San Diego teen Anna Davis wins Augusta Women’s Amateur
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The model of calm beneath her bucket hat, 16-year-old Anna Davis cruised her away around the back nine Saturday at Augusta National without a bogey and seemingly without a care.
Only after she finished off a 3-under 69 at the home of the Masters did the nerves kick in while watching the final two groups in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
She thought her 12-foot birdie putt that slid by the cup might cost her.
And then she watched from the scoring cabin as Latanna Stone threw away a two-shot lead with two holes to play by making double bogey from the 17th fairway and a bogey from the pine straw on the final hole, making Davis the youngest champion at the home of the Masters.
“I don’t think it’s processed yet that I’ve won here, but it’s pretty surreal, to be honest,” Davis said. “I can’t even fathom what just happened. It all happened very quickly.”
And to think it was only a year ago when Davis, a lefthander from just east of San Diego, jumped into the national picture with her first AJGA title, followed by the Girl’s Junior PGA Championship at Valhalla.
That’s where her dad told her to put on a bucket hat because the Kentucky sun was beating down on her nose. Now she wears one all the time – so did the entire Davis clan watching her win on golf’s grandest stage with a remarkable closing around and a little help.
That came from Stone, the junior at LSU who looked to have this won with a tee shot that caught the slope on the par-3 16th and fed down to 3 feet for birdie and a two-shot lead.
And then it all came undone. She went with wedge instead of 9-iron from a uphill in the 17th fairway, flared it and left it short. Her tough pitch over a deep bunker came out clunky and ran to the back edge of the green. She three-putted for double bogey to fall into a tie with Davis.
“I was more nervous watching her than playing my round out there,” Davis said.
Stone pushed her drive into the pine straw, did well to get to the front of the green and then chipped too strong. Her 15-foot par putt to force a playoff never had a chance.
“It’s just heartbreaking, you know?” said Stone, who shared a long and tearful embrace with USC freshman Amari Avery, one of five players who had a share of the lead at some point.
“I kind of knew where I stood on 17, and I was just thinking, ‘Par out.’ I just didn’t have the right club and left myself with a difficult up-and-down,” she said. “I was trying to be aggressive and just kind of lost it. Thought I could get it back on 18, but I had a lot going on in my head with where I was at.”
She closed with a 72 and tied for second with LSU teammate Ingrid Lindblad, who bogeyed the 18th from a fairway bunker and had to settle for a 68.
Davis was the only player to finish under par at 1-under 215, and the victory came with a big surprise: She is exempt into the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles in June.
“That’s insane,” she said.