EVANS, Ga. — In the four-year history of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, a first-round leader has gone on to win three times. The lone exception was Tsubasa Kajitani, who was tied for 10th after the first round in 2021.
Getting off to a fast start is paramount at this event, and no one has ever gotten off to a hotter one than Hannah Darling, the first player to ever birdie the first three holes at Champions Retreat.
In the midst of that opening stretch, Darling thought back to a quote she’d heard from Annika Sorenstam about that famous 59 when she told her caddie that she just needed to make a par to settle down. Darling told her caddie the same thing after three holes and promptly made bogey.
It didn’t cool her off too much, however, as the 20-year-old Scot proceeded to rattle off eight birdies (an ANWA record) to card a 6-under 66. Darling leads three players by a single stroke, including No. 1 Ingrid Lindblad.
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“The way I thought my way around the golf course was great today,” said Darling. “I was really disciplined. Me and my caddie, we made some really smart targets, and we were just hitting committed shots to those targets.”
