“I really had to grind through every single golf shot that I hit on this golf course.”
It’s rare when Rose Zhang isn’t at the top of the leaderboard.
After all, the two-time USGA champion is currently the world’s No. 1 women’s amateur, won her first three starts, and hasn’t finished worse than T-10 in seven appearances for the top-ranked Cardinal. But the Irvine, California native self-admittedly didn’t have her A-game or B-game this week at the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
She can thank a freak incident to her toe for that.
“In December a person dropped a dumbbell on my foot in the gym, so that was not intended, and it didn’t heal until like recently,” explained Zhang after finishing her second round on Friday at Champions Retreat Golf Club. “So I just haven’t been practicing much. Then it’s just like the normal stress of college and the adjustment of lifestyle. So it was a little bit of everything. So I really just didn’t have much time to practice and just not being able to have those fundamentals that I usually try to have, it was definitely hard on this course.”
“I think it might be a little fractured. I actually don’t know,” Zhang said of the injury to her left pinkie toe that is starting to “feel a lot better.”
Sitting outside the cut entering Friday’s continuation of the second round following a 7.5-hour weather delay Thursday, Zhang made birdie on her final three holes to sign for a 1-under 72, good enough for T-9 on the leaderboard before Saturday’s final round.
“I really had to grind through every single golf shot that I hit on this golf course,” explained Zhang. “Just being able to come from below the cut line to being in the cut line, I think that it really showed that I have the grit and I have the perseverance to just being able to execute regardless of where I am. So I think that really proved a lot to me.”
Zhang will have her father as her caddie for Friday afternoon’s practice round and Saturday morning’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club. The two also worked together when Zhang won the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
“It will be so cool,” she said of the shared experience at Augusta National. “It will be my first time having him on the bag here, so I think it’s a memory that will last a lifetime. But I think we’re just going to sink in and try to have the best time we can on Augusta National.”
A 7.5 hour weather delay shook up the schedule this week in Augusta.
EVANS, Ga. — As if the Augusta National Women’s Amateur wasn’t challenging enough as is, inclement weather has made the third playing of one of the biggest events in women’s golf even more difficult.
Before players could begin their second round at 7:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning at Champions Retreat Golf Club, inclement weather forced a seven-and-a-half hour delay, creating questions about Friday’s practice round down the road at Augusta National Golf Club. But the sun came out in the afternoon, and play resumed at 3 p.m. ET, setting up a race against the sunset.
Nine players were able to finish their second rounds when play was suspended at 7:52 p.m. ET. The last groups will need to finish nine holes when play resumes Friday morning at Champions Retreat at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Five players were under par following the first round, but none were in the red when the horn sounded Thursday night. ANWA three-timer Beatrice Wallin – who has her brother on the bag – USC freshman phenom Amari Avery and Michigan’s Hailey Borja are all tied atop the leaderboard at even par. Borja was the lone player under par before making bogey on No. 11, her final hole of the day.
The top-30 players will advance to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National, and a playoff will take place if necessary following the second round. The players will then make their way to Augusta National for an afternoon practice round, with the time yet to be determined.
As it stands, 11 players are battling for five spots in the top 30, with 20 players just four shots outside the current projected cut of 5 over.
Family reunions are fun, especially when they take place in Augusta.
EVANS, Ga. — Unlike most of the field, Emily Mahar didn’t know she’d be competing in this week’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur until about a week ago.
The Virginia Tech senior was getting ready with her team for their practice round before the recent Clemson Invitational when her phone started to ring. It was one of the ANWA directors.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, we have a spot. Do you want to play?’ I think (head coach Carol Robertson) kind of knew,” said Mahar after her practice round earlier this week at Champions Retreat Golf Club, host of the first two rounds of play. “She hadn’t told me officially, but she was like, ‘There are alternate spots. Maybe you have one of them.’ I looked at her, and she looked at me, and I shook my head. Everyone kind of knew. It was really cool to share that moment with the team.”
Fast forward to Wednesday’s first round, where she got to share the real thing with her family. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the native of Brisbane, Australia, hadn’t seen her family in two and a half years. The 14-hour time difference made it difficult for her to break the big news, but as soon as her family got the call they booked plane tickets.
— Augusta National Women's Amateur (@anwagolf) March 31, 2022
Social media and FaceTime have been helpful for the Mahar’s to stay in touch, but nothing beats a face-to-face reunion, let alone before the first round of one of the biggest women’s golf events in the world. For the Mahar’s, that dream reunion became a reality. Not only that, they were able to watch Emily shoot a respectable 4-over 76 in windy conditions to finish the day T-39, just outside the top-30 cut for Saturday’s final round down the road at Augusta National Golf Club.
