ANWA Champion Maria Jose Marin Tees It up at the LPGA's Lone Latin America Stop

It's hard to believe that yet another April has come and gone, but Maria Jose Marin's Saturday charge to the finish line at the Augusta National Women's Amateur will be talked about for quite a while.

The University of Arkansas star made her mark with her record-setting ,14-under victory, becoming the first woman from Latin America to win the prestigious event. Marin started the final round at Augusta National just a shot clear of the lead, and by the time she made the turn, she was three-under on the day.

When the 36-hole leader Asterisk Talley made a detrimental quadruple bogey on the par-3 12th, Marin made a birdie at the 13th—giving her the outright lead—and ultimately the victory.

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Since then, Marin has competed in the SEC Women's Golf Championship where she finished T-12.

This week, the World No. 6 amateur is teeing it up in her first LPGA event since her ANWA win. She decided not to play in the first major of the season, the Chevron Championship, which she received an invitation to due to the overlap of dates for the SEC Championship.

The 19-year-old is one of several Latina women in the Riviera Maya Open field, the only LPGA event held in Latin America.

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Her opening round of a 1-under par 71 puts currently has her inside the top-25. If she plays well, Marin has an opportunity to collect more points towards her LPGA LEAP status. Amateurs can earn two points for Top-10 (and ties) or 1 point for Top 40 (and ties) for any non-LPGA major event.

Marin currently has 11 LEAP points. A player needs 20 total points to earn LPGA membership.

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