EVANS, Ga. — As if the Augusta National Women’s Amateur wasn’t challenging enough as is, inclement weather has made the third playing of one of the biggest events in women’s golf even more difficult.
Before players could begin their second round at 7:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning at Champions Retreat Golf Club, the weather forced a seven-and-a-half hour delay, creating questions about Friday’s practice round down the road at Augusta National Golf Club. But the sun came out in the afternoon, and play resumed at 3 p.m. ET, setting up a race against the sunset.
Nine players were able to finish their second rounds when play was suspended at 7:52 p.m. ET. The last groups will need to finish nine holes when play resumes Friday morning at Champions Retreat at 7:30 a.m. ET.
ANWA: Leaderboard | Best photos
Meet the field: Americans | Internationals
Five players were under par following the first round, but none were in the red when the horn sounded Thursday night. ANWA three-timer Beatrice Wallin – who has her brother on the bag – USC freshman phenom Amari Avery and Michigan’s Hailey Borja are all tied atop the leaderboard at even par. Borja was the lone player under par before making bogey on No. 11, her final hole of the day.
“My alarm this morning went off at 5:10 and I got the message at 5:30 that there was a delay. I got to sleep in a little bit, which was very nice,” Wallin said. “Then I got here with the first shuttle, played some cards with my friend and my brother and just enjoyed some time and chilled.”
“Honestly, I was just chilling, listening to some music and hanging out with friends,” Avery said. “Luckily the rain cleared up and we went on the range to hit a little bit when they said three o’clock was going to be the first tee time.”
“I was originally supposed to go off at 9:06 and ended up going off at 4:36, so it was definitely a long day, but a day to be patient,” Borja said. “I think today was all about being patient. I really thought about the positives of today. Like, yeah it’s bad weather, but everyone here is trying to do the best they can and have the best conditions that we can play on. I just really started to think positive about it.”
The top-30 players will advance to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National, and a playoff will take place if necessary following the second round. Those 30 players will then make their way to Augusta National for an afternoon practice round, with the time yet to be determined.
As it stands, 11 players are battling for five spots in the top 30, with 20 players just four shots outside the current projected cut of 5 over.
Will Cheney of the August Chronicle contributed to this article.