Top-Ranked Amateur Kiara Romero Poised for Third Trip to Augusta National For Women's Amateur

A lot has changed for Kiara Romero since last year's Augusta National Women's Amateur.

The now 20-year-old (she just celebrated her birthday a couple of weeks ago) rose to the top of the world rankings after an impressive summer. She won the McCormack Medal awarded to the top-ranked amateur and collected a handful of collegiate titles. Most recently in Texas at the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate Invitational, making it her sixth win as an Oregon Duck.

She played in one of the final groups last April, and since then has skyrocketed into the spotlight. This year will be a much different experience for her...so how will she adjust?

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Ahead of next week's championship, Augusta National held an intimate virtual press conference with Romero to discuss her feelings heading into her third visit to the coveted event. "My first year I was maybe a little bit scared competing there for the first time. It’s not that I didn’t think I belonged there, I just really didn’t have that much confidence in myself on the bigger stages and didn’t have much experience with it," she said to the media earlier this week.

"It’s really important to go into every tournament knowing that you can win. Just really believing that and trusting yourself and trusting all of the hard work that you put in and all the experience that you have. It’s been great these last few months."

Not only has Romero's game matured but so has her mentality. She speaks with the poise of a top player, who is allowing herself to play freely. Outside of ANWA she's played on some of golf's biggest stages including a few appearances at different LPGA events, including the U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills last June.

From her first trip to ANWA, where she missed the cut and didn't see the famed course during Saturday's final round to putting herself in contention last year—Romero is ready for what's ahead of her this time around.

"Being on that first tee box, knowing that I’m competing for a championship at Augusta National, knowing that there are thousands of people in the crowd, the stakes were super high [last year] and I really let it get to me a little bit on the first few holes. If I’m in that position again this year, I’ll be able to handle it a lot better."

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