West Caldwell, N.J. - Amelie Zalsman of St. Petersburg, Florida, leads the 2026 Mizuho Americas Open after the first round with a stableford score of 39. Scoring for stableford is as follows:
The AJGA scoring format at the #MizuhoAmericasOpen.@MizuhoLPGA https://t.co/7qUmTjRD9z pic.twitter.com/M7cd0nptDk
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) May 7, 2026
Zalsman opened her round with a par on the par-4 No. 1, earning two points. She bogeyed the par-4 No. 2 but recovered well, carding birdies on Nos. 4, 6 and 8. In total, Zalsman earned 19 points on the front nine. After making the turn, Zalsman went par-bogey-par on Nos. 10, 11 and 12. She played the remaining six holes bogey-free. Zalsman carded birdies on Nos. 13, 16 and 18 to bring her 18-hole total to 39 points. Zalsman’s six birdies were the most among AJGA juniors. Her 39-point total set the mark for 12 afternoon players to chase.
“I just tried to stay patient out there. With the slopey greens and some of the pin locations today, you really can’t be too aggressive, so I focused on playing short and keeping things steady. The firm greens helped with that, and I was able to give myself a lot of opportunities.”
Zalsman, currently ranked No. 5 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, has five AJGA victories, two of which are AJGA Invitationals. Her most recent win came last year at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship. A three-time Rolex Junior All-American, she was a member of the 2025 Junior Ryder Cup Team. A member of the class of 2027, Zalsman is committed to Wake Forest University.
Iris Lee of Orlando, Florida, claimed solo second with a score of 38. Lee teed off in the afternoon wave and got off to a quick start with a par on No. 1 and a birdie on No. 2, totaling five points. She had an eventful front nine with bogeys on Nos. 4 and 6 and birdies on Nos. 5, 7 and 8. In total, she scored 20 points on the front nine. Lee was consistent on the back nine, scoring pars on all nine holes.
The 13-year-old is ranked No. 24 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and is a two-time AJGA champion. Lee recently competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball from May 2-6, advancing to the quarterfinals before being eliminated. This marks her first appearance at the Mizuho Americas Open.
“I played pretty well on the front nine and made a lot of long putts. Since I didn’t play a practice round, I was really just trying to stay steady and learn the course as I went. Now that I’ve seen it, I have a better plan for some holes and hopefully can make a few more putts tomorrow.”
Defending champion Aphrodite Deng of Short Hills, New Jersey, is tied for third after a round featuring three birdies. Rina Kawasaki of Palos Verdes Estates, California, Ava Zhang of Lake Mary, Florida, Celina Yeo of San Carlos, California, and Lily Peng of San Ramon, California, round out the five-way tie for third at 36 total points.
The second round will have two waves for the AJGA players off Nos. 1 and 10 at 9:05 a.m. and 2:05 p.m. EST.
TV & Social
The event will be televised on the Golf Channel at the below times.
Round 2 - 12 PM - 2 PM ET
Round 3 - 5 PM - 7:30 PM ET
The event will be televised on CBS Digital at the below times.
Round 4 - 1 PM - 3 PM ET
Streaming on golfchannel.com, Golf Channel App, CBSSports.com, Paramount+
Follow along on social with #MizuhoAmericasOpen or check us out on X , Instagram and Facebook .