U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 6, 2026

Rianne Malixi

The Honors Course

Quick Quotes

Q. Rianne, congratulations on winning your match today against Jasmine Koo. Can you just talk a little bit about your mindset head into match play today?

RIANNE MALIXI: Well, I didn't play well -- I wasn't swinging it well like during the tournament qualifying rounds, like first and seconds rounds, but I was playing really well during the practice round, so I couldn't figure out why, like what was happening.

But then I was like, you know, it's match play. Anything can happen. So I just did my best out there. Happened to be striking it really well. Made a couple putts that really mattered so that kind of ended up naturally, so, like, yeah.

Q. Do you feel like this course plays differently now that you're playing match play versus stroke play?

RIANNE MALIXI: It's a really good match play course. There is like holes you can really attack, but then if you kind of like miss it, then you'll be sacrificing some of the shots, which is a really good theme for match play. So, yeah.

Q. I know after your round you headed to the range right after. What are you working on ahead of tomorrow?

RIANNE MALIXI: Just trying to keep that same feeling like today. Like try to hit it off the center of the club face. I was -- like I get I wasn't swinging it well the past two days, but then today just kind of like clicked.

Then trying to like just remember that motion then hopefully bring it with me tomorrow.

Q. You had an incredible summer in 2024 winning two USGA championships, both match play championships. Are you taking any experience from that?

RIANNE MALIXI: Well, there is -- at first there is like pressure of like I've won this event before, so like everyone is looking at me.

But then I think it goes both ways. Like I won this event before. There is really no need for me to like be pressure to do win again. So I'm just here to like enjoy and then I'm seeing a lot of new faces and a lot of similar faces, too.

So it'll be a fun week, so, yeah.

Q. And then final question: I know you were battling a couple of injuries last year. How are you feeling just physically for the rest of the championship?

RIANNE MALIXI: Yeah, so much better than last year's U.S. Am. I was focusing on like rehabilitation with my back injury and then visa issues heading to Bandon that week.

But now I'm like I'm all chill and relaxed. So, yeah, it will be a really fun week. I'm really excited for what's in store for me, so, yeah.