PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA | Sixteen-year-old Aphrodite Deng didn’t look like someone playing in her first major championship at the recent U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club. She certainly didn’t look like someone who’s received only three years of golf instruction. Instead of appearing overwhelmed, Deng looked comfortable, confident and composed. There’s little doubt she’s a player to keep an eye on.
“I’m just focused on not overthinking it,” Deng said. “If I play my best I can compete with the pros out there.”
Deng, the reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, lived up to her words at Riviera. One of five amateurs who made the cut, she finished T17 at even par for the championship, eight strokes behind winner Nelly Korda.
Deng is the No. 2 girl in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, trailing only Asterisk Talley, whom she topped by two strokes at Riviera. In addition to winning the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Atlanta Athletic Club, she won the AJGA tournament played in conjunction with the LPGA’s Mizuho Americas Open for the second consecutive year in May. She has made the cut in all three LPGA events in which she has competed, and as the AJGA’s 2025 Rolex Junior Player of the Year she earned an exemption into another major, next month’s Evian Championship, which means she won’t defend her title in the concurrent U.S. Girls’ Junior.
That’s a lot of success in a relatively short time, and it’s notable given that Deng didn’t start out as a golfer. From ages 5 to 9, she was a competitive figure skater.
“Ice skating has helped me a little bit with my swing,” Deng said. “The jumping made me a little more powerful.”
Deng, whose parents are from China, was born in Calgary, Alberta, and remains a Canadian citizen despite growing up in Short Hills, New Jersey. Her parents recognized her athletic potential early on.
“I brought her to the ice rink when she was around 5 and she started jumping and doing double axels inside a year,” said her mother, Nova. “She learned really quickly and it was the same way with golf.”
During COVID-19, Deng’s access to indoor rinks became limited. Nova wanted her daughter to find an outdoor activity outside where she didn’t have to wear a mask. Golf offered that opportunity.
“She found that golf was really fun and enjoyed nature outside on the golf course,” Nova said.
Her natural athleticism, boosted by years of figure skating, was clearly apparent. “She could jump and rotate,” Todd Anderson said. “So it was about teaching her the fundamentals.”
When Deng was 13, her family began spending time in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a short drive from TPC Sawgrass. There she met Todd Anderson, director of instruction at the resort’s PGA Tour Performance Center, who has taught tour players such as Billy Horschel and Rose Zhang.
Anderson first observed Deng on the range. “One of my students was there and he said, ‘Hey, I know you’re not taking any students but this girl is pretty good,’” Anderson recalled.
Anderson said that after watching just three swings, he wanted to work with her. Her natural athleticism, boosted by years of figure skating, was clearly apparent.
“She could jump and rotate,” Anderson said. “So it was about teaching her the fundamentals.”
But Deng isn’t just a natural talent. She’s also a hard worker. Anderson compares her to Zhang, a former amateur standout and two-time LPGA Tour winner whom Deng played with during the first two rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open.
“I see a lot of Rose in the drive that they both have to be great, the work they put in and their mentality,” he said.
Deng’s talent and hard work translated quickly into winning. At 13 she won the 2023 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions. The next year, she won Korda’s Nelly Invitational. In the first half of 2025, Deng won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and the AJGA Mizuho Americas Open.
But her big breakthrough came last July at Atlanta Athletic Club, where Deng won the U.S. Girls’ Junior, defeating Singapore’s Xingtong Chen, 2 and 1, in the final, thereby becoming the championship’s first Canadian winner.
“I learned that I’m pretty consistent and I’m pretty good,” Deng said after winning in Atlanta. “I think that I stay pretty calm in front of a crowd and cameras.”
Deng’s victory earned her an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open. Before competing at Riviera, she made her LPGA debut at the 2025 CPKC Women’s Open in Canada, where she finished T20. In April, she finished T38 at the LPGA’s JM Eagle LA Championship
At Riviera, Deng hovered near the top of the leaderboard for much of the first round and before posting a 1-under 70, a better score than the top three players in the world: Korda, Jeeno Thitikul and Hyo Joo Kim, who have 37 LPGA victories between them.
“I think my game is in a great spot. But there’s obviously a lot of places I can still improve on.” – Aphrodite Deng
Following her every step of the way were Nova and her father, Chengyao.
“I can tell all the hard work she put in,” Nova said. “It’s amazing. I’m just really proud of her. I just want her to be mentally strong. That’s very important because golf is a long run.”
With subsequent rounds of 73-68, Deng was just outside the top 10 entering Sunday’s final round. She closed with a 73.
“I think my game is in a great spot,” Deng said. “But there’s obviously a lot of places I can still improve on.”
Putting and short game are areas in which Deng has room to improve, Anderson said. But the instructor recognizes her upside potential.
“It’s great to see the hard work pay off,” Anderson said. “She’s going to get bigger and stronger and be able to hit more shots.”