It was only after she finished with a 3-under 69 at the Masters home that her nerves snapped while she watched the last two groups at the Augusta Amateur Women’s National Team. She thought that her 12 foot bird that slipped next to the cup could cost her. And then he watched from the scoring booth as Latanna Stone threw a two-hole, two-hole lead to play, making a double boom from the 17th Fairway and a boom from the pine straw into the last hole, making Davis the youngest champion at home. teachers. “I do not think it has worked out yet that I won here, but it is quite surreal, to be honest,” Davis said. “I do not even know what exactly happened. “Everything happened very quickly.” And to think it was just a year ago when Davis, a left-hander just east of San Diego, jumped into the national picture with her first AJGA title, followed by the Junior PGA Girls Championship in Valhalla. There, her dad told her to wear a hat with a bucket because the Kentucky sun was hitting her nose. Now she wears one all the time – as does the entire Davis race as she watches her victory on the majestic golf course with an impressive closure and a little help. This came from Stone, the junior at LSU who seemed to have won it over with a t-shirt that caught the slope in par-3 16th and fed at 3 feet for a birdie and a two-shot lead. And then everything was solved. He went with a wedge instead of 9ari from an uphill to the 17th Fairway, ignited it and left it close. Her hard court over a deep shelter came out awkward and ran to the back end of the green. He put three to draw with Davis. “I was more nervous watching her than playing out there,” Davis said. Stone pushed her push on the pine straw, did well to reach the front of the green and then broke very hard. The 15-foot tie to force a playoffs never had a chance. “It’s just heartbreaking, you know?” said Stone, who shared a long, tearful hug with USC freshman Amari Avery, one of five players who had a share of the lead at one point. I somehow knew where I was at 17, and I was just thinking, ‘Get out.’ “I just did not have the right club and I left myself with a difficult up and down,” he said. “I was trying to be aggressive and I somehow lost. “I thought I could take it again when I was 18, but a lot was happening in my mind with where I was.” She closed with 72 and tied in second place with her teammate at LSU, Ingrid Lindbland, who was coming out 18th from a shelter and had to come to terms with 68. Davis was the only player to finish below 1-under 215, and the victory came with a big surprise: Excluded from the US Women’s Open at Pine Needles in June. “This is crazy,” he said. Davis started her week at the Champions Retreat, where the first two rounds took place, saying she did not know most of the players on the field due to her age. Everyone now knows her with her cool head and gentle touch around the greens, especially a hard chip behind the 17th green for a scent that kept her on the hunt. She mingled with an 8-iron that landed near the hole in par-3 12th for a 4-foot bird, and her wedge that raised the ridge to 3 feet for the bird in 13th. “I do not think I have ever played in front of so many people,” said Davis. “I was not so nervous. I knew I was an underdog on the pitch. I did not have so much pressure on myself to do extremely well. “I was just out there having fun.” Florida State Beatrice Wallin, who started the final lap equalizing with Stone, closed with 73 and tied in fourth with Amari Avery (72) and Benedetta Moresco (71). Davis is a sophomore in high school who does not yet have a driver’s license and may not even be able to speak to college recruiters until June. Her two victories last year allowed her to be part of the Junior Solheim Cup and Junior Ryder Cup teams. In three AJGA events this year, she finished second, fourth and third, climbing to No. 100 in the world ranking of amateur women. Masters President Fred Ridley presented her with the trophy – without a green jacket for this victory – and presented her as part of the winners at the Augusta National. “I want to be the best in the world,” he said. Davis does not watch much TV, including golf. Her only memory from the Masters was that she was at the home golf shop in 2019 while watching Tiger Woods go out into the 18th hole to win his fifth and most incredible Masters. On this day, she made some of her own memories.
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