“We’ve all been golf fans, so we know a lot about the Masters and Augusta and now to share that moment with them is super special,” said Mahar.
Four players in the ANWA field have their siblings as caddies this week.
EVANS, Ga. — Augusta National Women’s Amateur competitors have to make some tough decisions for tournament week. Outside of who gets to make the trip down Magnolia Lane for Friday’s lauded practice round at Augusta National Golf Club, the next biggest choice is who will caddie.
For Michigan’s Ashley Lau, Oregon State’s Ellie Slama, Stanford’s Caroline Sturdza and Florida State’s Beatrice Wallin, the decision was simple: they kept it in the family. All four players have a sibling on the bag this week, creating moments that neither player nor caddie will soon forget.
“It was super fun having my brother out there. We worked really well together today,” said Slama, who currently sits just outside the cut at T-32 after Wednesday’s first round. “I think just going forward, it’s fun to have family members, people you know, familiar faces out there. It makes it a little bit more calm and easy, and there’s a little less pressure going into it.”
“It’s really special. This is her third time here this year, my first time caddying,” said her brother, Tim, who has been on the bag for her for USGA events and other tournaments in the past. “But this one’s extra special, especially with the likelihood that this is her last year, and it’s an honor to be here.”
After watching from outside the ropes the last two years, Tim said it’s easier to be on the bag than outside the ropes because he has a little control.
“It’s kind of like riding in the car versus driving. Like, I’m not driving the car, but I’m doing navigation,” he explained. “So it’s a little bit easier inside the ropes in terms of the stress levels.”
Not to mention the familiarity siblings share with one another. Whether it’s the chit-chat between shots or the ability to be more direct without hurting feelings, having someone on the bag who knows them better than anyone else is like a 15th club.
“I would say she just knows when to talk and when to not talk and when to leave me alone,” said Lau with a chuckle about her sister, Adeline, who also plays college golf at Eastern Michigan. “It’s better if I tell her directly. I wouldn’t hurt her feelings by staying that, but to a stranger I might. She just knows when to step away and then leave me alone for a little bit which is nice.”
“I know her very well, so I know how to deal with her,” echoed Max Sturdza, who has the bag for his sister, Caroline. “I think it makes a big difference from someone who’s just a random caddie or something like that.
“It’s a big experience for both of us,” continued Max, who also plays college golf at Florida Atlantic. “I think we can learn a lot from all this. It’s so much fun to be out here with her and just enjoy the tournament.”
Beatrice Wallin and caddie Rickard Wallin walk the fourth hole during the first round of the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club.
Things are different for Wallin and her brother, Rickard, who has been on the bag for each of her two previous ANWA appearances that resulted in a pair of made cuts and top-10 finishes (T-7 in 2019 and T-10 in 2021).
“It’s so nice because I can be the boss and be like, ‘Do you really think so? I don’t know,’ and then I make the decision,” Beatrice said of their relationship. “He’s always so supportive with all my decisions, and he did a great job today.”
A few of Rickard’s thoughts even led to key birdies for Beatrice, who sits T-9 at 1 over after the first round. Does that mean he’ll get to make more decisions going forward and take more control? Not quite.
“No, no, no,” Beatrice responded with a smile. “I’m still the boss.”
After a few tough collegiate events, Heck showed she can quickly find her game.
When Rachel Heck teed it up at Augusta National Golf Club for the first time last year, her eyes were wide open.
With arguably the quote of the 2021 tournament, she recalled an exchange with her father and caddie from Friday’s practice round, when they mentioned the idea of laying up when it made sense.
“Are you kidding me,” she said, laughing. “I’m trying to have fun here. I’m playing Augusta National. I want to go for it.”
Fast forward to this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, where the Stanford sophomore has entered the event as the reigning NCAA champion and is using that experience to narrow her focus this week.
“I think it’s really nice having seen the courses before,” she said. “I know what I’m getting into, and I know the pressure is going to be a lot these first two days because everyone of course wants to make it to Augusta. Having handled that pressure before is really important.”
Rachel Heck of Tennessee lines up her putt during the first round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat on Wednesday, March 30, 2022.
She used that experience in Wednesday’s opening round, shooting 73 at Champions Retreat for a tie for ninth. She used back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to get back to even par for the day before a closing bogey.
