Chen to Face Deng in 36-Hole Final at Atlanta Athletic Club

Aphrodite Deng has already proven she’s one of the top junior golfers in the world — and now she’s one win away from adding a USGA title to her stellar 2025 season. The 15-year-old advanced to the championship match of the 76th U.S. Girls’ Junior on Friday at Atlanta Athletic Club, continuing a dominant run that’s already included two major junior victories this year at the 2025 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in April and the 2025 Mizuho Americas Open in May.

Deng, 15, of Canada, managed wins over Wake Forest University rising sophomore Chloe Kovelesky, 2 up, and 17-year-old Rayee Feng, of Short Hills, N.J., 2 and 1 on Friday, where the heat index once again hovered just over 100.  

Deng set the tone early in her quarterfinal match against Kovelesky, taking an initial lead with a birdie on the par-3 3rd. Though a bogey on the next hole briefly brought the match back to tied, Deng responded with wins on Nos. 5, 8, and 11 to build a 3-up advantage through 12.  

Kovelesky mounted a late charge with a win on 14 and a clutch birdie on 17, but Deng remained steady, closing out the match with a birdie on the 18th — her third consecutive match finishing with a birdie on the final hole.

Against Feng, the N.J. resident struck first with a birdie on the par-5 1st, but Deng responded quickly, winning the par-4 2nd and par-4 4th to edge ahead. The two would then trade hole wins on Nos. 5-7, as well as Nos. 9-10, leaving the match tied. But Deng, competing in her third U.S. Girls’ Junior, took the lead for good with a par on No. 13 and extended it with another win on the 16th.

" It means so much,” said Deng. “I've been really looking forward to this tournament, and to be able to play good is really exciting.”

Feng staged an impressive comeback Friday morning, rallying to defeat Emerie Schartz, 17, of Wichita, Kan., in 19 holes. Trailing by three through eight, Feng chipped away at the deficit and arrived at the 18th just 1 down — a hole she had birdied in both the Round of 32 and Round of 16. She made it three straight birdies on No. 18 to force extra holes, then sealed the win with par on the first playoff hole. 

"Just being in the semifinals has totally exceeded my expectations,” said Feng. "But this morning I didn't play very well, and I kind of clawed my way back up. This afternoon I was just like, okay, looking for some improvement maybe from my morning match, and I'm happy with how I played.”

Deng will face 16-year-old Xingtong Chen of Singapore in Saturday’s championship match. Competing in her first U.S. Girls’ Junior, Chen brings an impressive international résumé as a two-time winner of the Singapore Junior Golf Championship and the youngest champion in the history of the Singapore Open Amateur.

Her semifinal victory over medalist Grace Carter, 15, of Jupiter, Fla., was a testament to her resilience. After seeing both 1-up and 2-up leads slip away — including a missed five-footer to lose the 16th — Chen bounced back with a pinpoint tee shot on the par-3 17th, setting up a routine par to reclaim the lead. She then sealed her place in the final with a birdie on the 18th.

“It's unbelievable for me,” said Chen, who became the first player representing Singapore to reach the championship match. “I didn't even dare to imagine it when I came here to play U.S. Girls'. I'm just so grateful for this opportunity, to be able to come to the U.S., it's so far away from Singapore. It's my first time here, so I'm really grateful for this opportunity to play my best.”

What’s Next

Saturday’s 36-hole championship match will begin at 8:15 a.m. EDT and then resume after the lunch break. Peacock will stream the afternoon 18 live beginning at 3 p.m. EDT. Golf Channel will re-air the broadcast at 9 p.m.

Notable

• The semifinal losers, provided they are age-eligible, are exempt into the next two U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships. Next year’s event will be contested at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. The 2027 championship is scheduled for Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland, Ohio. 

• The two finalists are now exempt into next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Ore. The champion earns an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., while also receiving a spot in the 2027 U.S. Women’s Amateur at The Honors Course in Tennessee. 

• Grace Carter’s 7-and-5 win in the quarterfinals was tied for the seventh largest quarterfinal margin in championship history, and the largest since 2018, when Yealimi Noh defeated Valery Plata 7 and 5 at Poppy Hills G.C. in Pebble Beach, Calif. Noh would go on that week to win the title.  

• Medalist Carter never trailed in any of her first four matches. The first time she trailed in match play was the third hole of her semifinal match against Xingtong Chen.  
  
  
• This will be the first all-international U.S. Girls' Junior final since 2014, when Princess Mary Superal (Philippines) defeated Mariajose Navarro (Mexico)

• Aphrodite Deng has played 88 holes through five matches, whereas Chen has played just 81.

QUOTABLE

“Basically I'm just grateful for everything that my parents have given up for me. It's so hard to find time. We've kept pushing off this trip for a few years now, so to finally be able to come here, qualify and then play a few tournaments in the U.S. and be able to just get around, I'm really grateful.” - Xingtong Chen on what it took to get here

“Oh, Women's Amateur? Really? Oh, wow. Well, I'll have to move a few things around in my schedule. I didn't expect any of this, so yeah, I'm just really grateful.” - Chen on the win getting her into the Women’s Amateur

“I had a lot of fun. It's a great experience to be here and to play with all these great players. It's just such a great honor. Yeah, just happy to be here, and maybe next year it'll happen.” - Grace Carter on what she’ll take away from the week

“That I can compete with the best players probably. I can compete with the best players.” - Carter on what she learned about herself this week

“I think that I've learned to become more resilient, I guess. I was 3-down in my morning match, but I just kept on trying. I think it kind of -- I don't know how to say this. It kind of taught me, I guess, that it's fine if you kind of screw up a little bit, but you just have to keep on trying.” - Rayee Feng on what she learned this week

“I flew him in on my second match, and we just worked really well, and he makes me less nervous.” - Aphrodite Deng on bringing in her friend to caddy