EVANS, Ga. – At 16 years outdated, Anna Davis is among the youngest gamers within the discipline on the Augusta Nationwide Ladies’s Novice. She feels prefer it, too.
“Usually when I go to events, I know the people who are playing, and I don’t know a lot of the girls here,” Davis stated. “So, I kind of feel like an underdog.”
Contemplating Davis’ resumé – a seven-shot victory finally yr’s Women Junior PGA, reigning first-team AJGA All-American, Junior Solheim Cupper, 5 straight top-4 finishes in junior occasions – it’s not usually that she is ignored. The final time Davis hasn’t been among the many favorites at a event, she says, was virtually a yr in the past, on the AJGA’s Heather Farr Traditional final April.
How did she fare that week? She received.
“When you’re the underdog, there’s not as much pressure to play super well,” Davis stated.
No marvel she performed, nicely, tremendous on Wednesday at Champions Retreat. Competing within the shadows of novice stars like Rose Zhang, Rachel Heck and Ingrid Lindblad, {the teenager} from Spring Valley, California, beat all however one participant on Wednesday, firing an opening-round, 2-under 70 to share the lead with Italy’s Benedetta Moresco, a sophomore at Alabama.
Usually a gifted ball-striker, on today Davis shined across the greens. With agency placing surfaces making robust GIR performances tough, Davis scrambled usually and nicely, carding only one bogey, on the par-4 fifteenth gap.
Full-field scores from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur
There was additionally just a little little bit of luck concerned, after all, as her chip on the par-5 18th gap was struck just a little skinny however hit the flatstick, leading to a tap-in birdie to shut.
“Good thing the hole was there,” Davis quipped.
Her twin brother, Billy, was considering the identical factor. Billy Davis – additionally an completed junior participant, who discovered the sport alongside his sister once they had been “just of out their walkers” – was watching from the gallery. Anna says she’ll continuously get a snarky comment or two out of her brother throughout rounds. “I’ll like hit a bad shot, and he’ll go, ‘Ooh, that was a good one,’” she stated.
However as his sister stood in entrance of the cameras after a skillful opening show, Billy couldn’t assist however give Anna her due.
“She’s pretty inspiring actually,” Billy stated. “The way she plays, the way she handles herself on and off the course; she handles herself like she’s a grownup.”
Whereas Anna could also be brief within the tooth because it pertains to this discipline, she’s mature past her years. Sure, she nonetheless considers herself a “stereotypical 16-year-old,” who doesn’t personal a driver’s license, loves lunches with associates and spends an excessive amount of time on her telephone. However there’s additionally a purpose Billy calls her his “older sister.”
Anna performs the sport like a seasoned vet, with cleverness and confidence. She’s severe about her craft, too, just lately switching to on-line courses in order that she will be able to observe extra. Requested hypothetically what she’d serve on the Masters Champions Dinner, she responded: steak and potatoes.
And her independence is arguably unmatched. She isn’t even sufficiently old to legally speak with school coaches (she stays uncommitted), but for a lot of the previous yr, she’s traveled to tournaments by herself or with associates.
“A lot of people look at that and they’re like, ‘Your parents are letting you travel alone? That’s a little weird,’” Anna stated. “I think I’m a little mature for my age, and I know how to handle things.”
Her solo journeys have taught her lots, however principally she’s discovered to, in her phrases, “pay a little more attention to what’s actually going on around me because I don’t have my parent there holding my hand.”
That translated nicely to the golf course on Wednesday, as Anna seen her enjoying opponents hitting their tee balls by way of the wind on the par-3 seventeenth gap. As an alternative of staying in her personal little world and holding 6-iron in hand, Anna went again to her bag and switched to a 7-iron.
The end result: a stress-free par – and a clap from her brother.
“She hit it great, drove it great,” Billy stated. “If her speed control on the greens is good and she makes a few more putts, I definitely think she has a chance.”
Anna started the week with no expectations besides solely to have enjoyable.
Now, although, she’s put herself ready to win and the remainder of this proficient discipline on discover.
