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Initial field revealed for inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship
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A handful of players who qualified to compete in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship days prior to the Masters in April couldn’t contain themselves in recent weeks, showing off the formal invitations that had come in the mail. “It’s just a dream come true and finally it’s becoming something real with a piece of paper in hand,” said Dylan Kim, an All-American at Arkansas who posted her reveal on Twitter.
Many people have gotten a kick out of seeing these posts, among them Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley. “It’s been fun watching the competitors post their pictures of the invitations on social media,” Ridley said last week while attending the Latin America Amateur Championship. “There’s a lot of excitement building.”
With the event 10 weeks away, the club announced on Tuesday that 66 of the 72 spots in the field have been filled, releasing the names of the competitors. The emphasis on giving the event an international feel can be seen in the fact that 36 of the 66 golfers are from outside the United States. The remaining six spots will be filled with special invitations from the ANWA’s championship committee in the coming weeks.
Among the participants listed—as of now at least—is Lucy Li. The 16-year-old U.S. Curtis Cup player qualified by being among the top 30 ranked American golfers on the final World Amateur Golf Ranking of 2018; she’s currently ranked No. 9. However, the USGA continues to be looking into whether Li’s appearance in a video earlier this month promoting the Apple Watch might have jeopardized her amateur status.
USGA CEO Mike Davis said last week that the association remains in a “fact-finding” mode with no formal timeline set for its completion. Any information gathered will be passed on to the USGA’s Amateur Status committee, which would meet and render a decision. The next time the members of that committee are likely to be all together is next month at the USGA Annual Meeting in San Antonio.
Li has history at Augusta National. In 2014, she was one of the participants in the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, winning the girls 10-11 division. The feat was a prelude to her becoming the youngest golfer to ever qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open later that summer at the age of 11.
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The ANWA is a 54-hole event, the first two rounds of which will be contested April 3-4 at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga. The top 30 players and ties will then play the final round April 6, the Saturday prior to the Masters, at Augusta National Golf Club. All participants will play a practice round at Augusta National on April 5. The final round of the competition will be televised live on NBC.
Augusta National Women's Championship Field
Alyaa Abdulghany, Newport Beach, Calif. (8)
Hanna Alberto, Kingwood, Texas (8)
Sofia Anokhina, Russia #
Ana Belac, Slovenia (9)
Jaravee Boonchant, Thailand (9)
Sierra Brooks, Lake Mary, Fla. (8)
Virginia Elena Carta, Italy (9)
Jennifer Chang, Cary, N.C. (8)
Alice Chen, Princeton, N.J. (8)
Allisen Corpuz, Waipahu, Hawaii (8)
Amanda Doherty, Atlanta, Ga. (8)
Caterina Don, Italy (9)
Alessandra Fanali, Italy (9)
Maria Fassi, Mexico (9)
Isabella Fierro, Mexico (9)
Michaela Finn, Sweden (9)
Annabell Fuller, England (9)
Allyson Geer-Park, Brighton, Mich. (8)
Valentina Giraldo, Colombia #
Linn Grant, Sweden (9)
Haylee Harford, Leavittsburg, Ohio (8)
Leonie Harm, Germany (3)
Lauren Hartlage, Elizabethtown, Ky. (8)
Alice Hewson, England (9)
Emilee Hoffman, Folsom, Calif. (8)
Yu-Chiang Hou, Taiwan (9)
Lily May Humphreys, England (9)
Jiwon Jeon, South Korea (9)
Wenyung Keh, New Zealand #
Dylan Kim, Sachse, Texas (8)
Gina Kim, Chapel Hill, N.C. (8)
Jennifer Kupcho, Westminster, Colo. (8)
Seo-yun Kwon, South Korea (9)
Agathe Laisne, France (9)
Tilda Larsson, Sweden (9)
Stephanie Lau, Fullerton, Calif. (8)
Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (8)
Lucy Li, Redwood Shores, Calif. (8)
Amanda Linner, Sweden (9)
Olivia Mehaffey, Northern Ireland (9)
Emilia Migliaccio, Cary, N.C. (8)
Haley Moore, Escondido, Calif. (8)
Alessia Nobilio, Italy (9)
Tristyn Nowlin, Richmond, Ky. (8)
Ainhoa Olarra, Spain (9)
Alexa Pano, Lake Worth, Fla. (8)
Pimnipa Panthong, Thailand (9)
Kaitlyn Papp, Austin, Texas (8)
Marta Perez, Spain (9)
Anna Redding, Concord, N.C. (8)
Yuka Saso, Philippines (9)
Brooke Seay, San Diego (8)
Erica Shepherd, Greenwood, Ill. (8)
Ellie Slama, Salem, Ore. (8)
Mariah Smith, Clarksville, Tenn. #
Julienne Soo, Australia #
Emma Spitz, Austria (6)
Natalie Srinivasan, Spartanburg, S.C. (8)
Maja Stark, Sweden (9)
Kaleigh Telfer, South Africa #
Brigitte Thibault, Canada #
Atthaya Thitikul, Thailand (4)
Beatrice Wallin, Sweden (9)
Yuka Yasuda, Japan (9)
Loy Hee Ying, Malaysia #
Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif. (8)
1: Winner of the Augusta National Women's Amateur (five years, beginning in 2020)
2: Winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship (one year)
3: Winner of the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship (one year)
4: Winner of the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship (one year)
5: Winner of the U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur (one year)
6: Winner of the Girls' British Open Amateur Championship (one year)
7: Winner of the Girls Junior PGA Championship (one year)
8: The top 30 players from the United States who are not otherwise qualified based on the final 2018 Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking
9: After the previous qualifications, the 30 highest ranked players not otherwise qualified, based on the final 2018 Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking
(#): Remaining positions will be filled by invitation of the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship Committee