This year marks the seventh edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, it is a tournament that, although still young, has quickly entwined itself within the lore of Augusta. The ‘ANWA’, as it is more commonly called, will again be 54 holes of stroke play golf, with a winner crowned on the Saturday before the Masters on the iconic grounds of Augusta National.
48 out of the world’s top 50 players are part of the 72 person field this year, the depth of talent is arguably deeper than the Mariana trench, a depth that only James Cameron would take a submersible down to.
They’ve given the talented young women, who have been fortunate enough to be invited, a tremendous platform board to spring off. Think of the current careers that previous winners such as Jennifer Kupcho, Rose Zhang and Lottie Woad are currently having, now all tour winners and in Kupcho’s case a major champion.
For the audience at home the ANWA is allowing young girls to dream, Augusta is now paired up with their golfing aspirations, they’re holing out on practice greens thinking “this putt is to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur”. Visually seeing the best female amateurs in the game walk the same fairways as the men, hit the shots and sink the putts is nothing short of deeply inspiring for the future generations.
The winner of this year’s tournament receives invitations to the next five ANWAs, the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera CC and The AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes. They will also receive full exemptions into a litany of R&A and USGA sanctioned amateur events (provided their amateur status is upheld).
The first two rounds of the tournament are played at Champions Retreat Golf Club in nearby Evans, Georgia. Champions Retreat was a collaboration between golf’s iconic “Big Three”, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. Each of those titans of the game designed their own 9-hole loop making it one of the most unique 27-hole complexes out there. For the tournament itself they use the ‘Bluff’ and ‘Island’ 9’s designed by Nicklaus and Palmer (sorry Mr. Player). The course sets up as par 72 playing just over 6,300 yards, featuring false fronted greens with intricate breaks and a lot of strategy off the tee.
For the final round of the tournament, they head across to Augusta National. It is safe to say as a club and a layout it doesn’t need an introduction; it is obvious to even the most casual of golf fans at this stage that ‘Amen Corner’ is a part of the golf course and not a designated zone for prayer within a random Methodist church in Swanage. The tournament committee sets the course up at 6,365 yards, effectively the member tees, for context The Masters tournament is currently played at around 7,435 yards.
On the Friday before the final round there is an opportunity for the whole field to play a practice round at Augusta National and experience all its wonder, mystique and beauty. It also offers a brilliant opportunity for family members and players to attack the pro shop, committing vandalism to their personal finances in the name of merchandise. It is great that even though a player may have missed the cut, they still get a special opportunity to play the course and make memories with friends and loved ones on the sacred grounds.
As I mentioned earlier the field is exceptionally deep, with 23 countries represented from all corners of the globe. The GB&I hopes rest with Ireland’s Beth Coulter and England’s Patience Rhodes, who will both look to follow in Lottie Woad’s footsteps in winning.
Let’s look below at a few of the players that are well worth keeping a close eye on this week…
Farah O’Keefe
Age: 20
Photo by Ross Parker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images – 2025 Women’s Amateur Championship at Nairn Golf Club
O’Keefe has been on an absolute heater of late for the University of Texas. Farah has won three of her last four collegiate events, which include the Moon Golf Invitational, Betsy Rawls Invitational and… the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (yes, it was founded by the lead singer of Hootie and The Blowfish). She will be playing in her third ANWA this year and it isn’t hard to imagine her improving on her 10th place finish in 2025 with this current run of form. She is mentally watertight during pressure situations and coupled with her prolific scoring ability, Farah could be lifting the trophy come the conclusion of play this year.
Asterisk Talley
Age: 17
Photo by Cookie Jar Golf – 2024 Curtis Cup at Sunningdale Golf Club
Talley is fresh off her win at the Sage Valley Invitational, which took place just down the road from Augusta a fortnight ago. Asterisk has a demeanour that is so cool that it makes Fred Couples look ‘stiff’, she also, like Couples, chooses not to play with a golf glove. Talley is making her third Championship start in 2026. At the ANWA she has finished inside the top 10 in each of the past two years and last April, she closed with a final-round 68 at Augusta National Golf Club to finish runner-up and one stroke behind the winner. She started her tournament schedule in 2026 by winning both the Fortinet Stanford Invitational in California in February (where she will play her college golf) and the Girls’ Junior Invitational in South Carolina in March. Last year, the four-time junior All-American and 2026 United States National Junior Team member won the Girls’ Junior PGA Championship in Indiana. Since 2024, she has represented the United States in the Curtis Cup, Junior Solheim Cup and Junior Ryder Cup. In 2018 and 2022, she also finished inside the top five in her age division in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National.
