BANDON, Ore. – Megha Ganne and Anna Davis put on quite a show in their Round-of-32 match at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, and the fireworks started immediately.
On just the third shot of the match, Ganne pulled 9-iron from 120 yards at the first hole, flighted it perfectly into the fan, and watched as the ball disappeared for eagle. Davis responded brilliantly, wedging her approach to 6 inches, but still lost the hole.
“Kind of a crazy start,” Ganne said.
Ya think?
The spectacular opening set the tone for what would be a high-caliber battle between two of amateur golf’s brightest stars. Ganne, a Stanford senior and two-time first-team All-American, ranks No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Davis, an Auburn junior with two second-team All-American selections, sits at No. 14. Both have competed on prestigious teams like the Curtis Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup.
Despite their friendship, this marked their first head-to-head matchup.
“We weren’t really looking forward to playing each other because we’re such great friends,” Ganne said, “but I thought it brought out a lot of great golf shots from both of us.”
Ganne knew she needed to be aggressive against the fundamentally sound Davis, who rarely beats herself. The match remained tight early, with the players trading blows through the first five holes. Ganne, who fell 1 down after three, regained a 1-up lead with a clutch 20-foot par save from the fescue at the par-4 fifth.
Davis tied things up with a birdie at the eighth, but Ganne responded by winning the next three holes in succession. She drained a 7-footer at the 10th and chipped in for birdie at the 11th to build a 3-up advantage.
Davis refused to go quietly, eagling the par-5 13th to cut into the deficit. But Ganne maintained control and nearly holed out again from 50 yards at the short par-4 16th. When her birdie putt dropped five feet later, Ganne had secured her spot in the Round of 16.
She’ll face another formidable opponent this afternoon in world No. 20 Kary Hollenbaugh.
