María José Marín celebrates a final-round birdie at No. 13 during the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
David Paul Morris, Augusta National
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | Amen Corner has been haunted since long before the Augusta National Women’s Amateur – or most of its competitors – were born. The 12th hole, little Golden Bell, in particular elicits moments of déjà vu with its familiar Masters gremlins just awaiting their opportunity to add the women to their roll of benefactors and victims.
For the compact 19-year-old Colombian bundle of positivity, María José Marín, she can thank the spirit of Freddie Couples a la 1992. For the 17-year-old American rising superstar Asterisk Talley, she will rue the ghost of Jordan Spieth in 2016.
Their fortunes went separate ways on No. 12 on Saturday, sparking Marín to what ultimately became a four-stroke victory in the seventh ANWA and leaving perennial contender Talley to wait a year for another shot at the defining event in women’s amateur golf.
“When that last putt sank in, I just thought to myself, well, I made it,” said the joyful Marín, whose 14-under-par 202 finish (65-69-68) added the ANWA trophy to her collection that includes the 2025 NCAA individual title and Women’s Amateur Latin America. “All of my hard work has paid off, and I’m just extremely proud of myself.”
“You look back and think I made a big mistake. If you just erase that, I had a pretty good day,” said Talley, who had been nearly flawless before falling from the lead with a quadruple-bogey 7 on the 12th and finishing tied for a distant fourth at 8-under 208. “You just kind of have to think the little mistakes don’t define you as a golfer.”
Talley held a one-stroke lead over Marín and led Sweden’s Meja Örtengren by two when the leaders reached Amen Corner. That’s where it all came to a head.
“My emotions the whole round were a roller coaster.”
María José Marín
Marín got tricked by the wind on the 12th tee, and her tee shot came up short of the narrow green. But instead of trickling down the bank and into the gloom of Rae’s Creek, her ball hung up like Couples’ did in saving his path to the green jacket in ’92. “A miracle,” said Marín, who was born 14 years after Couples’ lone major victory.
“One of the signs was the ball staying on that ridge on 12,” said Marín, who like Couples made par on the hole. “I’ve never seen a ball stay there, and I think it was just God holding the ball there, like, don’t move. This is happening for something.”
In the group behind came Talley, who had set herself up as the player to beat with two bogey-free rounds at Champions Retreat to take a one-stroke lead into the final round. “I think everything is kind of just clicking this week; I think it’s all connecting,” Talley said.
Like the first two rounds when she came out blazing with three birdies in her first five and three holes, respectively, she birdied Nos. 1, 3 and 4 to soar to 14-under and expand her lead to as many as three strokes. Still bogey-free through 46 holes and ahead of Marín by a shot heading to Amen Corner, Talley’s words from the day before proved prescient.
“Knowing this course tears players apart on the mental side, and it can tear anyone up in an instant,” Talley said on Friday.
“I mean, we’ve all watched the Masters, right? With all the meltdowns that happen on Amen Corner, anything can happen. …”
Asked about her favorite and scariest part of the course, Talley picked “any shot on 11, 12 or 13.”
“I mean, I just love those holes so much,” she said. “They’re so scenic, but yet, so fun to play. They can be the toughest holes on the course sometimes, so they can be not so fun if you put yourself in a bad position. So, I think those holes can go both ways. It’s kind of a double-edged sword.”
The sword came down on her hard Saturday. Her first bogey of the tournament came at 11 when she missed a short putt to save par from the bunker. Then came the short par-3 12th, where too much club and the wind carried Talley’s tee shot long into the bushes only to roll back into the firm back bunker that presents the most perilous recovery test. Her sand shot came out low and didn’t stop until it was wet in Rae’s Creek.
Electing to rake the trap and try the shot again, she suffered the same result. She then opted to drop on the other side of the creek and got up and down for a devastating quad that took her from tied with Marín to five behind after the Colombian birdied the par-5 13th in front of her.
Birdies at 13 and 17 only mitigated the damage as Talley played the back nine in 42 strokes and ended up tied for fourth, six behind the winner. She walked off to receive encouraging words and hugs from Bryson DeChambeau, who told her he’s been there before, and Annika Sörenstam, who assured her she’s the best player out there.
“I’m just a little emotional, not only because I didn’t get it done today, but also just everyone is so supportive,” the Stanford signee said. “It’s hard when they have to watch that and see you not do well or not accomplish what you wanted. I still played fine today even though that one hole just kind of got me. Other than that, it doesn’t define me as a golfer. I know what kind of player I am.”
After the 12th, the burden was all on Marín’s shoulders to hang on as she was pushed by playing partner Andrea Revuelta, who birdied her way through Amen Corner to climb to 10-under and within four with five holes to play.
“My emotions the whole round were a roller coaster,” Marín said. “I didn’t start that solid. I was looking at the leaderboard, and Asterisk was already making a move. But I just reminded myself that I had to stay really, really patient because anything can happen out here.”
Marín refrained from looking at the board to see what was happening behind her on the back nine until she laid up on the par-5 15th hole.
“When I finished the [13th] hole, I really tried not to look at the leaderboard, but I heard some … I didn’t hear the people clapping from behind, so I think that was a sign that something happened,” she said. “The first time that I saw the leaderboard was actually on hole 15, and I think I should not have looked at it.”
“It’s a gift from God to walk this course, and I think I’m just so blessed to be here. It just wasn’t my day today, but it’s OK.”
Asterisk Talley
That’s where the 5-foot tall Arkansas junior wobbled for a moment, sailing her wedge over the green, and eventually walked away with a shaky bogey that could have been worse.
“I looked at the leaderboard, and I think just my adrenaline went up,” she said. “I had a pretty routine shot, and I just flew it past the green. As I’m saying, I think it was just a little bit of nerves. It made it pretty hard because then I started doing actual math of what I had to do, how I had to finish. Just keeping my two feet at the moment, I think that was the hardest.”
With the help of her caddie – local firefighter Darren Woo – she settled herself and struck a beautiful 7-iron from 160 yards tight on 16, made birdie and cruised home from there.
“Darren was the one who told me, ‘just breathe, stay calm; you’re fine,’” she said. “We have a strategy for this. Especially on hole 15, just trying to walk off with a bogey and nothing worse.
“The hottest player out there was Andrea. She started playing extremely well. In my head I was like, OK, if I don’t play well, she’s going to come from behind. So just hitting that great shot on 16 exactly how I planned it and just walking away with a birdie there, it was just like, OK, I think it’s down. Just enjoy the walk, but still be smart of what you’re going to do.”
Marín smiled and hugged her way from the 18th green to the trophy presentation, content that she was now enshrined in the “temple of golf” she calls Augusta National. “I don’t think there’s ever going to be a feeling to describe it. It’s just magical,” she said.
“This is only going to help me boost my confidence. I think every time I’m having a hard time or kind of a low in my golf, just reminds me that I was able to do this and I was able to overcome all the pressure. That means winning at Augusta, and just using it in my favor to just keep working hard and never giving up.”
For Talley, there were tears but determination to get back on a career path pointed nowhere but up. Her next start is next week’s LPGA event in Los Angeles.
“It’s a gift from God to walk this course, and I think I’m just so blessed to be here,” Talley said. “It just wasn’t my day today, but it’s OK.
“Turn right back around and do it again, right? This definitely does not define me today. I still see myself as a good player, and I’m excited to get after it.”
Scott Michaux
