What does it take to earn this invitation? Here are 72 answers

March 29, 2019 | by Julie Williams of AmateurGolf.com

A photo of the ANWA invitation taken by Kaitlyn Papp

Each of the 72 players invited to the first women's amateur tournament at Augusta National traveled a unique path to get there

Prepare to be impressed by the 72 women in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur field. The best female amateurs in the world play other sports, have other hobbies, take on colossal philanthropic efforts, come from different cultures and have experience on every golf stage around the world.

They’re worth getting to know.

Player listed with college currently attending, if applicable, and hometown (players who earned invite via tournament win are listed with tournament name in parentheses); click on name to see tournament results.

Alyaa Abdulghany, USC: Newport Beach, Calif.: Pre-USC, the Malaysian-born Abdulghany was the USA Today High School Player of the Year. She’s also a talented musician off the course, who you can often find skateboarding to classes around campus.

Hanna Alberto, Sam Houston State; Kingwood, Texas: A public health major and winner of the Southland Conference’s Golf Student Athlete of the Year last spring. Four wins in her last six college starts.

Sofia Anokhina, Arizona State; Moscow, Russia: The senior transfer from Northern Arizona eagled her final two holes of the Wildcat Invitational earlier this month for her first top 10 of the season. Two-time defending Russian Amateur champ.

Ana Belac, Duke; Portorož, Slovenia: Made her first career hole-in-one on the first shot that Duke coach Dan Brooks ever saw her strike. A statistical science major whose confidence and fight are strengths. Belac is a certified Slovenian Rules official.

Kaylee Benton, Arkansas; Litchfield Park. Ariz.: A semifinalist at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur, and also the player who clinched the winning point for Arkansas in last spring’s SEC title run. Her grandfather, Jim Benton, was an all-American wide receiver for the Razorbacks in 1937 who went on to play for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Rams.

Jaravee Boonchant, Duke; Bangkok, Thailand: A traveler and a foodie, Boonchant is set to study abroad for five weeks in Japan over the summer. The former IMG Academy student is a positive player who relies heavily on her short game.

Sierra Brooks, Florida; Lake Mary, Fla.: A Florida junior back on the rise after battling a wrist injury. A face you’ve likely seen in ANWA promotion – Brooks was part of the NYC media tour, Golf Channel Morning Drive field announcement and was in a pre-tournament promo video. Read more

A new chapter in a storied tale, #ANWAgolf is driven to energize and inspire. #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/jaAlNVvsQG
— Augusta National Women's Amateur (@anwagolf) March 8, 2019

Zoe Campos, Valencia, Calif.: Committed to UCLA. The 16-year-old plays mostly junior events and won the AJGA’s Under Armour/Alison Lee Championship last year. Campos and Lee, who now plays on the LPGA, are both from Valencia.

Virginia Elena Carta, Duke; Udine, Italy: Former NCAA champion (2016) and Rhodes Scholar finalist who spearheaded Duke’s Birdies for Babies campaign, raising thousands for the Duke Children’s Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units. Read more

Jennifer Chang, USC; Cary, N.C.: The 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up enrolled early at USC, and after her first semester, was one of the last alternates into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open (though she missed the cut).

Alice Chen, Princeton, N.J.: Graduated from Furman in 2018 and will follow the ANWA with her Symetra Tour debut. The USGA champion (2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball) was recognized last year as the Dinah Shore trophy winner for her on-campus leadership role with Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Allisen Corpuz, USC; Waipahu, Hawaii: Corpuz may be most well-known for sheer number of USGA championships played. There have been eight, beginning with the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links when she was 10.

