Before the Masters kicks off next week, Augusta National will play host to the seventh edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, a tournament that continues to grow as one of the most prestigious amateur tournaments of the year.
This year, 48 of the top 50 female amateurs are set to tee it up in the event, which features two rounds at nearby Champions Retreat before a practice round at Augusta National with the final round hosted there Saturday as well.
Here are five players to watch.
Asterisk Talley
Even though Spain’s Carla Martin Escuder triumphed at last year’s event, it’s impossible to forget the performance that Talley put on in the final round. She eagled the first hole and went on to shoot 68, losing to Martin Escuder by a single stroke.
The 17-year-old, who is making her third appearance in the event, is now squarely inside the top 10 of the world amateur rankings and has all the makings of an ANWA winner. Her length off the tee is prodigious and she has shown her ability to navigate Augusta’s slopes and greens with plenty of savvy. It would be a shock if Talley isn’t in contention come the final round.
Kiara Romero
She is the No. 1 player in the world for a reason. The Oregon Duck has been the top-ranked amateur since July of last year, has five wins to her name and won the McCormack Medal last year as well.
This is Romero’s third ANWA start — she missed the cut in 2024 and finished T-7 last year and has only upped her game since. She’s a junior who already seems primed to turn professional soon; she shot a final-round 67 in last year’s U.S. Women’s Open and she’ll play in at least two majors this year. An ANWA win would add to her already prestigious résumé.
The Stanford Five
I’m cheating a bit here, but it makes too much sense to put all five of these players together given they are not only all on the same college team, but they also make up the other top four spots inside the top five of the amateur rankings.
Spain’s Paula Martin Sampedro tops them all at No. 2. The junior won the 2025 British Women’s Amateur and has the game to thrive at Augusta National. Sampedro’s countrywoman, Andrea Revuelta comes in at No. 3 in the world and with good reason — the sophomore has three wins to her name already and has a flair for getting hot on the golf course quickly. If she starts seeing birdies go in, watch out.
Not many people in this field, if any, have a professional win under their belts but Sweden’s Meja Örtengren does. The sophomore is the youngest of the Stanford group and won a Ladies European Tour event last year. Megha Ganne and Kelly Xu, both seniors, round out the Cardinal group with a combined seven ANWA starts between them. Ganne, who is the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and four-time Drive, Chip and Putt champ, is looking to end her Augusta career with a bang.
Rianne Malixi
There was a lot of excitement about Malixi’s potential going into last year’s ANWA debut as she was coming off a historic year — she was only the second player in history to win both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same year and she wasn’t even in school yet. But Malixi had to withdraw from the tournament with a back injury.
Now a freshman at Duke, where she already shot a course-record 63, the golfer from the Philippines is healthy and ready to take on Augusta National. Unlike the other players on this list, she may not have the experience, but she clearly has the talent to win.
Elia Galitsky
Many remember Talley’s final round last year but Galitsky’s wasn’t just better, it was historic. Her 66 was the lowest score ever recorded in a championship final round at Augusta National. The Thai wunderkind who won the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at 17 is the eighth-ranked amateur in the world, a sophomore at South Carolina, and already has proof that she can go low at this event.
