It’s been six years since the ladies started teeing it up at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and we’ve gotten a little bit of everything in that time.
Jennifer Kupcho was the first woman to win on Alister MacKenzie’s masterpiece when she outdueled Maria Fassi down the stretch in 2019, and she’s taken that experience to the big leagues, with a major (the 2022 Chevron Championship) and two more wins on the LPGA Tour.
Tsubasa Kajitani etched her name in the ANWA history books with a playoff win a couple years after Kupcho (and after a brief Covid hiatus), and bucket-hatted Anna Davis had her coming-out party at Augusta a year after that.
Rose Zhang, already a two-time LPGA winner, capped her amateur career with a win on golf’s grandest stage in 2023, and Lottie Woad stormed back to claim her own ANWA title at last year’s event.
But, like Augusta National has shown us so many times before, there are plenty of places for heartbreak among the azaleas. Just ask the runners-up. Whether the tournament is snatched from your hands as you helplessly look on (Ingrid Lindblad and Latanna Stone in 2022, Bailey Shoemaker in 2024) or you get bested in extra holes (Jenny Bae in 2023, Emilia Migliaccio in 2021), the sting of close calls at Augusta hurts all the same.
On April 5, another ANWA champion will be crowned, and there’s no telling what tales of triumph and heartbreak will be written. All we do know is that it’ll sure be fun to watch.
Here are five ANWA storylines to watch this week.
1. How will the courses look?
When Hurricane Helene passed through Augusta during the fall, the storm left a path of devastation in its wake. It’s been six months since the storm wreaked havoc on the southeast U.S., but many are still reeling from the fallout. The two host courses for ANWA — Augusta National and Champions Retreat — were not spared from the destruction. We’ve not yet seen what will be different at Augusta National, but we do know that a good number of trees were uprooted.
“As far as the impact, the long‑term impact, we have not quite as many trees as we did a year ago,” said Augusta National chairman Ridley earlier this year. “I think we had minor damage to the course, the playing surfaces themselves, but we were able to get that back in shape.”
Champions Retreat suffered a fair bit of damage as well. According to Mike Rymer, the Director of Golf at Champions Retreat, the course suffered “catastrophic” damage during Helene.
“Hard to put words to what I saw,” Rymer told WJBF.com. “To me it looked like something that would have us close for six months. That’s how bad it was.”
Luckily for the golfers competing this week, the changes to Champions Retreat should make for an easier test. With fewer trees lining the fairways, it’s sure to be more forgiving off the tee. And as for Augusta National, there’s little reason to believe it will be anything but a proper championship test.
2. Will we (finally) get a repeat winner?
There’s yet to be a repeat winner in the short history of ANWA, but that could change this year. Of the five ladies who have won this event before, three are in this year’s field.
Lottie Woad, the No. 1-ranked women’s amateur in the world, returns this week looking to defend her 2024 title, while the 2021 and 2022 winners (Tsubasa Kajitani and Anna Davis) are in the field as well. Don’t be surprised if one of those three is raising the trophy come Saturday afternoon. Augusta National has a history of smiling upon those who’ve seen success there before.
3. There’s plenty of experience in the field
As ANWA continues to grow and mature, the more players there that enter with tons of experience in the event.
One such example is Megha Ganne, who, in making her fifth ANWA appearance this week, will be the most experienced competitor in the field at Augusta National. You can add her former Stanford Cardinal teammate Rachel Heck to that list as she takes a break from the U.S. Air Force Reserve to compete for a fourth time at Augusta National. Then you’ve got players like Bailey Shoemaker and Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio who’ve registered top-five finishes in recent years.
If you’re a believer that Augusta National rewards patience and experience, keep an eye on these ladies.
4. The teenagers have some game, too
Augusta National might favor experienced golfers over newbies, but that doesn’t mean you should count out the youngins. Three of the five ANWA winners so far have been teens (Zhang, Davis, Kajitani) and this year’s field boasts another crop of talented teenagers.
Jasmine Koo, Mirabel Ting, Rianne Malixi, Maria Jose Marin, Paula Martin Sampedro, Soomin Oh and Kiara Romero have all yet to turn 20 and all rank inside the top 10 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, while players like Davis, Gianna Clemente and Asterisk Talley are teenagers inside the top 25.
The game seems to get younger and younger with every passing year, and these ladies are just one such example of that phenomenon.
5. This field is DEEP
Whoever comes out victorious at this edition of ANWA will have earned it. Heading into tournament week, 49 of the top 50 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking are represented. Oh, and Nos. 51, 52 and 54 are in the field, too. Suffice to say, this edition of ANWA has as strong a field as ever. Buckle up and enjoy.
