Rose Zhang, Rachel Heck headline Augusta National Women’s Amateur commitments
The field for the third edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is almost complete.
Seventy-one player commitments were announced Wednesday morning, highlighted by nine of the top 10 amateurs in the world – Stanford’s Rose Zhang (1), LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad (2), Stanford’s Rachel Heck (3), South Korea’s Youmin Hwang (4), Florida State’s Beatrice Wallin (5), UCLA’s Emma Spitz (7), China’s Xiaowen Yin (8), South Carolina’s Hannah Darling (9) and Ole Miss’ Julia Johnson (10).
Zhang won all three of her college starts last fall is far-and-away the top-ranked player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. Zhang skipped the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019 before making her debut last year and tying for third, one shot out of a playoff.
This year’s tournament will be contested March 30-April 2, with the first two rounds being played at Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia, before a 36-hole cut is made to the top 30 players (no ties). The final 18 holes will be played that Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club following a Friday practice round at the historic layout.
Other notables slated to compete include U.S. Women’s Amateur winner Jensen Castle, Women’s British Amateur winner Louise Duncan and Girls Junior PGA winner Anna Davis. Last year’s playoff runner-up, Emilia Migliaccio, who will return to Wake Forest this fall for her extra year of eligibility, is also committed, as is reigning U.S. Women’s Open low amateur Megha Ganne.
Five special invitations went to Canada’s Savannah Grewal, India’s Avani Prashanth, Australia’s Kristen Rudgeley, Singapore’s Shannon Tan and USC freshman Amari Avery.
Six spots in the 72-player field remain.
Notably absent from the list of commitments is Japan’s Tsubasa Kajitani, the defending champ.
Current field:
- Amari Avery, Riverside, Calif. (10)
- Jenny Bae, Suwanee, Ga. (8)
- Shinsil Bang, Anseong, Republic of Korea (9)
- Carla Bernat Escuder, Castellon, Spain (9)
- Hailey Borja, Lake Forest, Calif. (8)
- Phoebe Brinker, Wilmington, Del. (8)
- Jensen Castle, West Columbia, S.C. (1)
- Briana Chacon, Whittier, Calif. (8)
- Hannah Darling, Midlothian, Scotland (4)
- Anna Davis, Spring Valley, Calif. (6)
- Louise Duncan, West Kilbride, Scotland (2)
- Isabella Fierro, Merida, Mexico (9)
- Alexandra Forsterling, Berlin, Germany (9)
- Annabell Fuller, London, England (9)
- Megha Ganne, Holmdel, N.J. (8)
- Savannah Grewal, Ontario, Canada (10)
- Mizuki Hashimoto, Hyogo, Japan (3)
- Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn. (8)
- Youmin Hwang, Gyeonggi Province, Korea (9)
- Julia Johnson, St. Gabriel, La. (8)
- Gurleen Kaur, Houston, Texas (8)
- Auston Kim, St. Augustine, Fla. (8)
- Irene Kim, La Palma, Calif. (8)
- Sara Kouskova, Prague, Czech Republic (9)
- Aline Krauter, Stuttgart, Germany (9)
- Rachel Kuehn, Asheville, N.C. (8)
- Jeong Hyun Lee, Seoul, Korea (9)
- Amalie Leth-Nissen, Herlev, Denmark (9)
- Beth Lillie, Fullerton, Calif. (8)
- Jiyoo Lim, Hwaseong, Korea (9)
- Ingrid Lindblad, Halmstad, Sweden (9)
- Carolina Lopez-Chacarra, Madrid, Spain (9)
- Antonia Malate, Seaside, Calif. (8)
- Caley McGinty, Bristol, England (9)
- Carolina Melgrati, Milan, Italy (9)
- Ashley Menne, Surprise, Ariz. (8)
- Emilia Migliaccio, Cary, N.C. (8)
- Benedetta Moresco, Vicenza, Italy (9)
- Anna Morgan, Spartanburg, S.C. (8)
- Hinano Muguruma, Yokohama, Japan (9)
- Katherine Muzi, Newport Beach, Calif. (8)
- Mychael O’Berry, Hoover, Ala. (8)
- Natasha Andrea Oon, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (9)
- Meja Ortengren, Linkoping, Sweden (9)
- Alexa Pano, Lake Worth, Fla. (8)
- Valery Plata, Bucaramanga, Colombia (9)
- Avani Prashanth, Bengaluru, India (10)
- Kirsten Rudgeley, Carramar, Australia (10)
- Amanda Sambach, Davidson, N.C. (8)
- Brooke Seay, San Diego, Calif. (8)
- Aneka Seumanutafa, Emmitsburg, Md. (8)
- Megan Schofill, Monticello, Fla. (8)
- Paula Schulz-Hanssen, St. Leon-Rot, Germany (9)
- Erica Shepherd, Greenwood, Ind. (8)
- Ivy Shepherd, Peachtree City, Ga. (8)
- Ellie Slama, Salem, Ore. (8)
- Emma Spitz, Vienna, Austria (9)
- Latanna Stone, Riverview, Fla. (8)
- Caroline Sturdza, Geneva, Switzerland (9)
- Shannon Tan, Singapore (10)
- Ayaka Tezuka, Yamanashi, Japan (9)
- Beatrice Wallin, Olofstrop, Sweden (9)
- Lauren Walsh, Kildare, Ireland (9)
- Crystal Wang, Diamond Bar, Calif. (8)
- Yana Wilson, Henderson, Nev. (8)
- Lei Ye, Shanghai, China (9)
- Xiaowen Yin, Tianjin, China (9)
- Rin Yoshida, Chiba, Japan (9)
- Liqi Zeng, Jiangxi, China (9)
- Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif. (5)
- Avery Zweig, McKinney, Texas (8)
Qualifications key:
- 1. Reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion
- 2. Reigning Women’s Amateur Champion
- 3. Reigning Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion
- 4. Reigning R&A Girls Amateur Champion
- 5. Reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior Champion
- 6. Reigning Girls Junior PGA Champion
- 7. Past champions of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur within the last five years
- 8. The 30 highest ranked players from the United States of America based on the prior year’s (2021) final Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, not otherwise qualified
- 9. After qualifications 1-8 above, the 30 highest ranked players not otherwise qualified, as listed on the prior year’s (2021) final Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking
- 10. Players receiving special invitations from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Committee