EVANS, Ga. – Last year, Kiara Romero found herself playing in the final group at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, paired with the No. 1 amateur in the world, defending champion Lottie Woad.
The stage, the pressure, the gallery was unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
Advertisement
“There was obviously a lot of excitement,” said Romero. “It kind of felt like I had no control over my body and my hands, and everything was moving really fast.”
Romero bogeyed the first hole and parred the gettable par-5 second. She shot 38 on the front nine and ultimately dropped down into a share of seventh after a closing 74.
Kiara Romero walks a practice round at Champions Retreat with older sister/caddie Kaleiya Romero.
Romero comes into this year’s ANWA ranked as the No. 1 amateur in the world, and if she finds herself back in that position on Saturday, she’s confident that she’ll be able to calm the storm.
“I’ll just remember to just kind of look around and just, kind of, stay in the moment,” said Romero on the eve of the tournament, “and just focus on the shot that’s right in front of me. Talk to my sister and look at the fans, talk to the fans.”
Advertisement
When asked if she went to a sport psychologist to develop a plan, Romero said no.
“I always read a lot of books and listen to a lot of podcasts, and I think I’ve been working on my faith,” said Romero, who attends a Bible study on Tuesday nights for athletes at the University of Oregon.
“Just building a relationship with the Lord, and just knowing that my identity’s not in golf, it doesn’t matter what my score is out there. I am who I am off the course, and that’s something that’s really changed a lot for me.”
The seventh edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur features 48 of the top 50 amateurs in the world. Two reigning No. 1s have taken home the title in previous years: Jennifer Kupcho (2019) and Rose Zhang (2023).
Advertisement
Romero, 20, comes into this week fresh off collegiate victories at the Chevron Collegiate in February and a five-shot win at the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate at Colonial in March. She’s hitting it about 10 yards farther than she did last year, which older sister Kaleiya picked up on during Tuesday’s practice round at Champions Retreat.
“I think she’s in a good headspace for this year,” said Kaleiya, who is coming off playing three consecutive weeks on the Epson Tour, where she finished T-11, T-5 and T-9. Kaleiya also works as an assistant coach at Oregon when not on the road.
The first two rounds of the ANWA will be held Wednesday and Thursday at Champions Retreat, after which the field of 72 will be cut to 30 and ties. All 72 players will then play a practice round on Friday at Augusta National before the final round takes place there on Saturday.
This could be Romero’s final appearance at the ANWA as she’s likely to follow in the footsteps of Woad in earning her LPGA card through the tour’s LEAP program. Romero currently leads the standings with 14 points. She needs 20 to earn her LPGA card. She’ll earn one point each for the Curtis Cup and Palmer Cup. If she stays No. 1, she can earn three points there, plus four at the end of the summer by winning the McCormack Medal. A victory this week is worth two points.
Advertisement
“Haven’t really thought about it much, ” said Romero of this potentially being her last shot. “That’s a little bit further in the future. Just taking each tournament as it is, and knowing that it could be my last. … You never know when you can come back here.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: No. 1 Kiara Romero on losing control on first tee at Augusta last year
Read the full article here