‘I like chasing’: Spanish pair eyes Saturday rally at Augusta National

AUGUSTA, Ga. – On a stacked Stanford team that features five players ranked 27th or better in the world, it’s difficult to stand out. But Andrea Revuelta, an 18-year-old from Madrid, ended last year with serious momentum after grabbing low-amateur honors over her Spanish teammate Paula Martin Sampedro at the Spanish Open, the Ladies European Tour event in early December where Revuelta tied for fifth.

Then the freak accident happened.

Revuelta was working out in January when she attempted to re-rack a 40-pound plate. Next thing she knew her right shoulder gave way.

“I looked back and couldn’t see my shoulder,” Revuelta said.

Luckily, Revuelta’s shoulder quickly popped back into place. But the injury still relegated her to the sidelines for months.

As she gears up for Saturday’s final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Revuelta still favors the shoulder slightly, and yet, there she is, tied for third with another Cardinal in Megha Ganne and fellow Spaniard Carla Bernat, the Kansas State senior who is paired with Revuelta in the penultimate twosome, right in front of co-leaders Lottie Woad and Kiara Romero, who are just one shot clear.

“This is such a magical place,” Revuelta said. “I feel like you have to make it your own, and you have to play with your game whatever you think it is.”

For Revuelta, that’s ball-striking at an elite level, including hitting greens at a high percentage (she’s tied for first in the field through 36 holes). Bernat, a two-time, second-team All-American last season, doesn’t have a glaring weakness, says her college coach Stew Burke, but that didn’t stop her from asking countryman Josele Ballester, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion out of Arizona State, for some chipping advice.

Bernat and Ballester were basically neighbors growing up in Castellon, Spain. They attended the same high school, and when both decided to transition from tennis to golf, they sought the tutelage of Victor Garcia, father of past Masters champion Sergio Garcia.

“He’s like my brother,” Bernat said of Ballester.

Ballester makes his Masters debut next week, while Bernat is coming off a T-17 showing at last year’s ANWA, where she carded a final-round 72 two days after being the only person to break 70 in difficult conditions at Champions Retreat.

Burke calls Bernat the ultimate underdog.

“That’s a mistake a lot of people make,” Burke said. “She never gets on the Annika watch list, and I don’t know why. She’s got that underdog mentality. All her preparation this season has been building to get ready for this event. This is not unexpected.

“She’s ready to break through.”

Currently No. 29 in WAGR, Bernat is on a streak of four straight top-6 finishes, including a T-3 at last week’s Silicon Valley Showcase, where she turned in the exact three-round scores as Revuelta, who was competing as an individual in her first event back from injury while Stanford’s A-team was keeping their perfect season alive at Colonial.

There was added significance to that event, too, as the host course, Green Hills Country Club in Millbrae, California, is designed by the same architect as Augusta National, Alister Mackenzie.

“We specifically picked that because of this,” Burke said. “What a way to prepare.”

With Friday’s practice round over and their preparation finalized, all that is left for Revuelta and Bernat to do is get some rest and wake up ready to compete their hardest.

“I’ve dreamt it a lot, to be honest,” Revuelta said. “I’ve said this speech in my head like probably a thousand times to be honest. I feel golf is a game you have to play shot by shot. … Thinking that whatever happens, it’s for a reason. You’ve come here with your homework done. I’ve practiced, I know my game, I know I’m ready, and I’m excited to see what tomorrow holds for me.”

Added Bernat: “I think I’m going to sleep OK because I can chase instead of be chased in this moment, right? I like chasing more than being chased. Yeah, I mean, I came here to win, right? I don’t want to think about people behind me, just in front.”