EVANS, Ga. — Rose Zhang proved to be the best female amateur in the country by playing bogey-free on Wednesday and handling the par 5s at Champions Retreat for a 6-under 66 score to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
It was a day to remember for the two previous champions.
Anna Davis, 16 years old, won last year’s tournament. She didn’t know she could only lift, clean, or place her golf ball in the grass. Her first two shots were in light dirt, so she picked up her ball to clean the mud.
It was a two-shot penalty in each instance. On the fourth hole, she was told that there would be a penalty. Davis made a double bogey.
Davis smiled and said, “If you look at me score on 4, then you’ll see how that affected me.” “I was taken aback. I had a good round, even if you don’t count the first hole.
Her 5 on the opening hole was transformed into a 9. She finished with a hard-fought 72, which was 3 under over the 14 holes. This turned into a 76.
Davis said, “I tried to forget that the first hole ever happened.” “All I can do is let that motivate me to do well tomorrow. I’m doing well. I am confident that I can do well tomorrow.”
Tsubasa Kaitani, a 19-year-old Japanese girl who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur 2021, was even worse. Last year, she was unable to return. She didn’t make a birdie Wednesday, and ended up with an 84, which put her in last place of the 72 players.
Pernilla, from Sweden, was another favorite. She didn’t make birdie till her last hole, and finished with an average score of 78. Lindblad finished one stroke behind the winner in each year at Augusta.
This will be the third appearance of LSU senior and 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur runner up. She was one stroke behind the champion in each round the past two years.
Zhang held a one-shot advantage over Andrea Lignell, a senior at Mississippi. Only 10 other players broke the par line on a windy, soggy day. Emilia Migliaccio was among those who broke par on a windy day with soggy conditions. She lost to Kajitani in a playoff in 2021.
The Champions Retreat’s top 30 and ties make the cut. Everyone in the field receives a practice round at Augusta National Friday before the final round on Saturday.
Zhang, a Stanford sophomore, was the dominant amateur in women’s golf, winning the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the No. For the past three years, she has been the No. 1 amateur. She is a U.S. Women’s Amateur winner and has been awarded the NCAA title.
Missing is Augusta National Women’s Amateur. It is already in its fourth-year as the premier amateur event of women.
Her goal was to be simple and have great golf. Her birdies on all par 5s included a 50-foot shot on the 14th, which she made early in her round.
Zhang stated, “From the beginning, I really just wanted pars because at Champions Retreat you never know what you’re getting.” “With the ground so soft and muddy, I can only expect my game today.”
Her father assisted her in the big birdie putt. The wind blew debris along the line of her long putt. She said he was cleaning up debris “like an insane man” and that she was trying keep him calm.
She laughed and said, “It turned out to be the best.” “I have him to be grateful for that.”