Amanda Doherty, Florida State; Atlanta, Ga.: Sally Amateur winner last went to Augusta as an 11-year-old fan. Secured a spot on the Seminole roster after a cold call to head coach Amy Bond and secured a last-minute spot in ANWA field after a phone call from Augusta. Read more

Caterina Don, Pinerolo, Italy: A Georgia signee who will bring worldwide competitive experience to Athens. Her run-up to Augusta included competitive starts (and top-20 finishes) in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Alessandra Fanali, Arizona State; Fiuggi, Italy: Played an international schedule before arriving in Arizona. Her best college finish yet came earlier this month at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational, where she was runner-up.

Maria Fassi, Arkansas; Pachuca, Mexico: Fierce, but all about the team. Last year’s Annika Award winner has deferred her LPGA card until after Arkansas’ 2019 NCAA Championship hosting duties.

Golf gives us so many amazing opportunities! 🐗⛳️ @MariaFassi0 @EstesTaylor @NancyLopezGolf pic.twitter.com/C59Z1ujAXA
— Razorback Women's Golf (@RazorbackWGolf) March 27, 2019

Isabella Fierro, Mérida, Mexico: The Oklahoma State commit became the first woman from Mexico to win the North & South Women’s Amateur in 2017 – it was one of six wins that year. Counts Lorena Ochoa as a mentor.

Michaela Finn, Kent State; Ängelholm, Sweden: Confident, competitive Swede who had to hustle for an ANWA invite (read: runner-up at Dixie Women’s Am). Augusta will be a nice way to punctuate amateur golf for the Kent State senior, who is majoring in fashion merchandising. Read more

Annabell Fuller, Kingston Upon Thames, England: The younger of the two golfing Fuller sisters attends IMG Academy and had a turn on both the GB&I Curtis Cup team and European Junior Ryder Cup team in 2018, meeting Tiger Woods at the latter.

Allyson Geer-Park, Michigan State; Brighton, Mich.: Determined Spartan junior who was married last summer and will have husband Nick on the bag at Augusta. Geer-Park is single-minded in identifying weaknesses and turning them into strengths. Read more

Valentina Giraldo, Ibague, Colombia: Won four out of five spring starts on the Jacksonville State roster last year, including the Ohio Valley Conference title. Represented Colombia at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship.

Linn Grant, Viken, Sweden: She was top 5 after 36 holes at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open, leaving fans asking, “Who is Linn Grant?” The answer: An Arizona State commit, Junior Solheim Cupper and former Ladies British Open Amateur champ.

Haylee Harford, Furman; Leavittsburg, Ohio: Came to Furman as one of the top golfers in Ohio and was quickly named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year in 2016. Won the Paladins’ home event in the fall.

Leonie Harm, Houston; Gerlingen, Germany (Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship): Harm’s success story includes the harrowing account of being struck by a drunk driver in 2013 while jogging. She broke ribs, a hip, and an ankle, and suffered a collapsed lung and head injuries but rehabbed single-mindedly to return to golf.

Lauren Hartlage, Louisville; Elizabethtown, Ky.: Humble player, and former ACC Freshmen of the Year, who has a strong bond with mom (and former high school golf coach) Kim. Grew as a person and a player when she and Louisville teammate Olivia Cason ventured to Europe over the summer, where Hartlage finished 17th at the Ladies British Open Amateur.

📰 She's in! Lauren Hartlage will play in the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur in April! #GoCards

🔗 https://t.co/WeqqJfDyxF pic.twitter.com/XTgVkBp8Ya
— UofL Women's Golf (@UofLWGolf) January 11, 2019

Sophie Hausmann, Idaho; Nottuln, Germany: Became the first University of Idaho player ever to qualify for a U.S. Women’s Open in 2018. Made her first hole-in-one with a 5-wood when she was 10 years old.

Alice Hewson, Clemson; Berkhamsted, England: The two-time GB&I Curtis Cupper is exceptionally long off the tee. She set a single-season scoring record with her 72.10 stroke average and became Clemson’s first three-time All-ACC selection last spring.

Emilee Hoffman, Texas; Folsom, Calif.: Named for former LPGA player Emilee Klein, Hoffman has been playing golf since she was 5 and at age 12, caddied for her father Jeff in the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Big win of 2018? The Women’s Western Amateur.

