Anna Davis, a 16-year-old who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in early April, will make her LPGA Tour debut next week at the inaugural Palos Verdes Championship.
Davis accepted a sponsor’s exemption to the California tournament, which starts on April 28, following her impressive showing at the Augusta National amateur tournament.
She finished as the only competitor under par for the April tournament. She shot a round of 69 at the famed course and came from two shots behind in the final round to become the youngest winner in the tournament’s history.
She is joined at Palos Verdes by Wake Forest junior Rachel Kuehn, who also received an exemption.
Nine of the world’s top 10 players are slated to play in the event next week. Nelly Korda, who is ranked second in the world, remains out indefinitely after having surgery on a blood clot in her arm. The final field for the tournament is expected later this week.
Anna Davis, a high school sophomore from Spring Valley, Calif., was the only golfer to finish under par at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Saturday, winning the tournament with a final-round 69.
Anna Davis wins the 2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur! #ANWAgolf pic.twitter.com/3kaAQ5aarA
— Augusta National Women's Amateur (@anwagolf) April 2, 2022
The 16-year-old pulled ahead of overnight co-leader Latanna Stone, beating her by one stroke at one-under par. Stone double-bogeyed the 17th hole and bogeyed No. 18, leaving Davis, who was already in the clubhouse, as the day’s champion.
Davis is only the second teenager to capture the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, after Tsubasa Kajitani won the title in 2021.
Davis, ranked second in the AJGA Rolex Rankings, also won the Girls Junior PGA Championship in July.