Floridians Cantonis, Zalsman Put Fun into Talented Partnership

No matter the outcome, Florida teens Charlotte Cantonis and Amelie Zalsman likely will be among the most congenial sides competing in the 10th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. 

Just a couple of kindred spirits who, by the way, happen also to be uber-talented on the golf course. 

Cantonis, 18, of Tampa, and headed to Auburn University this fall, and Zalsman, 16, of Saint Petersburg, a sophomore at a golf/tennis boarding school in the Bahamas, might as well be twins.   

“They are a riot,” said Andrew Zalsman, Amelie’s father who will caddie alongside Cantonis’ dad, Matt. 

Two and a half years ago, shortly after both players had moved from Southern California to Greater Tampa on Florida’s West Coast, the Cantonis and Zalsman families were introduced to each other by a mutual friend and fellow golfer, Sophia Dyer. Dyer, a 17-year-old Saint Petersburg native, is also headed to Oklahoma with partner Bella Dovhey, of Orlando. 

Cantonis and Zalsman immediately bonded, and that kinship grew as they competed in various regional and national events. They often were on the same flights, staying in the same hotels and later enjoying dinners. Both parents hit it off as well. In fact, Zalsman and Cantonis joked that their dads might have more fun at the Women’s Amateur Four-Ball than the actual players. 

“We always had fun playing together and hanging out,” said Zalsman. 

The true test came last Oct. 3 at English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans, La. Because of scheduling conflicts, none of the Florida qualifiers worked into their competitive calendars, so the duo needed to find one in the “region” that fit properly. Playing competitively together as a side for the first time, Cantonis and Zalsman posted an 8-under-par 64 on the Jack Nicklaus design that hosted the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic from 1989-2006. It was low enough to claim the lone available spot.Zalsman birdied the first three holes with Cantonis quickly adding a fourth to get the side off to a fast start.  

“Definitely starting off that strong was kind of a surprise,” said Zalsman.  

“Whoa, that was crazy,” interjected Cantonis. “I thought we would do well because we both have confidence in each other. It was fun because when your partner is really good, you can play nice and relaxed.” 

This will not be the first Four-Ball foray for Cantonis, who qualified for the 2023 championship at The Home Course, in DuPont, Wash., with good friend Sehee Sim. That experience ended in a missed cut because, as Cantonis put it, “they had too much fun” and didn’t focus enough on the task at hand. 

Her other two USGA championship experiences saw slightly better results: a trip to the Round of 32 in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club and a 20-hole, opening-round defeat to current Texas A&M freshman Vanessa Borovilos in the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior at El Caballero C.C. 

Zalsman, meanwhile, enjoyed a breakout 2024 season that saw her qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club and play in her third U.S. Girls’ Junior, where she was eliminated in the Round of 32 by Avani Prashanth, of India, 1 down. At 15, Zalsman was the second youngest in the Women’s Open field behind wunderkind Asterisk Talley, the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champion (with Sarah Lim) who shared low-amateur honors with Catherine Park and 2023 Women’s Amateur champion Megan Schofill. 

The seeds of that talent were planted back at Redlands (Calif.) Country Club where Zalsman, then just 6 years old, often tagged along with her dad to weekly skins games. Alongside her younger sister, Mila, the two Zalsman girls quickly discovered a passion for the game so strong that Andrew enrolled them in a specialized boarding school (Windsor School at Albany) located on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The course there annually hosts Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge. 

For Amelie, the coaching was world class – she has spent a lot of time recently with English-born instructor Jon Hearn – and the experience was like being away in college. Andrew and his wife, Leah, both native Southern Californians, decided to relocate to Saint Petersburg just to be closer to their kids. 

“My parents made the sacrifice to move across the country,” said Amelie. “My mom was like, ‘I need to be on the same time zone … All of the girls are international except me and my sister. There are two or three guys from the States. It’s a small school … but we get help with our games whenever we want.” 

Amelie, however, might be the school’s most talented female player. None of them can claim they have played in a U.S. Women’s Open and enjoyed a nine-hole practice round with Charley Hull. Zalsman shot 75-84 at Lancaster, but said, “I just wanted to enjoy it. I’m only going to experience this once [as a 15-year-old amateur]. I was definitely there for the vibes.” 

