EVANS, Ga. — Scorecards were as colorful as a Jackson Pollock painting during the first round of the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, with just five players of the 72 under par after the opening 18 holes.
Tied at 2 under atop the leaderboard are Alabama sophomore Benedetta Moresco and 16-year-old Anna Davis, who each signed for 2-under 70 at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia.
“It was good out there today. I had really good putts from all around the green,” explained Moresco, who’s making her second ANWA appearance. “My key was keeping, like being patient on the golf course. I think that was the key.”
Moresco won The Ally earlier this year with the Tide in addition to three other top-10 finishes following a 2021 that featured SEC Freshman of the Year and first team all-conference honors. Her older sister, Angelica, also plays for Alabama. Currently ranked No. 2 on the AJGA Rolex Rankings, Davis won the Girls Junior PGA Championship last July to earn her first ANWA invite.
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The trio of Michigan junior Hailey Borja, LSU junior Ingrid Lindblad, and China’s Xiaowen Yin are a shot back, T-3 at 1 under. China’s Liqi Zeng, Arizona State senior Alexandra Forsterling, and LSU junior Latanna Stone are T-6 at even par.
“My putting went really well. That’s basically what saved me all day,” explained Borja. “My caddie was really helpful with my yardages today, so a lot of good shots, but mostly my putting I think was best today.”
“I started off by missing two greens. I was like, ‘maybe this is how it’s going to be today,’” echoed Lindblad, who recently set a program record with her eighth collegiate win. “Just putted them off the fringe and made up and downs. It was kind of like that all day. Like I missed a few greens but still made up and down. It was pretty solid.”