Alberto tees off at ANWA today
4/3/2019 6:51:00 AM | Women's Golf
AUGUSTA, Ga. - On Wednesday, Hanna Alberto will make history for the Sam Houston State golf program when she tees off at the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Alberto is one of 72 golfers from around the world who will begin play today in the first ever women's event at the historic Augusta National, site of The Masters.
Alberto received the invite for the event by being one of the top 30 players from the United States based on the final 2018 Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking who did not already qualify automatically by winning one of the six qualifying tournaments.
“I was so excited when I got the official invitation,” Alberto said. “I knew they were taking the top 30 amateurs in the US and I kept checking the list and I was 30th, so I knew it was going to be close. I just kept re-checking it to make sure I had the ranking figured right.”
Her round today will get started at 9:36 a.m. She is paired with Emma Spitz from Austria and Jaravee Boonchant from Thailand. Spitz won the Girls' British Open Amateur and was the bronze medalist at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. Boonchant is a sophomore at Duke and finished runner-up after a playoff at the ACC Championship as a freshman. Follow Alberto's rounds all week on her tournament page https://www.anwagolf.com/en_US/players/player_59564.html?promo=bio_players.
The international field will compete over 54 holes of stroke play, with a cut to 30 players taking place after 36 holes. The first two rounds today and Thursday will take place on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club. The entire field will then play Augusta National for an official practice round on Friday. The final round will take place at Augusta National on Saturday and will feature the competitors who made the cut.
In her first two and a half years at Sam Houston, Alberto has seven tournament victories, including four this year. Both of those marks are new school records. Last season she was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year.
“This is such a huge honor to have Hanna play in this tournament,” said head coach Brandt Kieschnick. “This is a very select field. Hanna will be playing against the top amateur golfers in the world, and to get to play at Augusta is truly special. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
NBC Sports will produce and broadcast three hours of live final-round coverage of the event at Augusta National. Golf Channel will deliver on-site highlights, live reports and news coverage throughout the event. Additionally, Golf Channel's “Live From the Masters” will commence on Friday, April 5 at Augusta National to provide coverage of the Augusta National Women's Amateur, the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals and the Masters Tournament.
“Receiving an invitation to the Augusta National Women's Amateur is representative of a remarkable amateur career, and so much more,” said Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. “We share in the excitement of the players, not only for what will unfold in April, but also for what their involvement will mean to increasing interest in the women's game.”
