EVANS, Ga. (AP) — Megha Ganne set the Augusta National Women's Amateur record on Wednesday with a 9-under 63 at Champions Retreat, giving her a two-shot lead over defending champion Lottie Woad, who did her best to track down Ganne.
The scoring was lower than usual at Champions Retreat, where the opening two rounds are held before the top 30 who make the cut play the final round at Augusta National, which hosts the Masters next week.
The weather was warm and turf was still relatively soft, and Ganne took advantage with a bogey-free round. Playing early and starting on the back, the Stanford junior ran off three straight birdies early and saved par with an 18-foot putt on the fifth hole, her 14th of the day.
The only disappointment was a three-putt par on the par-5 ninth hole.
“Believe it or not, I had a dream last night that I shot 61,” Ganne said on Golf Channel. “I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to set bad omens in the air.”
And she nearly got there until the three-putt on her final hole, though Ganne had few complaints. Her 63 broke by two shots the mark previous held by Rose Zhang, her former Stanford teammate who won the ANWA two years ago.
Woad more than held her own despite seeing such a low number on the board before she even made the turn.
“I saw she was at 9 under and thought I needed to get something going,” Woad said.
She had four birdies on the back nine, missing out on one chance at the par-5 14th but making up for that with a 45-foot birdie putt on the 15th.
No one has won back to back since the ANWA began in 2019 and quickly became one of the premier amateur championships for women. That's largely because the entire field gets a practice round at the home of the Masters on Friday before those who make the cut play Augusta National for the title on Saturday.
Anna Davis, who won the ANWA three years ago at age 16 and now plays at Auburn, said Ganne setting the tone early probably contributed to the low scoring. For most players, the goal is to make the cut and have a chance to compete at Augusta National.
“Now it's not, ‘Want to make the cut.’ It's just trying to catch her,” Davis said after a 69.
Kiara Romero, Farah O'Keefe and Amanda Sambach were each at 67. They were among 29 players in the 71-player field who broke par. U.S. Women's Amateur champion Rianne Malixi had to withdraw because of a back injury.
Ganne is playing the ANWA for the fifth time, having advanced to the final round each of the last two years. She has been around long enough to realize there's still a long road ahead.
“Enjoy today and take the rest of the week as it comes,” Ganne said. “But today was pretty special.”
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The Associated Press
