26 March 2021: Next week, an Augusta National veteran will be making her debut in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Sound unlikely?
Meet Megha Ganne, a 17-year-old Holmdel, New Jersey, native who is a four-time Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist and invitee to the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Of the seven Drive, Chip and Putt qualifying seasons to date, Ganne has advanced to the National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club an unprecedented four times.
While she did not participate in the inaugural 2013-14 qualifying season, Ganne proceeded to advance to the National Finals in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. She finished in second place in her age division in 2019, with 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir presenting her a trophy under the big oak tree just beyond Augusta National’s Clubhouse.
At the time it just seemed so farfetched. I just never would’ve expected to make that jump. It all came very quickly.
“It’s an insane amount of luck,” Ganne says, in a modest recollection of her tremendous accomplishments. “It’s just nine shots and I don’t know how I managed to hit them all good four different years, but I did. I’m grateful. It’s so different from what you normally do. But each year was a surprise.”
Two years ago, Ganne was disappointed that she finished second. She knew that, at 15, it was the last time she would ever be able to compete in an event that she says will be one of her core memories for the rest of her life.
That’s when Nancy Lopez stepped in.
“It was surreal,” Ganne said of her conversation with the World Golf Hall of Famer and owner of 48 professional victories. “She said, ‘Well, you can always play in ANWA next year.’ At the time it just seemed so farfetched. I just never would’ve expected to make that jump. It all came very quickly.”
Ganne qualified for the originally scheduled 2020 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, just as Lopez said was possible. Because that championship was canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Ganne has had a full year to think about what it’ll be like competing at the place she first saw as a wide-eyed 11-year-old.
In the last year, Ganne, currently ranked No. 74 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, has recorded impressive finishes in nearly every event in which she has played. Starting in early 2020, she played in five junior events which resulted in four top-three finishes – including at the ANNIKA Invitational and the Rolex Tournament of Champions – and another inside the top five.
Several events that Ganne planned to play in this year were canceled, and she has only competed in one event since the calendar turned, notching her second consecutive third-place result at the ANNIKA Invitational.
It’s been a brutal winter in New Jersey, and Ganne admits that her game may not be as sharp as she would like heading into such a competitive event. But she believes she has done all the preparation that she can by working on her swing and hitting balls indoors. She was thrilled to take a trip to Florida in mid-March, if for no other reason than to soak in the warmer climate and play a few full rounds.
“I’m not going to be too hard on myself if I struggle, but I’m going to try to get my game in the best shape that I can over the next week and try to be ready,” Ganne said. “It’s kind of like cramming for a test. You prefer not too, but sometimes you have to get everything in during one week.”
Ganne says that she continues to work hard on the mental side of her game, and she tries to avoid getting too frustrated or too excited during a competitive round. She plans to stay even keel over the first 36 holes at Champions Retreat Golf Club to accomplish her first goal of making the cut and advancing to Augusta National for Saturday’s final round. By her own assessment, Ganne’s driving accuracy is “pretty solid,” so she believes she will be in plenty of positions to hit greens and card good scores.
“I’ll need to get over the happy-to-be-here mentality,” she said.
It’s kind of like cramming for a test. You prefer not too, but sometimes you have to get everything in during one week.
Megha Ganne
That mentality has struck Ganne in each of her previous four visits to Augusta National and she knows that it will be difficult to squash the feeling. Memories of all of her past experiences are so vast that she expects them to come flooding back when she arrives to Augusta.
There was the time she was able to sit in the front seat of the player shuttle while riding down Magnolia Lane. There was also the time she sat next to two-time major champion Martin Kaymer on a connecting flight from Charlotte to Augusta. Kaymer told Ganne that he’d come to watch her compete. True to his word, Kaymer – the reigning U.S. Open champion at the time – showed up the next day and watched Ganne during the driving portion of the 2015 National Finals.
“I was more nervous for him being there than for the actual drive,” Ganne recalled. “I came back in two years and watched him in the middle of the practice round and he spotted me. That was really amazing.”
The trophy ceremony with Weir nears the top of the list of meaningful remembrances, as, of course, does the pep-talk from Lopez.
With so much personal history at Augusta National already in tow, Ganne is excited by the opportunity to make some new memories in her first appearance in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“I’m good at simultaneously enjoying competitive play and trying to see how far I can go,” Ganne said. “That’s the goal.”
Jay Coffin on ANWAGolf
