When this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur tees off, Canada will make history!
The already-iconic event that brings together the very best female amateur golfers from around the world will feature three Canadians – Lauren Kim, Aphrodite Deng, and Vanessa Borovilos.
This year will mark the first time in the event’s history that more than just one Canadian will tee it up. And this trio has what it takes to compete, and contend, come the final round at Augusta National Golf Club itself.
Lauren, from Surrey, B.C., won the 2023 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship and has had a storied career at the University of Texas where she is a junior. She has been a key part of the Longhorns success already this season as her team won two straight events in March – the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate and the Betsy Rawls Invitational.
At No. 18 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), Lauren will become the first Canadian in the history of the event to play it three times (Brigitte Thibault, who played the first two editions of the championship, is the only other to play more than once).
Lauren finished T14 at Augusta National in her debut, tying the best-ever result by a Canadian with Monet Chun, who recorded the same result the year prior. Lauren shot a tidy 71 in the final round of the championship at Augusta National itself. She missed the cut in 2025.
Carla Bernat Escuder of Spain won the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and set the scoring record in the process, a 12-under 204. She topped the now-10th ranked amateur in the world, Asterisk Talley, by one shot and is now a professional golfer on the LPGA Tour.
The Augusta National Women’s Amateur tournament committee has always offered one spot to a Canadian in the field but there were more deserving players for 2026!
Both Vanessa and Aphrodite will be making their Augusta National Women’s Amateur debuts.
Many Canadian golf fans will remember Aphrodite who, at just 15, held a piece of the early lead at the CPKC Women’s Open in August. She would go on to finish tied for 20th. Despite her young age she has already put together an impressive resume. Last summer she won the U.S. Junior Girls Championship – the first Canadian in history to win that – along with a handful of other elite amateur events.
Vanessa, meanwhile, will be returning to Augusta National. She was a four-time participant in the Drive, Chip, and Putt National Finals and she won the Age 10-11 girls’ division in 2018. There is an iconic photo of her with Masters champions Trevor Immelman and Gary Player, who handed her the trophy. Vanessa has had a tremendous rise up the rankings of amateur golf. She started college at No. 111 and is now all the way up to No. 25. She has won twice while at Texas A&M.
The Augusta National Women’s Amateur will again feature two rounds at Champions Retreat Golf Club before the top 30 (and ties) on the leaderboard will compete at Augusta National in the final round.
Each of the competitors, regardless of if they make the cut or not, will have a chance to play Augusta National in a practice round.
The 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur begins April 1 at Champions Retreat, with the final round at Augusta National on April 4.