Anna Davis, 16, getting comfortable on LPGA, likes chances to make another cut

CLIFTON, N.J. — Anna Davis isn’t an average 16-year-old. 

Less than two weeks after making the cut in her first LPGA start (the Palos Verdes Championship) Davis traveled from coast to coast and picked up where she left off in Round 1 of the Founders Cup, shooting a 2-under 70. 

Now with five LPGA rounds under her belt, the reigning Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion is hanging with the game’s best, saying she is more comfortable now on tour and “knows what to expect.” However, she’s still picking up a few things along the way. 

“(I’ve learned) not to get ahead of yourself like in the first round because, I mean, this is a lot different from Junior Golf,” she said. “You are trying to make a cut. And usually in junior golf when you have four rounds to play, it’s like you’re not trying to go for greens or anything. You’re trying to play pretty conservatively in the first two rounds because you’re not trying to make a cut. 

“But it’s a little different, obviously, because you are trying to make a cut. I think especially playing my first LPGA event two weeks ago, I learned that you just kind of have to stay steady for sure, but it’s just kind of a lot different.”

Full-field scores from the Cognizant Founders Cup

But still with just a handful of professional starts to her name, she doesn’t have it all figured out, though her demeanor might suggest otherwise. 

“I don’t think I figured that out yet,” Davis said in response to being asked what part of her game she’s been working on since playing on tour. “I’m sure there will be something where I’ll be, like, I need to work on that, but I haven’t really gotten there yet.”

One thing, though, that Davis does have in common with most of her peers is she doesn’t yet have her license. Davis said she’s being “transported” around New Jersey this week, and hopes her transportation to Upper Montclair Country Club tomorrow will extend her stay in the Garden State through the weekend. 

But as she said, she’s not getting ahead of herself. However, with the lessons she’s taken through her first five LPGA starts, she likes her chances to make the cut — again. And she maybe hopes to do it smoother than the way she did last time. 

“I’m definitely hitting it a lot more solid than I was two weeks ago, so the game is kind of not in shambles anymore,” she said. “That’s good. I’m a lot more confident going into tomorrow than I was going into the second day two weeks ago.”