JOHN’S CREEK, Ga. — Aphrodite Deng is the first Canadian winner in US women’s junior history, beating Singapore 2 and 1 in the 36-hole final at the Atlanta Athletic Club on Saturday.
Deng, 15, from Calgary, Alberta, won his third Junior Major Title of the Year, opening in April by the Sage Valley Junior Invitational and Mizuho Americas in May. She won spots next year at the Riviera and the US Women’s Open this year and the next US Women’s Amateur.
“That really means a lot. I can’t believe I won,” Den said. “I knew there were a lot of great players here, so I didn’t really think about the end result. I tried to win each match.”
Deng scored a 4 up lead after 18 holes with Chen (Singapore’s first player), the first player from Singapore. Chen cut the deficit twice in the second 18, and won the final two on the 34th by par. Deng finished 35th by matching Chan’s par.
“I think I stayed at that moment throughout the entire game,” Den said. “At the end I was a little tired. I found it pretty consistent and pretty good. I think it’s pretty calm in the crowd and in front of the camera.”