Asterisk Talley just won the U.S. Women’s Amateur. A week later she’s skipping a $2 million LPGA event because of school. That tension, amateur star versus high schooler, is the story here. She was set to tee it up at the Standard Portland Classic right after her USGA win. Instead she’s out, and the reason is about as plain as it gets: she’s still in high school, and that comes first.

“Asterisk Talley will not be in the field this week in Portland, according to the LPGA. She has withdrawn due to a conflict with school. Caroline Inglis, a former Oregon player who retired last year, has replaced her in the field,” Beth Ann Nichols wrote in an X post.

The exact reason for the conflict hasn’t been confirmed. Talley is still in high school and is committed to Stanford. The USGA has listed her expected college arrival as fall 2027.

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Talley didn’t get into Portland on a sponsor exemption. The LPGA carved out a new amateur pathway for this year’s event, with exemptions going to the 2026 winners of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, the Women’s Amateur Championship, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and the NCAA Division I title. That win last weekend is exactly what put her in the field.

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The withdrawal comes days after her USGA title. She defeated Japanese amateur Anna Iwanaga to claim her second USGA championship. By the 30th hole, Talley was 8 up on Iwanaga, closing out the match 8 and 6.

“This pretty much completes my amateur career,” said Talley. “This is one of the biggest events to ever win, so I think this is going to be the top of my list from now on.”

The win carried extra weight given her recent near misses at USGA events. She has been runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior. She also finished second at the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

A few other amateurs will play the Standard Portland Classic this week. One is 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion María José Marín, who beat Talley by six strokes at that event. Marin shot 65-69-68 for 14-under 202; Talley carded 66-67-75 for 8-under 208, tied for fourth.

A final-round 3-over 75 cost her that one. Talley got emotional afterward and credited her parents for their support through the loss.

The field also includes 2026 NCAA champion Farah O’Keefe, 2026 Women’s British Amateur champion Valentine Delon, and Colorado State junior Jacinda Lee.

Her replacement, Caroline Inglis, adds a hometown storyline of her own. Inglis retired from the LPGA Tour in November 2025 after nine years on tour, a decision driven in part by recurring back problems. She then took a role with the Oregon Golf Association, and now returns to play in her hometown event.

Even if Asterisk Talley had played the Standard Portland Classic this week, it wouldn’t have been her first LPGA start.

Asterisk Talley’s history at LPGA events

So far, she has made 10 LPGA Tour starts. Her first came in 2024; she then played four in 2025 and five in 2026. Of those 10, she missed the cut four times, with her best finish coming at the 2026 JM Eagle LA Championship.

Her first LPGA appearance came at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open. She was 15, the youngest player in the field, and opened with rounds of 70 and 71 to make the cut. An 8-over 78 on Saturday knocked her back, and she closed with a 73 for a 292 total, tied for 44th.

In 2025, she missed the cut in three of her four starts. Her only weekend appearance came at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, where she carded rounds of 69-68-72 to finish 4-under, tied for 38th.

She came back stronger in 2026. Of her five starts that year, she missed the cut only once, at the Amundi Evian Championship, where rounds of 70-73 for a 1-over 143 fell just short. In her other four starts, she finished within the top 25 at the JM Eagle LA Championship (T13) and the U.S. Women’s Open (T22), and also made the cut at the Ford Championship and the Chevron Championship.

Talley’s withdrawal from Portland says more about her priorities than her game. She’s already proven she can compete at the top level, four cuts made in five LPGA starts this year, a top-15 finish at the JM Eagle, and now a second USGA title. But school still comes first, and everything else gets built around it. The real question now isn’t whether she belongs on tour. It’s how many more starts she takes before Stanford in 2027, and whether Portland was a one-off or a sign she’s getting more selective.