BELFAST NATIVE OLIVIA Mehaffey has made history Stateside as she qualified for the final round of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
The 21-year-old ended up in a tie for 11th place, and one of 30 players from the 72-strong field to make it through to the final round on Saturday — a week before the Masters gets underway.
It’s the first women’s tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, and comes just seven years after allowing women become members for the first time.
Mehaffey, who’s currently on scholarship at Arizona State University, carded a second-round 72 to add to her opening 73 and now sits one over par, six shots behind the leader.
American Jennifer Kupcho, the world’s top-ranked amateur, leads the field after the opening two rounds at the nearby Champions Retreat Club.
Down golfer Mehaffey will play a practice round on the hallowed course today before action resumes tomorrow.
She was first invited to the prestigious tournament in January, sharing the news on Twitter.
The ASU student was a central figure on the Great Britain and Ireland team who won the 2016 Curtis Cup in Dun Laoighaire, after beating the UC.
Last year, she was one of five drafted in to play at the US Open at Shoal Creek in Alabama.
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here:
