AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) — Thirty-two women will compete Saturday for the coveted title of Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion, but Friday was a closed practice round where everyone got to play.

The closed practice meant even cameras were not allowed, although Augusta National Golf Club did provide pictures of the day.

For some, Friday was the experience of a lifetime.

But for others, it was all about preparation.

Augusta National is a course that rewards experience. Asterisk Talley, who leads by one heading into Saturday, is hoping the third time’s the charm.

She was the only player to card two bogey-free rounds at Champions Retreat to put her in the top spot.

Her best finish was last year when she was the runner-up.

Friday was all about building on the knowledge she already has.

“I’ve just been hitting the ball pretty well all week. I mean, I’ve hit a lot of fairways and only missed a couple of greens yesterday but was able to get the ball up and down,” Talley said. “My putting has been pretty good. So I think everything is kind of just clicking this week. I think it’s all connecting, and that’s the only reason I shot two bogey-free rounds.”

The 17-year-old from California has committed to Stanford and sits at 11 under.

If she wins, she’ll be the first American since Rose Zhang’s victory in 2023.

On Thursday, she led by one shot Stanford sophomore Meja Örtengren of Sweden, the No. 5 player in women’s amateur golf.

Avery Weed of Mississippi State (70) and Stanford sophomore Andrea Revuelta of Spain (72) were five shots behind in a tie for fourth. Revuelta is the No. 3 player in the women’s amateur ranking.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Talley is not alone at the top of the leaderboard.

Örtengren of Sweden and Maria Jose Marin of Colombia both sit one shot back at 10 under.

Marin is the reigning NCAA champion, and Örtengren is the fifth-ranked amateur in the world.

“I think we’re very fortunate to have such a big group of great players right now. We are all playing very good golf, but we are also very close off the golf course,” Örtengren said. “So we spend a lot of time with each other really, like, picking each other’s brains, trying to find some piece of advice from every single one of us.”

Marin said representing Colombia and Latin America is a great pride and honor.

“I’ve been doing it since I’m pretty little, since I’ve been, well, 9 years old in different world championships and everything,” Marin said. “It just means, as I said, great pride to put the colors up in the leaderboard and to know that I have their full support.”

Among those who missed the cut were U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Megha Ganne, one of five Stanford players in the field this week. She opened with a 77 and never got on track in the second round with a 74.

Elia Galitsky of Thailand, the 19-year-old who has finished in the top 10 her previous two appearances in the ANWA, birdied three straight holes only to make par on her par-5 closing hole for a 70 to miss the cut by one shot.

Örtengren has reached the final round two of the last four years. She closed with a 76 a year ago at Augusta National to tie for 14th.

“I think I’ve learned that you need to have a lot of patience out there and be disciplined with your approaches,” the Swede said. “It can get away from you quite easily if you hit bad shots into the greens, but also you can get a lot of opportunities if you hit the right spots at Augusta. So I think that will be the most important thing, staying disciplined from the fairway and also knowing where the right and bad spots are.”

Marin, the NCAA champion last year, made birdie on all four par 5s at Champions Retreat to leave her in prime position to add what already has become the most prestigious amateur event in women’s golf.

Marin reached the final round each of her first two years, and was devastated to miss the cut a year ago. Now she’s back to the home of the Masters with a chance to win.

“It means the world to me, just the fact of playing Augusta National,” Marin said. “It’s amazing. It’s incredible, and it’s just an opportunity that we all get thanks to this amazing tournament. Yeah, just going to enjoy it a lot, enjoy the walk with my family, with my friends, and all of the people that are watching me back in Colombia.”

The final round gets started early Saturday. Here are the pairings and start times:

Second round results and statistics

• The players with later tee times Thursday really slowed down on their last nine holes. That is the Nicklaus Bluff part of the course, which is most known as the hardest part of Champions Retreat. Ten out of Thursday’s top 13 bogeyed on the second nine. – half of them multiple times. Holes 12, 15 and 16 were the most troublesome out there Thursday.
• Asterisk Talley has set the championship record for consecutive holes without a bogey (or worse) at 36, eclipsing the mark set by Carla Bernat Escuder last year (33). Her current streak in this championship, dating back to the 2025 edition, is 48 consecutive bogey-free holes.
• Talley is the first player in the history of the championship to record four consecutive rounds in the 60s.
• Talley, Örtengren and Marin join Rose Zhang (2023) as the only four players in championship history to reach double-digits under par through the first two rounds.
• Örtengren (four birdies, one eagle and one bogey) matched Talley and Korea’s Yunseo Yang for the round of the day (67). The 21-year-old from Linköping, Sweden has two top-15 finishes and two missed cuts in four previous appearances in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
• Marin, the first-round co-leader, birdied the last to sit one stroke back. The junior at Arkansas has finished T-14, T-30 and MC over the past three years, respectively.
• The top-three players on the leader board are all top 10 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings: Talley (No. 9), Örtengren (No. 5) and Marin (No. 6). The two players tied for fourth are No. 3 (Andrea Revuelta) and No. 39 (Avery Weed).
• The 36-hole cut to the top 30 and ties was made at one-under 143 with 32 players advancing to the final round. Four players made the cut on the number: Macy Pate, Catherine Park, Patience Rhodes and Yurina Hiroyoshi.
• The final round at Augusta National Golf Club will air on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

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