Less than two months after claiming victory at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship at the prestigious Honors Course in Tennessee, Asterisk Talley took her talents to the windy Turlock Golf & Country Club on Monday for the annual Yellowjacket Invitational girls golf tournament, hosted by Hilmar High School.

Despite never playing the tough par-72 course and not even having a scouting report of one of the more uniquely designed courses in the region, the 17-year-old Chowchilla High senior finished her round at 5 under par, steering clear of Hilmar sophomore Isabella Northcutt by 10 strokes.

Tracy freshman Zara Maryam Shalizi shot a 79 to finish third, while Hilmar’s Grace Vitorino finished fourth with a round of 80. Ripon junior Cameron Seefeldt rounded out the top five with an 81.

“I knew nothing of this course,” Talley told the Journal as she held her first-place medal in front of the TGCC clubhouse. “I think just coming into this tournament blind may have helped, just not knowing and sometimes kind of ignoring the trouble on each hole.”

And TGCC certainly offers all kinds of trouble. Among the thin, tree-lined fairways lined are 57 bunkers and five holes with water hazards.

But Talley, who has held the top spot on the Rolex American Junior Golf Association Rankings for the past 27 weeks and currently sits fourth overall on the World Amateur Golf Rankings, came out the gates unfazed with birdies on hole 1, 3, 5 and 9. The lone flaw on the front nine was a bogey on the par-3 seventh hole, roughly 120 yards through a leg right from the tee to the pin.

Sandwiched between birdies on holes 10 and 12 was another bogey on a par-3. A string of two straight bogeys followed on holes 14 and 15. Her drive on 14th couldn't clear the pond onto another dogleg right fairway. But again, the young superstar recovered quickly with three consecutive birdies to end her round.

Talley nearly drove the green on the 283-foot, par-4 18th hole, but landed on the right side bunker with the hole placed between two downhill slopes. It was little problem, as she lightly laid her ball near the top of the upslope and watched it slowly roll down near the hole, nearly sinking her second shot before tapping in.

“The course was a little bit difficult at times,” said Talley. “I know it's pretty windy, and now I know where the trouble is on most of the holes, so we'll see how it helps if I get to come out here again.”

Talley claimed the U.S. Amateur in early August, the second USGA title in her young career. In 2024, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball and was a runner-up in the U.S. Women's Amateur and U.S. Junior Girls championships.

Northcutt was one of three others who played alongside in the top group of the day, and said her game was elevated by playing with the one of the best female amateurs in the world. It was a moment she was looking forward to in the days leading up to the tournament since Hilmar head coach Ty Pettigrew informed her that she’d be placed in the top foursome.

“I found out ahead of time, and I was so excited,” Northcutt said. “As soon as I heard about it, I went home and told my parents. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm playing with Asterisk.’ This is huge.”

“To hear that Asterisk was coming was super exciting,” added Vitorino, who caught glimpses from a hole back. “Being around such an amazing player like that pushes you to do better and learn. It was fun.”

After shooting a bogey on the 290-yard, par 4 first hole, Northcutt used her low driving to her advantage against the breeze to remain in the middle of the fairway before laying up and putting in for birdie, her only one of the tournament.

“My ball typically flies really low to begin with, so the wind didn't really come into play for me that much,” Northcutt said. “Most of the holes, I just clubbed up.”

Amid five more bogeys on holes 5, 9, 11, 13 and 15, she proved that consistency was key, limiting the damage with par putts on the other 11 holes.

With Shalizi and Vitorino on her heels as she approached the 18th and final hole, Northcutt stuck to the basics. As others in her group tried landing on the green from 283 yards out and ended up in the rough (or in Talley’s case, the bunker), the Yellowjacket standout landed roughly 40 yards short of the fairway but in the middle of the fairway. Her ensuing pitch landed on the green but on the upslope over the hole. Her third shot and first putt settled about 10 feet from the hole before she sunk the par attempt.

“My putting got me home today,” Northcutt said.

Although Vitorino couldn’t find a birdie putt, 10 pars was enough for her to remain amongst the top finishers and give the Yellowjackets, the two-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division V champions, a fifth-place team finish out of the 21 participating programs, who combined to have 100 golfers compete.

Hilmar posted a team score of 406, while Talley and Chowchilla were fourth with a 403. Oakdale won the team title with a 355.

“It's a great feeling to place fifth, especially when it's your home course,” Northcutt said. “This is what we train for.”

Vitorino recently became a member at TGCC and was able to use her familiarity to adjust to Monday’s weather.

“Every time I'd tee off, the wind would make it a bit interesting, but then I would be able to recover from it with my irons each time,” Vitorino said. “With the breeze, I was trying to aim more to the left so that the wind would kick it right.”

The Hughson program finished seventh with a score of 422. Kali Irizarry shot a 102 to finish tied for 21st. Sofia Hamilton was 26th with a 105 while Sadie Peterson finished a shot back in 27th. Sophey Poulson and Victoria Cribbet shot 111 (T-32) and 118 (T-57), respectively.

Pitman, who entered Tuesday’s team match with Turlock undefeated at the midway point of the Central California Athletic League schedule, placed eighth as a team at 425. Turlock was 11th with a collective score of 440.

The Pride were paced by senior Clarissa Vallejo and her round of 96. Right behind her with Turlock’s top score was junior Brianna Cuenca and her scorecard of 97. Both also played alongside each other at last year’s Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament.

Also contributing to Pitman’s finish were Amaya Singh tied for 21st (102), Layla Alvarez tied for 38th (113), Mariah Aleixo tied for 40th (114) and Emmie Dominguez tied for 46th (116).

Behind Cuenca for the defending CCAL champion Bulldogs were Kloie Ramirez tied for 34th (112), Annalillia Scroggins tied for 40th (114), Ava Arakelian tied for 51st (117) and Payton Rosebrough tied for 66th (123).