West Caldwell, N.J. - Aphrodite Deng of Short Hills, New Jersey, successfully defended her title at the Mizuho Americas Open, earning a victory in the AJGA junior competition at Mountain Ridge Country Club. The New Jersey native finished with 148 total points in the Stableford-format event.
Deng entered the final round with a narrow lead after taking control of the tournament during Saturday’s third round. She posted rounds of 36, 34 and 40 points through the opening three days before adding 38 points in the final round. Paired alongside Jeeno Thitikul and Celine Boutier, Deng opened her round with a birdie on the par-4 No. 1. She followed the birdie with three straight pars before carding her second birdie on the par-4 No. 5.
She finished the front nine bogey-free with three birdies and recorded just one bogey on the front nine all tournament. After making the turn, she carded bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12 but recovered with a birdie on No. 13. She added another bogey on the par-4 No. 15 but followed it with par-birdie-par on Nos. 16–18.
“It feels really special to win again in my hometown with all the fans watching and cheering me on. I really look up to Jeeno because she’s one of my favorite golfers, and it was fun getting to play alongside her again and see how the LPGA players compete up close. Defending the title was my goal coming into the week, so to come back and improve on last year’s score at a different course feels really rewarding.”
The victory adds another major accomplishment to Deng’s growing résumé. In 2025, she became the first Canadian to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, and the Mizuho Americas Open victory marks her fourth AJGA Invitational title.
The 2026 edition marked the fourth year of the partnership between the AJGA and LPGA and the first hosted at Mountain Ridge Country Club, bringing together the stars of today and the next generation of the game inside the ropes. The unique format gives junior golfers the opportunity to learn from and compete alongside LPGA professionals while gaining valuable experience on one of golf’s biggest stages.
On the professional side, Jeeno Thitikul also successfully defended her LPGA title, finishing at 13-under-par 275 to win by four strokes over Ruoning Yin.