The distinguished AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year title has long been a harbinger of what's to come in the professional game. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Inbee Park, David Duval, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Morgan Pressel. It's a who's who list of major champions.
This year's winners – Asterisk Talley and Miles Russell – carry particularly strong promise.
For Russell, 18, this marks a third AJGA POY title (2023, 2025, 2026), putting him in rare air with Mickelson. For 17-year-old Talley, it's a first.
Russell, who broke Woods' record as the youngest to be named AJGA POY in 2023, has committed to play collegiate golf at Florida State. This season, the Jacksonville Beach, Florida, product, successfully defended
his title at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and finished runner-up at the U.S. Junior. He finished 39th at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and represented the U.S. Team in the Junior Presidents Cup at Medinah as well as the Walker Cup team at Lahinch in Ireland.
After heartbreak at the Augusta National Women's Amateur, California's Talley dominated the U.S. Women's Amateur at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee. The victory came after she finished runner-up at both the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior.
On the AJGA, Talley successfully defended her titles at The Fortinet Stanford Invitational and Hilton Grand Vacations Annika Invitational. Like Russell, Talley also won Junior Invitational at Sage Valley for a second time.
Talley, whose name means "Little Star" in Greek," represented the U.S. on the victorious Curtis Cup team at Bel-Air Country Club over the summer and the Junior Solheim Cup team at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands in the fall.
At the U.S. Women's Open at Riviera Country Club, she carded a 5-under 66 on Saturday, posting the best weekend round by an amateur in championship history. Talley went on to finish in a tie for 22nd.
“Just feeling like the hole was so big today,” she said, "couldn't miss."
Talley first burst onto the scene at major championships at age 15, when she shared low-amateur honors at the U.S. Women's Open at Lancaster Country Club. Her former Junior Solheim Cup captain Beth Daniel described Talley as having an unbelievable drive to win. Mature beyond her years inside the ropes, the powerful Talley has committed to Stanford and is a high school senior.
A nine-time winner on the AJGA, Talley won her first title on that circuit in 2021.
Both Talley and Russell will be honored on Nov. 21 at the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa in Texas. Notably, this year marks 40 years of partnership between the AJGA and Rolex.
Beth Ann Nichols is a senior writer for Golfweek covering the LPGA and all things women's golf. Follow her on X/Twitter (@GolfweekNichols).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Asterisk Talley, Miles Russell earn 2026 AJGA Player of the Year honors