Yu-Chiang Hou, Taipei, Taiwan: Younger sister to Arizona sophomore Yu-Sang Hou, and also committed to Arizona. Often goes by “Vivian.” Most competition has come in professional events in Taiwan, and she won the TLPGA Ladies Open last year.

Yu-Sang Hou, Arizona; Taipai, Taiwan: The 19-year-old brought a sweet disposition to the Wildcat roster as a first-semester freshman last spring that made her a good fit on the NCAA Championship team. Made the cut in two pro events on the LPGA of Taiwan over the summer.

Lily May Humphreys, Sudbury, England: Smooth-swinging, soft-spoken GB&I Curtis Cupper who won the English Girls’ Amateur Stroke Play and the British Girls in the span of a month in 2017.

Jiwon Jeon, Alabama; Daegu, South Korea: Former JuCo superstar (and national champ) who was runner-up in the U.S. Women’s Am a month before setting an Alabama scoring record (17 under for 54 holes) in her second start with the Tide.

Wenyung Keh, Washington; Auckland, New Zealand: Part of Washington’s 2016 title-winning team. Nearly qualified for this championship by winning the Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur, but fell in a playoff.

Dylan Kim, Arkansas; Sachse, Texas: Strong ball-striker, stoic on-course presence, match-play buzz saw. Kim landed in Arkansas by way of Baylor, where she led the Bears to the 2015 NCAA title match.

Gina Kim, Duke; Chapel Hill, N.C.: A former Drive, Chip & Putt finalist from 2015 who is the longest hitter among the four current Duke players in the field. You’ll never catch Kim, a 2018 U.S. Open qualifier, wearing pink socks on the golf course – they’re bad luck.

Had fun meeting with the media today ahead of the @anwagolf 📸🎥🎙#GoDuke l #ANWAgolf l #AugustaNational 🔵😈🏌️‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/m5eWVXRYK8
— Duke Women's Golf (@DukeWGOLF) March 27, 2019

Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest; Westminster, Colo.: Defending NCAA champ lets her game do the talking. The current World No. 1 amateur has a humble personality despite a scary ability to score. Deferred LPGA membership after a runner-up finish at last fall’s LPGA Q-Series.

Seo-yun Kwon, Daejeon, South Korea: Plays mostly in Korea, and made five pro starts on the LPGA of Korea in 2018, missing four cuts but logging one top-30 finish.

Agathe Laisne, Texas; Paris, France: Started her freshman season with the Longhorns as the European Ladies Amateur champion and has since played two LPGA majors. Thrives in a team atmosphere, where Netflix and the Austin food scene have broadened her horizons (hello, sushi).

Tilda Larsson, Barry University; Emmaboda, Sweden: The only Division II golfer in the field. Won an NCAA regional tournament last spring, then was sixth individually at the national championship.

Stephanie Lau, Northwestern; Fullerton, Calif.: A member of the Northwestern team that made a dream run to the 2017 title match in front of a home crowd at Rich Harvest Farms due west of Chicago. The reigning North & South Women’s Amateur champion has also spent time volunteering with the First Tee of Greater Chicago.

Andrea Lee, Stanford; Hermosa Beach, Calif.: Recently won college title No. 8 at Stanford, where she is majoring in Science, Tech and Society. Teammates call her a “machine,” and she’s as easy to get along with as she is successful on the golf course. Read More

Amanda Linner, Onsala, Sweden: The 2017 Annika Invitational Europe winner will play for Arizona State beginning next fall. Made Europe’s Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Solheim Cup over the past two years.

Clarisse Louis, Brussels, Belgium: The 20-year-old competes primarily in Belgium, and counted four tournament wins in 2018, including at the Internationaux de France Trophee Cecile de Rothschild to end the year.

