PRESENTING
WOMEN’S AMATEUR
FIRST TEAM
Saki Baba
Japan
Top 20: Nitori Ladies (pro)
Runner-up: Australian Women’s Amateur
Top 5: Augusta National Women’s Amateur
At 18 years old, the innocent-looking Baba pulls no punches on the course. She is already competing with gusto in professional events and had some close calls in big amateur tournaments, such as her runner-up in the Australian Women’s Amateur and a T5 in the ANWA. We have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of Baba at the professional level, and she could be wildly popular in Asia.
Jenny Bae
Suwanee, Georgia/Georgia
Winner: NCAA Athens Regional
Runner-up: Augusta National Women’s Amateur
Runner-up: Collegiate Invitational at GCC
Bae deserves considerable credit for her gutsy performance at the ANWA where she nearly stole the show from Rose Zhang before losing in a playoff. Bae would go on to turn pro after the NCAA Championship, but she won the NCAA Athens Regional on home turf and had five more top-five finishes.
Eila Galitsky
Thailand
Winner: Asia-Pacific Women’s Amateur
Low am: Chevron Championship (pro)
Top 10: Asian Games (pro)
Could Galitsky be following countrywoman Atthaya Thitikul to prominence? This teen sensation won the Asia-Pacific Women’s Amateur – the first Thai to do so since Thitikul in 2018 – and earned a top-30 finish in the Chevron Championship, an LPGA major. Galtisky had several other strong finishes, including T11 in the World Amateur Team Championship and T7 in the Asian Games.
Minsol Kim
South Korea
Top 5: Korean Women’s Open (Pro)
Runner-up: Asia-Pacific Women’s Amateur
Winner: Dream Park Cup
The latest in a line of outstanding South Korean players, this 17-year-old phenom has all the tools to be a top professional. Kim is already contending on the Korean LPGA circuit, had two amateur victories and notched several other strong results, including a runner-up in the Asia-Pacific Women’s Amateur.
Ingrid Lindblad
Sweden/LSU
Winner: Cougar Classic
Top 5: European Ladies’ Amateur
Semifinalist: Women’s Amateur Championship
Last year’s amateur of the year is still a machine. Lindblad, the current No. 1 amateur in the world, won three college tournaments and came close to capturing two of the biggest international amateur events. She added a top-five in the NCAA Championship and a few other high finishes in college events.
Julia Lopez Ramirez
Spain/Mississippi State
Winner: European Ladies’ Amateur
Winner: SEC Championship
Winner: NCAA Westfield Regional
Starkville, Mississippi, won’t be mistaken for breathtaking Málaga, Spain, from which Lopez Ramirez hails, but the SEC golfer of the year has not suffered from any culture shock. She won the SEC Championship and a regional while also racking up five more top-three finishes. On the international stage, Lopez Ramirez won the European Ladies’ Amateur, one of the biggest events on the calendar.
Megan Schofill
Monticello, Florida/Auburn
Winner: U.S. Women’s Amateur
Runner-up: SEC Championship
U.S. Palmer Cup team: 3-1 record
Schofill made a leap into the WAGR top 15 on the strength of steady play. That mentality paid off for her when she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur, nearly won the SEC Championship and recorded three other notable top-five finishes. She also had a top 15 in the ANWA and went 3-1 in the Palmer Cup.
Latanna Stone
Riverview, Florida/LSU
Winner: Nexus Collegiate
Runner-up: U.S. Women’s Amateur
Winner: NCAA Palm Beach Regional
Stone is best known to amateur golf observers for finishing runner-up in the 2022 ANWA – she gave up the lead late in heartbreaking fashion – and yet another close call at this year’s U.S. Women’s Am. But let the record show that this powerful LSU Tiger won three times this year and was ultra consistent, making her a can’t-miss LPGA prospect in the coming year.
Lottie Woad
England/Florida State
Co-winner: Annika Intercollegiate
Top 5: World Amateur Team Championship
Top 5: Moon Golf Invitational
This Florida State sophomore is a top-10 player in the WAGR for good reason. Woad recorded nine top-six finishes, including a co-win at the Annika and a victory in the Florida State Match Up. She was also strong in big-time competition, putting up top-five performances in the World Amateur Team Championship and European Ladies’ Team Championship to go along with a top 15 in the ANWA.
Rose Zhang
Irvine, California/Stanford
Winner: Augusta National Women’s Amateur
Winner: NCAA Championship
Winner: Pac-12 Championship
Our women’s amateur of the year concluded a historic college career by refusing to lose in her last semester. Zhang won six times, including the ANWA and NCAA Championship, establishing herself as perhaps the all-time most clear-cut No. 1 amateur in the world.
Second Team
Yuna Araki
Winner: Women’s Australian Master of the Amateurs
Top 5: Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific
Top 10: Augusta National Women’s Amateur
Amari Avery
Riverside, California/Southern Cal
Made cut: U.S. Women’s Open (pro)
Winner: Leadership and Golf Invitational
Made cut: Chevron Championship (pro)
Francesca Fiorellini
Italy
Winner: Italian International Ladies Amateur
Top 10: World Amateur Team Championship
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard
Australia/Oklahoma State
Winner: Big 12 Championship
Top 5: NCAA Championship
Huai-Chien Hsu
Taiwan/Texas
Low individual: World Amateur Team Championship
Top 5: Darius Rucker Intercollegiate
Top 10: NCAA Championship
Lauren Kim
Canada/Texas
Winner: Canadian Women’s Amateur
Winner: Jackson T. Stephens Cup
Jiyoo Lim
Winner: Dolmen Cup
Top 15: KG Ladies Open (pro)
Amanda Sambach
Pinehurst, North Carolina/Virginia
Winner: ACC Championship
Runner-up: Stanford Intercollegiate
Catherine Park
Irvine, California/Southern Cal
Runner-up: NCAA Championship
Winner: Stanford Intercollegiate
Top 5: Pac 12 Championship
Fiona Xu
New Zealand
Runner-up: Queen Sirikit Cup
Top 10: Vic Open (pro)
PHOTO CREDITS
Saki Baba, Latanna Stone
JAMES GILBERT, UGSA
DARREN CARROLL, USGA
Eila Galitsky, Minsol Kim, Ingrid Lindblad, Julia Lopez Ramirez, Megan Schofill, Lottie Woad
STEVEN GIBBONS, USGA
KATHRYN RILEY, USGA