It’s been a week of firsts for Rianne Malixi.
She won her first college tournament last Tuesday, and then a few days later, she built her first snowman.
“It was fun, but it’s not something I want to have every day,” Malixi said – of the latter, of course, not the former.
Malixi, a Duke freshman from Manila, Philippines, can certainly get used to winning again. It had been over a year since Malixi was a dominant force in amateur golf, winning both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur two summers ago while rising to third in the world amateur rankings. A lower back injury derailed her momentum, forcing her to withdraw five holes into last year’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific and then on the eve of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Shelved until late May, Malixi returned to play four times last summer, missing cuts in two majors and one JLPGA tournament before sharing the stroke-play medal with Asterisk Talley at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, only to get bounced in the first round of match play at Bandon.
“I was really struggling with my irons, or really anything full swing,” Malixi said. “At the range, it would be good, but I couldn’t execute it when I’d be playing. I would visualize shots, but I just couldn’t execute. I’m a draw player, and sometimes I’d have these pushes, and sometimes I’d get too shallow, which I try to really avoid because that strains my back. My back wasn’t hurting, but I was just really hesitant because I was very uncomfortable swinging the golf club. It was holding me back; I didn’t want to feel pain, I was scared of getting hurt, like if I pushed myself too hard, then I might feel a pop again. That really pulled me away from executing shots.”
Malixi’s first semester with the Blue Devils wasn’t any better, at least by her lofty standards. The nation’s top-ranked recruit didn’t place higher than T-17 in three events, though as Duke head coach Dan Brooks notes, Malixi posted a 77 or worse in each of those starts.
“If you look at her scoring, she had some good rounds, but that one round would just get her, which is something she just doesn’t do,” Brooks said. “That great player, great mind, it was still in there. There was no mental block or anything, it was just physical. She was just getting under plane and a little stuck, but a lot of good players do that. That’s been her tendency, and she just had to go to work and clean that up.”
Compounding matters for Malixi was the typical freshman adjustment. Malixi, homeschooled since fifth grade, had been accustomed to her parents handling most daily tasks. But with independence came a few more firsts.
“I’m doing my own laundry, my own ironing, which I never did, which is kind of funny,” Malixi said. “And it was a struggle.”
Usually, Brooks doesn’t allow teammates to room together, but he made an exception for Malixi and fellow freshman Avery McCrery, who only posted one top-10 finish in her three fall starts.
“I don’t really do well with strangers, so it’s nice to have Avery there for support,” Malixi said. “We tend to be vulnerable with each other, and it’s been so reassuring to have her around.”
Malixi stuck with her physical therapy and technical drills through the fall, even doing some work in her dorm to get her sequencing back. But it wasn’t until she flew home to Manila in early December that everything clicked again. Malixi missed finals week to compete in the SEA Games, where she placed sixth, then spent three weeks playing 36 holes per day. The 86-degree temps and humidity were a stark contrast to what she was welcomed with when she returned to Durham.
Smarter, even if not necessarily as strong as she was two summers ago, Malixi was her vintage self over three rounds of the Sea Best Intercollegiate at San Jose Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida. Though she was thrown off by the quirks of college golf – her first 36-hole day, no signing cards in scoring, etc. – Malixi quickly settled in, shooting 15 under over her final 36 holes and beating Florida’s Paula Francisco by two strokes at 16 under. Her 200 winning total was a school record, and her closing 9-under 63 tied a Duke low.
Perhaps most importantly, Malixi’s long game had shown the fruits of her labor. With San Jose playing just over 5,900 yards, though in cold conditions, Malixi was especially lethal.
“I was very surprised how short it was,” Malixi said. “But Coach told me, ‘Well, you still have to play to your standards.’ I tried to go as low as I could because the course was very gettable; it was a total wedge game, and I capitalized. My irons and wedges were really great. I struggled with my putting, specifically my alignment, so I left a lot out there, but overall, it was great.”
Added Brooks: “She’s swinging the club better now than she did in the fall. That’s all the difference was.”
With Duke and other teams needing to scramble to airport, there was no time for a proper trophy ceremony. Brooks grabbed Malixi’s trophy and met her and a few teammates in the parking lot, where he did a mock introduction before Malixi said a few words. It wasn’t until a few days later that Malixi posed for her trophy shot – with her snowman.
Everyone knows Malixi will have plenty more winning moments.
She will break from the team later this month for the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, missing the Moon Golf Invitational. But she’ll have a nice stretch against elite fields, including the Darius Rucker, Old Barnwell Derby and Charles Schwab at Colonial. Then, of course, will be her much anticipated return to Augusta, Georgia, where she will be one of 48 current top-50 players competing.
“I’m feeling very excited,” Malixi said. “I’m looking forward to making the cut hopefully, seeing some familiar faces. I haven’t really put a name to myself in the golfing world for like a year now. So, yeah, it’s good to have a comeback.”