Hee Ying Loy, East Tennessee State; Kulai, Malaysia: Named the Southern Conference Player of the Year as a freshman. The only player in program history to win All-Southern Conference recognition in three seasons.

Olivia Mehaffey, Arizona State; Belfast, Northern Ireland: Extremely competitive Sun Devil who provided the spark in the GB&I Curtis Cup team room. Gritty player, vocal leader, loyal teammate.

Congrats to Sun Devils @OliviaMehaffey & Ale Fanali on their invitation to play the Inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur this April!! So exciting!! Can’t wait!! @anwagolf @SunDevilWGolf pic.twitter.com/sd40kJNOXZ
— Missy Kaye (@missymkaye) January 12, 2019

Emilia Migliaccio, Wake Forest; Cary, N.C.: Smile never dampens, no matter what Migliaccio’s game is doing. Won the Sally and the Harder Hall in back-to-back years after making gains in mental strength with the help of Vision54 coaches. Success runs in the family: mother Ulrika is a former All-American at Arizona from the Annika era. Read more

Haley Moore, Arizona; Escondido, Calif.: Emotional, tournament-tested player who is not afraid to take an aggressive line in the name of scoring. Gained a world of confidence by holing winning putt in Arizona’s 2018 NCAA title run.

Alessia Nobilio, Rozzano, Italy: Nobilio has gone from Florida to Portugal to Spain to Italy already in 2019, with runner-up finishes at the Spanish Ladies Amateur and Italian Ladies Amateur in the past month. Headed to UCLA in 2020.

Tristyn Nowlin, Illinois; Richmond, Ky.: Saved ANWA invitation to open alongside swing coach Jason Eberle. Got her first career college win in October at the Cardinal Cup in her native Kentucky.

Ainhoa Olarra, San Sebastían, Spain: A feisty player who brought spirit and energy to the South Carolina roster. The SEC individual title was a good way to close her college career last spring.

Alexa Pano, Lake Worth, Fla.: The 14-year-old made a run at the title in the Symetra Tour’s 2019 season opener, and likely to make more pro starts as the year goes on. Confident and comfortable on any level, from junior to pro. Starred in the 2013 Netflix documentary, “The Short Game.” Read more

Alexa Pano’s 7-year-old dream will become a reality next week.#ANWAGolf pic.twitter.com/jCeHGlOD8z
— Florida State Golf Association (@fsga) March 28, 2019

Pimnipa Panthong, Kent State; Nakhon Sawan, Thailand: A humble goofball who closed last spring’s college season with four consecutive victories. Known affectionately by teammates as Pim, Slim Pim or Pim Shady. “Pim-isms” keep the Kent State squad laughing.

Kaitlyn Papp, Texas; Austin, Texas: A USGA champion (2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball) who calls her short game her strength. Father Tony was in the Navy, so Papp learned the game as a 6-year-old in Japan. The family moved often, but golf was a constant.

Marta Perez, Florida; Valencia, Spain: A fiery competitor nicknamed “Tita” who is a vocal leader for her Gator teammates. Easy to spot by the yellow VW beetle she drives around Gainesville. Perez’s father, who is also her teacher, will fly in from Spain to caddie.

Anna Redding, Virginia; Concord, N.C.: Made Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” feature in 2014 after winning the North Carolina independent schools’ 3A championship at the end of a season in which she made 63 birdies to raise $20,050 for a Kenyan hospital. Played Augusta National once before as a teenager. Read more

Yuka Saso, Manila, Philippines: The 17-year-old told Golfweek in 2018 that she wanted to be the World No. 1 golfer by age 24. Born in the Philippines but learned the game in Japan. Has committed to Georgia.

Brooke Seay, San Diego, Calif.: The Stanford commit won the 2017 Annika Invitational for a start in that spring’s Symetra Tour season opener, where she finished top 30. Made the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open later that year.

