Anna Davis, the bucket hat-wearing teen whose chill demeanor made her an instant favorite at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, will take her California cool to the professional ranks next week as she competes on a sponsor exemption in the inaugural Palos Verdes Championship.
It will be her LPGA debut.
Davis, 16, came from two back to win at Augusta National earlier this month with a final-round 3-under 69. The high school sophomore from Spring Valley, California, was the only player in the field who finished under par for the tournament.
The LPGA is hosting back-to-back events in the Los Angeles area, offering an “LA LPGA Dual Ticket” – a weekly grounds pass that provides access to both Palos Verdes and this week’s DIO Implant LA Open at Wilshire Country Club.
Davis, who now ranks 47th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, will first try to Monday qualify for the LA Open, where two spots are up for grabs.
Prior to winning at Augusta, Davis won the Girls Junior PGA Championship by seven strokes, which also happens to be where she first started wearing a bucket hat.
Davis joins Wake Forest junior Rachel Kuehn, winner of the 2022 Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club in March, as sponsor exemptions for the new LPGA Palos Verdes event.