“I had a good little run on the back nine. I had a really good par save on 11, got up and down from that bunker, made a good 5-footer for par on 12, then made two 15-footers on 13 and 14,” she said. “It was really good to get the momentum going because in the round I hadn’t had a whole lot drop. I was feeling a little frustrated with where my score is at. It was good to have a few birdies in there.”
Par was at a premium and birdies were few and far between on Wednesday at the ANWA.
EVANS, Ga. — Scorecards were as colorful as a Jackson Pollock painting during the first round of the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, with just five players of the 72 under par after the opening 18 holes.
Tied at 2 under atop the leaderboard are Alabama sophomore Benedetta Moresco and 16-year-old Anna Davis, who each signed for 2-under 70 at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia.
“It was good out there today. I had really good putts from all around the green,” explained Moresco, who’s making her second ANWA appearance. “My key was keeping, like being patient on the golf course. I think that was the key.”
Moresco won The Ally earlier this year with the Tide in addition to three other top-10 finishes following a 2021 that featured SEC Freshman of the Year and first team all-conference honors. Her older sister, Angelica, also plays for Alabama. Currently ranked No. 2 on the AJGA Rolex Rankings, Davis won the Girls Junior PGA Championship last July to earn her first ANWA invite.
The trio of Michigan junior Hailey Borja, LSU junior Ingrid Lindblad, and China’s Xiaowen Yin are a shot back, T-3 at 1 under. China’s Liqi Zeng, Arizona State senior Alexandra Forsterling, and LSU junior Latanna Stone are T-6 at even par.
“My putting went really well. That’s basically what saved me all day,” explained Borja. “My caddie was really helpful with my yardages today, so a lot of good shots, but mostly my putting I think was best today.”
“I started off by missing two greens. I was like, ‘maybe this is how it’s going to be today,'” echoed Lindblad, who recently set a program record with her eighth collegiate win. “Just putted them off the fringe and made up and downs. It was kind of like that all day. Like I missed a few greens but still made up and down. It was pretty solid.”
Experience goes a long way, especially at the ANWA.
Statistical milestones are common across sports and entertainment. Major League Baseball has its 3,000-hit club. The National Football League has the 500 club for passing yards in a game. Saturday Night Live has the five-timers club for hosts.
This year at the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, there’s a unique group that’s just as exclusive as the event’s namesake. Meet the ANWA three-timers club.
Of the 72 players in the field for the biggest women’s amateur event on the golf schedule, nine have competed in the two previous events: Florida junior Annabell Fuller, last year’s runner-up Emilia Migliaccio, 17-year-old Alexa Pano, Duke junior Erica Shepherd, Oregon State senior Ellie Slama, UCLA junior Emma Spitz, Florida State senior Beatrice Wallin, as well as Stanford junior Angelina Ye and freshman Rose Zhang.
Shepherd, Spitz, Wallin and Zhang are the only players to make the cut in each of the previous two events.
“I guess I haven’t looked at it that way before, but it’s awesome, and any course knowledge you can bring into this place, it’s a really tough track, I think it will benefit me,” said Shepherd of her advantage as an ANWA three-timer. “This course, Champions Retreat, is a gem in itself. I think that with the new greens and everything, there’s a lot to account for. I’m just trying to still be a learner out here.”
At last year’s event, Shepherd was flirting with the cut line and thought to herself that she wasn’t going to advance to the weekend. But the Indiana native dug deep and fought back to qualify for the final round, where she improved on her T-23 finish in 2019 with a T-16 in 2021 after COVID-19 cancelled the tournament in 2020.
“It’s such a special event, don’t stress out too much about the golf and needing to make the cut because we all want to do that, I want to do that,” advised Migliaccio, who lost in a playoff to 2021 champion Tsubasa Kajitani. “But you’ll really play well if you just cherish everything about the tournament.”
Easier said than done.
“It is really hard. I think the key is to stay in the moment and not get too high or too low,” said Shepherd of the challenges to not look ahead to the potential trip down Magnolia Lane on Saturday, which could require a playoff to break any ties to determine the 30 who will play the final round at Augusta National. “Obviously, everyone is just grinding to get into the low 30. It’s a hard low 30, and 30 only. So it’s definitely a big goal for this week and for everyone here.”
“I really want to be in the same position I was last year, but if I want to be in that position, I can’t focus on that,” echoed the always-bubbly Migliaccio, who played with Shepherd and her fellow Blue Devil, Phoebe Brinker, during Tuesday’s practice round. “So just really trying to focus on each hole. I mean, Nelly Korda always says, ‘one shot at a time,’ and it’s so key because if you just get too ahead of yourself, even on one hole, like already thinking about where you want to be on the green, well, if you haven’t hit your tee shot, that’s going to determine how you’re going to play the next one.”
