A huge portion of the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur field are current college players. In all there are 64 of them (including one NCAA Division II player, the University of Tampa’s Kiira Riihijarvi). That number also includes 10 players who are completing a fifth year of NCAA eligibility after the spring 2020 season was wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
No team will send more players than USC, which will field six women. South Carolina is sending four players.
Looking for a favorite or a name to watch? These 10 players, who are the highest-ranked collegians in the field according to the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, would be a good place to start.
Beatrice Wallin, Florida State
Beatrice Wallin, Florida State (FSU Athletics/Ross Obley)
Golfweek ranking: 1 Beatrice Wallin, a junior from Sweden, hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in any of her four starts with Florida State this spring. She went 12 under on Florida State’s challenging new Seminole Legacy Golf Club to win her team’s home event by 13 shots and set an individual record for that event in the process. Then, Wallin won again the next month in Atlanta. Two years ago, Wallin was T7 at the ANWA after a 71 on Augusta National that included three back-nine birdies.
Ana Pelaez, South Carolina
Ana Pelaez, South Carolina (South Carolina Athletics)
Golfweek ranking: 2
Pelaez was at the 2019 ANWA, but outside the ropes cheering on a teammate. Pelaez plays this time as a fifth-year senior. After missing the fall season (she remained in her native Spain until January), Pelaez has finished inside the top 6 in each of four fall starts. The spunky Spaniard came back to South Carolina for a fifth year with “unfinished business” in mind.
Allisen Corpuz, USC
Allisen Corpuz (USC Athletics)
Golfweek ranking: 3
For four and a half years, Corpuz has been a constant presence for USC. She has anchored the Trojans this spring by winning twice and finishing in the top 4 three other times. Corpuz has a long resume in amateur golf, which includes several USGA starts. She was runner-up at the North & South Women’s Amateur over the summer.
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, South Carolina
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard during her freshman season. (Photo: South Carolina Athletics)
Golfweek ranking: 4
The Frenchwoman spent 34 weeks atop the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2020, which was a remarkable climb considering that Roussin-Bouchard didn’t qualify for this tournament in 2019. The South Carolina sophomore has won twice this spring to go along with two other career college victories.
Linn Grant, Arizona State
Linn Grant, Arizona State (Arizona State Athletics)
Golfweek ranking: 5
Is anyone on a hotter winning streak than Linn Grant? The Arizona State sophomore has won her last three college tournaments leading into the ANWA. Consider her missed cut there in 2019 a little extra motivation.
Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad. (Photo: Andrew Wevers)
Golfweek ranking: 6
Lindblad’s remarkably consistent results this season are a product of her work ethic. Lindblad has not finished outside the top 10 in seven starts, and most recently won the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. LSU head coach Garrett Runion calls Lindblad the Joe Burrow of his team.
Emma Spitz, UCLA
Emma Spitz, UCLA (UCLA Athletics)
Golfweek ranking: 8
Spitz’s finishes so far in her sophomore spring season: T3, T2, 2, 4. Spitz became the first Austrian to win the British Girls Amateur in 2018 and when she teed it up at the ANWA two years ago, she was among the 30 players to tee it up at Augusta National in the third round.
Karen Fredgaard, Houston
Karen Fredgaard, a Houston sophomore, won the individual title at the UCF Challenge on Feb. 2. (Houston Athletics)
Golfweek ranking: 9
A strong player from Houston, Fredgaard won her first tournament out of the gate in February 2021 at the UCF Challenge. The player from Denmark backed that up a month later by winning Houston’s own ICON Invitational at Golf Club of Houston with an 11-under total.
Maja Stark, Oklahoma State
Maja Stark from Sweden fist bumps with her caddie at the second green during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. (Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)
Golfweek ranking: 11
Stark scored a big win early in the spring after going 15 under at the Heros Ladies Intercollegiate. That title goes along with two top-10 finishes, including a runner-up at the SMU Trinity Forest Invitational. Heading into the ANWA, Stark won against at the Mountain View Collegiate. She’ll be another player who returns after making the 36-hole cut to compete on Augusta National.
Erica Shepherd, Duke
Erica Shepherd (American Junior Golf Association)
Golfweek ranking: 13 Shepherd, a sophomore, broke through for her first college title in a loaded field at the Gamecock Intercollegiate. The Indiana native is a fierce competitor. She made the 36-hole cut at the 2019 ANWA.
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