measure up to people that are here and in other amateur events. I’m trying to prove my game every week to show how good I am in my eyes and other people’s eyes as well. It’s great to get experience to prove myself and build my confidence in these types of events and to bring that with me to other events that i may play in in the future.”
Asked what she’d have to do to prove herself this week, Talley said: “Just playing the best I can, but of course make the cut and try to get up there on the leaderboard and try to climb. Just learning from my game is something I always try to do every week, even if I don’t play well this week.”
Talley, who is on spring break from Chowchilla Union High School, made the three-hour drive from central California to the JM Eagle and arrived early Tuesday afternoon. She timed it perfectly to avoid traffic. She didn’t need to get here super early as she already knows her way around the clubhouse, locker room and greens.
Talley reached out to tournament organizers to ask about an exemption a while back and got on their radar. They contacted her when she was playing two weeks ago at the ANWA, where she shot 71-66-68—205 to finish one shot behind winner Carla Bernat Escuder. Talley eagled Augusta National’s par-4 first hole in the final round, something that hadn’t been done in ANWA history.
“I was just hoping that I can get more LPGA starts under my belt with the way I’ve been playing, just hoping I can get more experience in these types of events,” Talley said. “… I’m just really grateful to be here. I’m thankful that I got the exemption and that I didn’t have to play in the Monday qualifier and then go back home and try and get ready for this.”
She got plenty of prep work done last summer, not even knowing how beneficial that U.S. Girls’ Junior would be. And no matter what happens in L.A., she’ll be on a plane to Texas next week because she recently got an amateur exemption into the LPGA’s first major of the year, the Chevron Championship.
“Extremely grateful to get into Chevron next week,” Talley said. “I’m going to try and hopefully learn from this week and play my best here and see what I need to improve on for next week and see how this experience is going to help me for next week and getting to play another major before the U.S. Open as well.”
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
