Asterisk Talley felt things were slipping away on Friday.
After opening with an even-par round at the 2026 US Women’s Open in Riviera Country Clubthe 17-year-old amateur was punched in the mouth by George C. Thomas’ design and thought she was going home early. She was 3 over 13 holes and then made a double bogey on the par-3 14th to fall short of the cut. Instead of fading into the Southern California sunset, the stargazer hunkered down and grinded, believing a closing bird or two would be enough to hang on for the weekend.
She birdied 15 and 16 and then rolled in a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th to get back within the cut. Talley split 18 to give herself a one-over early on Saturday, where she would open the weekend eight strokes off the pace set by co-leaders Alison Lee and Ruoning Yin.
But all Asterisk Talley wanted was two more rounds at Riviera and a chance.
“Obviously it was a disappointing round yesterday, but once I got through it, it was good,” Talley said Saturday. “It was like, I can’t complain about a weekend match at Riv, can I? Then I just hit behind the green. I didn’t hit any balls. I just rested.”
Asterisk Talley got her chance, and on Saturday, everything was different.
She got out early and expertly plotted her way around the famous Los Angeles course. She made birdies on 1, 3 and 6 to get to 3-under. She then hit her putt on the par-4 10th to the left of the green, chipped it to three feet and made another birdie to move back into even par for the tournament. As he left the 10th green, Talley suddenly found himself just four off the lead and in the middle of things as the leaders began to arrive for their Saturday times. Talley then birdied six straight, including clutch saves at 15 and 16, before bogeying the par-5 17th again to get into the red. A closing par on the 18th allowed Talley to post a bogey-free 66, the lowest weekend round by an amateur in US Women’s Open history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Talley is the first amateur to post a 66 or lower at an LPGA major in 21 years, since Louise Stahle did so at the 2005 British Women’s Festival.
“I just felt like the hole was so big today,” Talley said, smiling, after her round. “(I) couldn’t lose.”
Saturday was just the latest message that Asterisk Talley is coming and looks destined for big things.
She burst onto the scene two years ago at the US Women’s Open in Lancaster, when she made the cut and low amateur honors as a 15-year-old. Talley, whose name means “Little Star” in Greek, has climbed at a meteoric pace. There are massive expectations, and with those expectations comes a massive burden. First time Talley it seemed to buckle under that great weight came to this year’s Augusta Women’s National Amateur, where she held the lead on the back nine Saturday before making a quadruple-bogey 7 on the par-3 12th. Talley limped to a T4 finish and cried in her parents’ arms after the round. Asterisk Talley then gave everyone another hint that she’s different, both in-game and in how she’s wired. Still walking through the ruins of her ANWA dreams, Talley stood in front of the media and gracefully answered questions about her collapse in a tournament she desperately wanted to win.
“People just want to see the side of the story of what happened,” Talley told GOLF at the Chevron Championship in April about her sweet moment of accountability. “People try to assume what happened. People try to blame somebody else. Blame the caddy, blame the course, blame the wind. It was obviously the player’s fault at all times. You can’t blame anybody else for your mistakes. I had to do that.
“That’s also an obligation when you get to the big stage. People will want to talk to you about what you did, even if you didn’t get what you wanted. Just part of it.”
Asterisk Talley quickly left that ANWA destruction. She thinks about it, but not in a longing for what might have been down the road. She knows it’s just part of her story, a teaching moment to guide her where she wants to go.
“Obviously, it wasn’t the result I wanted,” Talley told GOLF in April. “But that’s going to happen sometimes when you’re trying to win. Things aren’t going to go my way. I’m glad I was able to play good golf after (the 12th hole). I look forward to the opportunity, of course, to play ANWA every year. And I’m going to try again.”
On Sunday, the “big stage” for which Asterisk Talley is destined will arrive. With a historic third round, Talley will arrive on Sunday with a chance to do something special and join Catherine Lacoste as the only amateurs to win the US Women’s Open. Lacoste won the title in 1967.
Talley will have a host of major champions ahead of her, including world No. 1 Nelly Korda. She will enter the final round on the outskirts — the leaders are four ahead of Talley as of this writing — but with a chance to back up Saturday’s fireworks with something even grander.
Asked to reflect on how it’s changed from two years ago in Lancaster, Talley did the same thing she did during her Saturday walk in history at the Riviera. She kept it simple and provided further proof that she could one day hold the golf world in her hands – that injuries won’t stand in the way of what seems inevitable. It’s a matter of when, not if, they arrive.
“You kind of mature and your golf game and your mindset just hopefully gets better,” Talley said.
If Asterisk Talley is “better” on Sunday at the Riviera, the destiny she seems to be marching quietly toward could arrive well ahead of schedule.