“But I think anyone who’s played the course before is going to have an advantage,” continued Migliaccio, “and I think that’s a pretty equal advantage. Like if you’ve played it before, played it two times, like it’s going to help.”
Everything you need to know for the week at the ANWA.
It’s officially Augusta National Women’s Amateur week.
The third annual event which features an international field of 72 of the world’s best women’s amateurs are all set for the 54-hole stroke play event held at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia, and famed Augusta National Golf Club.
The first two rounds are played over at Champions Retreat, followed by a practice round at Augusta National Friday. The entire field will play the practice round, while the top-30 players from the stroke play rounds will advance to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National.
The inaugural tournament took place in 2019, was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and returned last year with a limited number of patrons in attendance.
Here’s what you need to know for the week. All times Eastern.
Saturday’s final round will be televised from Noon-3:30 p.m. on NBC.
ANWA schedule
Wednesday, March 30: Round 1 at Champions Retreat starts at 7:45 a.m. Gates open at 7:30 a.m. and close 30 minutes after play ends.
Thursday, March 31: Round 2 at Champions Retreat starts at 7:45 a.m. Gates open at 7:30 a.m. and close 30 minutes after play ends.
Friday, April 1: Closed practice at Augusta National Golf Club.
Saturday, April 2: Final round at Augusta National Golf Club starts at 8 a.m. Gates open at 7:00 a.m. and close 30 minutes after the presentation ceremony.
No tickets are sold at the gate and every person must have a ticket to gain entry, regardless of age.
Past winners
Tsubasa Kajitani, of Japan, won the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur in a playoff. Kajitani defeated Emilia Migliaccio on the first sudden-death playoff hole.
In 2020, Jennifer Kupcho outdueled Maria Fassi down the stretch in the final round to win the inaugural tournament by four shots. Kupcho won after playing her final six holes at 5-under, with an eagle on No. 13.
Future ANWA tickets
To apply for 2023 tickets, go to the ANWA website.
How to qualify
Players earned invitations to the 2022 tournament by meeting at least one of the following qualifications:
Reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion
Reigning Women’s Amateur Champion
Reigning Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion
Reigning R&A Girls Amateur Champion
Reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior Champion
Reigning Girls Junior PGA Champion
Past champions of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur within the last five years
The 30 highest ranked players from the United States of America based on the prior year’s (2021) final Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, not otherwise qualified
After qualifications 1-8 above, the 30 highest ranked players not otherwise qualified, as listed on the prior year’s (2021) final Women’s World Amateur Ranking
Players receiving special invitations from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Committee
NBC Sports will make a little history at the third annual Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Want to watch the world’s best women’s amateur golfers and don’t want to wait until this Saturday’s final round? NBC Sports and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur have you covered.
Thursday’s second-round coverage will be streamed from Champions Retreat Golf Club for the first time on NBC Sports and the ANWA digital platforms starting at 2 p.m. ET, with two full hours of coverage from holes No. 9 and 18, as well as the full cut playoff (if necessary). “Making The Cut” will feature Steve Burkowski on the call with Paige Mackenzie, Kay Cockerill, Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay and Kathryn Tappen.
The field of 72 will play two rounds of stroke play at Champions Retreat Golf Club on Wednesday, March 30, and Thursday, March 31, with the top-30 players advancing to the final round on Saturday, April 2. The entire field of 72 will play Augusta National for a practice round Friday, April 1.
NBC Sports will broadcast three hours of live, final-round coverage from Noon-3 p.m. ET Saturday, April 2, 2022. Golf Channel will also contribute, with Live From the Masters will beginning Friday, April 1, from Augusta National and will wrap ANWA coverage on Saturday, April 2.
New Bermuda greens should provide firm and fast challenges at Champions Retreat for the ANWA.
The field in this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur face a new challenge in this year’s first two rounds at Champions Retreat: fresh and firm Bermuda grass greens.
Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia – just less than a 30-minute drive from the gates of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters – installed new putting surfaces in 2021, replacing heat-sensitive and disease-prone bent grass with the TifEagle strain of Bermuda grass.
