Two current members of the Oregon women’s golf team and two incoming players will compete at the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, according to an April 1 announcement. The event is recognized as one of the most important competitions in women’s amateur golf.
The tournament field includes Oregon junior Kiara Romero, who is currently ranked as the No. 1 amateur women’s golfer in the world and will be making her third appearance at Augusta. Fellow junior Karen Tsuru will make her debut at the event. Joining them are future Ducks Catherine Rao, a transfer from Princeton making her second start, and incoming freshman Prim Prachnokorn, who will participate for the first time.
Competition begins Wednesday with two rounds of stroke play at Champions Retreat Golf Course. After Thursday’s round, only the top 30 players and ties out of a field of 72 will advance. All participants then play a practice round at Augusta National Golf Club before Saturday’s final round.
Golf Channel plans to broadcast live coverage on Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time, while NBC will air Saturday’s final round from 9:00 a.m. to noon Pacific Time.
Romero enters as one of the favorites following last year’s performance when she shared the lead after opening rounds but ultimately finished tied for seventh place. “You think about competing at Augusta, and only the best players in the world have ever done that,” Romero said. “Especially being in the final round, playing with the No. 1 golfer in the world at the time, obviously the crowd was pretty big on the first tee box. Pressure was high, and I was a little bit nervous, but I definitely calmed down after a few holes.” She added: “Getting that experience and knowing what it’s going to be like so I can prepare for it a little bit better…I think that will be really good.” For this year’s tournament, Romero’s sister Kaleiya Romero—an assistant coach for Oregon—will again serve as her caddie.
