Anna Davis (+4) misses out on the Augusta National Women’s Amateur right on the cut-off and after receiving a penalty stroke for slow play on hole 17. Rules are rules and they are there to be complied with, but a case like the one the ANWA champion experienced two years ago is still painful because of the consequences it implies.
The American was playing alongside Lottie Woad, current tournament leader, and Colombian María José Marín. The group played at a slow pace from the start of the day and they were notified accordingly. On hole five, Anna received her first warning after exceeding the time to take her second shot. One hole from finishing, on 17, the American again exceeded the allowed time. This second notification brought a penalty stroke under its arm. Finally, the player handed in a card of 78 strokes for a total of +4 in the accumulated, only one above the cut of 35 players who will be part of the game tomorrow at Augusta National.
The 2022 champion bid farewell to the tournament in tears trying to assimilate what had just happened. A blow that, sooner rather than later, will undoubtedly make her grow. There is no debate, if Anna exceeded, the organization did well in imposing the sanction provided in these cases. Hopefully all bodies will be equally strict with all players in similar circumstances.
However, Anna’s tears go beyond. This is not the first year that Davis faces penalties at the ANWA. In the 2023 edition, she received four penalty strokes after two incomprehensible reliefs on the first hole of the tournament. Although she tried to recover, she was not able to turn the situation around and was two strokes short of making the cut. The ghosts appear again to the player from Auburn University. It is the second year that a sanction prevents her from fighting for the victory. Regardless of the justice or not of the sanctions, which in both cases seem clear, it is a hard blow for any player.
ANWA statement explaining the penalty imposed on Anna Davis:
“Anna Davis was penalised with one stroke for violating the Tournament’s Pace of Play Policy. Her group, which included Lottie Woad and María José Marín, was notified that they were out of position on multiple occasions during their second round. While being timed, Davis received her first bad time after playing her second shot on hole No. 5 and received her second bad time after her second shot on hole No. 17. Consequently, a one-stroke penalty was imposed on her, which was applied on hole No. 17 itself”.
