‘She Is A Golf Savant’

We’ve seen young ones before, so many in fact that we’re almost anesthetized to the latest teen teeing off in a professional event, especially in the women’s game. Last month Alexa Pano turned pro at 17 with marginal fanfare. Not that Pano isn’t worth watching – she’s a fine player, good enough to earn Epson Tour status for the rest of 2022 – but “teenager turns pro” is a “dog bites man” story at the LPGA these days.

However, something is different about Anna Davis, the 16-year-old from Southern California who played in her first LPGA Tour event as an amateur last week at the Palos Verdes Championship, a wedge shot from the Pacific in the hills just south of Los Angeles. Two months ago, even the most ardent golf fan had never heard of Davis. In fact, there were American Junior Golf Association board members who knew nothing about her until paired with her in Junior-Am where the girl “shot the easiest 66 you’ve ever seen and didn’t miss a shot.” Then, in a matter of what seems like days, she became the talk of Tinseltown, a super-co...