AUGUSTA, Ga. — One of the most important decisions players face on Saturday in the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur actually occurs before they tee off: Should you take a local Augusta National caddie or opt for a familiar face in a family member, friend or coach? Given the heightened importance of each shot over just one round at Augusta National, making the proper decision is critical to success.
That decision, University of Southern California women’s head coach Justin Silverstein says, is ultimately a “balance between comfortability and information.” That balance is something 36-hole co-leader Kiara Romero is ruminating on the eve of the final round. Romero had her older sister Kaleiya on the bag for the first two rounds at Champions Retreat but remained undecided on Friday as to who will get the nod. “Still thinking about it right now,” said Romero, the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion.
Like most competitors, Romero took a local caddie during the practice round in an effort to glean as much course knowledge ahead of the final round.
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Romero’s sister walked alongside the local caddie, attempting to pick up as many course nuances as possible. A lot to learn in one day, sure, but if it went well enough to have Romero keep her sister on the bag, it’s an opportunity to maintain the comfort of a close friend while not sacrificing the knowledge that only an experienced caddie can provide.
David Paul Morris
“[I’m leaning toward] probably having my sister out there to help me keep a good attitude for the whole day,” she said. “With having the local caddie today, he kind of taught my sister as much as he could, so she kind of gets all the little secrets around there.”
Stanford star freshman Meja Örtengren, who sits just two shots back of Romero and defending champion Lottie Woad, is following the same strategy.
“Before coming here, I was a little bit split whether I wanted to have my brother or a local caddie, but once I chose [my brother] to be my caddie for Champions Retreat, I decided I’m just going to stick with him,” Örtengren said. “I don’t think the change is going to do me good. I think the consistency of having him on the bag the whole tournament is what I need.
“Just having him on the bag and being able to talk about everything besides golf is really a big comfort zone.”
Megha Ganne held the 18-hole lead after her record 63 and sitting just one shot back entering Saturday, she recognizes how the final round could change her life. Given the added pressure of the tournament’s prestige and the thousands of patrons means, however, Ganne craves comfort over information, which is why she’ll stick with her Stanford assistant coach, Brooke Riley, on her bag for Saturday’s final round.
David Paul Morris
“I think that the local caddies are really good, and they have a lot of knowledge, but tomorrow’s just a really overstimulating day, or it can be because you can come here and everything is happening all at once,” she said. “I think having a familiar face is a lot more valuable for me personally than maybe a few extra tidbits that the caddie could give.”
But not every contender comes values comfort over information. USC freshman Jasmine Koo sits in the edge of contention, five shots back, and has used her local caddie, Colby Albert, the entire championship. She has no plans to change.
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“I think taking a local caddie out here at Augusta is very important,” said Koo, who finished fourth at last year’s ANWA with Albert on the bag. “Out here, with what I know from last year, he’s very good. Even with the winds that are swirling, he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been out here for 20-plus years, I know what I’m doing.’”
The most helpful bits of local knowledge around Augusta, Koo says, are understanding the common wind directions and judging the various elevation changes around the property, many of which can be deceiving to the eye. On the par-3 fourth hole on Friday, Koo guessed the tee shot would play around five yards downhill. “He was like, ‘This is only playing one [yard] down … trust me on this,’” Koo said.
Shanna Lockwood
The difference was only a few yards, yes, but the fractions of a shot here and there that the local information can provide could add up to being the difference needed to win. Koo is following the philosophy of her USC coach, Silverstein.
“We try to weigh [the balance] with each of our players, and the way that’s been going since this event came into play has been to lean on information: green reading and numbers,” he said. “The past couple years it’s gotten crazy windy here for this event. … When I’ve been on the bags of Amari [Avery] and Catherine [Park], I thought that information [local caddies] could give would be a little more accurate, so that outweighed the comfortability they would get from keeping the same caddie.”
And of course, there are slopes on Augusta’s greens that are so severe or deceiving that they take years to fully understand. “Even today, walking around with Cathy [Park], there were three or four putts where she hit the first one, and I thought it was a pretty decent read and the caddie is like … [points to a totally different spot]. That’s why you do it.”
As for the defending champion and co-leader Woad, she is sticking with having English national team coach Steve Robinson on the bag, just as she did last year and the first two days this week. For Woad, there’s never been a serious consideration to take a local caddie in the competitive round. “He’s been here quite a lot, so he knows,” Woad said of Robinson.
And then there’s Romero, who tonight will be weighing the balance of comfort and information, like her fellow contenders who already have made the crucial decision. Come Saturday afternoon, we’ll find out if she made the right call.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
