Champion Insider: Alexis Vakasiuola

After a lost ball off the tee on the 18th hole, Alexis Vakasiuola stood over a 10-foot putt with little idea of her standing on the leaderboard.

Moments later, the 18-year-old calmly rolled it in to save bogey, and walked off the green with her first Kachina trophy and a punched ticket to the 2026 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. The victory was the latest milestone in what has already become a remarkable golf journey.

A rising sophomore at Grand Canyon University, Vakasiuola is coming off what many consider a breakout season. She was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year and earned First Team All-Mountain West honors after finishing 11th at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional. Along the way, she also set GCU's single-season scoring average record at 71.9.

"My first year at GCU was great," Vakasiuola said. "I was glad I was able to not only grow as a player but as a person as well, just being able to gain so much from different experiences that playing college golf has been able to give me."

Despite the accolades, Vakasiuola said she wasn't chasing records or recognition.

"I was just trying to play my best golf and begin to play at the level where I believed I should be," she said. "Only at the end of the season did I realize I'd broken a couple of different records. Reflecting on the year I had is awesome to look back on, and it only pushed me to work harder and improve even more."

Like many of the game's top players, Vakasiuola's introduction to golf came at an early age.

She was just six years old when her older sister, Alyzzah, became interested in the sport after watching golf on television. Alyzzah convinced their father to take her to the course, and naturally Alexis tagged along.

"I just tagged along with them," Vakasiuola said. "Being only 6 years old, that was my first introduction to golf, and from then I stuck with it."

Twelve years later, the sisters continue to share their passion for the game. Both competed in this year's Arizona Women's Amateur Championship, with Alyzzah posting a final-round 2-over-par 74 to finish 13th.

"My sister has definitely been one of my biggest influences in my golf journey since we both practically started golf at the same time," Vakasiuola said. "There were a lot of things I learned just from watching her play and all the experiences she went through."

Their relationship has always balanced support with competition.

"Being the older sister, she was always a role model to me and someone I aspired to be like—or beat," Vakasiuola explained. "It was like I had a built-in opponent that I knew I could compete against and test my skills against, but also learn from and support each other along the way."

The family's golf story may not end with the two older sisters.

Anyone following Alexis or Alyzzah on championship week likely noticed a 7-year-old riding in the cart with their father, watching every shot before occasionally turning back to the iPad in her lap. That was Aleyah, the youngest Vakasiuola sibling, who may someday continue the family's golfing tradition.

"When we go practice at the course, she'll come along with her little clubs and start swinging and hitting balls," Vakasiuola said. "She's got quite a good swing. I think she'll definitely have the advantage of having her older sisters play golf and being able to help her out, along with my parents."

Now, along with the Kachina trophy, Vakasiuola leaves the Arizona Women’s Amateur behind with something highly valuable, the opportunity to compete on one of amateur golf's biggest stages.

Next month, she'll tee it up at the Pete Dye-designed Honors Course against 155 of the world's top amateur golfers in the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, acting as another stepping stone toward her dream.

"Being able to get to the U.S. Women's Amateur and competing against the best amateurs all around the world will help me get in the feel of what it will be like on tour and gaining that experience of playing in these pretigious events," Vakasiuola said. "As well as helping my World Rankings which could potentially qualify me for bigger tournaments which will help to lead me to where I ultimately hope to be, on the LPGA."