Mawhinney and Deng win the Rolex Tournament of Champions
By Emma Varela
San Antonio, TX – Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island, Florida, and Aphrodite Deng of (Canada) Short Hills, New Jersey, win the 46th edition of the Rolex Tournament of Champions. With this win they each earn their first AJGA Invitational titles. Mawhinney finished the week with a 5-under-par 283 tournament total, while Deng finished at 8-under-par 280.
This year’s Rolex Tournament of Champions featured 80 players competing over four-days for the coveted year-end title. The field included 45 players committed to play college golf, 67 past AJGA champions and 65 Rolex Junior All-Americans.
Mawhinney’s strong final round play, putting together a 7-under-par 65, sealed the come from behind victory. Mawhinney surprised himself opening the day bogey-free on his front-nine. Quick birdies on hole Nos. 1 and 2 boosted the sophomores confidence as he continued on.
As Mahwinney made the turn he was at 4-under-par 32 and charging up the leaderboard. A bogey on No. 12 set him back a stroke, but he bounced back birdieing four of his last six holes to close out the round. The 2026 graduate entered the round in eighth place and moved up seven spots on the leaderboard to secure the win.
It means a lot to win my first AJGA. It was a lot of hard work over the last four or five years. It is surreal. I didn’t think I had a shot at the win until I looked at the leaderboard on 13 tee and saw I was two back (of the lead) so I knew then I needed a couple more birdies to make it happen coming in.
TYLER MAWHINNEY, BOYS DIVISION CHAMPION
This is the Florida natives first AJGA win of any kind. Mawhinney’s previous best AJGA finish came at the 2023 Justin Thomas Junior Championship, T4. Mawhinney earned Rolex Junior All-America honors this season for the first time. His year included three AJGA top-10 finishes and a win at the Scott Robertson Memorial.
The Boys Division top-5 was rounded out by:
- Second – Gerardo Gomez of (Mexico) Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida (2024)
- Third – Kihei Akina of Kahuku, Hawaii (2025)
- Fourth – Michael Riebe of Encinitas, California (2025)
- Fifth – Boyi (Barry) Zhang of (China) Lake Mary, Florida (2024)
Deng came into the final-round with a five stroke lead over the Girls Division field. The youngest player in the field put up an even-par-72 final-round to play defense on her lead. Opening her day with an early birdie on No. 2, Deng was up and down all day carding as many birdies as she did bogeys to finish at even-par.
I played pretty good this week. I wasn’t expecting to play this good or let alone win, but I made fairways and greens as much as I could. Going into the final round I was trying to remain steady and play the game that I had been the past few days.
APHRODITE DENG, GIRLS DIVISION CHAMPION
With this win Deng became the first player, boy or girl, to win the Rolex Tournament of Champions from the state of New Jersey and the first player of Canadian Citizenship to win. The 2028 graduate also became the second youngest girl to ever win the Tournament of Champions behind Naree Wongluekiet in 1999 who was 13 years and 70 days old at the time of her win.
Deng caps off an impressive season which included a place on the Junior All-Star Team, first-time Rolex Junior All-American honors, two top-five AJGA Invitational finishes and a win at the Moon Golf Junior All-Star back in April.
The Girls Division top-five featured:
- Second – Jasmine Koo of Cerritos, California (2024)
- Third – Alice Ziyi Zhao of (China) Irvine, California (2027)
- Fourth – Anna Huang of (Canada) Coto De Caza, California (2027)
- Fifth – Lisa Herman of Jenks, Oklahoma (2026)
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About Rolex
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Rolex is an integrated and independent Swiss watch manufacture. Headquartered in Geneva, the brand is recognized the world over for its expertise and the quality of its products – symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. The movements of its Oyster Perpetual and Perpetual watches are certified by COSC, then tested in-house for their precision, performance and reliability. The Superlative Chronometer certification, symbolized by the green seal, confirms that each watch has successfully undergone tests conducted by Rolex in its own laboratories according to its own criteria. These are periodically validated by an independent external organization.
The word ‘Perpetual’ is inscribed on every Rolex Oyster watch. But more than just a word on a dial, it is a philosophy that embodies the company’s vision and values. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the company, instilled a notion of perpetual excellence that would drive the company forward. This led Rolex to pioneer the development of the wristwatch and numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism, invented in 1931. In the course of its history, Rolex has registered over 600 patents. At its four sites in Switzerland, the brand designs, develops and produces the majority of its watch components, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Furthermore, the brand is actively involved in supporting the arts and culture, sport and exploration, as well as those who are devising solutions to preserve the planet.
