The sixth edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is here and there’s no shortage of storylines to go around as defending champions, experienced participants of the event and young up-and-coming stars battle it out at one of the most iconic venues in the sport.
Here are six players to watch as the tournament kicks off at Champions Retreat Golf Club Wednesday and Thursday before the final round at Augusta National on Saturday.
Lottie Woad
When Woad secured last year’s ANWA crown, she did it in thrilling fashion, making birdies on three of her last four holes to hold off Bailey Shoemaker by a stroke. The victory propelled Woad to an impressive 2024 as she rose to No. 1 in the world amateur rankings. Since last year’s event, she’s had only one other win but also a remarkable run of top-5 finishes (10) and eight straight top-3 finishes starting with the Folds of Honor Collegiate event last September.
“I think just after [ANWA], it gave me a lot of confidence, especially coming from behind. Knowing I’m never out of it,” Woad said in her pre-tournament news conference. “I was kind of riding the wave into that and I think it set me up for the rest of the year. Expectations maybe changed a little bit but I obviously had high expectations I guess before then, so it didn’t change…
