Aphrodite Deng added another accolade to her list in 2025. The 15-year-old Deng, who resides in Short Hills, was named the Rolex Junior Female Player of the Year by the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), joining a list of winners that includes names such as Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, Inbee Park, and Rose Zhang.
The award is an honor well deserved by Deng, who finished the 2025 season ranked No. 1 in the Rolex AJGA Girls Rankings. On the course, she amassed three wins and five top-five finishes in the six events she competed in during the season.
Deng picked up her first win of the season in March when she topped the field at the 2025 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. She then followed up her win at Sage Valley with a win in May in the Garden State at the 2025 Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City. Finally, Deng picked up her third win of the season at the prestigious U.S. Girls’ Junior in July.
Beyond her success in junior tournaments, Deng also achieved success at LPGA events. In August, Deng was the top amateur at the CPKC Women’s Open, where she finished the tournament at -4, which put her in a tie for 20th overall.
Vidhi Lakhawala and Rayee Feng Make Junior All-America Teams
Deng was not the only Jersey girl to be awarded by the AJGA for their accomplishments during the 2025 season. Vidhi Lakhawala, of Kendall Park, was named to the Junior Girls All-America First Team, and Short Hills’ Rayee Feng was named to the Junior Girls All-America Second Team.
Lakhawala finished her 2025 season ranked tenth in the Rolex AJGA Girls rankings and had four top-three finishes, including two first-place finishes. In March, she took the win at the Will Lowery Junior Championship, and then in June, she took the top spot at the Women’s Western Junior Championship.
Feng finished her season ranked 20th and had three top-three finishes. She finished tied for third at the Will Lowery Junior Championship, tied for third at the U.S. Girls’ Junior, where she fell in the semifinals to Deng, and tied for third at the K.J. Choi Foundation Junior Championship by SK Telecom in August.
Feng also helped the United States team to a 17.5-12.5 victory over Europe at the 2025 Junior Ryder Cup in September in Glen Cove, N.Y., where she scored the final point for Team USA after defeating Spain’s Louise Uma Landgraf.
Feng also earned Scholastic Junior All-America honors.
The All-America teams were determined using the Rolex AJGA Rankings through Oct. 14.
