Hello, friends, and happy Friday from Lancaster Country Club!
It’s just over 70 degrees with a little breeze here at the U.S. Women’s Open and I am officially declaring this the best weather day of any on-site tournament day I’ve had this year. The morning was pleasantly cool and I felt like I was walking into a mid-September college tailgate as I made my way to the media center. I’m trying to appreciate the perfect temperatures as much as I can before I cover the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in two weeks, where it will most definitely be uncomfortably hot.
But enough about the weather. I want to tell you about one of my new favorite golfers, so let’s get to ’em.
Asterisk Talley
The U.S. Women’s Open has a pretty young field this year (the oldest teeing it up here is 39-year-old Jean Reynolds), but the youngest is 15-year-old Asterisk Talley, who is just one over par heading into the weekend. The freshman in high school is beating a handful of stars this week, including Nelly Korda and Rose Zhang. Golf is a funny sport!
I hope Talley gets a proper homecoming celebration after this week. I know she’s hoping for a homework extension, but I’ve got to think that playing this well in a major earns you at least some sort of party when you return home. If I’d been in her spot at 15 my friends never would have heard the end of it.
Not only is Talley’s game impressive, her presence in the interview room is as well.
She’s honest, funny and extremely relatable.
And because I know you are all wondering about her name, here’s how Asterisk Talley came to be Asterisk Talley.
The “little star” is the little star at Lancaster this week.
Sibling love (professional golf version)
As one of five kids, I love watching sibling relationships. One of my favorites to keep tabs on is the relationship between Minjee and Min Woo Lee.
Min Woo Lee took to Instagram to post a photo of the leaderboard on Thursday, and Minjee made sure to give him a shout out for it during her presser on Friday.
Many little brothers won’t even give their siblings a “happy birthday” Instagram story once a year (I may or may not be speaking from experience), so Min Woo gets some props. Also, can these two please tee it up together in the Grant Thornton Invitational in December?
Nelly’s relatable moment
It’s weird to see World No. 1s struggle on the course. I’ve gotten so used to seeing Nelly Korda and Scottie Scheffler tear up golf courses that I sometimes forget they’re not invincible.
Nelly Korda had an extremely relatable moment when she returned to the site of the scene — the par-3 12th where she made a 10 on Thursday.
Korda sank a clutch putt for par and made sure we knew how she felt about the hole as she walked off.
I love it! Don’t hold back, Nelly. We’ve all been there.