Avery McCrery, a Wilmington, Del. native, and Canadian Aphrodite Deng, both of whom have a Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Girls’ Championship victory on their resumes, posted strong finishes in Wednesday’s final round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions at TPC San Antonio’s Canyons Course in San Antonio, Texas and ended up among a group of five players tied for fifth place.
McCrery, who will join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke next summer, carded her third straight 1-under-par 71, and Deng, who was the defending champion in the Rolex Tournament of Champions, the marquee event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, posted a flawless 2-under 70 in the final round as each landed on 2-under 286 for the 72-hole test.
McCrery and Deng finished four shots behind the winner, Amelie Zalsman, a class of 2027 competitor from Saint Petersburg, Fla. who posted her fourth straight sub-par round with a 2-under 70 over a Canyons Course that measured 6,242 yard and played to a par of 72 for the girls to finish with a 6-under 282 total.
On the boys side, Miles Russell, the heralded class of ’27 entry from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., displayed his seemingly limitless potential with a brilliant 7-under 65 as he pulled away for a from a talented field of junior golfers for a six-shot victory.
McCrery, winner of the WGAP Junior Girls in 2020, began her scholastic career at the Tower Hill School before moving on to the ICL Academy, an on-line arm of the AJGA. A product of the junior program at Wilmington Country Club, McCrery made a major statement last summer when she claimed the title in the Girls Junior PGA Championship, one of the top national events for juniors, at Congressional Country Club’s Blue Course in Bethesda, Md.
McCrery entered Wednesday’s final round in a tie for fifth place, just three shots behind Zalsman. She struggled a little early in the round, making bogeys at the fourth, sixth and ninth holes around a birdie at eight.
But McCrery got the two par-5s on the Canyons Course’s incoming nine, making a birdie at the 12th hole and an eagle at 15, and adding seven pars to finish strong and get it into red figures for the round for the third day in a row.
Deng, who is based in Short Hills, N.J. in the States, won the WGAP Junior Girls two summers ago at the Moorestown Field Club and capped her bustout 2023 with a stunning five-shot victory at TPC San Antonio. Deng’s still just a kid, a class of 2028 competitor, the equivalent of a high school freshman.
But Deng’s final round looked more like that of a grizzled veteran, a display of patience and discipline that saw her make birdies at the first and 12th holes and par the remaining 16 holes. I’m sure she had a ton of birdie looks that didn’t fall, but she never got frustrated, never forced the issue.
It is that kind of poise that Zalsman displayed in capturing the title. Rounds of 1-under 71, two-under 70 and another 1-under 71 had given Zalsman a one-shot edge over a trio of pursuers going into Wednesday’s final round.
Zalsman, who was one of two 15-year-olds in the field in last spring’s U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, made bogeys at the third, fifth and eighth holes around a birdie at six on the outgoing nine at the Canyons Course.
But, much like McCrery, Zalsman got the two par-5s on the incoming nine, making a birdie at the 12th hole and a critical eagle at 15 before adding one more birdie at 17 that enabled her to hold off Scarlett Schremmer of Birmingham, Ala. by a shot.
It was Zalsman’s fourth AJGA victory, but her first in an invitational. The Rolex Tournament of Champions has become a Thanksgiving week staple and a celebration of junior golf. It has the feel of a big event and winning it is, well …
“This win was special,” Zalsman told the AJGA website. “AJGA has definitely provided me with so many opportunities that I am so thankful for. Playing and winning in this tournament is truly amazing.”
Schremmer, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Texas A&M next summer, was the best player in the girls field for all but a couple of bad holes in a 6-over 78 in Tuesday’s third round.
To her credit, Schremmer battled hard in Wednesday’s final round, making five birdies on the Canyons Course’s incoming nine on her way to a 2-under 70 that left her just a shot behind Zalsman in second place with a 5-under 283 total.
Schremmer’s future Texas A&M teammate, Natalie Yen of West Linn, Ore., and Eliana Saga, another class of ’27 competitor from Stevenson Ranch, Calif., finished in a tie for third place, each landing on 3-under 285, two shots behind Schremmer.
Yen, who will join Schremmer in College Station next summer, and Saga each matched par in the final round with a 72.
Michelle Xing of Canada and Nikki Oh of Torrance, Calif. had two of the best rounds of the day in the final round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions with a pair of matching 5-under 67s. Their strong finishes propelled them into the quintet tied for fifth place that included McCrery and Deng at 2-under 286.
Xing will join the program at UCLA of the Big Ten at the end of the summer in 2026 and Oh plans to join the program of ACC power Stanford in the summer of 2026.
Rounding out the fivesome tied for fifth place at 2-under was another Canadian, Shauna Liu, a class of ’27 entry who closed with a solid 1-under 71.
The best round of the day in Wednesday’s final round belonged to Lisa Herman of Jenks, Okla. who carded a sizzling 6-under 66 to elbow her way into the top 10, ending up alone in 10th place, two shots behind the five players tied for fifth place at even-par 288.
Herman plans to join the program at SEC power Mississippi in the summer of 2026.
Russell, the kid who electrified the golf world when he finished in a tie for 20th place in the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic as a 15-year-old in April, put on quite a show in capturing the boys title over a Canyons Course layout that measured 7,106 for the guys.
Russell, who reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. last summer, made birdies at the second, seventh, ninth, 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th holes with nary a bogey on his scorecard in fashioning a fantastic 7-under finish.
It gave the little left-hander a 13-under 275 total and another impressive entry on his burgeoning amateur resume.
“This is a great event,” Russell told the AJGA website. “To play against the top junior golfers in the world makes it pretty amazing. I played well all week and I was happy to have a strong final round today.”
Luke Colton of Frisco, Texas was Russell’s closest pursuer as he closed with a 3-under 69 to finish six shots behind the winner in second place with a 7-under 281 total. Colton plans to join the program at ACC power Stanford in the summer of 2026.
Edan Cui of Atherton, Calif. also closed with a 3-under 69 to finish two shots behind Colton in third place with a 5-under 283 total. Cui will precede Colton at Stanford by a year as he will join the Cardinal next summer.
Michael Riebe of Encinitas, Calif. gave Stanford a third recruit inside the top four as he headed a group of three players tied for fourth place at 4-under 284.
Riebe, who will join Cui as a Stanford freshman next summer, had led the field at the halfway point by four shots after back-to-back 4-under 68s. He faltered with a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s third round, but finished strong with a solid 1-under 71.
Joining Riebe at 4-under were Joshua Kim of Danville, Calif. and Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Ala.
Kim, who will join the program at UCLA in the Big Ten next summer, finished up with a 2-over 74. Watts, who plans to join the program at Tennessee in the SEC in the summer of 2026, closed with a 1-over 73.
Watts lost in the final of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills last summer.
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