If you need a guide to get around this week at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA), you won’t find a better one than Carolina López Chacarra. The promising golfer from Madrid, who plays for Wake Forest, is making her fourth appearance at this amateur women’s golf Major, which is celebrating its fifth edition this year. She debuted in 2021, just after the pandemic break, and has attended every spring without missing a single time. There is only one golfer with more editions under her belt. This is Emilia Migliacco, an American golfer who has been in all five editions of the tournament, including the one that starts next Thursday.
This fact of Carolina’s four appearances is nothing more than a demonstration of the extraordinary level of the Spanish golfer in recent years. It speaks of her consistency and regularity. Let’s not forget that to be in the ANWA you have to be one of the best amateurs in the world. No invitation is given away here.
Carolina’s sensational performance with her university and national teams has not been reflected, precisely, in this tournament. Things have not gone too well for her. It has been elusive. In her three previous appearances she missed the cut, which means that she has not yet been able to compete at the Augusta National, as only the third and final day after the cut is played there, with the top 30 and tied. She has been able to train the day before that final round, but that is not enough for a great competitor like Chacarra. It is also true that she has not been very lucky with this tournament, as in the past she arrived with physical problems that prevented her from performing at her best level.
Her landing in Augusta in 2024 has also been somewhat accident-prone. Carolina explains it to Ten Golf. “I’m not coming with high expectations. I’ve been almost two months completely stopped without being able to swing due to a muscle tear in my ribs. Less than two weeks ago I started hitting balls again, so my main goal is to enjoy, and get back into the rhythm of competitions and good feelings,” she explains.
With this scenario, the performance that Carolina can offer is a mystery. Really, not even she knows, however, there is no doubt that no one is going to be hungrier than her. Between the time she has been out of competition due to the rib injury and the results that have resisted her in this tournament, there will be no lack of desire. Moreover, it is well known that expectations are usually enemies of golfers, so the plan, not sought, but come about, could work out well for her.
There is no better scenario than Augusta to give oneself a joy that changes the course of the season. “I would define what I have done so far as quite difficult and hard. The first tournament was modified by a storm and we played a kind of modified match play in terms of rounds, then I got injured and couldn’t play any of the other three spring tournaments. However, I played at a quite high level during the autumn, so I’m looking forward to competing again, I’ve missed it a lot,” she says.
Right now, all of Carolina’s attention is focused on her recovery. It’s time to be patient and improve step by step. “Lately I’ve been working on recovering to be in the best possible shape for this tournament, but mainly thinking about the rest of the season, as the most important tournaments are coming up, both with the university and the Europeans this summer,” she stresses.
If anyone can talk about what it means to play this tournament, it’s her. “What has impressed me the most is how they treat us. They have all the details calculated and thought out, they don’t miss anything and they make us feel really like professionals. The conditions of both courses are spectacular and require a high level of golf,” she assures.
Finally, she will be very well accompanied these days. “My parents are here with me this week, happy to be able to share this experience with them, and my university’s assistant coach is caddying for me. Friends and teammates are also coming to watch me compete, so I’m very excited and looking forward to being back on the course,” she concludes.
