Anna Davis, Aldrich Potgieter Head To Augusta National With Junior Invitational Victories

Anna Davis and Aldrich Potgieter defeated some of the strongest competition in junior golf at the 2023 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, S.C., and they each did so in dominant fashion. 

Now, both Davis and Potgieter will head to Augusta National in the coming weeks with victory on their mind. 

Davis, 17, led the tournament wire to wire, but Japan’s Nika Ito put up a fight the whole way, posting a stellar final-round 67. Ito even holed out for eagle on the 17th hole, but it wasn’t enough. When Davis reached the 399-yard par-4, she chipped in for birdie and extended her lead to two shots. 

“I went into the week wanting to win, thinking I was going to win,” said Davis. “I've always had high expectations for myself.”

Davis’s victory comes just 10 days before she’s set to return to Augusta, Ga., to defend her 2022 title at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The first two rounds of the ANWA take place at Champions Retreat Golf Club. The 30 players who survive the 36-hole cut move on to compete in a coveted final round at Augusta National, just days before the Masters. Davis is currently the No. 9-ranked amateur in the world and has committed to play golf at Auburn University upon her graduation in 2024. 

Potgieter, the boys champion at Sage Valley, also won in wire-to-wire fashion, beating his nearest competition by 10 shots—a tournament record. The 18-year-old South African won the prestigious British Amateur Championship in 2022, which secured him spots in the British Open, U.S. Open, and next month’s Masters tournament. 

Potgieter will join six other amateurs in the 2023 Masters field. 

“Today was a good round,” Potgieter said following his victory. “I struggled for a stretch, the par-5 4th I missed a five-footer or something for birdie and then missed one on five. So that was kind of a disappointing break, but I knew that the back nine had a lot of opportunities and still having to play three par 5s, I was still confident enough to put a good score on the board.”