The Augusta National Women’s Amateur is being contested this week in Augusta, Ga., and there are several LPGA*USGA Girls Golf alumni competing in the prestigious championship that is held at Champions Retreat and Augusta National Golf Clubs. Meet the young women in the field representing Girls Golf in the sixth edition of ANWA:

Phoebe Brinker

Phoebe Brinker

Brinker played collegiate golf at Duke University, graduating after the 2024 spring season. In her time as a Blue Devil, she was recognized with the Tom Cousins Award in 2021, won the ACC Conference Championship as an individual in 2022, was named to the All-ACC First Team three times in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and was both a WGCA and Golfweek Honorable Mention All-American in 2021 and 2023. She is from Wilmington, Del., and this is her fourth time competing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Catie Craig

Catie Craig

Hailing from Sautee-Nacoochee, Ga., Craig is currently a senior at Western Kentucky University and has had an excellent career as a Hilltopper thus far. She won the Conference USA Championship as an individual in 2023, becoming both the first WKU player ever to win a conference championship and the first to tee it up in an NCAA Regional tournament. She was the Conference USA Most Improved Golfer of the Year that same season and has been named to the Conference USA All-Conference First Team twice in 2023 and 2024. Craig has earned five career victories at WKU, most recently winning the Cardinal Cup in 2024, and is playing in her first-ever Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Megha Ganne

Ganne has one of the most recognizable names in all of women’s amateur golf, and the 2025 ANWA marks her fifth time teeing it up in this tournament. Her best finish came in the 2023 edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur when the Holmdel, N.J. native tied for ninth after posting a three-day total of 217. Ganne is currently a junior at Stanford University, and in her time with the Cardinal, she has won two individual titles, been named to the All-Pac-12 team twice (2023, 2024), earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors (2023) and helped the team win both the 2024 Pac-12 Conference Championship and the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf National Championship. She has also played in the PING Junior Solheim Cup, as well as the Curtis Cup, doing so in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Ganne has competed in a handful of LPGA Tour events, with her best finish of T14 coming in 2021 at the U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club. As a junior player, Ganne participated Greater Newark chapter of LPGA*USGA Girls Golf.

Rachel Heck

Heck is currently serving as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and is playing in her fourth consecutive Augusta National Women’s Amateur this week. Her best finish in this event is a tie for third that she recorded back in 2021 after posting scores of 73-73-72 over the three days of competition at Champions Retreat and Augusta National Golf Club. The Memphis, Tenn. native played collegiate golf at Stanford University and has had an incredibly decorated amateur career. During the 2021 college season, she was named the PING/WGCA Freshman of the Year, the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year and the Pac-12 Golfer of the Year, also winning the Honda Sport Award, the ANNIKA Award presented Stifel and the individual title at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf National Championship. She was named an All-American by both Golfweek and the WGCA in 2021 and earned nine titles throughout her college career. Heck was selected for the All-Pac-12 First Team in 2021 and 2022 and was a WGCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2024. She played on two winning United States Curtis Cup teams (2021, 2022) and was a two-time participant in the PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2017 and 2019, also playing on the Junior Ryder Cup Team in 2018.

Mackenzie Lee

Mackenzie Lee

Lee is in her junior year at Southern Methodist University and has been named a WGCA Honorable Mention All-American twice during her time as a Mustang in 2023 and 2024. She has posted 60 rounds of par or better throughout her collegiate career and holds the record for the lowest 18-hole score in SMU women’s golf history with a 62, which she carded at the 2023 Jim West Challenge. As a junior golfer, she was a national finalist in the Drive, Chip and Putt competition that is annually held the Sunday before the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Lee is from Little Rock, Ark.

Katie Li

Katie Li

Li is a sophomore at Duke University, but she is originally from Basking Ridge, N.J. As a freshman, she was a 2024 All-ACC First Team selection and was recognized as a WGCA All-American Scholar. She has collected one individual title while playing as a Blue Devil, winning the 2024 Florida State Match Up with a three-round total of 12-under par. Li was an AJGA All-American in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and was a member of the PING Junior Solheim Cup Team in 2021. She is competing in her first Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Macy Pate

Macy Pate

This is North Carolina native Pate’s first time playing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She is in her second year at Wake Forest University, and Pate made an impact as a freshman Demon Deacon, earning a spot on the All-ACC First Team and being recognized as the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year. As a junior player, she won the 2023 North and South Junior, earned 2021 and 2022 Carolinas Player of the Year honors and was an AJGA Rolex First Team All-American in 2022.

Amanda Sambach

Amanda Sambach

Sambach is from Pinehurst, N.C., and is appearing in her fifth Augusta National Women’s Amateur this week in Georgia, having twice finished T14 in 2023 and 2024. She is a senior at the University of Virginia, and Sambach has won four titles, been a finalist for the ANNIKA Award twice in 2023 and 2024, was named to three All-ACC First Teams and was named a 2023 First Team All-American by Golfweek. She was a member of the U.S. Team at the 2024 Palmer Cup and also represented the United States at the 2019 PING Junior Solheim Cup in Scotland.

Bailey Shoemaker

Bailey Shoemaker

Fans might recognize Shoemaker as the Dade City, Fla. native set a tournament scoring record at Augusta National Golf Club in last year’s final round, firing a flawless 66 on Saturday to finish solo second at the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She is now a sophomore at the University of Southern California and shot her career-low round as a Trojan at the 2024 NCAA East Lansing Regional during her freshman year, firing a 65 in the first round, a performance that ultimately helped her earn her career-best result of solo second that same week. Before attending college, Shoemaker won the 2022 Florida Women’s Amateur Championship and was a member of the PING Junior Solheim Cup Team in 2021. She was a national finalist at the 2018 Drive, Chip and Putt competition.

Andie Smith

This year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur is Smith’s first time competing in this hallmark event. Hailing from Hobe Sound, Fla., she is a junior at Duke University and earned WGCA All-American Scholar honors in her first two years as a Blue Devil, also being named to the All-ACC Academic Team as a freshman and a sophomore. Smith has picked up one individual victory while at Duke, capturing the Tar Heel Invitational title last October after posting a three-round total of 7-under. She won six times on the AJGA circuit, most notably capturing the Arnold Palmer Invitational title in 2020. As a junior player, Smith was involved in the Miami chapter of LPGA*USGA Girls Golf.

Kendall Todd

Kendall Todd

Todd is a senior at the University of Arkansas at the moment, but she did play collegiate golf at UNLV during her freshman season. She has earned four top-10 results as a Razorback, the best of which is a tie for second that she most recently recorded at The Bruzzy back in 2024. This is her first-ever Augusta National Women’s Amateur appearance, and along with Arkansas, Todd is representing Litchfield Park, Ariz. this week in Georgia. She participated in the Phoenix chapter of LPGA*USGA Girls Golf as a child.

Kelly Xu

Kelly Xu

This is just Xu’s second time teeing it up in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, but she already had a history with Augusta, Ga., before making her tournament debut last season. In 2014, Xu won the Girls 7-9 division in the Drive, Chip and Putt competition that is held at Augusta National Golf Club the Sunday prior to the start of the Masters, something that could be thought of as a good omen for the Claremont, Calif. native this week in ANWA. Like several others in this year’s field, Xu is also representing Stanford University, having had a breakout sophomore season as a member of one of the strongest women’s collegiate programs in the country. She was part of the team that won both the Pac-12 Conference Championship and the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf National Championship in 2024 and was also recognized as an All-Pac-12 selection and Second Team WGCA and Golfweek All-American that same year.

Meet the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Alumni in the Field at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur

Related Articles