Canada's Aphrodite Deng learns from Nelly Korda at junior golf event

John Chidley-Hill · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 22, 2025 2:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 22

Aphrodite Deng got to unrecorded retired the imagination of each competitory golfer, playing 2 rounds with the champion successful the satellite and excelling connected the course, and she's conscionable 15 years old.

Deng played alongside Nelly Korda of the United States astatine the Mizuho Americas Open, winning the inferior tourney connected May 11 portion the American tied for 5th successful the LPGA Tour's lawsuit of the aforesaid name.

"It was a truly amusive experience," said Deng, who besides won the American Junior Golf Association's Junior Invitational successful March by six strokes. "I was trying not to deliberation excessively overmuch astir who's watching stuff, but it was fun."

Deng was calved successful Calgary and her household lived successful Montreal earlier moving to New Jersey for her dad's work. She mostly lives successful Orlando present but remains a Canadian national and plays for Golf Canada's inferior program.

She said that she learned a batch from observing Korda, who won 5 consecutive tournaments and 7 full past play to instrumentality to satellite No. 1 successful the women's satellite play rankings and gain the 2024 LPGA Tour's Player of the Year award.

"It was truly chill to spot however (Korda) carries herself connected the people and successful her game," said Deng connected Wednesday. "I deliberation she takes much clip and puts successful a batch of thought for each shot.

"I deliberation I request immoderate of that successful my life."

Jeff MacDonald, caput manager of Golf Canada's NextGen team, said that Deng has grown stronger implicit the people of the play and it's helped her amended her game.

"She's hitting the shot rather a spot further," said MacDonald. "She's ever been a truly accordant player, drives it great, but conscionable successful the past fewer months she's been getting a small spot of other distance.

"That's helping her retired a ton. She's conscionable ace steady."

Both Deng and MacDonald were astatine Weston Golf and Country Club successful Toronto for Team Canada's media day, wherever media and different stakeholders could bid similar Golf Canada players for a day.

Deng, who has taught play to younger children, said she was looking guardant to instructing adults.

Golf Canada announced astatine the media time astatine Weston that it was adding 11 Canadians to the tract astatine the RBC Canadian Open.

Korn Ferry Tour players Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Matthew Anderson, some from Mississauga, Ont., headlined the group. Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont., earned his exemption arsenic the apical Canadian amateur subordinate connected the satellite rankings and Calgary's Hunter Thomson earned his exemption by finishing archetypal connected the idiosyncratic leaderboard astatine the inaugural Canadian Collegiate Invitational past September at Öviinbyrd Golf Club in MacTier, Ont.