Tag Archives: ANWA

2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Winner

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The Winner is…..

Maria Jose Marin, from Colombia and a stand out at University of Arkansas. She is the current NCAA D1 individual champion. She really was not on my radar (probably because she missed the cut last year at ANWA); but should have been on my list given I did watch her win the NCAA D1 Championship last spring. She is not a particularly long hitter (normally a must for winners at Augusta National) but clearly her short game is elite.There were multiple times during her round where she saved par and that made the difference (and a bit of luck on the 12th hole also played a role in the overall outcome).

Her winning way was with her putter! She had some chunky approach shots but her putter was on fire. She was quoted early in the week saying “My putter is my best friend.” Marin’s Scorecard was impressive with six birdies and only two bogies. And she was the only player to score in the 60s (65, 69, and 68) for all three rounds.

When interviewed Marin said this was her fourth time playing in ANWA and her key to winning was setting a strategy with her coach; and for the final round it was a “mental strategy.” She did not elaborate but I would love to know what that “mental strategy” was for the day.

The 12th Hole at Augusta National

The 12th hole at Augusta once again was key to the tournament. For Marin, a bit of luck on 12. For Talley bad luck (see below). Marin hit her tee shot short on 12 but it stayed on the front bank instead of rolling back into the water (which is what we usually see on 12). On Golf Central recap after the round, Brandel Chamblee noted that the only other time that a ball stayed on the bank (like Marin’s) was when Freddy Couples hit the ball on the bank and it miraculously stayed up; and he won The Masters in 1992.

The fall of Asterisk Talley was hard to watch on the 12th hole. Going into Saturday, my pick (see my per-tournament blog post), Asterisk Talley, had a one shot lead at 11 under par. It looked like Talley was cruising with 3 under par in the first four holes to get to 14 under. Then, the unthinkable happened. First, Talley made her first bogey of the tournament on hole 11; and then the nightmare on the 12th hole.

Talley hit her tee shot on 12 into the back bunker and then hit her bunker shot on the green and it rolled past the hole down the bank (where Marin’s shot sat just a few minutes earlier) and dropped into the water. Then she made a crazy decision to drop in the bunker instead of going to the other side of the water. Her second bunker shot was identical to her first and ended in the water; then she went to the other side of the water to hit onto the green. Why her caddie did not stop her from dropping in the bunker is beyond me. Bottom line, Talley ended with a seven (quadruple bogey) on hole 12. Talley’s body language and play never really recovered.

Runner Up

Andrea Revuelta (from Spain and attending Stanford University). Revuelta had a great day too with a final 10 under par (4 under at Augusta National). Her big moment was on the par three 12th where she almost made a hole-in-one when it hit the hole but did not drop in to the hole.

What I noticed most when the TV was on Revuelta was her constant smile. She look like she was having the time of her life! It was very refreshing to watch.

Past Champions in the field

The two past champions did not play that well. Tsubas Kajitani missed the cutt; as she had in her two previous appearances. So she really has not played well since her surprise win in 2022.

Anna Davis, made the cut at two under par (T23). Really there was no expectation that she would be in the mix on Saturday with the leader at 11 under par. Still to have played in five ANWA events, and win ANWA at 16, is an amazing feat for any amateur golfer.

Other Golfers Mentioned in my Pre-tournament Blog

Surprisingly some of the start amateurs that I thought would be in contention really were not and some of them; well, it just wasn’t their week.

(1) Megha Ganne – this was a big shocker that she not only missed the cut but was seven over par for the first two days of competition. Shocking because last year, she had the tournament first day record at nine under par. Ganne is a senior at Stanford and I’m sure she’ll make a run at turning pro after graduation.

(2) Kirara Romero – The #1 amateur in the WAGR was five under (T8) going into Saturday. I think she will regret the first round where she played very conservatively when all the other players took advantage of the great conditions and played aggressively.

(3) Farah O’Keefe – I really thought she would be in the top four after the first two days but she started Saturday at T18 or four under par. Of course, when the leader is at 11 under, it’s an uphill grind to be in contention on championship day.

(4) Pate and Galitsky – Two Players I mentioned from Southern Schools were Macy Pate (Wake Forest) and Ella Galitsky (University of South Carolina). Pate made the weekend T30 (even) and finished the competition three over par. Unfortunately, Galitsky missed the cut; surprising given she was in the top 10 the past two years at ANWA. It was really heartbreaking because she was at even par and on the 18th hole of the 2nd round made a bogey missing the cut by one.

It is always amazing to watch these young women play Augusta National. And I mean young! Of the 32 women that made the cut, the age range 15-23 with half being under 20.

Hopefully, Asterisk Talley will not let the 12th hole define her and she will come back next year and be in contention to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur! She has a bright future. It just reminds us that golf can be brutal even for the most talented players in the world.

Congratulations to Maria Jose Marin!

Augusta National Women’s Amateur 2026 (April 1-4)

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The Augusta National Women’s Amateur begins on Wednesday April 1, 2026. For those that don’t follow amateur women’s golf, the weekend prior to The Masters is the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA). You can read my 2025 blog post on ANWA here.

It’s a stacked field with 48 of the top 50 players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings participating. A fun fact – Ten of the women in the field previously participated (as kids) in the Drive, Chip, and Putt competition at August National.

How to Watch: Each day you can watch the competition lived streamed on the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Website, ANWAgolf..com or you can watch on Golf Channel and NBC (the final).

