AUGUSTA, Ga. — With a historic number of Cardinal in the field, top-ranked Stanford women's golf shined during the opening round of the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur. Five Cardinal find themselves above the cut line through the first round, with the field shrinking at the conclusion of Thursday's second round.
Putting the field on notice from the opening tee was incoming Cardinal Nora Sundberg, who made history on the front nine Wednesday. Sundberg was tied for the lead through nine holes after shooting 4-under. Prior to Wednesday, no golfer in the history of the Augusta National Women's Amateur had shot 4-under through the first nine holes. However, Sundberg was joined by Ashley Menne and Kiara Romero in accomplishing that feat.
Ashley Menne, Nora Sundberg and Kiara Romero become the first three players in Augusta National Women's Amateur history to play their first nine holes of at -4 or better.#ANWAgolf pic.twitter.com/hEEIjzuyTN
— Augusta National Women's Amateur (@anwagolf) April 3, 2024
Still, Sundberg was able to put herself in a great spot to advance following the second round. She finished with a 2-under 70 in her debut at the Augusta National Women's Amateur, which put her tied for 12th.
Joining Sundberg at 2-under was Megha Ganne, who returned to the event for the fourth time in her young career. Ganne had one of her most steady rounds of the entire season on Wednesday, with birdies on the third and 14th holes, and avoiding any bogeys. She is no stranger to the stage at Augusta, having been a finalist four times in the Drive, Chip and Putt event that takes place at Augusta National.
The biggest improvement of the day came from Rachel Heck, who was over par through her first nine holes, but then fired off three birdies on the back half of her day to finish with a 1-under 71, tying her first 21st overall. Heck has thrived on this stage before, finishing in a tie for third in the 2021 Augusta National Women's Amateur, and is in line to see the Augusta greens again on Saturday.
Round one at @anwagolf is in the books! Three Card have made their way up the leaderboard with great first rounds ??#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/XcPrJtXIIK
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) April 3, 2024
Stanford has the defending champion of the event, after Rose Zhang beat Jenny Bae in a two-hole playoff one year ago to win the fourth installment of the event. Ganne joined Zhang in the final round after making the cut.
Following the second round at Champions Retreat Golf Club, the top-30 will survive the cut and advance to the final round on Saturday, which takes place at Augusta National. The entire field will take part in a practice round at the home The Master's on Friday. The second round will be televised on Golf Channel, with the final round airing on NBC.
Augusta National Women's Invitational (par 72)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T12. Nora Sundberg | 70 (-2) | -- | -- | 70 (-2) |
| T12. Megha Ganne | 70 (-2) | -- | -- | 70 (-2) |
| T21. Rachel Heck | 71 (-1) | -- | -- | 71 (-1) |
| T29. Paula Martín Sampedro | 72 (E) | -- | -- | 72 (E) |
| T29. Andrea Revuelta | 72 (E) | -- | -- | 72 (E) |
| T44. Meja Örtengren | 74 (+2) | -- | -- | 74 (+2) |
| T57. Sadie Englemann | 76 (+4) | -- | -- | 76 (+4) |
| T57. Leigh Chien | 76 (+4) | -- | -- | 76 (+4) |
| T64. Kelly Xu | 77 (+5) | -- | -- | 77 (+5) |