After Bangalore’s Avani Prashanth was invited in 2022 and 2024 to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA), one of the elite women’s amateur events in world golf, no Indian girl has come close to qualifying.
World No. 7 from Latin America Maria Jose Marin’s win at the event, played the week before The Masters, underlines the growing power of women’s golf in developing countries across the globe but exposes India’s lack of structured player development, which is preventing talented youngsters from making it to the elite level.
This year’s field featured 72 players from 23 countries, with strong representation from Asia led by Japan (5), South Korea (4), Thailand (3), Hong Kong (1) and China (1), a contrast to India’s absence.
Avani qualified based on a top 50 World Amateur ranking, an Asia Pacific women’s individual title (Queen Sirikit Cup) win and a Ladies European Access Tour pro title, but the effort and momentum created by Avani has not carried forward.
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Megha Ganne, a 22-year-old Indian-American and 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, is the only player of Indian origin to play the event. She has made six appearances, with a best finish of tied seventh last year, highlighted by a tournament record opening round of 63, but missed the cut this week, despite being ranked among the top 10 women amateurs in the world.
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The ANWA field is limited to 72 players and is built largely around world rankings and elite amateur results. Invitations go to winners of leading amateur championships, past ANWA champions, and the top-ranked players from the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), with the top Americans and top international players forming the core of the field. The remaining spots are filled through committee invites, with the final field typically confirmed by early February.
The tournament begins with two rounds at Champions Retreat, located about 15 km from Augusta National, after which the field is cut to the top 30 for the final round at Augusta National.
At present, Zara Anand of Noida is the highest ranked Indian at 301 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, followed by Guntas Kaur Sandhu at 485 and Jia Kataria at 500. None are currently in contention for an ANWA invitation.
Unless Indian amateurs are given a huge boost in international tournament exposure, India will continue to struggle on the world stage and miss out on ANWA again in 2027.
