A 15-year-old is having ‘the best time of my life’ at the U.S. Women’s Open

Talley posted an 8-over-par 78 for a 54-hole total of 9-over 219 at her first U.S. Women’s Open, where she’s tied for 39th. But she advanced further than top-ranked Nelly Korda, No. 6 Rose Zhang and No. 11 Brooke Henderson, among other notables who did not reach the weekend.

The self-described “really calm” 15-year-old, whose first name comes from her Greek mother and translates to “little star,” is enjoying the moment.

“I’m just trying to have a good time out here,” she said. “I want my first Open to be memorable and for it to always be something I can look back on and say I had the time of my life, and I feel like earlier in the week I wasn’t having a lot of fun. When I started playing the tournament rounds, I had so much fun out here. I’m having the best time of my life.”

Australia’s Minjee Lee carded a 4-under 66, matching the low round of the day, and shared the 54-hole lead at 5 under with American Andrea Lee (3-under 67) and Thailand’s Wichanee Meechai (1-under 69). Japan’s Hinako Shibuno was two strokes back following a 4-under 66.

“It’s really impressive,” Andrea Lee, 25, said of Talley. “I remember my first U.S. Women’s Open — I was also 15 years old at Pinehurst and made the cut right on the number. I shot [a 79] the first day but then came back to shoot even par. Somehow the cut was 9 over par, so I was grateful to play the weekend, but for Asterisk to be playing so well as a 15-year-old … it’s really impressive to see, and the future of the game is bright.”

Talley, the youngest player in this field, qualified at San Joaquin Country Club in Fresno, Calif., by claiming the second and final spot at that site. The high school freshman from Chowchilla, Calif., is following in the footsteps of some of her golf heroes by generating buzz with stellar play that belies her youth.

Korda, 25, made her first cut at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2013 at 14 on the way to finishing tied for 64th. Lexi Thompson, 29, advanced to the weekend at this event in 2009 at 14; she tied for 34th. Henderson, 26, was 15 when she made the cut in 2013, then tied for 10th the next year. Michelle Wie West, another former child prodigy, won the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open after making her first cut at 13 in 2003.

Talley began her third round by going bogey, double bogey, bogey, bogey. At No. 2, her approach at the 373-yard par-4 bounced down a set of stairs into deep fescue. Her third shot settled 37 feet behind the hole, and she three-putted from there, grazing the right edge of the cup on her bogey attempt.

She got one back at the 173-yard par-3 sixth hole, landing her tee shot to seven feet and sinking the birdie putt. She added another birdie at No. 11 but struggled from there.

Talley’s first appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open included television interviews with Golf Channel and extended autograph sessions with young fans, many of whom followed her during Saturday’s round. The attention has come amid a busy year of golf for Talley, who in March won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in South Carolina and in April tied for eighth at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

She also partnered with Sarah Lim to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio in May. In between events, Talley found time for homework — or at least some. She revealed earlier in the week that she had to negotiate with her teachers for extensions, which they happily granted.

“I feel like I’m really calm on the golf course,” she said. “People always tell me that, too. I don’t really get really hyped on the golf course. I feel like when I make a birdie, I’m like, ‘Well, whatever.’ And if I make a bogey, it’s like, ‘Well, I’ll birdie the next hole.’ I’m not really a feisty competitor. I feel like I’m a calm, collected person.”