A Historic Asterisk and Patience Prevails at 2026 Augusta National Women's Amateur

Asterisk Talley has been flawless through the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The 17-year-old takes a one-shot lead over Stanford’s Meja Ortengren and Arkansas’ Maria Jose Marin going into Saturday’s final loop at Augusta National. Her bogey-free streak stretches back to last year’s ANWA for a record 48 straight holes without dropping a shot.

It’s all going swimmingly for Talley, who has kept things largely stress-free the last two days. Her length off the tee has helped her shoot 6 under on the par 5s this week. When she has missed targets with her approaches, her scrambling and putting have shone to keep her card clean, especially late in the second round on Thursday at the par-3 17th, one of the most difficult holes at Champions Retreat. Her tee shot left her short and right of the long and left pin, but she navigated the lengthy two-putt to avoid dropping into a three-way tie for the lead. Over the opening rounds, Talley ranks second in the field in putts per green at 1.47.

What Talley faces next is uncharted territory for the decorated junior. She’ll have two nights to sleep on her lead. That’s the cruel reward for outpacing her competitors, the wonky result of ANWA’s one-of-a-kind format. This isn’t Talley’s first rodeo at Augusta, however, and her past performances suggest she’ll be just fine with the wait. She has final round scores of 68 and 70 the past two years. Those are valuable reps and experience she’ll lean on come Saturday.

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Her distance should be an even bigger weapon at Augusta National, where she can reach all the par 5s in two. She ranks third in driving distance at 278 yards, whereas Ortengren and Marin — her two closest chasers — average 259 and 257 yards, respectively. Perhaps most importantly, Talley has shown a steadiness at Augusta National. She has just four bogeys in those two previous final rounds. If she’s not dropping shots, the pressure will be on everyone else in the field to close the gap.

A Bittersweet Goodbye

Megha Ganne’s long history with Augusta National will end one day shorter than she had hoped. A 7-over total at Champions Retreat put her eight shots off the cutline. The six-time ANWA competitor’s last crack at Augusta National will be a non-competitive one in Friday’s practice round. Ganne has a decade-old relationship with Augusta, first appearing in the Drive, Chip, and Putt finals in 2015. Shortly after her round wrapped up, Ganne provided a small peek into the current state of the physical and mental sides of her game: “My body hasn’t felt the way I wanted for the last few months. Even apart from that, I just don’t feel great over the ball, but I’m excited to get to a place where I do.”

Patience Prevails

Patience Rhodes’ preparation for ANWA didn’t involve much golf. This is the first start back for the Arizona State junior since breaking her left leg over the holidays, and she was put in the marquee group with tournament-favorite Talley and world No. 11 Aphrodite Deng. So much for easing into things. Rhodes spent eight weeks non-mobile and has worked tirelessly to get back in time for this week. According to ASU head coach Missy Farr-Kaye, she’s nowhere near pain-free, and she estimates her health at roughly 70%. After Rhodes bagged a late birdie on the 16th to sneak inside the cutline, Farr-Kaye was elated. “I’m so proud of her. Happy for all the blood, sweat, and tears that she’s put into this that people don’t see.” Rhodes was walking with a slight limp after her round, but will no doubt be just fine playing through the pain on Saturday. ‍

Follow Meg Adkins for updates throughout the weekend from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.