Worthy Champion, Rising Star Shine at 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur

The 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur began with a broken record and ended with one, too.

Megha Ganne’s opening round 9-under 63 set the tone for what turned out to be a great week, but come Saturday afternoon at Augusta National, two other players separated from the pack to shine in the spotlight. Spain’s Carla Bernat Escuder shot a 4-under 68 to win the ANWA at 12 under, a record-low score in the elite event’s six-year history (Jennifer Kupcho set the previous record in the inaugural 2019 ANWA at 10 under). American Asterisk Talley, the 16-year-old who introduced herself to golf fans at last year’s ANWA with a T8 finish thanks to four second-nine birdies, finished runner-up by one shot. Fried Egg Golf's Meg Adkins and Adam Woodard were on-site all week in Georgia, and Meg was following the eventual champion all afternoon on Saturday.

After tapping in her birdie putt on the par-4 ninth hole, Bernat Escuder made her way past the green and tried to navigate a maze of ropes. A couple of wrong turns later, she ended up chatting and high-fiving a few young patrons until a volunteer helped her find her way. Unfazed by almost eagling the ninth and about to begin the second nine with the solo lead at 11-under par, Bernat Escuder seemed cool as can be on her way to the 10th tee.

What she faced atop the hill was the most difficult hole of the final round. Giving up just one birdie all day, the par-4 10th derailed multiple rounds, including that of defending champion Lottie Woad, who began the day tied for the lead but finished third. Bernat Escuder didn't make things easy for herself. A wayward second shot left her needing to get up and down to avoid giving back the lead she'd just earned.

"I knew the tournament started on No. 10, so when I hit the second shot on No. 10, I was like, damn," Bernat Escuder said with a smirk.

The frustration didn't last as Bernat Escuder escaped with a clutch up-and-down par that set the tone and settled her down as she picked apart the rest of the second nine, extending her lead and walking off 18 as the ANWA champ.

Her friends and coaches at Kansas State University weren't hard to find as we made our way to Amen Corner. Decked out in purple and hanging on every moment, it was obvious how big of a deal it was for all of them to see Bernat Escuder leap to the top of the leaderboard. K-State's head coach, Stew Burke, described her as the hardest worker he's ever coached. Bernat Escuder played under Burke at Tulane University when she first moved overseas from Spain. When Burke was hired by K-State, he brought along his assistant, Rinko Mitsunaga. Soon after, Bernat Escuder would follow. Who knew that two years later, Mitsunaga and Bernat Escuder would be hugging on the 18th green, celebrating the biggest win in program history?

{{content-block-test-anwa-gallery-1}}

The victory may have been a surprise to most, especially with a crowded leaderboard of big names, but no one in the K-State contingent was caught off guard by Bernat Escuder's performance. A strong driver of the ball, she hit 12 of 14 fairways and rarely put herself in any sort of trouble. Mitsunaga, who caddied for her in last year's ANWA, kept the mood light, frequently pointing out their friends and supporters in the crowd cheering her on. The moment and the atmosphere were not going to derail her.

Bernat Escuder found the purple party quickly after her par putt dropped on the 18th. After hugs and lots of tears, the new champion made her way to scoring. The chatter amongst the group about what they had just seen ratcheted up. One friend mentioned a tattoo wager that now needed to be paid. (Bernat Escuder would confirm later in her presser that her celebration may include some new ink.) Another bragged that Bernat Escuder had listened to him when he told her she needed 4 under all three days to get the job done. Winning at Augusta National isn't just a life-changing moment for Bernat Escuder. As the gravity of what just happened hit her biggest supporters, there wasn't a dry eye in the group as they began to comprehend what had just unfolded.

{{content-block-test-anwa-gallery-2}}

Adam, you saw plenty of emotions out there yourself. Fill us in on Asterisk Talley's run and just how close she was to nabbing the biggest win of her young career.

She got as close as you could get without a playoff! Talley immediately flew into a tie for the lead on the first hole Saturday thanks to a hole-out eagle that she didn’t even see go in.

“I just kind of saw everyone jumping and screaming and I was like, ‘Oh, I guess it went in,’ and I put my putter away and went to the next hole,” said Talley of her eagle. “I'm sure I had some adrenaline, just subconsciously, but I tried to just calm down and think, ‘This is the next hole, that hole is over, and it's time to play 17 more holes.’”

But for the second consecutive year, it was too little, too late for Talley, who went bogey-free on the second nine and birdied Nos. 16 and 17 to put pressure on what turned out to be an unshakable Bernat Escuder.

“I think I'm going to carry this with me throughout the whole year and throughout my whole career. I'm just going to wear that on my sleeve and just take it with me,” said Talley of her runner-up finish. “I think it tells me that I can play against anybody, and I don't have to be scared of any course or anybody in the field. Just knowing that this is one of the most crazy courses and it's so hilly and hard to play, but knowing that I played well here against the best people in the world is something that I'm going to take with me.”

Have you ever heard a teenager speak like that? That’s not media training. That’s just Asterisk being Asterisk: calm, cool, and collected well beyond her 16 years. I’ve covered Talley’s blossoming career for the last two years, and each time I watch her play or speak with her I’m even more impressed. As my esteemed colleague Andy Johnson put it, “There is a naturalness to her game, she has it.”

Superstars in women’s golf usually identify themselves at an early age – think Annika, Lydia, Lexi, and Nelly – and Asterisk is in the process of doing just that. The three-time junior All-American became the first to compete in three USGA championship final matches in the same year. She won the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball with Sarah Lim and finished runner-up to Rianne Malixi – a freshman at Duke who withdrew before the start of this year’s ANWA – in both the U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Women's Amateur. She also represented the United States in both the Curtis Cup and Junior Solheim Cup and shared low amateur honors with Catherine Park and Megan Schofill at the U.S. Women's Open. Not bad for a 16-year-old.

The big question for Talley isn’t if she’ll break off a big win, it’s when (and at what level). A talent like Talley could turn professional right out of high school, similar to Alexa Pano or Akshay Bhatia on the men’s side. Or, she could go the Rose Zhang route and spend some time in college to develop not just as a player, but also as a person.

“I want to go to college. I think it's going to be a great experience for me,” said Talley, who will have heavy hitters like Stanford, Wake Forest, and Southern California lining up for her signature on a letter of intent. “I think it would give me a chance to have a team all the time. I love team play, and I love that environment, and I think it's going to give me a great experience.”

Her time hasn’t come just yet, but it’s coming. And soon. The “little star,” which is how she got the name Asterisk, is becoming a big star before our very eyes. If you haven’t paid attention yet, now’s the time.