Aphrodite Deng Stays Four Back After U.S. Women’s Open Opening Round
aphrodite deng was in the mix early at the U.S. Women’s Open and finished the opening round at 1 under, four shots behind leader Jennifer Kupcho. The 16-year-old Canadian amateur briefly shared the lead before a back-nine stumble pulled her back into the pack.
Aphrodite Deng at Riviera Country Club
Deng started on the back nine at Riviera Country Club and birdied the par-5 first hole to move into a tie for the lead. She then had to recover after missing a 3-foot par attempt on No. 4, missing a bogey chance from 5 feet on No. 7 and making a double bogey, then adding another bogey on the par-4 eighth.
She answered with birdies on Nos. 12 and 13, rolling in putts from 6 feet and 14 feet, and closed with a 7-foot birdie on her final hole. That left her at 1 under after a round that moved from sharp to shaky and back again.
John Wood beside Deng
Deng was paired this week with veteran caddie and broadcaster John Wood, and she said they have worked together “really well.” Wood has been on the bag for 10 PGA Tour wins, including Matt Kuchar’s bronze-medal run at the 2016 Olympics, and he has also worked with Hunter Mahan and Kevin Sutherland.
The setup is notable because Deng earned her place in the field by winning the 2025 U.S. Junior Girls’ Championship, becoming the first Canadian in history to do so. She also made the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier in the spring and was firmly in the mix at the CPKC Women’s Open last summer, a run that fits the way she described her game after the round: it has matured a lot in the last 10 months, and she said she does not feel “as nervous” in front of big crowds.
Canadian scores behind Deng
Her round stood out in a Canadian group that also had Anna Huang at 4-over 75, Lauren Kim at 5-over 76 after a final-hole bogey, and Brooke Henderson at 2-over 73. Henderson’s card included a four-putt bogey on her penultimate hole and a chipped-in birdie on her final hole, and she was tied with Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul at 2 over after the opener.
For Deng, the opening round left her close enough to matter and far enough back to need a cleaner second day. The field has already seen that she can get to the lead in stretches; the next task is turning those bursts into a round that holds together from the first tee shot to the last putt.
