Beth Coulter is six shots off the pace after the opening day of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Coulter, who missed the cut on her debut appearance last year, carded a one-under 71 to sit in a share of 23rd place.
University of Arkansas junior Maria Jose Marin and 17-year-old Korean Soomin Oh each fired bogey-free, seven-under 65s on Wednesday to share the first-round lead one stroke clear of a trio of players at six-under 66.
Starting on the back nine, Marin carded early birdies at Nos. 12 and 15 before three straight at Nos. 18, 1 and 2. After a string of pars, Marin birdied her final two holes to set the pace at seven under. Marin, the No. 7 amateur in the world, has a win and nine top-10 finishes this season for Arkansas. She earned co-medalist honors in the Clemson Invitational three days ago. Marin is making her fourth appearance start in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, with her best finish coming in 2023 (T-14).
After the round, Marin shared, “I feel like last year gave me a lot of — it was a lot of learning. There was a lot of tears, and of course this tournament means a lot to me. Not making the cut, it hurt a lot. But I learned that I’ve got to stay with my two feet on the ground, that I have to be really patient with my game, that if things are not going my way, I don’t have to push it, that I just have to wait for golf to do its thing. This start, it gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow, and heading into the final round we’ll see what happens, but it gives me a lot of confidence.”
Soomin Oh started off strong with five birdies in her first nine holes, including three straight at Nos. 7, 8 and 9. Two more birdies late in the afternoon on Nos. 14 and 18 led to a share of the lead with Marin at the top going into the second round at Champions Retreat.
Oh has finished runner-up in three tournaments this year, including the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in New Zealand, Chinese Taipei Women’s Amateur and the Ladies European Tour’s Women’s New South Wales Open. The No. 10 amateur in the world missed the cut in her debut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2025.
Oh reflected on the day, saying “I’m trying not to [set] expectations on myself, not [be] greedy, and just relax and focus on one shot at a time.”
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