Anna Falls at Final Hurdle in US Women’s Amateur

Ooltewah, Tennessee, United States: Anna Iwanaga’s bid for glory at the 126th US Women’s Amateur came unstuck at the final hurdle.

Following a brilliant week-long run at The Honors Course, the Japanese player met her match in American Asterisk Talley, the world’s number one junior player.

After an even opening nine holes, Talley overwhelmed her fellow 17-year-old with a stunning birdie barrage that enabled her to build a three-up lead following the opening 18 holes. She eventually triumphed 8&6. 

But there was plenty to admire in the performance of Iwanaga, who began the week in 19th place in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Making her US Women’s Amateur Championship debut, Iwanaga secured co-medallist honours – and the number one seeding – with rounds of 67 and 71 in the 36-hole stroke play phase. After defeating Americans Addison Klonowski (2&1) and Natalie Blonien (one-up) in the first two rounds of match play, she then saw off Canadian Michelle Xing (3&1).

In the quarter-finals, she made short work of Korean Park Seo-jin (5&3) before ousting American Gabriella Nicastro (6&4) in a semi-final that was spread over two days. Iwanaga was three-up through nine holes when bad weather forced play to be halted on Saturday. She required just five more holes to finish the job when play resumed early on Sunday morning.

A member of Japan’s victorious Queen Sirikit Cup team in Indonesia in May, Iwanaga was looking to become the first co-medallist to go on to win the US Women’s Amateur since Amanda Blumenherst in 2008 and only the third Japanese to win the championship, following Michiko Hattori in 1985 and Saki Baba in 2022.

Reflecting on her experience, Iwanaga said: “I’m quite happy and I’ll learn a lot from this. It’s huge to come to play USGA events. I played with Asterisk in March in the Junior Invitational. So, I saw her in March and she’s great player. It’s so good to compete again with her.” 

By reaching the final here, Iwanaga has earned a spot in the 2027 US Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio next June, as long as she remains amateur. She also received a silver medal and a three-year US Women’s Amateur exemption.

She said: “I didn’t know that I’m exempted to the US Women’s Open next year, so I’m quite excited to hear that. I’d like to see and play with those high-level athletes. Looking forward to it.”

Talley, a three-year member of the US National Junior Team, jumped out early, winning the first hole with a par, but Iwanaga answered with a par on the third to tie the match. From there, winning holes with pars would prove challenging, as the two competitors put on quite a show.

Talley birdied the fourth before Iwanaga answered with birdies on six and seven to take her first lead of the match. Talley responded with a birdie on the par-three eighth to tie the match, but Iwanaga, a member of the Japan National Team, reclaimed her lead with another birdie on nine. 

Despite her opponent’s persistence, the 2024 runner-up began to turn the tide on the back nine, making birdies on 11, 12 and 13 to take a two-up advantage. The two players then traded pars over the next three holes before Talley added another birdie on 17 to extend her lead to three-up. The 18th was tied with pars, sending Talley into the lunch break with the advantage. 

Talley played the first 18 in six-under with seven birdies and one bogey, while Iwanaga was three-under. 

The afternoon session got underway following a short lunch break, with Talley extending her lead to four-up with a birdie on the 19th hole of the match, the 409-yard par-four first. It marked the sixth time in seven match play attempts that Talley won the opening hole at The Honors Course. 

The two competitors tied the 20th hole of the match before pesky storms in the Chattanooga area once again brought play to a halt for 69 minutes. 

Once the storms passed, Iwanaga could not regain momentum. Talley extended her lead to six-up with wins on the 23rd and 24th holes, and after the two players halved the next four, the finish was in sight. Talley remained six-up with eight holes to play. Then, on the par-five 29th hole, she chipped in for birdie to go seven-up with seven to play. A par on the next hole cemented her place into history. 

Talley burst onto the national scene at the 2024 US Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Lancaster Country Club, where, at just 15, she found herself two strokes off the lead after the opening round. Since then, she's cemented herself as the best junior golfer in the world, collecting wins at the Girls’ Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, the Junior PGA Championship and countless other junior events. 

But for all the victories, there had been some painful near-misses. In 2024, Talley twice finished runner-up to Rianne Malixi of the Philippines - at the US Women’s Amateur and US Girls’ Junior - before falling just short again at the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. After each of those losses, golf fans around the world witnessed a poised teenager address a global audience through tears, each time hoping her moment would come soon. 

At the 126th US Women’s Amateur, her moment finally arrived. Over a long week that saw inclement weather suspend play on five consecutive days, Talley never lost her focus. Talley, who became a USGA champion after winning the 2024 US Women’s Amateur Four-Ball with partner Sarah Lim, had her dad, Jim, on the bag to share in a moment years in the making. 

“This pretty much completes my amateur career,” said Talley. “This is one of the biggest events to ever win, so I think this is going to be the top of my list from now on.”