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Junior tied for best finish among first-time competitors in this year’s event.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Michael Navarrette
Photo: Courtesy
AUGUSTA, Ga. – A historic weekend has come to a close. Emma Bunch closed out competition at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur where she became the first Aggie in program history to compete in the renowned tournament. In a field of 72 of the top amateur golfers in the world, Bunch finished tied for 11th (-4) following a final round at Augusta National Golf Club.
Following a Tuesday practice round, the tournament began on Wednesday at Champions Retreat Golf Club. In the opening round of play, Bunch produced four birdies on her way to ending the day at even par (72) and in a tie for 30th in a tournament in which only the top 30 players after two rounds make the cut.
Bunch returned to Champions Retreat on Thursday and carded one of the lowest rounds in the field as she shot a 67 (-5), which ranked fourth among second-round scores and moved her into eighth place after 36 holes. By making the cut, Bunch was one of just nine first-time ANWA participants to qualify for the final round of play at Augusta National. Additionally, at five-under, Bunch paced all first-time competitors entering the final round.
In the final round at the historic Augusta National Golf Club, Bunch posted a 73 (+1) to end the 54-hole event in a tie for 11th place and just one stroke out of the top 10. Ultimately, Bunch tied with SMU’s Mackenzie Lee for the lowest score by a first-time competitor.
The individual crown went to Kansas State’s Carla Bernat Escuder who shot a 68 (-4) in the final round to finish the week at 12-under (204) and one stroke clear of 16-year-old Asterisk Talley.
SCORECARDS
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 72 |
| R1 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 72 (E) |
| R2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 67 (-5) |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 72 |
| R3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 73 (+1) |
Biography from Augusta National Women’s Amateur website:
- Age:22
- Hometown: Lynge, Denmark
- Education: New Mexico State University
Emma Kaisa Bunch is making her Championship debut. The 2024 Second Team All-American won six events for New Mexico State in calendar-year 2024. After winning five consecutive starts in her sophomore season, she started her junior season with a victory in the Golfweek Fall Challenge in September and added another win in the Spring Break Shootout in March. Also in 2024, she was a member of the International team in the Arnold Palmer Cup in Ireland and finished T-5 in the Spirit International in Texas and T-9 in the European Ladies’ Amateur in Finland. In 2023, she won both the Danish Women’s National Match Play and Stroke Play titles and finished runner-up in the Women’s Amateur championships of Poland and Austria.