Cameron Wiebe, general manager of Champions Retreat, said the new putting surfaces have grown in incredibly well and will provide improved, consistent and healthy putting surfaces for the ANWA and for club members throughout the year. The first two rounds of the ANWA are March 30-31 at Champions Retreat before the tournament moves to Augusta National for a practice round April 1 and the final competitive round April 2.
Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia (Courtesy of Champions Retreat)
“We couldn’t be more pleased” with how the greens grew in, Wiebe said. “We’re looking forward to a very good week for the ANWA.”
The greens on the 27 holes at Champions Retreat – which features distinct nines designed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player – had featured bent grass since the club opened in 2005. But bent grows best in cool climates, and the warm, frequently wet summers in northern Georgia created extreme challenges. Wiebe said heavy rains followed by five days of 100-degree-plus temperatures in 2020 proved too much for the bent, with the club losing 30 percent of its putting surfaces.
The bent greens were repaired for the 2021 ANWA, but the putting surfaces clearly needed to be replaced to provide superior conditions not only for the ANWA but for Champions Retreat members year-round. By contrast, Augusta National Golf Club features bent greens, but the Masters host course is closed during the summer while those famous greens are protected and given a rest.
No. 8 of the Island nine at Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia (Courtesy of Champions Retreat/Martin Miller)
“Obviously, growing bent grass in Augusta, Georgia, 12 months a year isn’t the easiest thing to do, and I have the gray hair to prove it,” said Wiebe, who joined the staff at Champions Retreat when new ownership acquired the club in 2014. “We were starting to see some susceptibility to disease. … In 2020, late that summer, it became evident to us that our time was up and that we needed to make a decision as to what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do it.”
After much research, Wiebe and his team chose to replace the bent with TifEagle, which was developed in Tifton, Georgia, and has proved to be more disease-resistant while providing excellent putting surfaces throughout the South over the past 25 years. Replacement efforts began in May of 2020, with greens being sprigged one nine at a time. All 27 greens – plus several practice greens – at the club were regrassed by October that year. The greens on the Island nine by Palmer and the Bluff nine by Nicklaus, which comprise the 18-hole layout for the ANWA, were completed first and had the most time to grow in.
“Ten days after they put the sprigs in, you look at it and think, there’s no way that’s growing,” Wiebe said. “Then all of a sudden, they start to pull these layers back and sure enough it’s all growing underneath. It’s an amazing transformation.”
Wiebe said the greens were reconstructed to within an eighth of an inch of their original design. Over the decades since the club opened, the greens had changed in places. As players hit greenside bunker shots, sand would fly onto the putting surfaces, slowly increasing the size of knobs and affecting the slopes near the edges of the greens. Wiebe said that reconstructing the slopes to original specifications decreased the unintended severity of some slopes and provided more area in which to cut holes.
“What we’re seeing are some subtle changes,” Wiebe said. “Maybe before where you would see (the aiming point for) a putt being one ball outside the hole, now it’s closer to the edge. We actually found them to be a little flatter now. … The feedback from our members, you can certainly see that’s they are the same greens with just a little less contour. Actually, that isn’t such a bad thing, because with TifEagle we are able to create and maintain a little more speed and maintain it through the year, as opposed to us having more of that fluctuation seasonally because of the heat.”
No. 8 of the Bluffs nine at Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia (Courtesy of Champions Retreat/Martin Miller)
Besides improved health and quicker potential putting speeds, the newness of the greens has one other consideration: firmness. Historically, the greens at Champions Retreat rolled about 12.1 or 12.2 on the Stimpmeter for the ANWA, Wiebe said, but the new and firm greens likely will provide larger bounces on incoming shots for this year’s opening two rounds. Wiebe said the club will hand-water the greens and do everything necessary to make sure the greens are still receptive to a well-struck shot.
“We will give the players the best chance to highlight the players, not the club and the greens,” Wiebe said. “This year is going to be challenging for the players, but these new greens surfaces are really healthy. There’s just not a lot of organic material beneath the surface to receive the shot yet. But these players are so talented, they are highly skilled at being able to control their spin and get the ball to stop.”
All the work is nothing new since 2015. In 2017 the club installed Better Billy Bunker Lining to improve drainage and playability, and in 2018 through ’19 the club focused on drainage throughout. The encroachment of trees has been addressed continuously with a focus on opening new vistas while providing better airflow with less shade to promote overall turf health for the Bermuda grass fairways and roughs.
“We learned very quickly that you either have forest or have quality playing surfaces, but you can’t have both,” Wiebe said. “… Since the change of ownership in 2014, we have been diligent and committed to the improvement process, and every year we work on it.”
