Maria Jose Marin’s only Augusta National error came long after she pulled away from the best field in women’s amateur golf on Sunday.
The Arkansas star, who won the NCAA individual title last summer, tapped in a two-inch par putt on the 18th hole to cement her Augusta National Women’s Amateur title and immediately ran to find her family. There’s no running at Augusta National, but in Marin’s case, they’ll make an exception after she went 65-69 at Champions Retreat and capped it off with a 68 at Augusta National to beat Stanford’s Andrea Revuelta by four.
“When that last putt sank in, I just thought to myself, well, I made it,” Marin said after her win. “All of my hard work has paid off, and I’m just extremely proud of myself.”
Marin and her parents had discussed the night before that, if she won, they would be right off the 18th green so that she could embrace them after her moment of glory. Maria Jose Marin ran and immediately embraced her father, mother, and 10-year-old brother with the Augusta National crowd still serenading its newest champion.
Her father, who caddied for her at last year’s ANWA, stepped off the bag so that his daughter could find someone to help her navigate the pressure that comes with trying to become a champion at this place. It was a selfless decision that was a catalyst for the historic moment that Maria Jose Marin conjured on Sunday.
“He said, you need someone that knows. I love you with all my heart, but you need someone that knows how to handle a tournament of this level. I think it was one of the most beautiful decisions that he could have ever made because he was totally selfless. He was like, I know that you need someone else, but I’m going to be there supporting you.”
But Maria Jose Marin’s emotional coronation didn’t end there. In fact, it was just the start.
Because Maria Jose Marin didn’t get to the winner’s circle at Augusta National by herself. She has an entire extended family trying to will her to the place where her dreams reside. And they were all there at Augusta National to usher her into history.
After celebrating with her parents, Marin made her way up the rope line and was mobbed by Arkansas coach Shauna Taylor, her teammates Reagan Zibilski and Sara Brentcheneff and Arkansas alum and ANWA runner-up Maria Fassi.
“Walking up 18, I pictured it in my mind,” Marin said in Butler Cabin. “What was the moment going to be like? Having Maria there, she inspired me so, so much. When she played with Jennifer Kupcho [at the 2019 ANWA], that was truly inspiring for me. And to get it done in front of them, it’s great.”
“It’s everything I dreamed of.”
Marin started the day one shot back of 17-year-old Asterisk Talley. She birdied the par-5 second but gave it right back with a bogey at the third. Marin closed the front nine with birdies at 5, 7 and 9, but Talley was showing no signs of flinching behind her.
Marin parred 10 and 11 to stay one behind Talley and then arrived at the par-3 12th facing a defining shot. “Golden Bell” has doomed numerous would-be champions over the years. It’s a place where dreams go to die if you don’t have the proper club and a committed stroke.
Marin checked the wind and sent her ball into the Amen Corner air. But her shot hung in the air and landed short of the green, starting back to trickle towards Rae’s Creek. There have been countless moments in Masters history where a shot just like Marin’s ends up in a watery grave. But Marin’s ball somehow stopped rolling and hung up on the ridge. She went on to save par, and when Talley made a quadruple-bogey 7 at the 12th behind her, she suddenly had a three-shot lead.
“When my ball stayed there — I think it’s a miracle that my ball stayed there,” Marin said. “I just kind of have to make par and walk away out of here because this just happens once.
“The ball staying on that ridge on 12. I’ve never seen a ball stay there, and I think it was just God holding the ball there, like, don’t move. This is happening for something.”
A birdie at the 13th gave her a four-shot lead, and once she birdied the par-3 16th, all that was left was for Maria Jose Marin to walk to her destiny and become the first Colombian champion in Augusta National history.
It was a win that she will carry with her for the rest of her life, and one that she hopes inspires the next generation of Latin American girls to draw themselves into the stars.
“I can just say dream big,” Marin said. “Never give up on your dreams. I would never, ever think that I was going to be right here right now, but it’s just because of all of my hard work and my perseverance and the love that I have for the game.”
That’s the rare gift of the ANWA. It’s a championship that allows the top women’s amateurs in the game to dream of something that, until 2019, wasn’t a possibility, and puts them in a position to boost the next generation on their shoulders — that a win for you can be a win for someone else down the line.
And in Maria Jose Marin’s case, an Augusta National victory can be one for all who helped you get to the place your heart always wanted.
“Just extremely proud of myself and all of the hard work and the ability that I had out there to overcome all the pressure because winning in this place,” Marin said. “I don’t think there’s ever going to be a feeling to describe it. It’s just magical.
“This is the temple of golf, and just getting this win, it’s amazing for me.”
