Rianne Malixi (USGA Photo)

The last major championship played at the iconic Tulsa, Okla., venue was the 2022 PGA Championship, won by Justin Thomas with a final score of 5-under par. It’s the highest winning score of a PGA Championship over the last 16 years. 

In what is the USGA’s tenth trip to Southern Hills, and first since the 2009 U.S. Amateur, Monday’s championship play saw just eight of the 156 players in the field finish the day under par, with an average score of 76.5.  

But Rianne Malixi, fresh off a win at the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior, picked up right where she left off, pacing the field with a 4-under 67. With temperatures reaching 100 degrees around 4 p.m., Malixi played in the harder, afternoon wave, but looked unshakable. 

“The weather is quite familiar, similar to what it was at the Girls’ Junior, and I’ve experienced this a lot in Southeast Asia, so I’m able to focus and keep myself cool,” said Malixi. “[Southern Hills] is a tough track. You have to miss it in the rights spots, and I was able to do that today.” 

After a double bogey on the par 4 second hole, Malixi would go on to record five birdies, one eagle and one bogey. The highlight was on No. 16, one of 12 eagles for the field on the day, a hole in which Malixi hit a perfect drive before hitting her 5-wood to five feet.

For fans of USGA championships, it’s more of what they saw just three weeks ago at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif., where she won 8 and 7 in the championship match, the most dominant 36-hole final match victory in championship history.

“I’m not used to it,” said Malixi of coming to the event as a USGA champion. “It’s so easy to not stay in the present this week, with all the attention I am getting, but I’ve managed to do a good job of staying in the moment and focusing on one shot at a time.” 

Kelly Xu, who earlier this year won an NCAA Championship with the Stanford women’s golf team, took advantage of an early tee time to post a 3-under 68. Xu was off the golf course before the hottest part of the day and took advantage of the more tolerable conditions. It looked like her score would stand as the best of the day before Malixi went 3-under over her last four holes to post the late-in-the-day 67. 

“I was pretty grateful to have the first tee time out and dodge the heat,” said Xu, who last year advanced to the Round of 32. “It gets really hot out there, and I was definitely feeling that towards the end, but it was just a good day for me. You have to take what you can get out here.” 

Xu started her day with a bogey on Southern Hills’ par-4 opening hole and had one more blemish on the par-3 eighth. Standing on the ninth tee at 2-over par, the rising junior who ten years ago won the 7-9 age division in the inaugural Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals, would play the remaining ten holes in 5-under par.  

“Being in position is huge on this course,” said Xu. “My ball-striking was solid today, and I was able to convert a few putts. You can definitely find yourself on the flip side quickly, being out of position on a lot of these holes.” 

Adela Cernousek, of France, Asterisk Talley, 2024 U.S. Girls' Junior runner-up, and Maria Jose Marin of Colombia finished one shot back of Xu at 2-under 69. 

Last year’s champion Megan Schofill got off to a strong start, carding a solid 1-under 70.  

“It’s really great to be back,” said Schofill. “I’ve been waiting a year to come back and play in this event. I’ve not been playing my best golf as of late, so to be able to come out and post a 1-under on a really tough USGA golf course, it proves to myself that I can play well, and it gives me a lot of confidence.” 

Notable 

- The back nine showed its teeth, playing 1.47 strokes harder than the front. The back nine also boasts the four hardest holes on the golf course, with No. 18 playing .58 strokes above par.  

- Two USGA champions served as caddies: Candie Kung, who won the 2001 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, caddied for Huai-Chen Hsu, while Warren Schutte, who won the 1992 U.S. Amateur Public Links, was on the bag for his daughter Abbey.  

- Emerie Schartz, 16, of Wichita, Kan., was the second alternate from the July 3 qualifier in Kansas. She was informed at 10:30 a.m. Monday morning, after a late WD due to illness by Megha Ganne, that she had a spot in the field. She jumped in the car with her dad, Lance, and made the nearly three-hour drive from Wichita to Tulsa. She arrived at the golf course at 1:25 p.m. and teed off at 1:39 p.m.

- Beth Wu, a member of the 2016 USA Curtis Cup team and new assistant coach for the University of Southern California, caddied for rising USC sophomore Bailey Shoemaker. Shoemaker shot a 2-over par 73 with six birdies.

- Melanie Green (1-under 70) posted the only bogey-free round on Monday. Green won the Women’s Amateur Championship conducted by the R&A on June 29, becoming the first American since 1996 to do so.