Carla Bernat Escuder Narrowly Beats Asterisk Talley To Augusta National Women's Amateur Title

A final round of 68 gave Spaniard Carla Bernat Escuder victory at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur by one over American Asterisk Talley.

The 21-year-old carded two opening rounds of the same score at Champions Retreat to safely book her place in the deciding day at Augusta National, along with 31 others.

Bernat Escuder began the day one behind co-leaders, defending champion Lottie Woad and Kiara Romero, while Talley was also firmly in the running, and put down an early marker with a hole-out eagle on the first.

In the penultimate group, Kansas State University player Bernat Escuder also didn’t take long to settle any nerves a little while later, with a birdie at the par-5 second. Meanwhile, Woad also birdied the first, with Romero making a bogey as her challenge began poorly and ultimately faded as her round went on.

Bernat Escuder’s third birdie of the day came at the eighth as she took the solo lead, with her fourth arriving at the par-3 ninth as she moved to 11-under as it increasingly began to look as though this could be her day. At that point, a bogey at the fourth was the only blot on her copybook.

Bernat Escuder then had a wobble at the 10^th when she missed the green to the right, but she recovered beautifully with an up-and-down to save par, before another birdie at the 13^th stretched her lead to three.

That came after Woad’s challenge suffered a significant blow on the 10th with a costly double bogey. Meanwhile, Talley’s spectacular start was tempered by back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and the sixth before she recovered with successive birdies at the seventh and eighth to stay in touch.

By the 15^th, Woad was Bernat Escuder’s closest challenger despite her earlier setback, but she still found herself two behind the leader, and that became three after the Spaniard made her sixth birdie of the day as the title moved within her grasp.

Soon after, Woad fell to third after Talley’s birdie at the 17^th closed the gap to two on the leader. Things then tightened further at the top after Bernat Escuder’s second bogey of the day on the 17^th, leaving Talley with an opening as the pair headed to the 18^th tee.

Despite Bernat Escuder’s approach leaving her closer to the back of the green than she would have wanted, her birdie attempt from distance was judged beautifully, leaving her just a few feet from victory. Talley then completed her round with a tap-in for par, with just Bernat Escuder’s nerves standing between her and the title. They didn’t let her down as she confidently rolled in the winning putt.

Afterwards, Bernat Escuder admitted the scale of her victory hadn’t sunk in, saying: “It feels amazing. I feel over the moon. Right now, I don't think my brain has processed that I won.”

She also admitted that her par save at the 10^th had proved a crucial moment for her momentum, adding: “Yeah, I knew the tournament was going to start on No. 10 because I've watched all the Masters. As soon as I hit that second shot, I was like, 'Oh, I need to get it together and just get this par, and I dig in,' and I think that was the key.”

Bernat Escuder’s achievement means she’s the first Spaniard to claim the prestigious title and the sixth player in total, alongside Jennifer Kupcho, Tsubasa Kajitani, Anna Davies, Rose Zhang and Woad.