AUGUSTA, Ga. – With her yardage book stuffed in her back pocket and player badge slung around her neck, Ingrid Lindblad lingered behind the clubhouse late Saturday afternoon, squeezing every last sun-drenched moment from her final trip around Augusta National.
Munching on a granola bar, she signed autographs and giggled with LSU teammates and other supporters, in no rush to leave.
Not just Augusta.
But all of this.
“She’s enjoying the moment a lot,” said LSU coach Garrett Runion. “This game beats you up, and yet she has a great appreciation for this event, and for amateur golf in general. She knows how hard it is, how special it is. I love seeing her mature and happy, even in defeat.”
Lindblad, the top-ranked amateur in the world, is the headliner of what could be considered the first graduating class of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Among those who are aging out gracefully, or likely made their final appearance here this year, include Emilia Migliaccio, the All-American-turned-full-time broadcaster who has played all five editions of the event; super-seniors Rachel Kuehn, Megan Schofill and Jensen Castle; and Southern Cal standout Amari Avery.
It remains to be seen whether it was the final farewell, too, for Stanford’s Rachel Heck, the 2021 college player of the year who, last week, in an emotional first-person essay, outlined her reasons for eschewing the pros: “I do not want a life on the road and in the public eye. I no longer dream of the U.S. Open trophies and the Hall of Fame. And I realize now that these dreams were never what my dad intended when he first put a club in my hand. He pushed me when I was young so that I could find myself in the position I am right now: Stepping into the future equipped with skills to tackle any challenge and the courage to pave my own path.”
Heck’s decision – and recent resistance from Lindblad, Kuehn and others – represent a shifting attitude among the top players, throwing into sharp relief the differences between the gilded life of the top women’s amateurs and what can be the cold, harsh reality of a fledging pro.
“There’s more access to the highest level for us now,” said Kuehn, a two-time Curtis Cupper ranked 14th in the world. “There’s exemptions into the majors and other LPGA events. Amateurs are getting recognition through this tournament as well. You’re still playing at the highest level, so there’s no need to put a little ‘P’ next to your name to play against the best in the world. You can get today’s exposure as an amateur as well.”
With logos plastered over her pullover and hat, Kuehn, 22, has also taken advantage of the shifting college landscape, which now allows athletes to capitalize on their name, image and likeness that has made staying amateur more palatable. No one in the field has benefited from that new reality more than Avery, 20, who starred as a kid in a Netflix golf documentary and now has blossomed into a charismatic, uber-talented and marketable Southern Cal sophomore who is earning more in college than many LPGA players.
“I don’t see a reason to rush out to the tour when I can play college golf and make money for free,” she said. “But there’s other factors, too. Life kinda hits you; you need to grow up. The team camaraderie. And it’s gotten so much more competitive over the past decade, and that really gears you up for pro golf.”
At this time last year, Lindblad was racked with doubt about her future. Her accolades suggested she was ready for a new challenge; others told her she needed to fine-tune her game and wasn’t ready. She opted for a fifth year of school not because she owed it to her team to help deliver a national title – but because, uh, why not? From a physical standpoint, she could rack up more experience and fine-tune her game battling against similarly ambitious athletes, with plenty of perks to keep her engaged: school history (she has 14 wins), access to majors, NCAAs, the ANWA. But socially, there was more room for growth, and Lindblad, who turns 24 next week, began the process of preparing herself for her new solo life, living alone for the first time to take more ownership.
“She’s ready,” Runion said proudly.
Weeks like the ANWA only reinforce what’s possible and embolden even those wary of the road ahead.
“All these people here – and there are thousands and thousands – they are able to see how good the women’s game is, and the juniors that are out there, too, they have something to dream for,” Migliaccio said. “If you want to get more girls in golf, you have to show them the best women, and you have to show them on TV, and you have to put them on courses like Augusta National. It really does so much for the game.”
And for the participants, too.
Bailey Shoemaker’s first whiff of title contention here Saturday was apparently enough for her to rip up all of her short-term plans. The freshman at Southern Cal already had her eye on what’s next, but after a tournament-record 66 Saturday at Augusta National that dazzled the patrons but saw her fall one shot shy, she was rethinking, well, everything. Her growth. Her potential. Her future.
“I went in thinking I was going to do one-and-done,” she said, “but I’m staying all four years. I love college, love my coaches. I’ve learned an unbelievable amount in college so far, and today wouldn’t even be possible if I wasn’t in school, if it wasn’t for my coach and my staff, honestly. I’m staying.”
For inspiration, all she needed to do was look at Lindblad.
Even after her ANWA career ended with a bogey, the smiling Swede hugged an Augusta National member behind the green, shouted out her teammates along the rope line – “My hype squad!” – and offered a ball and a fist bump to a young fan.
Not once did she bemoan her latest top-3 finish without a victory. Not this week. Not here.
“I feel every time I come in here, I just have a smile on my face,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how it goes. You’re happy to be here.”
And that, with the great unknown ahead, only makes it harder to leave.
