Maria Jose Marin started the day one back of the lead in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and finished it winning by four.
The 19-year-old Arkansas junior from Cali, Colombia was firmly in the mix as the final two pairings teed off at Augusta National Golf Club, but it was 17-year-old Asterisk Talley getting the winner’s edit entering Saturday.
Advertisement
After two rounds at Champions Retreat Golf Club, Talley was bogey free. She was the runner-up in 2025, and it seemed like it was finally the Stanford commit’s time in her third appearance.
But after three birdies in the first nine holes, Talley’s bogey-free streak unraveled in devastating fashion.
The bogey at the par-4 11th was manageable – it could easily be made up with two more par 5s to go – but the quadruple bogey at the par-3 12th? Dropping to 9 under? Nearly impossible to come back from.
Marin wasn’t waiting in the wings for Talley to mess up, she just played good, clean golf for two rounds and came to Augusta National with a plan. An early bogey could have derailed her, but she followed with five birdies to only one more bogey.
Advertisement
Part of that plan also included opting for an Augusta National Caddie – something the other two leaders entering the day did not do.
The result was a 4-under 68 in the final round and 14-under overall – after two rounds at Champions Retreat and one at Augusta National. That’s the lowest score in the history of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“It means the world to me,” Marin said after becoming the first Colombian to win at this course.
She was also the only player in the field to shoot in the 60s all three rounds.
It didn’t happen instantly – this was Marin’s fourth appearance in the tournament. She was T-14 in 2023, T-30 in 2024, and missed the cut in 2025.
Advertisement
Marin has found her stride in the past year, becoming the third NCAA individual champion from Arkansas. She’s the third NCAA champion to win this event at the home of the Masters, joining Jennifer Kupcho (2019) and Rose Zhang (2023).
Stanford sophomore Andrea Revuelta finished second at 10 under after a final round 4-under 68. The Spaniard carded six birdies on the day, including one at that treacherous par-3 12th that nearly became the hole’s fourth ace ever.
Korea’s Oh Soomin was solo third at 9 under – the only player in the field with a clean card at Augusta National after also recording a 4-under 68 with four birdies.
Talley finished T-4 in the group at 8-under overall. After the quad bogey, Talley carded two birdies, a bogey and a double bogey to finish with a 3-over 75 on the day.
Read the full article here
