Asterisk Talley would like to get the taste of defeat out of her mouth.
And there’s no better place to do that then at home — or at least close to it. Talley is playing the JM Eagle LA Championship this week as a sponsor exemption at El Caballero Country Club, where she is a member.
Talley, 17, finished T-4 during her last outing at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur after finishing her first two rounds at Championships Retreat without a bogey and carrying a one-shot lead into the final round on Saturday.
Her tear-filled interview afterwards caught people’s attention for the maturity she showed, as did her encouraging conversation with Bryson DeChambeau about wrestling with the challenges of having to play Augusta over multiple days. But what did Talley learn from it all?
“Just staying in the moment and not letting frustration get ahold of you a little bit,” she told reporters Wednesday. “Knowing I can bounce back for sure after everything that happened.
“Not thinking of the past or the future,” she added about her mindset. “Just kind of thinking of what have to do in that moment to execute the shot and just kind of let that carry through the whole round.”
As for the emotions caught on camera right after the round, Talley said that it was her obligation to speak to the media and that managing the moment comes natural to her after all the rounds she’s played during her career.
“Sometimes you may not want to but you have to step up and do the right thing,” said Talley, who finished runner-up at the women’s am in 2025.
Not having the weight of Augusta pulling at her is a massive benefit for Talley this week.
Unlike her previous two events (she finished T-26 at the LPGA’s Ford Championship outside of Phoenix last month), Talley has plenty of experience at El Cab — which means less time familiarizing herself with the course and more on focusing on her game.
She’ll also have a full compliment of family and friends driving down to support her from Chowchilla, Calif.
“It just suits my eye. It’s pretty open in terms of just how many trees and things are out here,” said the nation’s top-ranked female amateur. “It’s a pretty flat course I would say. Not super hilly. Some areas can be a little different, but I think it just suits my eye just knowing it for so long.”
She estimated playing “like 11 rounds in a week” at El Cab beginning in 2024, and that leaves her feeling confident on where to miss and where she can put herself in good positions.
With that said, she knows where her game’s weaknesses are right now — and why they were so evident Saturday when everyone was watching her at Augusta.
“Working on my short game a little bit ..the big number on 12 was definitely something that went a little wrong. Just had some missed greens there, went left and right on some areas,” Talley said of her 7 at the par-3 12th hole.
She entered it tied at 13 under with Maria Jose Marin, who went on to win the tournament.
“Just trying to hit every green possible and I mean, obviously if you miss it then trying to get up and down which is going to be crucial on this course,” Talley added about the second nine at Augusta. “I think that’s what kind of drew the line ANWA from winning and losing.”
The Stanford-bound Talley said she still hasn’t processed everything that happened in Georgia but that she’s more focused on this event in California.
“Stuff happens and you kind of just move on after that. I think I was just trying to figure out kind of those little mistakes,” she said.
