by Aphrodite Deng was a young child when Lydia Ko won the LPGA for the first time in Canada. Ko, then fresh out of a victory to the American female amateur, set a record on the LPGA so that the youngest wins at 15 years, 4 months, in 2012.
Now Deng, 15, who became the first Canadian to win the American female junior a month ago, holds a share of the clubhouse at the CPKC Women’s Open. The native of Calgary sorted the last two holes at the Mississaugua Golf and Country Club to make a 56 under 66 to his national open. She is tied with the CPKC winner in 2023, Megan Khang and Gaby Lopez.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” said Deng to see his name above the ranking all morning, “but I just knew that I had to keep the same match plan.”
This week’s victory would not overshadow KO’s record, but he would certainly catapult Deng in an elite company of teenage winners on the LPGA. She struck 13 fairways, 13 green and took 26 putts in a round that included six birdies.
It was a monster year so far for the Deng with a soft voice, which won the exclusive Junior Invitational to Sage Valley, Ajga Mizuho Americas Open, organized by Michelle Wie West and Girls’ Junior. Last year, Deng won the first AJGA event in Nelly Korda. At Mizuho, she played two laps alongside old n ° 1.
“When I played with Nelly, there were a lot of people who followed,” said Deng. “It was a great experience.”
Asked about his memorable name, Deng said that his parents wanted something unique. Currently n ° 22 in the classification of world amateur golf course, Korda and Deng share something special in common. The two won great titles at the Atlanta Athletic Club, the Deng girls’ junior victory site and Korda’s first major title, the female KPMG PGA.
Korda, playing in its first event since its entry into No. 2 in the world behind Jeeno Thitikul, opened with a 2-sous 69.
