Youngest in 2026 ANWA field, Aphrodite Deng could make golf history
· Yahoo Sports
EVANS — After finishing the opening round of the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Aphrodite Deng finished T-32, a result she was less than pleased with. As soon as the 16-year-old, Canadian-born phenom finished her 18th hole, she immediately went to the practice range.
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While other, more veteran players went to eat lunch after five hours of golf, Deng, the youngest player in the field, opted to spend another 45 minutes tightening up on her fundamentals. The work ethic and perfectionist mindset that had her hitting balls on an empty stomach is the same mentality that helped Deng become the No. 12 women’s golf amateur in the world.
And just like her hunger after a long day of golf, she’s hungry for more success in her young career, and she won’t stop until she’s satisfied.
“It feels pretty special being the youngest here competing at ANWA,” Deng said. “I think it just keeps me more motivated knowing that I'm here and I can compete against older girls, and I have more years to come.”
The empty range that Deng practiced on after her round was reminiscent of the empty beachside golf course in Connecticut where she first started playing golf. The family had moved to Short Hills, N.J. when she was younger, and she'd pick up the sport when she was 9 years old. Golf was introduced to Deng by her parents as a fun hobby she could try during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because of the nature of the sport, she was able to play without overstepping any imposed social distancing rules during the pandemic. Eventually, she became obsessed with golf’s “addicting” qualities. It was then when Deng turned her hobby into her passion.
“In the beginning, we didn’t have any expectations, but we could see her improve every single day,” said Nuo Lu, Deng’s mother. Her father, Chengyao Deng, also chimed in. “I’m very proud that she can come into this stage to compete with (the) other world’s best junior golfers.”
Prior to golf, Deng was a competitive figure skater for four years. The skills that she had to develop in that sport has translated to the golf course. They also are partially responsible for her meteoric rise in the world rankings to as high as No. 11 in less than three years.
“She’s very athletic, very strong in her lower body,” Todd Anderson, longtime PGA golf instructor and Deng’s current teacher, said. “She gets very good rotation. (She) knew how to use the ground to create force. Basically, she just needed to learn how to play golf.”
Anderson and Deng met when she was 13 years old. After the Dengs moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Deng wanted to be taught by the best she could find. Anderson, who serves as the Director of Instruction at the PGA Tour Performance Center at TPC Sawgrass, was approaching his 40th year as a golf instructor and had worked with PGA veterans like Billy Horschel and Brandt Snedeker.
“Horschel and Snedeker, both super hard workers, and she’s right there with them,” Anderson said.
Deng’s sessions with Anderson quickly began to pay dividends on the golf course. Her first major junior golf win came at the Rolex Tournament of Champions when she was 13. Her stock continued to rise after winning the Mizuho Americas Open and the U.S Girls’ Junior Championship as a 15-year-old. By 2026, Deng was recognized as one of the best amateur golfers in the world, and an invitation to compete in the ANWA soon followed.
“[I’d say] just working hard everyday,” Deng said of how she’s grown so fast in golf. “I kind of just didn’t compare myself to other people, knowing I started a little later (than others).”
By her own lofty standards, shooting a 72 in the first round was a shock. Her caddy, Donald Cooper, says that it was the nerves that probably got the best of her in that opening round. But he believes that she has one thing on her side that not many others in the field have: her relative inexperience in the sport.
“Once you play this game for years and years, you get scar tissue, and it ends up showing in your game,” Cooper, who was the longtime caddy of PGA pro Lucas Glover, said. “She has no flaws as far as trauma from past experiences, that’s probably going to help her out.
Deng’s youth also shows in other ways, too. When she arrived in Augusta, she was excited to meet many players that she grew up watching. Stanford’s Megha Ganne was the person she wanted to meet the most.
“She’s obviously a very talented player. It’s pretty surreal that someone in the field looks up to me,” said Ganne, a 22-year-old who also made her ANWA debut when she was 16. “Her accomplishments speak for themselves, and she’s got a lot of years ahead of her.”
During the rare occasions where Deng isn’t on the golf course, she’s probably doing school work. She attends the ICL Academy, an online school, to give her flexibility to travel for training and tournaments across the world.
Deng still feels like a regular teenager despite her notoriety on the golf course. The majority of her friends are also golfers. And because of her quick rise, she’s had to work on her penmanship to sign her autograph on anything fans can get their hands on.
After Round 2, Deng finished T-19 with a spot secured in the final round. A stretch where she shot for birdie in four out of five holes helped her climb up the rankings. If Deng were to win the whole thing, she’d become the youngest player to ever be crowned the ANWA champion. But even if she doesn’t, the experience of simply being there is invaluable long term.
Her quick ascent has proven just how special she could be. Deng's ultimate goal in golf is to become the No. 1 player in the LPGA one day. And as long as she never loses that hunger that powered her to this point, Deng has all the potential to do just that.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Aphrodite Deng growing, learning at 2026 Augusta National Women's Am