Maria Jose Marin of Colombia took a runaway win on Saturday in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, setting a new ANWA scoring record by two strokes.
The 19-year-old Colombian, Marin, went into the final round one shot off the leader, Asterisk Talley, and 10-under-par aided by an opening round of seven-under-par.
She closed the day with a four-under 68 for a victory made easier by the 17-year-old Talley’s collapse on the back nine, leaving her tied for fourth despite a stellar opening two rounds of six and five-under par.
“It means the world to me,” said Marin, who was crushed when she failed to make the 36-hole cut last year to play a final round at Augusta National.
Marin, a junior at Arkansas, becomes the third NCAA champion to win at the home of the Masters, following Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang, and this one featured a shocker on the back nine.
Asterisk Talley hit two bogeys and two double bogeys in the back nine (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Talley, who led by as many as three shots early, made her first bogey of the tournament on the tough par-four 11th, falling into a share of the lead with Marin.
And then it all came undone as Talley went long into a back bunker on the par-three 12th. She went at the right pin with a shot too strong, and the ball rolled off the front, down a slope and into the water. Talley decided to drop in the bunker, and did the same thing again.
Stunned, the Californian teenager took her next penalty drop on the other side of the water, pitched to about eight feet and holed that for a quadruple-bogey seven.
In the group ahead, Marin reached the par-five 13th and two-putted for birdie to get to 14-under par, suddenly five shots ahead as Talley tried to regain her composure.
The last challenge for Marin came from Andrea Revuelta, who birdied Amen Corner to stay on the fringes of contention.
On the par-five 15th, Marin chose to lay up with a four-shot lead, but her third was well long, and her fourth shot up the slope went to the front of the green. She had five feet for bogey, while Revuelta had eight feet for birdie.
Revuelta, who had reached the back collar of the green in two, missed and had to settle for par, closing with a 68 and placing as runner-up.
Marin made her bogey putt to stay three ahead, and the Colombian hit her tee shot to about six feet for birdie on the 16th to put it away.
Talley took a double bogey on the 16th – she played par threes in six over on the back nine – and wound up with a 75 to tie for fourth, six shots behind.
Meja Örtengren of Sweden, who played in the final group with Talley, shot 74 after two rounds of 67 to also finish tied for fourth.
Maria Jose Marin also won the NCAA last year (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Marin set an Augusta National Women’s Amateur record at 14-under 202 and the smile never left her face as she walked up the 18th green, raising her right hand when she tapped in for par.
Among those who celebrated with her was Maria Fassi of Mexico, another Arkansas star who was runner-up in the inaugural tournament, a moment Marin has called a big inspiration for her.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley presented the trophy to her in Butler Cabin, and Marin held it aloft, smiled wide and said, “It’s so pretty.”
Along with winning the NCAA last year, Marin won the Women’s Amateur Latin America. which puts her into three of the LPGA Tour’s majors this year.
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