Anna Davis shot to prominence when she won the 2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur. However, that victory is only a small part of her story and she is rapidly growing her reputation as one of college golf's most gifted players.
Here are 15 things to know about the Californian.
Anna Davis Facts
1. Anna Davis was born on 17 March 2006 in Spring Valley, California.
2. She has been used to the spotlight from an early age, and featured in 2013 documentary The Short Game.
3. Anna's big breakthrough came in April 2022 when she won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at just 16, making her the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.
4. The victory also earned her social media messages of congratulations from both Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
5. For that win, she wore a bucket hat, which became a viral hit at the time. Per Golf Digest, she later said: “The fuss over the bucket hat was pretty funny for a little while.”
6. While Davis’s win in the prestigious event ensured she will have fond memories of Augusta National to last a lifetime, one of the delicacies the club is most famous for – the pimento cheese sandwich - is not to her liking. She told the media: “I know the pimento cheese thing is like a really big thing, but I just can’t get over how gross it is.”
7. Later in 2022, Davis played in seven LPGA Tour events, and made the cut in five of them.
8. One of the events where she made the cut was her second Major appearance – the Amundi Evian Championship, where she finished T65.
9. Despite winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in her first attempt, her next two appearances in it were not as successful – not helped by penalties incurred in each. In 2023, she missed the cut by two after receiving a four-stroke penalty on the opening hole when she twice mistakenly marked and cleaned her ball in the rough after thinking it was preferred lies everywhere. A year on, she received a one-stroke slow play penalty and missed the cut by one.
10. Anna is known for her composure on the course, and told LPGA.com it comes down to her approach to the game. She explained: "You can't take it too seriously to the point where you're just getting mad on the golf course. It's supposed to be fun. You have to treat it that way."
11. She is left-handed, but, as she explained to USGA.org, it might not have been the case. She said: “When I was 2 or 3 years old, I used to do everything left-handed, but then just as my parents were about to get me golf clubs, I started doing everything right-handed. They were, like, what? Still, they got me left-handed clubs.”
12. She has a twin brother, Billy, who is also a rising star of the golf world. Both play for Auburn, while they were also both selected for the 2023 US Junior Ryder Cup team.
13. Billy Monday qualified for the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship. Anna was his caddie when he booked his spot at the PGA Tour event.
14. Anna was also a member of the 2021 US Junior Solheim Cup team, while the same year, she won the Girls Junior PGA Championship.
15. Davis also helped the US to victory at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup, while she also represented her country in that year’s Curtis Cup at Sunningdale, although Great Britain & Ireland were the victors on that occasion.
ANNA DAVIS BIO
ANNA DAVIS WINS
- 2021 PING Heather Farr Classic
- 2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur
- 2023 Junior Orange Bowl International
- 2023 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley
- 2024 NCAA DI Auburn Regional
- 2024 Illini Invitational at Medinah
