The final match of the U.S. Women’s Amateur is set after a rain-delayed semifinal finished up this morning. Asterisk Talley of the United States is taking on Anna Iwanaga of Japan.
Both players are in the top 20 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking, with Talley, making her second appearance in the finals, ranked No. 8 and Iwanaga ranked No. 19.
The finals are an absolute marathon of golf, which should benefit Talley, considering she has played in it before. Talley lost to Rianne Malixi in 2024 3&2, but is much more experienced on the global scale. The task is made even more difficult by both players having already finished their semifinals matches in the early morning.
In the semifinals, Iwanaga took the lead on the first hole and never surrendered it on the way to a 6&4 victory where she was dominant down the stretch, winning the last four holes against American Gabriella Nicastro.
Iwanaga wasn’t the only one to grab a 6&4 win, as Talley also thoroughly dominated her opponent, Lily Peng, winning three of her last four holes.
Talley, arguably the most popular amateur in the world, with the extra advantage of a home crowd, will have much of the fans behind her, but Iwanaga has been the most dominant player throughout this week.
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