Daily Times

WASHINGTON: California high-schooler Anna Davis won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Saturday as the iconic Georgia course prepared to host the Masters. The 16-year-old put herself in contention with two birdies around Amen Corner, Augusta’s 11th, 12th and 13th holes, on the way to a three-under-par 69 that was good enough for the trophy when Latanna Stone dropped three shots in the last two holes. Stone, a junior at Louisiana State University, appeared poised for victory when her tee shot at the par-three 16th rolled two feet from the cup. Her sixth birdie of the day put her at three-under.

In the fairway at 17 she came up short of the green, pitched over the bunker and three-putted for a double-bogey before pushing her drive on the way to a bogey at 18. She finished with an even par 72 and an even par three-round total of 216, tied for second with Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad, who shot the round of the day of four-under 68. Davis, a left-hander from San Diego, was the only player to finish under par, with a one-under total of 215 after two rounds at Champions Retreat golf club followed by a final round featuring the top 30 on the leaderboard at Augusta. Davis who has yet to get her driver’s license but has featured in Junior Solheim Cup and was elected to a Junior Ryder Cup team. Her seven-stroke victory in the Girls Junior PGA Championship in July earned her an invitation to the Augusta event. Davis’s birdie at the 12th put her back at even par and she birdied the par-five 13th. Lindblad, Stone’s collegiate teammate at LSU, had two eagles and three birdies in her final round, but was in a fairway bunker at 18 and couldn’t salvage a par to drop into the tie for second.