Colombia already has its first Major. Amateur, true. But a Major through and through. María José Marín, Majo to her closest people, has written her name in a different script today in her country’s sporting history after claiming victory this Saturday in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won because she was the best. Nobody gave her anything. Her 68 in the final round at the Augusta National says it all
This 2026 edition will also be remembered for yet another tragedy at Amen Corner. The penultimate collapse. The leading figure is the young Californian Asterisk Talley. She was co-leader with Marín when the meltdown occurred. Another victim of the 12th hole. Miguel Ángel Jiménez calls it Angustias. And rightly so. She chunked it off the tee as leader and came away with no chance of victory after carding a calamitous quadruple bogey. She tried to play safe to the green and ended up in the back bunker. From there, an infernal escape, as at the back, on the line of the flag, the water waits hungry. You have to play to come up short. No exceptions. Even on the fringe. Take the bogey and move on
However, Talley was aggressive, her escape shot came out loose and, sure enough, it finished in the creek. Then a wrong decision. Instead of going to the drop zone on the far side of the water and leaving herself a c.50-metre shot to the green with the water again in front, she opted to repeat the stroke from the sand. Now, with the added difficulty that when dropping, naturally, the ball sat down a little. Her fourth shot again finished in the water. On the sixth she finally went to the drop zone and produced a great approach and putt for a 7. The tournament was over. The penultimate victim of the 12th. There will always be a last one
Up until that point, Asterisk had actually ruled the final round with a firm hand. She had started very well, with birdies at 1, 3 and 4. From then on she played to hang on, which was logical, and without making mistakes. The first came at 11, with a three-putt that didn’t fit any equation. She made bogey, her first of the tournament. Next came the drama at 12. That’s Augusta: in the blink of an eye, everything’s gone
As this was happening, Majo Marín was making a brilliant birdie at 13 to move to -14. In other words, in the space of two holes she went from one behind Talley to five clear of her. From -13 she fell to -9. The tournament was already in the Colombian’s hands, since Meja Ortengren, the third player with the best chances in this final round, had already fallen well back with bogeys at 11 and 12. Also, at 7 she paid dearly for a poor tee shot with a double bogey. Too many errors for a final round of a tournament
Suddenly, the Spanish Andrea Revuelta, Marín’s playing partner on the final day (she was also in the same group as champion Carla Bernat last year), emerged as her main rival. The Madrid player, a little subdued over the first nine, showed all her class over Augusta’s closing nine, where everything is decided. She produced a stunning birdie at 11 with a superb putt, and was almost holed at 12, grazing the left edge and leaving it set up for birdie. She added another at 13 and staked her claim, although always well behind Marín, four shots adrift. She was at -10 to María José’s -14
Be that as it may, Augusta always opens a door and for the Spaniard it came at the 15th. That was where her tournament lay. At least her last chance. Marín played very conservatively, leaving herself a very awkward third shot (very similar to the one that condemned Francesco Molinari in the last Tiger Woods Masters) and ended up making bogey. Meanwhile, Revuelta, aggressive as only she knows how to be, went for the green in two with a wood and left it at the back on the fringe. She putted for eagle. It was difficult, without doubt, but there was the opportunity. Even a birdie would have left her two shots back with three to play. Everything up in the air. However, Andrea three-putted at the most inopportune moment. Marín’s bogey didn’t hurt so much as she had only lost one shot and still held a three-shot lead
Everything was decided at the 16th. The 19-year-old Colombian from León hit a superb shot, left it high on the green and the slope gently fed it to leave a two-metre birdie putt which she sank with composure. Once again a four-shot lead and the tournament over. Before that, it is fair to say, she produced three top-class recoveries at 10, 12 and 14. That was the core of her huge triumph
A great victory for María José Marín, la Universidad de Arkansas and all of Colombia. It is no coincidence. It is the consequence of a lot of work and very good golf. Let us not forget that Majo is World No. 7, and she will rise with this conquest, and the reigning NCAA champion among many other honours. South America has found a diamond
Honours to Andrea Revuelta. The Madrilenian has produced her best showing at the ANWA. She finished sole second with another 68 at Augusta. For her remains, too, that near hole-in-one at 12. Also, a magnificent final round from Paula Martín (-7), a 69, to finish in ninth place
At Augusta, once again Spanish is spoken, from Colombia and Castile
