AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 4, 2026

Ava Merrill

Quick Quotes

Q. Just your overall thoughts on your final round?

AVA MERRILL: On my final round, yeah, it was kind of all over the place. This course is tough if you don't hit it in the right spot. I kind of learned that. I made, I think, five birdies and a bunch of bogeys, so it was kind of like hit the green, it's easier. If you don't hit the green, it's not so easy. I learned that today.

But I have a lot of knowledge on the course, and hopefully I can use it next year.

Q. This was your first time playing Augusta National, correct?

AVA MERRILL: I actually got to play it with Mr. Ueberroth in February, but first time in this tournament, and yeah, it's a bear. It's tough.

Q. Is it the undulation? Is it the greens? What makes this course so tough?

AVA MERRILL: I think there's a lot of things. You have to know what areas to miss it and what areas not to miss in. I think the undulations certainly are tough. A couple of those par-5s, pretty scary with the ball that far above your feet, and you're supposed to hit a fade, or likewise, the ball is super below my feet.

It's a lot of different tough things that make this course so special and unique that we don't see in our tournaments every day.

Q. What year are you at Vanderbilt?

AVA MERRILL: I'm a junior at Vanderbilt.

Q. So you're going back?

AVA MERRILL: I am, yeah.

Q. How do you think playing against this level of competition will help prepare you as you get ready to go back to Vanderbilt?

AVA MERRILL: Yeah, we've got postseason coming up, so I'm excited for postseason with my team. We compete in these fields all the time. Our college golf tournaments we play in are highly competitive, so I know a bunch of girls in this tournament because I play with them on a regular basis.

I think they gave me some confidence into this week, that I play against these girls all the time and I compete against these girls all the time, so I know how my game matches up compared to them. Then I think just playing in the field this week and gaining confidence from placing fairly well in this tournament will give me confidence going into the postseason.

Q. I know you just finished your round, but what do you think you're going to take away from playing your first ANWA?

AVA MERRILL: So many good things. I think that one of my goals going into this week was just to kind of enjoy it. My coach was always telling me, no matter how you play, have a good time out there and make sure you look around and aren't too focused on your golf, and I think I did that pretty well. Today was special, not necessarily because I played well but just because of the fans and this golf course and this experience the whole week. It was just awesome, and I would hopefully look forward to being back here next year.

Q. Is there anything outside of the golf that you'll remember like anything that they do?

AVA MERRILL: Yeah, we've got two really, really cool dinners. One on I think it was Tuesday night -- my days are a little mixed up. But here with the members, and we get to come out here on the lawn and hang out with the members and then have dinner. I had dinner with Condoleezza Rice, which was really cool. The events that they have for us outside of the tournament, I had a little gift left in my room every day by the tournament, which was pretty funny. But yeah, it's just a great tournament because it's Augusta National, and the tournament staff takes care of us very well, as well.