By this point, it’s not even about being on a hot streak. She’s just darn good. Over the last few months, Chowchilla resident and NCGA member Asterisk Talley has been on a run unlike any we’ve seen.
To lead things off, Talley, coming off a victory at the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, in early May notched her 30th win on the Junior Tour of Northern California when she captured the Spring Series VII Championship at Coyote Creek GC. The victory set a JTNC record for most career wins, as she’d pass what was once thought to be the unbreakable mark of 29 set by Sabrina Iqbal.
Less than two weeks later, Talley teamed with fellow Northern Californian Sarah Lim, 17, of Saratoga, to capture the 9th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
With the win there, Talley became the second-youngest player to win the title--just two months older than fellow U.S. National Junior Team member and 2023 champion Gianna Clemente.
“It's been a crazy year already and we're not even halfway through. I'm just excited for what's to come, and I'm not going to let this [title] overcome my thoughts. I'm just going to keep practicing and working hard,” said Talley at the time of her Four-Ball win.
Another few weeks later, Talley, whose first name means ‘Little Star’ in Greek, again wowed us. At the U.S. Women’s Open, on a tough Lancaster CC course that eliminated world No.1 female Nelly Korda on opening day, Talley was near the top of the leaderboard through the first two rounds.
The immediate darling of the championship, she’d go on to finish tied for low amateur honors with Auburn's Megan Schofill and USC's Catherine Park while pocketing some valuable experience of playing in the spotlight.
"It's going to give me a lot of confidence going forward knowing that I made the cut really easily and that without the bad round (Saturday’s third round) I could have really been in contention," Talley said. "I feel like it's just going to give me a lot of confidence and I'm going to stay calm through my rounds."
The kicker? Talley is still only 15 years old.
This ‘Little Star’ is becoming a big star right before our eyes.