The first two days at Champions Retreat (Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April 2) are streamed and on Golf Channel from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m (EST). The final round from Augusta National (Saturday, April 4) is streamed and on NBC from Noon to 3 p.m. Note: No coverage on Friday, April 3 because all participants are at practice rounds at Augusta National.

Past Champions in the Field:

Unlike last year, when there were three past champions in the field. This year, only two past winners are playing. The 2021 champion Tsubasa Kajitani (Japan) and the 2022 Champion, Anna Davis (American) are playing.

In 2021, Kajitani won in a playoff against popular America, Emilia Migliaccio (now working for NBC Golf). The media made a big deal about the fact that the year she won, Hideki Matsuyama won The Masters so it was a “Japan sweep.” Kajitani has missed the cut the last two years so I’m not sure how she will play this year.

Davis became a media darling in 2022 because she wore a bucket hat when she won. No one really had their eye on Davis but as the leaders fell apart; the laid back Californian played her way to the win. Davis has a current world amateur golf ranking (WAGR) of 14. She has been ranked as high as seven in the world but I don’t see her as a favorite this year.

Top 10 World Amateur Golf Rankings – as of March 30,2026

I do predict that the winner of ANWA in 2026 will be one of the top 10 women in amateur golf. Below is a screenshot of the current top 10. Many will have their money on Kiera Romero, the #1 amateur player in the world but I have my eye on three other players.

(1) Megha Ganne – She is ranked six in the world and is ranked 7 on the D1 College rankings. Ganne won the USGA U.S. Women’s Amateur last summer (so she is the current champion).

Ganne has played ANWA five times with mixed results – missing the cut twice and her highest finish was last year with a T7 finish. One note of interest, in round one of ANWA in 2025, she scored a record 9 under par at Champions Retreat Golf Course. She plays for the dominating Women’s College Golf team, Stanford. Side note: Stanford has five players in the ANWA field.

(2) Asterick Talley is seventeen years old, has been a standout amateur golfer for a number of years (as a junior) and is ranked 10 on WAGR. She was the runner up at ANWA last year closing with a final round at Augusta National of 68; just one shot behind the winner. She has won a USGA championship (U.S. Amateur 4-Ball in 2024).

She is playing great going into the 2026 ANWA. She won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley earlier this springs and last week she played in the LPGA tournament in Arizona . On Friday she shot seven under (65) and finished T29.

(3) Farah O’Keefe is a Texas University player that has been on fire this college golf season. She has won the individual title in three events this spring; and she is a long hitter which is a big advantage once the ladies get to the final round at Augusta National. I just have a good feeling about her changes and if I was not such a big fan of Asterick Talley, I would probably go with Farah O’Keefe as my pick.

Other Players I have on my “Favorites” list on the ANWA website:

There are a number of great amateur golfers I follow and so I hope they do well at ANWA. A couple of ladies that play for southern schools are:

(1) Ella Galitsky – She has been a standout in junior golf for a number of years and this is her fourth time playing in the ANWA. She has finished in the top 10 the last two years at ANWA. She is a freshman at University of South Carolina. She has also won two events on the Thai LPGA tour (she is from Thailand). She finished T8 in 2024 and T4 in 2025 at ANWA.

(2) Macy Pate – A Wake Forest player that I have enjoyed following in college golf. She missed the cut last year at ANWA (her first time) but hopefully she can make the cut this year with having had experience. She is playing well this year in college competitions.

Predictions

It’s hard to predict especially with six of the top eight players on last year’s ANWA leader board back in the field. However I if the world number one does not win then my pick is Asterisk Talley. It may be crazy to go against the norm of picking the #1 player, Kiara Romero, in women’s amateur golf because world #1’s have a history of winning ANWA; but Asterisk Talley is playing really well (last week she was T29 at the LPGA event), was runner up last year at ANWA; and it just seems like she has good momentum going into this year.

Side Note: Lucky Standford University because Talley has committed to play golf for the Cardinals.

Of course, I will add an Update to this post with the winner after Saturday.

Carla Bernat Escuder Wins 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur

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As I said in my preview of ANWA it could be a unknown (at least to the average golf fan) winning ANWA and that is exactly what happened. Carla Bernat Escuder of Spain wins with a score of 12 under par (204).

Who is Carla Bernat Escudar? Here are some facts:

(1) As mentioned above she is from Spain and her coach is Victor Garcia, the father of 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia. She has been coached by Garcia since she was 13 years old.

(2) She was not on my radar with a WAGR ranking of 29 and a DI College Rank of 24. She plays for Kansas State (transferred this year to K-State). I did know her name because her first two years of college golf was played at Tulane University.

(3) Really fun fact – Champions Gate Golf Course has their golf course dog “pick” (predict) the winner. The dog has not been accurate in previous years but this year (see Instagram post)

Congratulations to Cara Bernat Escudar!

Other Notable Players:

(1) Lottie Woad: Unfortunately for world #1, Lottie Woad, who was in first place at the start of the final round, she just did not have her game on the final day and finished solo third at 9 under par (207)

(2) Asterisk Talley – #1 Amateur in the world finished one back in second place with a final score of 11 under par (205). She played well but the highlight was when she holed her 2nd shot on #1 at August National for an opening eagle.

(3) Megha Ganne – The Stanford players from New Jersey who had a record setting first round at Champions Gate finished in seventh place with a score of 7 under par (209).