LPGA experience leads Anna Davis back to Augusta National Women’s Amateur

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — A lot can happen in a year.

Just ask 17-year-old Anna Davis.

The 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion has quickly become a household name in the sport and spent last year competing against some big fish.

“I think in many ways. I’ve gotten to play in new tournaments; you know I played on tour for a few months,” she said. “Just new experiences, in general, that I haven’t had before and building new connections on and off the golf course have been super cool. Getting to meet new people and all of it has changed for the better, for sure.”

Davis made seven LPGA Tour starts last year, starting with the Palos Verdes Championship last April. Her best finish came just two weeks later at the Cognizant Founders Cup (T-50) in Clifton, New Jersey. She made the cut in five times, missing just the U.S. Women’s Open and the AIG Women’s Open.

The 2024 Auburn commit spent last week preparing at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, a tournament in which she finished third in her debut a year ago. According to Davis, who won the 2023 event in impressive fashion, there are significant parallels between the courses at Sage Valley and Augusta National that played into her success in 2022.

“The whole vibe of Sage Valley is very much like Augusta, so I think that kind of helped me last year,” she said. “This tournament is two weeks before Augusta and I think that helped last year, for sure, being in the same type of environment.”

One thing that always seems to stand out among ANWA competitors is that watching Augusta on television doesn’t do the course justice. The distance, elevation changes and fast greens are something one has to experience firsthand. For many, it’s a jarring realization given a single practice round.

“To be honest, I didn’t know much about the course. I really hadn’t seen the course much at all, like on tv or anything, until I played the practice round,” she said. “That’s kind of where I gained all my knowledge about it. I didn’t have prior information to playing the event.”

Davis isn’t the 16-year-old competitor we saw last year. She’s won at Augusta, played on tour and has played well in the amateur ranks coming into the ANWA….