Late birdie gives Walsh encouragement at Augusta National Women's Amateur
Lauren Walsh of Ireland plays her stroke from the No. 4 tee during round one of the Augusta National Women's Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club, Wednesday, March 30, 2022.
Castlewarden's Lauren Walsh signed off with a birdie four as she opened with a four-over 76 to keep her hopes alive of making the cut in the Augusta National Women's Amateur at Champions Retreat.
The Wake Fores star (21) is tied 39th, six shots behind Utaly’s Benedetta Moresco and 16-year-old Anna Davis, who shot two-under 70s to lead the field by a shot.
The top 30 after today's second-round qualify for Saturday's finale at Augusta National, where the entire field will get a practice round tomorrow and Walsh’s late birdie was crucial.
Starting on the back nine, she bogeyed the 12th and 14th but birdied the par-five 18th to turn in one-over.
She dropped further shots at the second and seventh before running up a double-bogey five at the seventh but birdied the par-five ninth to lie just two shots outside the top 30.
The ANWA writes:
Moresco, No. 20 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), found herself in the mix of a tight leader board after early birdies from a close putt on No. 2 and a 15-foot putt on No. 3 and made the turn at two-under-par.
The University of Alabama sophomore was able to go bogey-free on her second nine and string together nine consecutive pars to share the lead in her second appearance at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“It was good out there today. I had really good putts from all around the green,” Moresco said. “Being patient on the golf course. I think that was key....The wind came up on the back nine more than the front nine. It was a little bit tougher.”
Playing in the last group of the day, Davis made the turn at one-under-par after a birdie on No. 7 and recorded another at No. 14 to claim a share of the lead. She lost a stroke with her sole bogey of the day on the next hole but finished strong with a birdie on No. 18 after her 30-foot chip hit the flagstick and stopped inches from the hole.
“Usually when I go to events, I know the people who are playing and I don’t know a lot of the girls here,” said Davis, a Spring Valley, Calif., native and one of the youngest players in the field. “I feel like an underdog here. There’s not as much pressure on you.”
University of Michigan’s Hailey Borja was the first player to finish at one-under-par 71. She is tied for third with Louisiana State University (LSU) standout Ingrid Lindblad of Sweden, and China’s Xiaowen Yin.
Teeing off on No. 10, Lindblad held a share of the lead through her first nine, sinking 15 and 23-foot putts for back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15. She recorded two bogeys on Nos. 1 and 4 and a birdie on No. 2 to finish her first round at one-over par.
“I’m a little bit more confident this year than last year,” said Lindblad, who finished T-3 at the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. “I hit the ball further so I actually hit a little shorter clubs in this year. It’s a big difference if you have a pitching wedge instead of an 8-iron into the greens.”
Three players, Arizona State senior Alexandra Forsterling of Germany, Latanna Stone of LSU, and China’s Liqi Zeng, sit at even par and tied for sixth place. There are 15 players tied for ninth at one-over-par 73.
Second-round starting times for the Augusta National Women's Amateur are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Following the completion of the second round at Champions Retreat, a cut will be made with the top 30 players advancing to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club. All participants will play a practice round at Augusta National, the home of the Masters Tournament, on Friday.
NBC will broadcast three hours of live final-round coverage from noon to 3:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 2.
