By DOUG FERGUSON — Updated 3:34 PM EDT, April 5, 2025
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Carla Bernat Escuder of Spain understood what it takes to win at the home of the Masters and delivered a gem Saturday with a clutch flop shop to start the back nine and a 4-foot par putt at the end for a 4-under 68 to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Bernat Escuder, who grew up in the same region as Masters champion Sergio Garcia and U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester, made up a two-shot deficit against defending champion Lottie Woad and held off a late charge by Asterisk Talley.
“As of right now, I don’t think my brain has processed that I won,” said Bernat Escuder, a senior at Kansas State.
She did it with a little help from her Spanish heritage. Garcia’s father, Victor, is one of her coaches and she recently leaned on Ballester — they’ve been friends since age 7 — because she felt her short game was lacking.
That was severely put to the test as Bernat Escuder began the back nine. She left her approach right of the bunker, one of the toughest spots to be, with the golf ball slightly above her feet. Bernat Escuder hit a marvelous flop shot to 12 feet and holed the par putt.
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“I knew the tournament was going to start on No. 10 because I’ve watched all the Masters,” she said, a reference to the famous phrase that the Masters doesn’t start until the back nine Sunday. “As soon as I hit that second shot, I was like, ‘Oh, I need to get it together and just get this par. And I dig in. And I think that was the key.”
Her lead was only one shot at that point — she went out in 33 — and that was about to change.
Woad was looking to become the first back-to-back winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She was tied for the lead with Kiara Romero going into the final group, birdied the first hole and led by two early.
But it all came undone on the 10th.
From the fairway, she was aggressive with her approach and tugged the shot left and over the green, into a bush. Woad had to take a penalty drop, chipped on and missed the putt, giving her a double bogey and leaving her three shots behind.
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“I put a good swing on it, it was just the wrong club,” said Woad, who went with a 5-iron. “Thought it was meant to be into the wind, and off the downslope it came out a bit too flat, so probably should have just hit one less club. Then got in an unfortunate position, so probably was always going to make 6 from there.”
She had to chase, just like a year ago when she delivered a memorable back-nine charge. This time, she could only manage two birdies and closed with a 72 to finish third.
“Pretty frustrated,” Woad said.
The charge came from Talley, the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Junior Girls runner-up, who began the final round by holing out from the first fairway for eagle.
Coming off a birdie at the 16th to get to within three shots, Talley hit a remarkable recovery from under the pines left of the 17th fairway. The ball stayed under the limbs and rolled up along the edge of the bunker, using all of the slope to get to about 18 feet behind the hole.
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Instead of scrambling for par, she holed the putt for birdie to give herself a chance.
Talley, however, was too strong with her approach on the 18th, leaving the ball on the top tier with hole some 40 feet away in its typical Masters Sunday location. She did well to two-putt for par and a 68.
“I was just trying to shoot my score and having a lot of fun,” Talley said.
In the group behind was Bernat Escuder, who also was in the trees on the 17th, put it in a bunker and made bogey. That cut her lead to one shot with one hole to play.
The Spaniard found the fairway, also hit onto the top tier and navigated a 4-foot par putt to finish at 12-under 204 and claim what already has become as prestigious as any women’s amateur event in the world.
Eila Galitsky started seven shots behind, shot 31 on the front nine and closed with the low round of the day at 66 to tie for fourth with Catherine Park (67).
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
