Junior Isabella McCauley will become the first Gophers golfer to compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur when it begins Wednesday, a week before the Masters is played on the famed course.
McCauley, from Inver Grove Heights and Simley High School, must be one of 30 players (and ties) to advance from the first 36 holes to play Augusta National Golf Club in Friday’s final round of the 54-hole tournament.
The 72-player field will play the first two rounds at nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club — its front nine designed by Arnold Palmer, the back nine by Jack Nicklaus.
Golf Channel will carry the first two rounds Wednesday and Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. NBC will broadcast Saturday’s final round from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
McCauley is one of 33 players who will make their debut in the tournament, which is being played for a sixth time. She is one of 12 Big Ten players in the field, led by four golfers from USC.
McCauley qualified by being one of the 30 highest-ranked players from the United States in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking when invitations went out in January.
All rounds will be simulcast on the Augusta National Women’s Amateur website, anwagolf.com.
