DURHAM – For the third straight time the Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA) is contested, the Duke women's golf program will have multiple team members competing as
Phoebe Brinker and
Erica Shepherd are set to tee off Wednesday in the first round.
The ANWA will be contested March 30 through April 2 in Augusta, Ga. An international field of 72 women amateurs will compete over 54 holes of stroke play. A cut will take place after 36 holes, advancing the leading 30 players to the final round at Augusta National Golf Club. In the event of a tie after 54 holes, the winner will be decided by sudden-death playoff.
The first 36 holes will be played over two days on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., March 30 and 31, 2022. The entire field will then play Augusta National for an official practice round Friday, April 1. The final round will take place at Augusta National on Saturday, April 2 and will feature the top 30 competitors who made the cut.
In 2019, Duke featured five golfers in the inaugural ANWA competition – Shepherd, Virginia Elena Carta,
Gina Kim,
Jaravee Boonchant and Ana Belac. The Blue Devils then featured three golfers in the 2021 ANWA competition with Boonchant, Kim and Shepherd.
Over the three years of action, Duke has produced 10 individuals that have competed, or will compete, with the other top amateur golfers in the country.
Brinker, who hails from Wilmington, Del., will see action in her first ANWA, after turning in a solid freshman campaign in which she earned Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-America accolades. She became just the second Duke freshman to finish in the top-five at the NCAA Championship and posted a Blue Devil freshman record with an 18-hole ledger of 64 at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.
Seeing action in the ANWA for a third time, Shepherd has carded a tied for 16th finish in 2021 and tied for 21st placement in 2019. Shepherd, a native of Greenwood, Ind., was a 2021 WGCA All-America selection and a current ANNIKA Award Watch List honoree. She recently practiced with other potential 2022 Curtis Cup squad members and helped lead the United States to a victory in the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup.
Shepherd is one of nine golfers that have made the cut in the first two ANWA events – Allisen Corpuz, Caterina Don, Olivia Mehaffey, Emma Spitz, Maja Stark, Kaleigh Telfer, Beatrice Wallin and Rose Zhang. Along with Shepherd only Spitz, Wallin and Zhang are in the 2022 field.
Wednesday's tee times will have Shepherd getting things started at 8:42 a.m., along with Irene Kim and Amalie Leth-Nissen on hole No. 10, while Brinker will open action at 9:30 a.m., off hole No. 1 with Kirsten Rudgeley and Caitlyn Macnab.
Provided she remain an amateur, the 2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur Champion will receive an invitation to the next five Augusta National Women's Amateurs, the 2022 U.S. Women's Open, the 2022 Women's British Open, and any USGA, R&A and PGA of America amateur championships for which she is eligible for one year.
NBC Sports will produce and broadcast three hours of live final-round coverage at Augusta National from Noon – 3 p.m. EDT on April 2, 2022. NBC Sports will also provide pre-event promotion across NBCUniversal's portfolio, while Golf Channel will deliver highlights, live reports and news coverage throughout the event, including onsite during the first two competitive rounds at Champions Retreat. Additionally, Golf Channel's "Live From the Masters" will commence on Friday, April 1 from Augusta National and wrap ANWA coverage on Saturday, April 2 and the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals on Sunday, April 3.
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