ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s Jenny Bae is among 72 of the world’s top golfers set to open play at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Wednesday. Following 36 holes of stroke play at Champions Retreat Golf Club on Wednesday and Thursday, the field will be cut to 30 golfers for Saturday’s final round at famed Augusta National Golf Club.
“This tournament is honestly a dream come true for every female amateur out there,” Bae said following Tuesday’s practice round. “Only the Master’s is played here, and the people who play in the Master’s are pretty much all professionals. Now, we’re given the same chance to play Augusta National. It’s an honor for sure.”
Bae, a senior from Suwanee, Ga., earned her spot in the field by being one of the 30 highest ranked U.S. golfers based on the final World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) for 2021. She was the 13th-ranked American at that time.
Bae will tee off at 9:42 on Wednesday and be paired with Alexandra Fosterling, a senior from Arizona State, and Annabell Fuller, a junior at Florida. She is the fourth Georgia golfer to compete in the event, following teammates Caterina Don, who participated in both 2019 and 2021, and Isabella Holpfer and Candice Mahé, who played in last year’s ANWA.
“When Caterina and Candice and Isabella all played in it last year I had a sudden urge to play here,” Bae said. “I thought that if they could make it, I could make it too.”
Bae was one of 10 golfers in the field for last weekend’s Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic who made the trip from Athens to Augusta on Sunday. Though the competition won’t begin until Wednesday, the tournament already has made a big impression.
“Everything has been on a completely different level,” Bae said. “It brings out a whole different mood, a completely different feeling. I can’t wait to step out on the course.
“I’ve watched the Master’s ever since I was little on television, and I’ve always had it in the back of my head that it would be a dream to play at Augusta National. It’s been one of my biggest goals as a golfer to play in this tournament, and I’m very happy I’ve made it.”
While the first two rounds of the tournament will be contested at Champions Retreat, every competitor will play a practice round at Augusta National on Friday. Bae is one of the few golfers in the field who has already played Augusta National, doing so with her Georgia teammates in 2019.
“I was in awe,” Bae said. “There were so many thoughts in my head. We were driving there I was thinking ‘I’m about to go warm up on the same tee box and play the same holes that I’ve seen so many times on TV.’“
The season, Bae leads Georgia in stroke average at 72.59, with 10 par-or-better efforts in 22 total rounds. Bae has recorded two top-10 and five top-20 individual finishes in seven tournaments completed, including a third-place showing at the Cougar Classic and a fourth-place effort at the Columbia Classic.
Last spring, Bae enjoyed a strong finish to the 2021 collegiate season. She was named All-America and All-SEC after securing medalist honors at the NCAA Columbus Regional, where she shot 4-under 210 en route to a three-stroke victory. Bae’s performance also led Georgia to the team title in Columbus.
Bae then enjoyed a stellar summer campaign, headlined by a trio of victories in a one-week span from June 30-July 5. After wining the Georgia Women’s Amateur by a five-stroke margin on June 30, Bae won the Georgia Women’s Open by two shots on July 2. Three days later, she earned medalist honors at a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier. All told, Bae shot 22-under over 108 holes in those events.
At the U.S. Women’s Amateur, Bae finished 12th in stroke play qualifying and then advanced to the Round of 16 of match play before falling to eventual champion Jensen Castle.
Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament at anwagolf.com. Golf Channel will deliver on-site highlights, live reports and news coverage throughout the ANWA. Additionally, Golf Channel’s “Live From the Masters” will commence on Friday, April 1 at Augusta National to provide coverage of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals and the Masters Tournament.NBC Sports will produce and broadcast three hours (Noon-3:00 PM ET) of live final-round coverage of the event at Augusta National.