It’s not every day that someone receives a personal tweetof congratulations from the legendary Tiger Woods. But then, you’re not Anna Davis and you just haven’t won the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur championship title.
And you’re not just 16.
Davis, a sophomore from Steele Canyon High School, defied the odds by topping the field in last weekend’s elite tournament by finishing one-under par at 215 for the three rounds.
She averted a playoff by shooting a final round of three-under par to finish one-under.
Ingrid Lindblad and Latanna Stone both shot untimely bogeys to finish one shot back.
Davis has already reeled off a long list of accolades, including honors as the 2021 San Diego Junior Golf Association Player of the Year in the girls championship division. Her most recent accomplishment — winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur championship on Saturday — has to understandably top the list. And open major doors in the sport.
The Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion receives an invitation to the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open, 2022 Women’s British Open and any USGA, R&A and PGA of American amateur championships for which she is eligible for one year.
The tournament was established in 2018 by Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley to inspire greater interest and participation among women’s golfers with a new, exciting and rewarding pathway to fulfill dreams.
Previous winners included Jennifer Kuocho, the world’s top-ranked amateur player, in the inaugural event in 2019 and 17-year-old Tsubasa Kajitani of Japan in a playoff over Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio in 2021.
The 2020 tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The opening 36 holes in the 72-deep field were played March 30-31 on the Island and Bluff nines at the Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta. Following a practice round at the Augusta National course last Friday, the final round took place on Saturday with 30 golfers who made the cut.
Qualification for invitation included the 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 and past champions of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur within the past five years. Davis qualified as last year’s Junior Girls PGA champion.
