From Practicing Law in Boston to Augusta for ANWA; Brinker Excited for Opportunity

DURHAM, N.C.-- For former Duke women's golfer Phoebe Brinker golf has been a very enjoyable extension of her life. While she has had great success in the sport, she has learned that golf is just one phase of her life. Using that platform to make her the person she has become and is still becoming.

With that being said, her golfing accomplishments have allowed her one of the best bragging lines in golf. So how many times have you played Augusta? – Four times.

Brinker will be one of six Blue Devils at the Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA) played at the historic Augusta National Golf Club in April.

This will be her fourth appearance at Augusta having played in 2022, 2023 and 2024 previously.

She will be joined by junior Andie Smith, sophomore Katie Li, 2024 graduate Emma McMyler, as well as incoming freshmen Avery McCrery and Rianne Malixi. The event is set to take place April 2-3 at Champions Retreat Golf Club and April 5 at Augusta National Golf Club.

Li, Smith and McCrery will compete in the ANWA for the first time in their career, while Malixi and McMyler will see action in their second and Brinker for the fourth time.

Beginning the week prior to the Masters Tournament, an international field of 72 women amateurs 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 contested over two days on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. The entire field will then play Augusta National for an official practice round Friday, April 4. The final round will take place at Augusta National on Saturday, April 5 and will feature the top 30 competitors who made the cut.

The six Duke participants this year surpasses the first competition in 2019 with five Blue Devils – Erica Shepherd, Virginia Elena Carta, Gina Kim, Jaravee Boonchant and Ana Belac. Over the five years of action, Duke will now have a total of 21 players who have competed in this event.

For Brinker this will be a very interesting tournament, since she is currently a paralegal in Boston. Working toward a law degree doesn't give her quite as much time as she once had to hone her golfing skills.

"I played a couple of tournaments this summer, but it's tough," she explained. "Living in a city and keeping up a hobby like golf in the cold winters is tough. I have worked some over the winter with a simulator and played a couple of weeks recently in Florida, so the game is coming around."

The entire Augusta Women's National Amateur as a whole -- the dinner at the club, the competition, the playing at August National with your teammates is all very special to Brinker.
Phoebe Brinker

"It's like a reward of all of the years that I put into this and all the time and effort that my family and just everybody has made for my golf to be able to have an experience like this," said Brinker.

"Now I have maybe a different perspective than I did earlier in my career," she said. "Just being a little more removed from the game. I think I have so much appreciation for it. I still have so much fun playing a round of golf now. Not that I ever didn't, but it was just like my daily routine, and it was always about scoring and very competitive, which I loved. But I think about it now and I have a different perspective, where it's like great, social time, time to connect with people and just something I love and a hobby of mine. So, there's just a different perspective now maybe, but I definitely want to keep playing competitively as well."

Prior to her arrival in Durham, Brinker leaned on the game of golf and the connections she had made through the sport to help others who loved the game as much as she did but might not have the same resources or had been adversely affected by COVID-19. She joined forces with fellow golfer Taylor Roberts, and with the help of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Leadership Links, they hosted the "2020 Senior Cup" – a Ryder Cup style match-play tournament as a final "send-off" for high school seniors after their final golf seasons were canceled by the pandemic. Roberts and Brinker raised over $40,000 for the Emergency Golf Relief Fund and the AJGA's Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) grant.

"Throughout the process of hosting the Senior Cup, I realized the possibility of utilizing my fortunate position as a college golfer to impact lives," said Brinker. "After seeing the state of the world around me, I knew I wanted to use golf to make a difference, especially for juniors with the potential to earn scholarships and golf industry professionals who struggled to make ends meet due to COVID. I am so honored I was able to build on relationships that golf has given me to give back to the sport. Both the AJGA ACE grant and the Emergency Golf Relief Fund are two incredible charities grounded in making golf accessible for everyone, a mission which I am extremely passionate about."

Brinker was awarded the Tom Cousins Award in the fall of 2021 in recognition of those fundraising efforts prior to joining Duke as well as her work her freshman year with the Birdies for Babies program the Blue Devils sponsor every year to raise money for the Duke Children's Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units.

She has a strong legacy of golf in her family with her aunt, Suzy McGuire Whaley. Whaley was a trailblazer in women's golf and played at North Carolina. She became the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for an event on the PGA Tour in 2003 when she qualified for the Greater Hartford Open

With all that as a backdrop in her life she is now looking forward to heading to Georgia and enjoying her time at Augusta.

"I'm really looking forward to showing up and walking on the property at Augusta," the Blue Devil All-America said." Even if it's my second, third or fourth time, I'm just like, wow, this is such an unbelievable experience, I never dreamt I would have. It's just so special and so surreal. I remember the first time I played the course; I was so struck by how pristine it was and how quiet and just peaceful it was."

"And then being exactly where you've seen some of the most famous shots," she continued. "You're standing on the tee box and you're like, oh my gosh, all
of the best players throughout history have played here."

Her strolls around August with her teammates have included some memorable moments.

"The tee shot on 18, was a lot tighter than I thought it would be, but my most memorable hole is 13," Brinker explained. "I eagled it last year. Two good swings and on the green my caddy said aim here and I said no way, but I trusted him and made the eagle putt."

Another in a long line of incredible moments in her Duke career. Moments that are all very special.

"I just grew so much as a person through those four years," said the Wilmington, Del., native. "And really figured out what means a lot to me and what I value and met the best people at college who, I've stayed in touch with and given me so many lifelong friends. Being a college athlete, I gained so many skills, soft skills that I use every single day in my life now. It instilled so much discipline and I am so grateful for the experience."

Looking back, Brinker had a solid first season at Duke, posting the 10th-lowest scoring average in Duke history by a freshman while helping the Blue Devils capture the ACC title and advance to the NCAA Championship semifinals. A great start to her college experience.

"There was just so much more to it than just the golf, but the golf is what got me there," said Brinker who had multiple top 10 finishes in NCAA Championship play. "And obviously I'm just so thankful for coach for recruiting me when I was 14 and, putting his faith in me and trusting that I could represent the school well. It just instilled so many, skills in my life that I'm using every single day in my job."

One of 10 Blue Devils in the storied history of the women's golf program to record multiple top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships while standing ninth all-time at Duke in scoring average, Brinker graduated ranked first in Blue Devil lore in eagles (10), tied for fifth in birdies (351), seventh in rounds in the 60s (16) and seventh with 53 rounds of even or under par.

"What sort of motivated me I guess is my parents and my upbringing," said Brinker about her decision to pursue law. "I never really was only a golfer or only an athlete. I was always really motivated in school, and I always had things going on outside of my sport. Having a balanced upbringing was really formative for me."

Her sophomore year was a memorable one as she won the ACC Individual title. The final hole at The Reserve Golf Course in Pawleys Island, S.C., is one of her favorites as she was able to enjoy the moment with a comfortable lead.
Women's Golf, Phoebe Brinker

That weekend was a turning point for Brinker in head coach Dan Brooks' eyes. She captured her first tournament win as a Blue Devil and did so in commanding fashion, winning by six strokes and setting a Duke record with her 54-hole score of 206.

"It's a great win for Phoebe," said Brooks after the tournament. "It's been fun to watch her not only realize her talents but also handle the limelight. She showed tremendous poise this week."

Brinker will now be able to use that poise, not only in the courtroom someday, but to enjoy and understand what it all means as she strolls onto the hallowed grounds of Augusta National for one more very special round of golf.

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