By Andrew Hartley(andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Antonia Malate lining up a putt. | Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics
In a tournament where 72 of the best amateur women golfers in the world compete, SJSU grad student Antonia Malate tied for 20th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Ultimately Stanford’s Rose Zhang, a face the Spartans are all too familiar with, took home the championship in eventful playoff holes. The four day tournament started Wednesday where they played on the same course the Masters will take place on next week in Augusta, GA.
Malate cruised into the championship round Saturday firmly placed within the top 10. And through the first 14 holes, she had the only bogey-less scorecard tying her for fourth place.
But the 15th hole is where everything went wrong. Originally overshooting the hole turned into pitching it into the water for an extra penalty. A par-5 hole, Malate would finish shooting a double bogey of nine, dropping her down the leaderboard.
On Wednesday, she would shoot the fifth-best score of any amateur, (70) securing her place in the championship round. Although Malate finished the tournament shooting 5-over, a 77, it’s still the highest score posted at the tournament by a Spartan.
A two-time participant at ANWA, Malate improved her seeding from 2022 and played exceptional golf aside from the troublesome 15th hole.
Malate was not the only Spartan that participated in Augusta; Kajsa Arwefjall also took part in the first two days of play. Although she did not make the cut into championship play, she had already reached a goal of hers set this year.
“Kajsa had a big goal of getting invited to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur,” said SJSU Head Coach Dana Dormann. “We were thrilled for her when she received the coveted invitation,” said Dormann.
In only the tournament’s four-year history, 2023 marked the first year where multiple Spartans competed at ANWA.
After being displayed on the national stage, the women will come back to California where the team will take part in the Chevron Silverado Showdown starting Monday. The tournament will be their final before the start of the Mountain West Championships.