Erica Shepherd, Greenwood, Ind.: Focused, hard-working Duke signee with lots of Midwest heart. Scored breakthrough victory at 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior (in a classy rise above “gimmegate” hysteria) and now on the verge of leaving junior golf behind.

Have always dreamed of playing at Augusta National... and now that has become a reality. Thank you so much @anwagolf for making this possible #TGBTG pic.twitter.com/nutXEK7E9T
— Erica Shepherd (@ericashepherd35) January 11, 2019

Ellie Slama, Oregon State; Salem, Ore.: In high school, Slama won every high school golf tournament she teed it up in as a sophomore, junior and senior. Has won twice so far in college, and is the reigning Oregon Amateur champion.

Mariah Smith, Tennessee; Clarksville, Tenn.: Won the Tennessee Women’s Amateur over the summer, and will bring her caddie from that event, former high school golf coach J.T. Batson, to Augusta. Also plays the piano and base clarinet.

Julienne Soo, Oklahoma; South Yarra, Australia: A former member of the Australian national team whose earliest Masters memories involve getting up in the middle of the night to watch the broadcast from the other side of the world. As a junior last season, Soo tied the lowest season scoring average in program history.

Emma Spitz, Goellersdorf, Austria (Girls’ British Open Amateur Championship): Besides the win that got her to Augusta, Spitz also won consecutive Austrian Ladies Stroke Play titles in 2015 and ’16.

Natalie Srinivasan, Furman; Spartanburg, S.C.: Qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2017, the same spring she won the Southern Conference individual title.

Maja Stark, Abbekas, Sweden: Three top-5 finishes in Swedish professional events in 2018, including a runner-up at the Anna Nordqvist Vasteras Open.

Kaleigh Telfer, Auburn; Kyalami, South Africa: Represented her province in cricket and is passionate about wildlife and wildlife photography. The 2016 South African Amateur winner made last year’s SEC All-Freshman Team.

Brigitte Thibault, Fresno State; Rosemère, Canada: The only Canadian in the field. Thibault gave up competitive cheerleading at age 15 in favor of golf, qualified for the LPGA Tour’s CN Canadian Women’s Open two years later and now will play Augusta National.

Atthaya Thitikul, Ratchaburi, Thailand (Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific): Thai’s next golf sensation, Thitikul, 16, followed her Asia-Pacific win (which she won after a four-woman playoff, by the way) by making the cut at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. Won a Ladies European Tour event at age 14.

Beatrice Wallin, Florida State; Olofstorp, Sweden: Describes herself as kind, honest and always laughing, but also admits to having a bad memory. The Seminole freshman names Annika Sorenstam as an idol, and in 20 rounds with the team, has broken 70 four times.

Next off is Freshman Beatrice Wallin. 🍢🍢 Go Noles! pic.twitter.com/xpqnNFsOnO
— Amy Bond (@CoachBondFSU) September 9, 2018

Yuka Yasuda, Kobe, Japan: Competes primarily in Japan, and claimed her biggest 2018 victories at the Toyota Junior World Cup and Australian Master of the Amateurs.

Lei Ye, Shanghai, China: Harder Hall runner-up who more often goes by “Angelina.” Stanford commit attended IMG Academy, but lived in China for 13 years. Fluent in English and Chinese.

Jessica Yuen, Missouri; Bollingbrook, Ill.: The next-to-last woman in the field after another competitor withdrew with an injury. The Mizzou junior is a former basketball player who hits a mean flop shot and feels most comfortable with a driver in hand.

Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif.: After winning last year’s ANA Junior Inspiration for a spot in the LPGA’s season-opening major, Zhang was featured in Teen Vogue. The 15-year-old calls Sung-Hyung Park her golf idol.

About the Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA)

What does it take to earn this invitation? Here are 72 answers

54-hole stroke-play tournament that will include a 72 player international field. The field will include winners of other recognized tournaments while also utilizing the Women's World Amateur Golf Rankings. The first two rounds will be played at Cham...

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