Marin and Oh Lead at Augusta National Women’s Amateur

Maria José Marin and Soomin Oh turned Champions Retreat into a showcase of calm aggression on Wednesday, their bogey-free 65s setting both the tone and the standard for a record‑setting opening day at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Marin’s precision masterclass

Starting on the back nine, Marin eased into her round with early birdies at 12 and 15, then delivered the stretch that defined her day: three in a row across the turn at 18, 1 and 2, before finishing with birdies on her final two holes. Her card may look stress‑free, but the underlying numbers show just how complete the performance was. She hit 13 of 14 fairways, ranking tied second in driving accuracy, while averaging 263.1 yards off the tee – a rare blend of control and length. From there she found 17 of 18 greens in regulation, the best in the field at 94.44%, giving herself a steady procession of birdie looks and eliminating the need for scrambling heroics.

The putter backed up that ball‑striking. Marin needed only 28 putts, tied for eighth in the field, and crucially avoided a single three‑putt despite the subtly sloping Champions Retreat greens. Her performance sat squarely within a historically low‑scoring day: the field’s 72.22 scoring average was the best for any round in ANWA history, with 31 players breaking par and nine turning in bogey‑free cards. That she led many of the key ball‑striking metrics within such a high‑quality scoring environment underscores the authority of her 65 rather than flattering it.

Context makes this round feel even bigger. Marin, the No. 7 amateur in the world coming in, has built a season on consistency – a win and nine top‑10s for Arkansas, plus co‑medalist honors at the Clemson Invitational just three days earlier. She also brings the scar tissue of last year, when missing the cut at this championship “hurt a lot,” a moment she says forced her to learn patience and resist the urge to force results. Her opening 65, in that light, reads as both a technical statement and an emotional response: golf, as she put it, doing its thing once she committed to keeping “two feet on the ground.”

Oh’s power‑and‑touch blend

If Marin’s round was about relentless precision, Soomin Oh’s 65 carried the electricity of momentum runs and aggressive shot‑making. She poured in five birdies in her first nine holes, including three straight at 7, 8 and 9, then added two more late in the day at 14 and 18 to join Marin at seven under. Her statistical profile backs up her own post‑round summary: “my driving was really good and my putting was really good.

Oh’s driving numbers were eye‑catching: she averaged 290.8 yards off the tee, among the longest in the field, though she hit only 8 of 14 fairways. That trade‑off suited Champions Retreat’s par‑5s, which she said she loves precisely because she can reach them in two; her length effectively turned them into scoring holes. Despite hitting 14 of 18 greens – solid but not dominant – she converted efficiently with 28 putts, matching Marin in total putts and three‑putt avoidance. She also went a perfect 1‑for‑1 in sand saves, evidence that the occasional miss did not derail the round.

Oh’s 65 also needs to be read against her broader trajectory. Ranked No. 10 in the world, she has finished runner‑up three times this year, including at the Women’s Amateur Asia‑Pacific and the Chinese Taipei Women’s Amateur, and even contended on the Ladies European Tour at the Women’s New South Wales Open. A year ago at Augusta National she missed the cut; on Wednesday she spoke about trying not to be “greedy,” focusing on one shot at a time rather than expectations. The statistics suggest she found that balance: she used her length to create chances but did not chase heroics when out of position, instead leaning on a tidy short game to keep the bogeys off the card.

A global leaderboard, and a day of records

Behind Marin and Oh, the leaderboard underlined the global reach and rising depth of the women’s amateur game. Canadian Vanessa Borovilos shot 66 in her championship debut – the lowest opening round ever by a first‑time participant – and did it with a modern power‑precision blend: 279.9 yards off the tee, 16 of 18 greens and only 29 putts. She was joined at six under by Asterisk Talley, whose 66 included a holed bunker shot for eagle at the par‑5 18th, just the eighth eagle ever recorded on that hole in ANWA history.

Stat lines across the board pointed to both opportunity and rising quality. Arianna Lau and Seojin Park also recorded 16 greens in regulation, while players like Kiara Romero – the world No. 1 – combined big‑time length (284.9 yards on average) with strong iron play to sit well‑placed after a two‑under 70. Past champion Anna Davis posted a one‑under 71, keeping herself inside the projected cut line and within sight of Augusta National. By day’s end, the top eight players represented seven countries – Colombia, South Korea, Canada, the United States, Spain, Australia and Sweden – a snapshot of elite women’s amateur golf as a genuinely international conversation rather than a regional one.

Ganne’s fight on a low‑scoring day

On a day when the scoring average was the lowest in championship history, Megha Ganne had to grind. She hit just 7 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens, needing 31 putts, yet went 1‑for‑1 from the sand to salvage what she could. In a round defined by small misses rather than big errors, it was the contrast with the leaders’ ruthless efficiency that made her effort feel particularly long.

As the championship turns to Thursday’s second round at Champions Retreat, Marin and Oh head out not just with a share of the lead but with two distinct blueprints for how to navigate a course that yielded birdies yet punished hesitation. One leans on fairways and near‑flawless greens‑in‑regulation; the other on length, confidence in par‑5s and a hot putter. Both, however, are rooted in the same thing the numbers can’t fully capture: the ability to carry the scars of past disappointments into a new week and still play like nothing is owed, and everything is possible.

Maria Jose Marin - Photo by Logan Whitton/Augusta National/Getty Images