Anna Davis Is a 16-Year-Old Wonder As the Winner of the Augusta National Women's Am
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Anna Davis joined an exclusive club of winners at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday, firing a final-round 69 to win the 3rd Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Joining the first two ANWA winners Jennifer Kupcho and Japan’s Tsubase Kajitani, Davis seemed to show the same composure as those past champions and made a clear statement that neither age nor experience is necessary to win around Augusta National.
As the youngest ever winner at Augusta at 16 years old, Davis doesn’t have a driver’s license, but was a straight driver down the fairways of the National, producing four birdies and shooting only one of the four rounds recorded under par in the final round to come from two shots back of 36-hole leader Latanna Stone and win by one.
“I'm still a little shocked,” said Davis, a high school sophomore from Spring Valley, Calif., in her first press conference as champion. “I don't think it's processed yet that I've won here, but it's pretty surreal, to be honest. I literally – I'm speechless. I can't even fathom what just happened. It all happened very quickly.”
Davis played the final round in the third-to-last group while behind her, Stone kept Davis and playing competitor Beatrice Wallin, a Florida State senior, at bay through 16 holes on Saturday.
Stone had a one-shot lead over Davis that became a two-shot lead when the LSU junior made a short birdie putt at the par-3 16th to move to 3-under par and take a two-shot lead with two holes to play.
Davis missed a mid-range birdie putt on the 18th and sat in the scoring area, waiting for Stone to navigate what appeared to be a victory.
“Anything can happen, but I knew that I felt like I needed to make that to have a pretty good chance at winning without having Latanna make a mistake,” Davis said. “She obviously struggled a little bit towards the end, but I think on the last putt I was hoping it would drop for sure.”
Stone began her stunning collapse at the 17th, missing the green short and right from 130 yards with a pitching wedge instead of a 9-iron. Faced with a difficult pitch, it released through the green and three putts later, she had a double bogey and her lead was gone.
A par on the 18th would mean a playoff with Davis but Stone drove into the trees on the right and her second shot was short of the green. Her pitch rolled 15 feet past the hole and her par putt missed badly on the left, handing the title to Davis.
“Don’t place it on the wrong side to make up-and-down, I guess,” Stone said of what she learned about Augusta National on Saturday.
Davis admitted she plays older than her birth certificate says, hanging with older girls at a pretty high level and this week competing against mostly college students this week is a good example of her maturity.
“I try to keep my emotions kind of to myself on the golf course,” Davis said. “I think showing emotions on the golf course, showing anger, sadness, it kind of makes the other player have an advantage when they see that, so I try to keep it to myself.”
With the biggest title of her career in her back pocket, Davis earned a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Club & Lodge in June, where she will experience a whole new level of pressure but seems already excited for the opportunity.
Davis is friends with amateur Megha Ganne, who co-led last year’s Women’s Open with England’s Mel Reid in the first round and eventually finished tied for 14th as a 17-year-old. Davis was delighted that she would have a similar opportunity this year.
“Oh, I did not know that,” a stunned Davis said when she learned of his exemption into the Women’s Open. “It's exciting. My friend Megha, she played in that last year and, obviously, did really well. I've learned quite a few things from her, and that's going to be really fun. Wow, I did not know that.”