Asterisk Talley has a problem — just not on the golf course.
No, the 15-year-old — who has played two impressive rounds of golf at the US Women’s Open — has a “bunch” of homework due Friday.
“It’s probably not going to get done today,” Talley told NBC Sports on Friday afternoon from Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania. “I feel like I can fluctuate with the due date even though they were like, ‘No exceptions,’ I am going to make them have exceptions.”
Talley has earned them.
The Californian is 1-over through two rounds at the US Women’s Open, backing up an even-par opening round — which included recovering from a triple bogey on No. 7 — with a 1-over round Friday to put herself in contention heading into the weekend.
“My dad always taught me not to be nervous because if I am nervous then I am just going to mess up anyways,” Talley said.
The two rounds look all the more impressive considering what this course did to the best players in the world Thursday: Nelly Korda was 10-over, Rose Zhang was 9-over, Lexi Thompson was 8-over.
The clubhouse lead as of Friday afternoon was 1-under par with a pair of former US Women’s champions — Minjee Lee and Yuka Saso — sharing it as the afternoon tee times hit the course.
“It’s just so hard,” Talley said of Lancaster CC on Thursday. “The pins they had on the practice rounds, I was like, if they put the pins here I’m going to start crying. I was on the verge on a couple holes with the way I was playing. But I’m not mad with where the pins were today, the way I played the course, so I feel like I’m happy with how I did.”
Asterisk’s mother, Brandii, is Greek and her daughter’s name means “little star” in that language, Yahoo Sports reported.
Talley said she was switching between drivers in the lead-up to the event, which she reached through qualifiers.
At the urging of her dad, Talley said she mimicked her swing after Nelly’s sister, Jessica, who is also a top player.
“If you don’t hit the fairway you are definitely making bogey or scrambling for par,” Talley said. “I feel like just hitting fairways and play for rollout on the greens. Because if you are above the hole you are definitely going to have a super scary putt coming back.”