TAMPA — USF senior Melanie Green is one of the best golfers in school history. Next week, she'll get the chance to compete at Augusta National - site of The Masters- in the Augusta National Women's Amateur championship.
"It’s going to be really cool to step on the grounds of so much history," Green said before hitting the practice range on Friday. "Step on the grounds that a lot of really incredible moments have happened throughout the world of golf. So yeah, it’s going to be pretty special."
Despite her success, Melanie continues to impress the people who get to see her perform on a daily basis.
"When she steps between the ropes, there is a competitive fire that gets lit with her, and she is going to dominate," said USF women's golf coach Erika Brennan. "She does it in such a way that it’s almost endearing when you get beat by MG. Sometimes you feel good about that. She’s just so kind and polite. But she is a fierce, fierce competitor."
Brennan says one of the keys to Green's success is her ability to stay level-headed on and off the course.
"She’s a human. She experiences emotion. She’s a real person that’s going through it just like the rest of us," Brennan added. "But her ability to compartmentalize when she needs to do that and turn it on when the lights come on is really fabulous."
Green didn't shy away from hitting multiple trick shots during her practice session. She wore a constant smile and said her philosophy for success is pretty simple.
"Staying present. I don’t add any more to my life by stressing about the future or worrying about the past," she explained. "Staying as present as possible is what kinda gets me going every day and doing all the things that I need to do to go out and play well."
Green is a three-time all-AAC performer, and holds a laundry list of USF career records:
- Single season records ('22-'23) for scoring average (71.03), No. 12 National Scoring Rating, birdies (113), rounds of par or better (22), 90.1% Finish Percentage, 3.97 Par 4 Scoring, 4.78 Par 5 scoring
- Career records for scoring average (72.13), rounds of par or better (46), finish percentage (84.1%), and is second in career birdies (258)
- Set single-season records in 2021-22 for scoring average (71.97), birdies (111) and rounds of par or better (19)
- 2023 WGCA All-American Honorable Mention
- 2022 NCAA regional qualifier
A full field of 72 players has been confirmed for the Championship, which will be held April 3-6 in Augusta.
Beginning the week prior to the 88th Masters Tournament, the international field will compete across 54 holes of stroke play, with a cut to 30 players and ties taking place after 36 holes. The first two rounds will take place on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club on Wednesday, April 3 and Thursday, April 4. The entire field will then play Augusta National for an official practice round on Friday, April 5. The final round, featuring competitors who made the cut, will take place on Saturday, April 6 at Augusta National.
The first and second rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur will be broadcast live on Golf Channel (1:30-3:30 p.m. ET) from Champions Retreat Golf Club. NBC Sports will produce and broadcast three hours (Noon-3 p.m. ET) of live final-round coverage of the event at Augusta National. Additionally, Golf Channel’s “Live From the Masters” will commence on Friday, April 5 at Augusta National to provide coverage of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals and the Masters Tournament.
The Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which has hosted the top women amateurs in golf since 2019, will celebrate its fifth anniversary in 2024. The inaugural edition was won by future major champion Jennifer Kupcho in 2019, while the 2020 Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kajitani kickstarted a historic April in 2021, capturing the first title for Japan at Augusta National eight days prior to Hideki Matsuyama’s win at the Masters Tournament. In 2022, 16-year-old Davis became the event’s youngest winner after a final-round 69. The fourth edition in 2023 provided another compelling storyline as Rose Zhang, the top-ranked amateur in the world for nearly three years, put a bow on her amateur career with a playoff victory at Augusta National.
