Young Chowchilla golf star heads to Chevron Championship after strong finish in the 'City of Stars'

Asterisk Talley will make her ninth start in a professional event this week at the Chevron Championship, the first major championship of the year, teeing off Thursday in Houston, Texas.

The 17-year-old Chowchilla native enters the event coming off a tie for 13th place at -9 in the JM Eagle LA Championship in Tarzana, where her golf skills were on full display after getting in on a sponsor's invite.

Talley's distance off the tee was among the most noticeable.

She averaged 290 yards, leaving her well ahead of her professional playing partners. She also consistently put herself in scoring position, routinely giving herself birdie opportunities on the way to four straight rounds under par. "Just happy that I'm able to shoot under par when I'm not playing my total best," Talley told Action News.

Her comfort level off the course was also noticeable as she spent time after her rounds signing autographs and taking photos with young fans.

Talley will have a family friend from Ohio caddy for her in Houston, who Talley says is "one of my favorite people."

She noted how his humor in the course can keep things like when the stakes are so high during tournament play. "Just to have him on the bag just to kind of get some laughs in, especially when you're not having the best hole or the best day," Talley said.

Working with different caddies has helped her better understand what she wants as she looks ahead to the future. "Just learning what caddy I kind of want, especially if I'm going to be going pro in the future, just being able to kind of feel it out and see who I would like on my bag once I get to that stage, because that's going to be a pretty important part once I get there," she said.

Talley is not there just yet. As an amateur golfer, the Stanford commit was not eligible to collect the $74,000 in prize money she would have earned for her finish at the LA Championship.

RELATED: Chowchilla native Asterisk Talley talks commitment to Stanford

Thursday will be her 4th time playing in a major championship after breaking onto the scene with a low amateur finish in the 2024 US Women's Open.

It will be her first major tournament after a heartbreaking T-4 finish in the Augusta National Women's Amateur, where she saw her final round lead wash away after twice finding Rae's Creek on hole #12.

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