Timing is everything. And this week is the women’s time, finally, with no controversy. For the first time, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is being contested without anyone having to choose between the biggest event outside the U.S. Women’s Amateur and teeing off as an invitee in the first LPGA major of the year.
In past iterations, this was the week the professional women went to the Coachella Valley for the first major of the golf calendar, the Chevron Championship (née the Dinah Shore). So, when Fred Ridley announced the creation of the ANWA – much to the chagrin of then LPGA commissioner Mike Whan – amateurs who would have normally jumped at the opportunity to tee off at Mission Hills Country Club alongside the pros had a difficult choice. Did they jump at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at Augusta National, or did they look ahead and choose to see how their games stacked up in a women’s major?
Albane Valenzuela, who was Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2019 at Stanford, had to make that call the first year of the ANWA. She chose to stay in California and honor the commitment she had made to tournament sponsors.
“I’m so excited to be invited to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur this year. This was one of my biggest goals starting my senior year.” – Jennie Park
Rachel Heck did likewise. “We were always coming,” Heck said on the chipping green beside the Mission Hills clubhouse. “It’s a major.”
Media outlets also had to choose. Those who cover the women’s game had to decide on which side of the country to send their best reporters. With the Masters the following week, many chose to stay East and watch the ams.
No such decisions are necessary now. With the Chevron moving to Houston in late April, amateurs like Rose Zhang, who has won the NCAA individual and team championship and the U.S. Women’s Amateur and only lacks the ANWA to complete an amateur slam of sorts, can admire Augusta’s azaleas without second-guessing their choice on where to play.
Zhang, a Stanford sophomore, set an ANWA scoring record in round one when she posted an early 66 on Wednesday at Champions Retreat, about 15 minutes northwest of ANGC up Washington Road, the course where the first two rounds of the ANWA are contested before the top-30 and ties venture down Magnolia Lane. With all manner of expectations on her shoulders – and Augusta National member and Stanford provost Condoleezza Rice in her gallery – the 19-year-old looked like she was playing a practice round at The Farm near campus. In the process, Zhang is making a compelling case for being the best collegiate woman in history. She’s been on two winning Curtis Cup teams, a winning Junior Solheim Cup team, a winning Junior Ryder Cup team, and a winning Spirit International Amateur team.
Zhang also had a luxury many other amateurs did not. Because the 2020 Chevron was moved to the fall due to COVID and the ANWA wasn’t played that year for the same reason, she got to play the major on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course in the desert before it changed locations. Not only that, she finished T11, proving she has the game to make an impact on the LPGA Tour when she does turn pro.
But first things first: Zhang is worth watching this week along with the rest of the amateurs in what is now a two-week tour of Augusta.
“I’m so excited to be invited to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur this year,” said Jennie Park of Texas A&M. “This was one of my biggest goals starting my senior year. It took a lot of patience and hard work to get to where I am today in my golf career and this invite is one of my biggest achievements.”
That was the sentiment across the board.
Click on image above to view Instagram video on the 2023 ANWA
And because there is no more competition for eyeballs or media attention, LPGA Tour players, including past ANWA champion and Chevron defending champion Jennifer Kupcho, got into the act, congratulating the amateurs and wishing them well ahead of what, for many, will be the most memorable experiences of their lives.
The LPGA is still playing in California. World No. 1 Lydia Ko is making her U.S. debut on the 2023 LPGA Tour. She is joined by No. 2 Nelly Korda, No. 3 Jin Young Ko and No. 4 Atthaya Thitikul. Korda and Jin Young both had opportunities to recapture the top spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking last week in Arizona but failed to capitalize. Now they’ll have to do it head-to-head with Lydia at a place – Palos Verdes Golf Club – where she feels comfortable.
Those who remember Boutier at Duke wish there was a way-back machine to see how she would have fared in the ANWA. The same is true for her former Blue Devil teammate Leona Maguire, who set the world ablaze as an amateur and finally won a year ago for the first time on tour.
Speaking of last week and outstanding amateurs, former WAGR No. 1 Celine Boutier became the winningest French woman in professional golf history when she beat Georgia Hall in a playoff at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain.
Those who remember Boutier at Duke wish there was a way-back machine to see how she would have fared in the ANWA. The same is true for her former Blue Devil teammate Leona Maguire, who set the world ablaze as an amateur and finally won a year ago for the first time on tour.
But those fantasies are for another time. This week, it’s about the women – amateurs early in Augusta and pros late outside of LA. For the avid fan, nothing could be better.