Emma Bunch ready to be first NMSU golfer at top women’s amateur match

The tournament will be held from Wednesday-Saturday in Georgia and play host to the best female amateur golfers in the world.

This week, Emma Bunch will be making history.

New Mexico State’s Danish junior golfer will become the first Aggie to compete at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The tournament takes place in Evans and Augusta, Ga., from Wednesday to Saturday, with the first two rounds in Evans on Wednesday and Thursday.

If Bunch makes the cut, a top-30 place among the 72 players, she’ll play a practice round on Friday before the final round on Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club, the site of the annual Masters Tournament. Golf Channel will televise the first two rounds from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, with NBC broadcasting the final round from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Bunch is thrilled to compete and is ready to showcase her skills at the prestigious tournament.

“It’s literally the biggest event for amateurs in female golf,” Bunch said. “It’s such an honor to be playing and representing (NM State), Denmark, my home country, and just being able to play. It’s just great.”

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Bunch received an email in December stating she was on a “watchlist” for an invitation to the tournament, which is open to eligible golfers in the top 50 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Bunch, ranked 44th entering the final week of December, watched her mail closely over the following weeks and received an invite in January.

She wasn’t surprised when it arrived, as she maintained her top 50 ranking, but was still overcome with joy.

“I had looked at the rankings, so I knew that it probably would be coming, but it still was unreal opening it, seeing it, and getting my hands on it,” Bunch said. “You see all these guys getting invited to the Masters, and it’s the same type of invitation. It’s a huge moment.”

Bunch enters the tournament on a recent high note, having claimed an individual title in the Spring Break Shootout from March 17-18 in Bowling Green, Ky. The win gave her an NM State record-tying seven individual titles and the ninth Conference USA Golfer of the Week honor in her career.

Bunch’s 2024-25 season has been full of highlights. She’s ranked as NM State’s top individual golfer in six events, scored the most points for the Aggies in the NB3 Matchplay event last October, and has climbed to 37th in the WAGR entering the ANWA.

This week provides a greater challenge for Bunch. She’ll compete against 71 of the world’s best female amateurs, including nine of the WAGR’s top-10 golfers. Bunch says her performances for the Aggies give her confidence heading into Wednesday, and she hopes to last all three rounds.

“It’s the best amateurs in the world, so it’ll be a really strong field. I’ll have to play my best to compete,” Bunch said. “But also, I’ve played against most of the girls, and I’ve even competed alongside them in events, so I know a lot of them. It’ll be fun to play against the best in the world and see how I compete.

“Making the cut is the main thing because I want to play a competitive round at Augusta. That’s the first goal, and then we’ll see what happens.”

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The ANWA is Bunch’s toughest test but not her first major event. Last year, she played for the International team in the Arnold Palmer Cup, finished tied for ninth at the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship, and tied for fifth in the Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship. Bunch was also on the Danish national team that finished ninth at the 2023 European Ladies’ Team Championship.

With plenty of experience against top competition, Bunch believes she matches well with the ANWA field.

“It’s made me more secure in my own golf game and more confident that I can actually compete with the best of the best,” Bunch said. “Being here and being able to practice outdoors all the time has helped improve my games, and over the summer, I played a lot of big events.

“I know that I can compete. It’s not like they’re way better than me or anything.”

Bunch has enjoyed her time with the Aggies. She’s gathered many accolades, been able to practice year-round due to Las Cruces’ weather, and be prepared for a professional career when she leaves.

Bunch has many goals in Georgia this week. Among them is wanting to represent the Aggies proudly.

“I think it’s super awesome,” Bunch said. “I’m the first one from New Mexico State to compete there, so I think I just need to go be myself out there, have a really great attitude, take it all in, and see it as a great experience. It’s more than just a competition.”