Windsor has produced one player currently at Auburn and a future teammate of Cantonis (Anne Fernandez of Singapore) as well as another headed to Alabama this fall (Grace Crawford of Scotland); and one more committed to Texas Tech for 2026 (Roisin Scanlon of the Republic of Ireland). Zalsman, who won’t graduate until 2027, will certainly have her share of interested schools once they can officially begin contacting her in July. 

Besides her USGA portfolio, Zalsman won the prestigious American Junior Golf Association’s Tournament of Champions in San Antonio, Texas, last November, shooting 4 under par over her final nine holes to edge Scarlett Schremmer by a stroke. That helped her earn second-team Rolex All-American honors (Cantonis was honorable mention).  

By then, Zalsman had already caught the eyes of the USGA’s recently created U.S. National Development Program. A couple of days before Christmas, her phone received a message from U.S. National Junior Team coach Chris Zambri. Out with friends at Redlands C.C., Zalsman hesitated to return the call until everyone insisted that she do so immediately. 

Zambri noticed what others were beginning to see: Zalsman had serious game and a great attitude to boost. 

“She drives the ball extremely well with a bunch of length,” said Zambri. “She is very comfortable with people and is very engaging. She also showed the ability to play well in big situations with her win at the Rolex Tournament of Champions. 

“Amelie is [also] very well-liked by her teammates on the National Junior Team.” 

That was illustrated in mid-April during the U.S. National Junior Team’s two-day friendly match against Canada at Champions Golf Club, in Houston, Texas. Zalsman posted a 3-0 record, winning mixed four-ball and foursomes matches with 2025 Vanderbilt signee Will Hartman and then rallying to beat Michelle Xing in Sunday singles, 1 up. 

That match-play experience, along with competing in last year’s Wyndham Cup, should be good prep for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. In fact,she’s eagerly looking forward to playing in a team format with a partner who keeps the ball in play. Zalsman joked it was different playing with a male partner, who might hit it farther but not always online. 

That shouldn’t be an issue with Cantonis, whose strength is finding fairways. 

Golf, however, was not the 18-year-old’s first love. When the family moved from Clearwater, Fla., to San Diego when she was 3, Charlotte often followed her dad to the local beaches to surf. She became good enough to compete in local competitions. She also enjoyed playing soccer. But by the fourth grade, the board and cleats were put in storage and golf became Charlotte’s primary athletic activity. As a freshman at La Jolla High, she advanced to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state tournament. 

But a career opportunity for Matt to return to his Florida roots created a move to Tampa shortly before Charlotte’s sophomore year. Returning to the Sunshine State also brought Cantonis closer to her cousins, Jack and M.J. Maguire, two fledgling professionals who starred at Florida State and the University of North Florida, respectively. Matt Cantonis even briefly caddied for both, as well as former PGA Tour winner Robert Gamez at East Lake when he lived in Atlanta after graduating from Emory University (he was a competitive swimmer). 

Charlotte, however, still maintained a working relationship with her Southern California-based instructor Chris Mayson, but she’s also received assistance from Justin Sheehan, the director of golf at Pelican Golf Club in Tampa, her home course. 

As her game blossomed, Division I coaches took notice, and she eventually settled on Auburn, a school attended by four family members, including her mom. 

“I wanted to go to an SEC school,” said Cantonis, who takes one class at Plant High in Tampa while doing the rest of her curriculum virtually. “Auburn always was my top pick. They were one of the first schools to reach out to me. I hit it off pretty early [with the coaches and players]. They have a great team and great program.” 

Given she’ll be part of a college program in the fall -- and the fact that this championship often conflicts with the postseason -- this likely will be Cantonis’ last crack at winning a U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title.  

The toughest remaining decision might be finding matching outfits and coming up with a coordinated celebration. Both players might be leaving that peripheral stuff to their dads, along with the nightly movie selections in their rented Air BnB. The girls said Matt and Andrew already have their own private group text chain. 

That just leaves the playing part to the teens. And they seem quite up to the task. 

“It’s a matter of maintaining our games until we get there,” said Charlotte. 

“I’m really excited,” said Amelie. “I think we can do really well.” 

Congenial champions? It has a nice ring to it. 

David Shefter is a senior staff writer at the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.