The fifth edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur gets underway this week, and the world’s top amateur players are set to battle it out for a coveted victory at Augusta National Golf Club. But winning at one of golf’s most historic venues isn’t the only thing on the line for the champion.
Here are five things to know about the Augusta National Women’s Amateur:
Chevron Championship Exemption
With a victory at Augusta National, the winner will be awarded an exemption into the first major of the year on the LPGA Tour, The Chevron Championship. First contested at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., the event moved to The Woodlands, Texas in 2023 and will be played for the second time this year at The Club at Carlton Woods, just outside of Houston. The Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion will be one of six amateurs awarded exemptions into The Chevron Championship field.
Other LPGA Tour Starts
The Chevron Championship isn’t the only event for which the ANWA winner will receive a sponsor exemption. She’ll also be extended an invitation to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open, The Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s Open, which will be played at Lancaster Country Club, Evian Resort Golf Club and St Andrews in 2024, respectively. The ANWA champion will also likely be given exemptions into other regular-season events on the LPGA Tour.
Girls Golf Alumni in Field
The 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur will see several LPGA*USGA Girls Golf alumni compete over the first two rounds at Champions Retreat before a cut is made to the top 30 and ties for Saturday’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club. Sixteen is in the highest number of Girls Golf alum to participate in the ANWA since the tournament’s inception in 2019.
Wishing the best of luck to our 1️⃣6️⃣‼️ alumnae who are teeing it up this week @anwagolf 👏
— LPGA*USGA Girls Golf (@LPGAGirlsGolf) April 3, 2024
This marks the most alumnae to ever compete at the event in a single year. #LittleGirlsBIGDreams #OneMillionMOREGirls pic.twitter.com/erqeudFdSU
Notable Names
While the 72 participants in this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur have yet to turn professional, many have already competed multiple times on the biggest stage in women’s golf. After playing in the Twin Bridges Championship on the Epson Tour in July, Gianna Clemente made headlines in 2022 after Monday qualifying for three straight LPGA Tour events at just 14 years old, teeing it up in the CPKC Women’s Open, Dana Open and Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. Last season, she was in the field at the Epson Tour’s Florida’s Natural Charity Classic and made another start at the CPKC Women’s Open, but Clemente is still looking to make her first cut on the LPGA Tour.
After her 2022 ANWA victory at Augusta National Golf Club, California native Anna Davis made seven starts on the LPGA Tour, teeing it up in three of that year’s five major championships and also playing in the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, Cognizant Founders Cup, CPKC Women’s Open and Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. She made the cut in five of those seven tournaments, earning a best finish of T50 at the Founders Cup, and Davis has only made one LPGA Tour start since then, missing the cut last year at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
While her good friend Rose Zhang won her first professional title at the Mizuho Americas Open, Yana Wilson won the AJGA portion of the event, earning 147 total points in the Stableford competition. The U.S. Girls’ Junior champion is no stranger to competing alongside the pros, having made three Epson Tour starts since 2022 and playing in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open.
Other notable names that have at least one LPGA Tour start under their belt include Girls Golf alums Megha Ganne, Rachel Heck and Emilia Migliaccio, as well as University of Southern California Trojan Amari Avery and Louisiana State University Tiger Ingrid Lindblad.
Past ANWA Champions Have LPGA Tour Success
Two of the past four Augusta National Women’s Amateur champions have gone on to have success on the LPGA Tour after capturing one of the most prestigious amateur titles in women’s golf. Jennifer Kupcho had the honor of winning the first edition of the ANWA back in 2019 and has won three times on the LPGA Tour. She became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2022 Chevron Championship, defeating Jessica Korda by two shots at Mission Hills Country Club to become the last woman to make the famous leap into Poppie’s Pond before the event was moved to Houston in 2023. She then collected two more LPGA Tour victories later that year, outlasting Leona Maguire and Nelly Korda in a playoff at Blythefield Country Club to win the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give in June and then taking home the Dow Championship title the next month alongside her playing partner Lizette Salas.
Rose Zhang won the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur in a playoff over Jenny Bae last spring, and just a few months later, Zhang made her professional debut on the LPGA Tour at the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J. She wrote a new chapter of women’s golf history that week, defeating Kupcho in a playoff to become the first player since Beverly Hanson in 1951 to win in their first pro start on the LPGA Tour. Zhang accepted the immediate LPGA Tour membership offered as part of her non-member victory, becoming a 2023 LPGA Tour rookie, and has earned five top-10 finishes to date since joining the organization.
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