– Asterisk Talley (-11) dressed this Thursday in the favourite’s shirt for the title at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The 17-year-old Californian posted another superb second round of 67 at the Champions Retreat and moved into sole possession of the lead with 18 holes to play on Saturday at the Augusta National.
We are not breaking news by saying that 18 holes at Augusta can be very long. It may be bold to brand such a young golfer the firm favourite with just one shot in hand, but Talley’s trajectory points in that direction. She came up against the world’s best at the Ford Championship. She spent the week fighting for a top 10 and finished with a poor Sunday in the top 30. Also, this is her third appearance at the ANWA. In 2024, at just 15, she finished eighth and last year she was runner-up behind Carla Bernat. She has already come close. Over her 36 holes at the Champions Retreat she has not made a single bogey. Her numbers speak volumes and she must be considered the player to beat in the final round
– One shot back of Talley are two very experienced players. Swedish Meja Ortengren (-10) is playing the ANWA for the fifth time and has two top-15s. Meanwhile Colombian María José Marín (-10), leader after Wednesday, is playing for the fourth time. They will not make it easy for the young American prodigy
– The top three have opened up a large gap on the leaderboard, although it seems too ambitious to call it definitive. Augusta can get very tricky and the pressure of the final day is not an easy companion. Even so, Andrea Revuelta (-6) has given herself a chance. The Madrid player did not have her best day of golf
A double bogey at hole 16, after a shot in which she failed to commit, put her in a very delicate position, as she had started on 10. With three holes to play she was at -4, practically ruled out of any victory hopes. However, the Madrid player showed the class and grit she has and finished with two birdies at 7 and 8 that put her back in contention. She is five shots off the lead and four off second place, it is a big gap, but anything can happen. At least, she will have the chance
At the end of the round, Revuelta was clear that many things can still happen. “The double bogey is what it is. There are always holes that get the better of you in a tournament and this time it happened to me. It made me a bit angry because after that I had many clear birdie chances but the putts did not want to drop. I kept my patience and calm and I managed to finish with two birdies. We’ll see. I have the experience of other years and I know that on Saturday at Augusta the leaderboard is when most shuffled. You have to trust that magical and very beautiful things happen on this course,” she explained. The witches have already been summoned
– Paula Martín (-4) also made the cut and has one last chance. She is far back and her hopes depend on posting the best round on Saturday, but the Madrid player can do it. She is the reigning British Amateur champion and has already shown she is capable of extraordinary things
– The week’s disappointment went to Cata Fernández (+3) and Rocío Tejedo (+8). Both missed the cut and will not play on Saturday. In any case, they will not go home empty-handed. Tomorrow they will all play a practice round at Augusta. Pure enjoyment. The cut closed at -1 with the top 30. Those will be the players fighting on Saturday to succeed Carla Bernat, with two Spaniards in the mix: Revuelta and Martín
