Stanford junior Megha Ganne took the first-round lead of the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur April 2 with a nine-under 63, putting her two strokes ahead of the 2024 winner, England’s Lottie Woad.
Ganne had expressed her excitement about the tournament at Monday’s Bank of America Golf with Us Clinic at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Augusta.
“I feel like I have my footing a lot better than I have had the last two years which is exciting. It’s nice to feel like a veteran for the golf course and the week in general,” said Ganne, the No. 12 amateur in the world.
Stanford is the top ranked NCAA women’s golf team.
Ganne said Augusta is one tournament she looks forward to each year.
“I think both golf courses – Champions Retreat and Augusta National – are such a great test to your golf game. They make it really challenging and the fact you are playing in a field of people who really want to make it to that final day and only 30 of us can. I think it’s a type of pressure I don’t feel in another other golf tournament. It’s a really cool feeling. Everyone is trying their absolute best. It’s nice to all raise the bar for each other,” she said.
And raise the bar is something Ganne did Wednesday by posting a bogey-free round that marked the lowest score in the tournament’s six years.
Rose Zhang, Ganne’s former teammate at Stanford, set the previous record of 65 in 2023.
Ganne will tee off at 9:55 a.m. Thursday at Champions Retreat. Spain’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, who shot an even par 72 in the first round, is paired with Ganne.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
