Anna Davis, 16, fights nerves in LPGA debut and shoots even-par 71

Tuesday, ahead of the Palos Verdes Championship, Anna Davis said she wasn’t nervous for her LPGA debut, even at 16 years old. 

But when her opening tee shot finally came Thursday, a moment she’s dreamed of, she was able to back up her words and block out the butterflies en route to an even-par 71. 

“I think it was pretty much like every other tournament I would say,” said Davis, who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in early April. “There weren’t like as many people, but I’m expecting for the next few days leading up to see some more people out here. See how that goes. I don’t know, I wasn’t super nervous or anything.”

In her first professional round, there was most likely a lot to learn. But now with 18-holes on the LPGA under her belt, what will Davis try to do differently from Day 1 as she tries to make her first LPGA cut?

Full-field scores from the Palos Verdes Championship

“Hitting more greens probably. I didn’t hit very many on the back,” she said. “Just hitting it closer. My putting wasn’t bad today. I think the wind kind of picked up towards the back nine, so that made it a little tougher to hit it close.”

Although it’s Davis’ first-ever week on the LPGA Tour, she caught the eye of many of her now competitors. The bucket hat, however, made it a little easier for them to distinguish who she was, Davis admitted. 

“I’ll walk around and some of the girls will recognize me and they’ll say congrats,” she said. “That’s kind of funny. I’ve met a few girls and they’re all very nice.”