Asterisk Talley’s golf journey began as a toddler, even more interestingly, using a plastic set for children. When the golf prodigy won the U.S. Kids Golf Championship at 7, her grandmother added another bit to the narrative. Linda Doumas said, “She started doing it just to be with her dad.” Skip to the recent times, and Talley seems to be doing it all for the love of the sport. The Chowchilla native shared low amateur honors at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open and represented her country in the Curtis Cup. Ranked 14th in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, the 16-year-old is swinging it strong at Augusta National. However, much of this is happening thanks to the incredible support system around her.

Let’s quickly go through them one by one, starting with her parents, Brandii Talley and James Talley. Not much is known about them, however, their involvement with their daughter’s games is plenty popular. Brandii Talley is Greek, and she is the reason behind Asterisk’s name. Her name, Asterisk, means “little star” in Greek, reflecting her mother’s heritage. Additionally, the young golfer highlights the dot in her name with an asterisk.

Asterisk’s father, on the other hand, is a former graphic designer turned corrections officer. As we saw earlier, according to Doumas, he is also the reason why she took to golf. It helps that James Talley has played golf himself. Talking about her son and Asterisk’s relationship with golf, Doumas shared in 2016, “Because her dad worked nights, he’d pick her up from daycare when he got off work at about 3 p.m., and they’d just go out and mess around, and that’s how she got started. She does something every day with her dad.” 

Additionally, both her parents have been present for her games, with her dad even attending her 2024 U.S. Women’s Open. And he was present during the last year ANWA as well. If there’s one person Talley attributes her game and greens attitude, it is her father. Talking about it, the young golfer credited her father for understanding her games. She also said, “My dad always taught me not to be nervous because if I am nervous, then I am just going to mess up anyway.” And you have to keep your nerves on the greens, especially as a prodigy.

Thanks to their support, Talley has done it pretty well. Talley and her partner Sarah Lim won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title in 2024. She then reached the finals of both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title. She then reached the finals of both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and the U.S. Women’s Amateur, losing to fellow teen Rianne Malixi in both. Despite this, Talley made USGA history as the first player to reach the finals in three events within a single calendar year. But her parents were not the only golf support on the greens. Here’s another man who has supported Asterisk Talley plenty.

Mike Schy saw the star in Asterisk Talley very early

“She became very comfortable winning early. So many players skip that part,” Mike Schy shared last year during the ANWA about Talley. Schy took Talley under his care when she was just eight and a half years old. Last year, the 15-year-old Talley became the youngest player to make the cut at Augusta National Women’s Amateur. And one of the reasons Schy wasn’t surprised with the news was that he had encouraged the family to sign the prodigy for as many small tournaments as possible. He included 9-holes as part of the plan so that Talley would learn how to win.

“When she was eight and a half, she had this one tooth that stuck out funny in the front, and yet when she started hitting balls, I literally thought I was talking to a 20-year-old.” Interestingly, Talley has also played with Bryson DeChambeau, Schy’s longtime student. “I’ve watched her do chipping stuff with Bryson and beat his brains in. She’s not afraid of anyone.” 

Interestingly, having worked under the same coach as DeChambeau, Talley at first picked up some of DeChambeau’s techniques, such as using big grips and single-length clubs. However, at last year’s ANWA, she shared that she has since shifted to more conventional equipment. She still uses larger grips, but they are now standard ones. And she feels confident about herself. “I think I’ve just kind of matured, and my game has matured in a way that I think has given me confidence in this event,” she said during an interview at the ANWA. Will she win the tournament? We will see.