As soon as Anna Davis came onto the 16th tee at Palos Verdes, she realized she needed to adjust her plan. In her first LPGA start at the inaugural Palos Verdes Championship presented by Bank of America, the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion was 4 over for the tournament and two shots beyond the cut line.
Davis, who is playing on a sponsor exemption, stated, “I knew I had to make something happen to make the cut.” “I knew I had to be a little more aggressive in the last few holes.”
Davis, 16, reached the par-5 16th hole in two shots and made a 40-foot putt for eagle to leapfrog the field.
“I knew it had to go in, and I was able to do it,” Davis recalled, “so that was amazing.”
She then decided to play more conservatively on the next two holes, but she ended up making a bonus birdie on the 17th to put herself in a comfortable position. Davis’ eagle-birdie-par finish over the final three holes put her in a tie for 52nd place at 1 over for the event. Her first two rounds on the LPGA were 71-72.
Hannah Green leads the field by three strokes at 9 under par, with No. 1 Jin Young Ko, Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee, and Megan Khang tied for second.
Davis’ laid-back demeanor and characteristic bucket hat helped her become a popular champion at Augusta National. In the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the high school sophomore is now ranked 47th. This is her first competitive start since winning the ANWA, aside from a Monday qualifier on the LPGA last week.
Davis and Xiyu Lin will tee off at 9:20 a.m. local time.
“Making the cut was my objective, so I’m delighted I was able to achieve that,” she said. “It’ll be fun to play this weekend,” says the player.
