Macy Pate should have the opportunity to play the No. 1 course remaining on her bucket list this spring thanks to her invitation to play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on April 2-5.
The Wake Forest golfer, No. 51 in the women’s world amateur rankings, is scheduled to play Augusta National Golf Club, the home of the Masters on April 4 in a practice round with the rest of the 72-player field.
The top 30 players, including ties from rounds played April 2 and 3 at Champions Retreat, will complete the weekend on Saturday April 5 with the final competitive round at Augusta National.
“I’m really excited,” Pate told Triad Golf on Thursday. “It’ll be great to have the family there with me.”
So, with a strong performance at Champions Retreat, Pate will have two opportunities to play the iconic Georgia course only a few days before the world’s top male pros arrive for the Masters, scheduled to be contested April 10-13.
“With the history and prestige of Augusta National, it’s the dream of every golfer,” Pate said, acknowledging that the course is No. 1 on her bucket list.
Champions Retreat, located in nearby Evans, Ga., has a rare pedigree as a design collaboration between multi-Masters champions Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer.
Pate said she will have her parents, Chris and Martha, with on the trip along with older siblings Eli and Connor. The week includes a few social gatherings.
Pate said Wake Forest women’s coach Kim Lewellen will be her caddie at Champions Retreat. At Augusta, she will have the local caddie used by friend and former Wake star Rachel Kuehn, who played at Augusta for the fourth time last year before turning pro.
“I like having Coach (Lewallen) on the bag,” Pate said of Lewellen.
Wake assistant coach Ryan Potter will caddie in the tournament for Carolina Chacarra, Pate’s Wake teammate.
As for other top courses on her bucket list, Pate listed Pebble Beach behind only Augusta National.
“Those two are my top ones right now,” Pate said.
If she had a No. 3 left on the list, Pate said it might be Bandon Dunes in Oregon, a course she will play in August if she qualifies for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Pate has already played several prestigious courses, including an outing with Wake teammates at Pine Valley, often regarded as the world’s best.
Living in Boone before moving to Winston-Salem for high school, Pate said she had a chance to play most of the highly regarded mountain layouts in Avery County. At Wake, she regularly plays Old Town Club, a consensus Top 100 U.S. course.