Eila Galitsky
Age: 19
Photo by Yong Teck Lim/R&A/R&A via Getty Images – 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship on The New Course at The Singapore Island Country Club
Eila makes her fourth start this year in the ANWA field this year. She shot a final round 66 at Augusta National last year which gave her a fourth place finish. Galitsky has a ton of pedigree, she won the 2023 Women’s Asia Pacific Amateur in Singapore in impressive fashion, she also has two Thai LPGA victories to her name as well as a gold medal from the 2023 South East Asian Games. She attends the University of South Carolina currently and has racked up two collegiate victories thus far. Eila has an enviable action that is technically beautiful and incredibly powerful.
Raegan Denton
Age: 18
Photo by Hagen Hopkins/R&A/R&A via Getty Images – 2026 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship at Royal Wellington Golf Club
The ‘Sand-belt savant’ Raegan is making her debut in this tournament but is very familiar with the winners circle. In January, she won the Women’s Australian Master of the Amateurs and finished tied fourth in the Women’s Vic Open. Last year, she won four World Amateur Golf Ranking events, including the Australian Girls’ Amateur and Victorian Women’s Amateur. She also finished third in both the Asia-Pacific Girls’ Junior Championship in Hong Kong and Australian Women’s Amateur and represented her country in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore in 2025. In 2024, she won the Queensland Women’s Amateur and finished runner-up in the Australian Girls’ Amateur. She will be looking to have the sort of relationship with Augusta that her fellow Aussie Adam Scott has had and not the PTSD Greg Norman famously became fluent in. She’s recently committed to play college golf for Louisiana State University, Geux Tigers!
Anna Davis
Age: 20
Photo by Ross Parker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images – 2025 Women’s Amateur Championship at Nairn Golf Club
The 2022 winner, bucket hat icon and Titleist MB player comes into her 5th ANWA this year having won the opening two events of her college season. Her next two outings after winning in 2022 featured rules infractions that I’m sure R&A rules official David Bonsall would consider to be light cardio. In 2023 she was docked two strokes under rule 9.4 for playing from the wrong place and in 2024 she received a one-shot penalty for slow play… she missed the cut by 1 that year. Hopefully this year no rules are broken and she can look to become the first two-time winner of the event. Her canny ability to make birdies around Augusta and experience means she should have a massive role in the storyline in 2026 should she make the cut. She’s also a lefty, and we all know how much that matters at Augusta National.
Photo by Cookie Jar Golf – 2024 Curtis Cup at Sunningdale Golf Club
Rianne Malixi
Age: 19
Photo by Daniel Pockett/R&A/R&A via Getty Images – 2026 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship at Royal Wellington Golf Club
Rianne became a household name in amateur golfing circles after winning both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2024, that was the first time since 2016 that someone had won both in the same calendar year. Malixi had a bad back to start 2025 which meant she couldn’t capitalise on that form by bringing it to Augusta last year. Her back troubles did knock her confidence and plagued her iron play, but that looks to be in the past. Rianne recently claimed a third-place finish at the 2026 Women’s Asia Pacific Amateur in New Zealand and won the ‘Sea Best Intercollegiate’ for Duke University. It will be her second appearance in the event. Having missed the cut in her debut in 2024, she’s just too much of a baller for that to happen again.
Soomin Oh
Age: 17
Photo by Daniel Pockett/R&A/R&A via Getty Images – 2026 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship at Royal Wellington Golf Club
Soomin Oh has achieved a lot at such a young age. She is already a two-time winner of the Korean Women’s Amateur (2024 & 2025). In 2024 Soomin won the World Junior Girls Championship which was played in Canada and also captured the prestigious Queen Sirikit Cup in Japan. So far in 2026 she has finished in 2nd place in three of her last 4 events this year; the Taiwan Amateur Championship, Women’s New South Wales Open and Women’s Asia Pacific Amateur, damn good form. Soomin Oh is undoubtedly going to be following Inbee Park, Ko Jin-young and Hyo Joo Kim as the next Korean golfing star, she is just that talented.