Women’s Golf: Sambach, Cleary set to compete at Augusta National

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia women’s golfers Jennifer Cleary and Amanda Sambach open play at the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Wednesday. Both players met the standard of being among the United States’ top-30 players in the final World Amateur Golf Rankings for 2022 to qualify for the field. There are a total of 72 player’s in the field for the event.

Former Cavalier All-American Beth Lillie also qualified for the event but opted out due to her coaching responsibilities at Cal Poly. She played in the event last year.

This will be Cleary’s first appearance at the event while Sambach will be competing for the third consecutive year. Previously, UVA’s Anna Redding played in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019. The 2020 championship was canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The first 36 holes of the ANWA will be contested over two days on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., March 29-30. The entire field will then play Augusta National for an official practice round Friday, March 31. The final round will take place at Augusta National on Saturday, April 1 and will feature the top 30 competitors who made the cut.

Last year, Sambach was part of a four-player playoff for the final spot in the field. She made it down to the final two players  in the playoff before losing to Germany’s Paula Schulz-Hanssen on the fourth playoff hole.

Sambach (Pinehurst, N.C.) is scheduled to start her first round today at 8:35 a.m. from the first hole. Cleary (Wilmington, Del.) will be in the last group to tee off. She starts at 10:07 a.m. from the 10th tee.

New in 2023, the first and second rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur will be broadcast live on Golf Channel (1:30-3:30 p.m. ET) from Champions Retreat Golf Club. NBC Sports will produce and broadcast three hours (Noon-3 p.m. ET) of live final-round coverage of the event at Augusta National. Additionally, Golf Channel’s “Live From the Masters” will commence on Friday, April 1 at Augusta National to provide coverage of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals and the Masters Tournament.

More information, including live scoring, is available www.ANWAgolf.com.