Stanford women's golf coach Anne Walker leads a powerhouse team to the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, featuring five highly ranked players. The Cardinal squad, with an average World Amateur Golf Ranking of 7.2, begins competition this week at Champions Retreat and Augusta National. The seventh edition of the event draws 72 elite amateurs, including World No. 1 Kiara Romero.
Anne Walker, Stanford's women's golf coach, describes her team's practice rounds as among the most competitive in the women's game. Every Tuesday and Thursday, players compete for spots in the starting five. 'I’m finding myself audibly saying, ‘Wow,’ at some of the shots they hit,' Walker said. This week, all five selected players—Paula Martin Sampedro (No. 2 WAGR), Andrea Revuelta (No. 3), Meja Ortengren (No. 5), Megha Ganne (No. 6) and Kelly Xu (No. 20)—head to Augusta National for the tournament's final round after initial play at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia, on April 1 and 2. A cut to the top 30 follows before Saturday's finale at Augusta National on April 4. The 54-hole stroke-play event marks its seventh year since 2019, with 48 of the top 50 WAGR players in the 72-player field. Defending champion Carla Bernat Escuder is absent, but past winners Tsubasa Kajitani (2021) and Anna Davis (2022) return. Stanford has a strong history here, including Rose Zhang's victory. Walker praises the team's cohesiveness and bonds, such as Sampedro and Revuelta from Spain, Ganne and Xu from Junior Solheim Cup teams, and Ortengren with teammate Nora Sundberg from Sweden. Ganne, returning for her sixth ANWA after winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur last summer, called it 'the most exciting week in amateur golf.' Xu, a first-time Drive, Chip and Putt champion at Augusta National as a child, sees the event as full circle. Coverage airs on Golf Channel for rounds one and two from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET, NBC for the final from 12-3 p.m. ET, with streams on Peacock and ANWA.com.
