Bandon, Oregon, United States: A Code Red was issued for Bandon Dunes Golf Resort on Tuesday, and it had nothing to do with a pending storm. Well, an assault did take place at this breathtaking resort on the southwest coast of Oregon that is hosting the 125th US Women’s Amateur Championship.
The weapons were drivers, irons and putters, and it was a group of highly talented golfers doing the damage. With sunshine and comfortable temperatures engulfing the property hosting its ninth USGA championship, and virtually no wind for the second and final round of stroke play, competitors enjoyed a green-light special to attack the hole locations.
Vanessa Borovilos, a rising Texas A&M sophomore from Canada, carded a nine-under-par 63 for the lowest round in the championship’s history, one better than the 64 posted by Japan’s Yumi Matsubara 12 years ago at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina.
And she wasn’t the medallist. That belonged to a couple of familiar faces: Rianne Malixi, of the Philippines, and American Asterisk Talley. The two teens met in a pair of USGA finals a year ago, including the US Women’s Amateur, and this week they each posted nine-under-par 135.
Malixi, 18, an incoming Duke University freshman, followed up her first-round 68 with a 67, while Talley, 16, a member of the US National Junior Team and champion of the 2024 US Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, posted one of six 66s on day two after an opening-round 69.
University of Southern Carolina rising sophomore Eila Galitsky, of Thailand, backed up an opening-round 70 with a bogey-free 66 to finish one stroke back, alone in third place.
University of Kansas rising junior Lyla Louderbaugh also carded a second-round 66 to join three-time US Women’s Amateur quarter-finalist and Princeton University rising senior Catherine Rao and Borovilos at seven-under 137.
Gianna Clemente, a member of the US National Elite Amateur Programme and the 2023 US Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champion, headlined the group two strokes back (138) after registering a second-round 68. Also on that number were 2025 North & South Women’s Amateur runner-up Jazy Roberts (70-68), of Australia, and 2025 Ladies National Golf Association champion and University of Texas rising senior Cindy Hsu Huai-chien, of Chinese Taipei.
In all, 48 competitors finished in red figures in stroke play, with the cut for match play coming at one-over-par 145. No fewer than 15 golfers will play off for the final six spots in the draw on Wednesday at 7:15 am (local time) from the 10th. If necessary, they’ll go to 11, 12, 16, 17 and 18.
Among them are six players from the Asia-Pacific region – Hong Kong’s Arianna Lau and Wu Siu-ue, Korean Park Seo-jin, Australian Ella Scaysbrook, China’s Liu Yujie and Japan’s Mamika Shinchi.
Liu, Shinchi and Wu all followed up opening-day 75s with rounds of 70 while two-time Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Junior Girls champion Lau, tied 111th overnight, improved on her first-day 76 by seven strokes to make it into the play-off.
They’re all hoping to join the nine Asia-Pacific players who have already guaranteed themselves a place in the Round of 64 – Malixi, Galitsky, Roberts and Hsu along with Thai Pimchompoo Chaisilprungruang and China’s Xu Ying (tied 21st on 141), Australian Momo Sugiyama and Thai Pimmada Nena Wongthanavimok (tied 33rd, 142) and Japan’s Mana Yoshizaki (tied 49th, 144).
While Malixi and Galitsky will have to wait until the play-off is complete before knowing who their opponents will be in the Round of 64, Hsu takes on Alona Avery, Xu is up against Abbey Schutte, Roberts faces Macie Elzinga, Pimmada squares off with Avery Weed and Yoshizaki clashes with Lauren Oliveras. The one all Asia-Pacific tie sees Pimchompoo drawn against Sugiyama.
Seven Asia-Pacific representatives failed to progress from stroke play. Korean Oh Soo-min, runner-up at this year's Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP), followed an opening 76 with a 70 to miss by one shot. Also bowing out were Japan’s Juna Nishina and China’s Yang Man (both 150), Indian Sneha Sharan (151) and Japan’s Rina Kawasaki and Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Ping-hua and Lin Jie-en (all 154).
Malixi and Talley made history a year ago by becoming the first opponents to play in consecutive USGA finals; Malixi taking both the US Girls’ Junior (8&7 at El Caballero CC) and US Women’s Amateur (3&2 at Southern Hills CC).
This is also the first time a defending champion took home medallist honours since Beth Daniel achieved the feat in 1975-76.
Both players had opportunities to separate but couldn’t take advantage. Malixi bogeyed the eighth, her 17th of the day and just her second blemish in stroke play, before getting up-and-down for birdie from left of the green at the par-five ninth. Talley had a putt inside 20 feet for eagle on nine but settled for a two-putt birdie.
With little wind the entire day, Bandon Dunes, playing at 6,237 yards, became an easy target.
“I was looking at the morning scores and there were some pretty low scores out there,” said Malixi, whose competitive season has been interrupted by back issues that forced withdrawals from several big spring events. “But I was expecting the wind to pick up in the afternoon. Instead, it got warmer, so my ball actually flew further than I expected. I think, give or take, it was a good set-up for me, so I took advantage of it.”
Talley, who captured last week’s Junior Girls PGA Championship in Indiana, added: “I had to take my sweater off on the second hole. So that was different. Pretty much zero wind all day. Very surprising.”
Coming off a 70 in breezy conditions on Monday afternoon, a round in which Galitsky felt could have been lower if not for a few three-putts, the 18-year-old, who joined the South Carolina programme for the spring semester in 2025, sensed another quality round coming. Six birdies and no bogeys later, she was signing for one of the day’s lowest rounds. It could have been one shot lower had the number seven player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) not missed a six-footer on the par-five ninth, her last of the day.
While this is her first USGA championship, she is no stranger to the big stage. In 2023, she won the WAAP and in April she tied for eighth at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and shared fifth in this year’s NCAA Championships. She’s also won a pair of low-level pro tournaments in Thailand.
“I feel like I am striking the ball very nicely. Putting can use a little work. I am feeling pretty good going into match play,” said Galitsky, who defeated then WAGR number one Lottie Woad of England in the singles at January’s Patsy Hankins Trophy, a Solheim Cup-style team match play event between the best female amateur in the Asia-Pacific and Europe.
