Class of 2028 Girls Preview

6/8 CGC Staff

It’s that time of the year when a new batch of junior golfers becomes eligible for college recruiting on June 15th. We’ve selected a handful of the top Class of 2028 girls to discuss in our preview before that celebratory day on June 15th on which they can finally communicate with college coaches through text, email, and phone conversations. The first thing we can say is this class is STRONG, and that strength stretches to the top-20 in this class. While only 3 boys in our top-10 reached more than 30 points in our points-based ranking system, there are 17 girls who have topped that amount! We are excited to follow the progress of the class of 2028, and expect movement in this competitive class. Many athletes have already found success on a national level and in amateur events. Check back for our full top-10 lists on June 15th!

Photo: instagram

New Jersey’s Aphrodite Deng has been on high-profile tournament leaderboards for the past two years, cementing her place at the top of her class with a top-20 finish at the 2026 US Women’s Open. She has raised the champion’s trophy at the 2025 & 2026 AJGA Mizuho Americas Opens, the 2025 Junior Invitational, and US Girls’ Junior Amateur and has carded top-5 finishes at the 2026 Junior Invitational and 2025 AJGA Rolex Girls Championship. Deng achieved a top-20 finish at the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and a top-10 at the 2025 Orlando International Women’s Amateur. She reached the round of 64 at the 2025 US Women’s Amateur and has made two cuts in LPGA events in addition to her US Women’s Open success. This athlete has a very bright future.

Photo: AJGA

A clear second on our list is California’s Clairey Lin, winner of the 2025 AJGA Ninja Invitational. Lin’s name frequents the top of leaderboards often, with top-5 finishes at the 2025 AJGA Ping Invitational, World Junior Championships, and AJGA Fortinet Stanford invitational. She reached the top-10 at the 2026 Fortinet and the 2025 RLX Ralph Lauren Classic. Lin has four regional titles since the beginning of 2025 and she reached the round of 16 at the 2025 US Girls Junior. Her amateur success includes top-15 finishes in the Canadian Women’s Amateur and an Argentinian event in 2025, in addition to professional success at a Canadian event (top-5). Lin should continue to push Deng for the top spot on our rankings list.

Photos: AJGA, FSGA

The next tier of athletes includes Californian Rina Kawasaki, who has top-5 finishes at the 2026 Mizuho and Fortinet, as well as the 2025 RLX Ralph Lauren. Kawasaki found herself in the top-10 at the 2025 AJGA Ping Invitational and top-15 at the 2025 AJGA Rolex TOC, Nelly, and Fortinet. She has two regional wins and two top-3 finishes since the beginning of 2025 and qualified for the 2025 US Women’s Amateur. Texan Honorine Ferry is another athlete to watch in the class of 2028. She won the 2025 AJGA Ping Invitational and found herself in the top-5 at 2026 Fortinet and the 2025 AJGA Nelly Invitational. Ferry has notched three regional wins and five regional top-3 finishes since the beginning of 2025. Ferry celebrated a top-5 at the 2025 Scott Robertson Memorial and was in the top-10 at the 2025 Women’s Western Amateur.

Two additional athletes that deserve a mention are Ein Kim and Nobelle Park. Californian Kim had a top-5 finish at the 2025 Junior Worlds and a top-10 at the 2025 Dustin Johnson World Junior. She has two regional wins in 2025 & 2026 and five top-3 finishes. Kim’s biggest feat was a win at the 2025 Dixie Amateur, was in the top-10 at the 2025 Elite Invitational, and reached the round of 64 at the 2025 US Girls Junior. Park has etched an impressive resume thus far, with top-10s at the 2026 Nelly and 2025 Ping Invitationals, and a top-15 result at the 2025 Dustin Johnson. She has two regional wins and three top-3 finishes since January of 2025 and won the 2025 Doral First Tee Miami Classic. Park had a top-5 finish at the 2025 Orlando International Women’s Amateur.