Tearful teenager Asterisk Talley was comforted by Bryson DeChambeau after her nightmare back-nine collapse at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA).
After María José Marín of Colombia claimed a runaway win, 17-year-old Talley was inconsolable, having started the day with a one-shot lead before slumping to a final-round 75 to finish tied for fourth.
But as Talley left the course, she received words of encouragement and a hug from DeChambeau, who knows pain at Augusta National all too well. “This isn’t going to define you,” DeChambeau told the crestfallen teenager according to the Golf Channel in a moment not captured by the cameras.
Back-to-back missed cuts in 2022 and 2023, including a round of 80, still haunt DeChambeau at Augusta. Last year, he started the final round two shots back from Rory McIlroy in the final group. But a double-bogey at 11 and a bogey at 12 would add to his Masters’ tales of woe.
According to reporters on the ground, DeChambeau spent at least two minutes talking to Talley, pointing at her heart and gesturing back down the hill. The pair hail from California and first crossed paths 10 years ago when DeChambeau saw something in her that felt familiar. “Tenacity,” DeChambeau said. “Same passion I had. It’s what made me feel there were a lot of similarities.”
His words helped console the No 9-ranked amateur in the world rankings after an emotional finish to the tournament.
“He said keep my head high,” Talley said of her conversation with DeChambeau. “He said he’s been in my position before, and he knows how it feels, especially here. He said you’re a great player. It doesn’t really matter.”
DeChambeau was on site at Augusta to begin his preparations for this week’s Masters, which gets under way on Thursday. The two-time major winner had already collected his accreditation and was seen wearing it around his neck when venturing out to see the closing stages of the ANWA.
Marin, a junior at Arkansas, becomes the third NCAA champion to win at the home of the Masters, following Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang.
Through the first nine holes on Saturday, Talley looked to be the champion-in-waiting before everything unravelled.
A bogey at the par-four 11th saw her drop into a tie with Marin, and then, on the par-three 12th, she hit her tee shot over the green and into the bushes.
Eventually, after trouble in the sand, she made a quadruple-bogey 7, and her tournament was effectively over. “I’m just a little emotional,” she said after the round. “Not only because I didn’t get it done today, but also just everyone is so supportive. It’s hard when they have to watch that and see you not do well or not accomplish what you wanted. I still played fine today, even though that one hole just kind of got me. Other than that, it doesn’t define me as a golfer. I know what kind of player I am.”
The Augusta National Women’s Amateur is the premier event in women’s amateur golf.