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USA Today
08-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ANWA champ Carla Bernat Escuder leads Kansas State to first NCAA tournament berth
ANWA champ Carla Bernat Escuder leads Kansas State to first NCAA tournament berth Show Caption Hide Caption Kansas State women's golf coach Stew Burke on the Wildcats' NCAA bid Kansas State women's golf coach Stew Burke talks about the Wildcats qualifying as a team for the NCAA Regional in Lexington, Ky. Kansas State women's golf team advances to nationals for the first time in program history after tying for second at the NCAA Lexington Regional. Carla Bernat led the Wildcats with a 6-under 66, winning individual medalist honors and tying the school's 54-hole record. K-State shot a team score of 10-under-par, tying Georgia Southern for second place behind Florida State. The Wildcats will compete in the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California, starting May 16. Carla Bernat Escuder and her Kansas State women's golf teammates saved their best for last. They made history in the process. Bernat Escuder shot a 6-under-par 66 Wednesday to claim individual medalist honors as the Wildcats produced the day's best team score at 10-under to tie for second in the NCAA Lexington Regional at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky. By finishing in the top five, K-State advanced to nationals for the first time ever, May 16-21 in Carlsbad, California. More: NCAA Women's Golf Regionals: Golfweek recaps, highlights from final round at every site "Moments like this are why we do all the work," K-State coach Stew Burke said. "It was a pleasure to be out there today with them. They were composed, confident, and determined. Nobody was going to give it to us, so we just had to go out there and take it." Bernat Escuder's round, which included a double-eagle 2 on the par-5 fifth hole and four birdies, vaulted her from third place to a two-stroke victory (-12, 204 total) over team champion Florida State's Lottie Woad and Mirabel Ting. The Wildcats also got a 5-under 67 from freshman Nanami Nakashima, which moved her into an 11th-place tie alongside Alenka Navarro at even par for the tournament. Noa van Beek added a 1-over 73 and Sophie Bert a 3-over 75 to complete the Wildcats' round for the day. Top seed Florida State won the team title at 15-under for the three rounds, while K-State gained five strokes to tie Georgia Southern for second at 10-under. The Wildcats' 278 total Wednesday tied for eighth lowest in program history over 54 holes. Bernat Escuder, a senior from Castellon, Spain, who was the Big 12 player of the year, tied Bert's 54-hole school record with her 12-under-par 204. More: Augusta National Women's Amateur champion celebrates with wine, two kinds of steak "Carla really had a great tournament and built well into the week," Burke said of Bernat Escuder. "Winning a regional against the No. 1 and 2 players not just in the country but the world is no easy feat. "It was special to see her albatross at hole 5, and it came right when we needed it as a team. To win once in college golf is an unbelievable achievement, but eight times is truly remarkable. She has a bright future ahead of her after college, but let's first try and add to that total in California." The NCAA Championship, which starts Friday, May 16, features four rounds of stroke play to determine the individual champion as well as the top eight teams that will advance to match play May 20-21. Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@ or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
USA Today
23-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ANWA champion Carla Bernat Escuder makes LPGA debut at Chevron, where she met her idol
ANWA champion Carla Bernat Escuder makes LPGA debut at Chevron, where she met her idol THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Carla Bernat Escuder makes her LPGA at this week's Chevron Championship two weeks after her victory at Augusta National. On Monday, she came out to the Club at Carlton Woods without her caddie, who was still en route, and felt slightly embarrassed carrying her tour-sized bag to the range. There she found fellow Spaniard Carlota Ciganda working on her game with swing coach Jorge Parada. "She was like, do you want to play? I was like, I don't have my caddie," said Bernat Escuder. "I don't have anyone to carry my bag. I don't think I can deal with this huge bag on my own." No problem, said Ciganda, who gave the job to her fiancé. "She's always there for whatever we need," said Bernat Escuder. "She makes Spanish young players become better just because she's approachable and so kind that, I don't know, it makes it normal all she has done. I don't know, it's cool." Bernat Escuder, who is coming off a runner-up showing to her Kansas State teammate at the Big 12 Championship in Houston, has been blown away by the reaction she's received since winning the Augusta National Women's Amateur, from being recognized at the airport to hearing from Spanish superstars like Pau Gasol and Rafael Nadal. "He's the symbol of competition and that motivation that every athlete in Spain has," she said of Nadal. "When I saw that, I was just like, whoa, yeah." On Tuesday, she played in the pro-am alongside Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson as one of the amateurs in the group. Bernat Escuder said she was so nervous teeing off alongside Korda on the first hole that she couldn't even see the ball. "I was telling my caddie yesterday, I don't think I'm going to be more nervous on Thursday No. 1," she said, "because playing with her, it's like – I mean, she's always been my idol, so playing with her is like a dream come true." This week is the first of four LPGA major championship exemptions she received for winning ANWA. Bernat Escuder, a senior, apologized to her professors for all the school she's missed in recent weeks. "I completely forgot the classes that I'm doing," she said. "I think this is the third week in a row without going to class. I went last Friday and I was like, I don't know what you're talking about. "Yeah, it's been a little stressful, I need to say, but it's good stress if that makes sense. It's everything positive."
USA Today
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Augusta National Women's Amateur champion celebrates with wine, two kinds of steak
Augusta National Women's Amateur champion celebrates with wine, two kinds of steak When Augusta National Women's Amateur champion Carla Bernat Escuder got back to her hotel Saturday evening, the Spanish players in the field were standing in the hall clapping and singing "Olé, Olé, Olé." When she called her swing coach Victor Garcia, he serenaded her with 'We are the Champions.' Garcia's son, Sergio, the 2017 Masters champion, was among those who sent a congratulatory note, along with LPGA player Carlota Ciganda and former NBA player Pau Gasol. She had more than 200 messages on WhatsApp, over 100 on iMessage and a slew of Instagram DMs. The 21-year-old Kansas State senior carried on the celebration at a local steakhouse, dining on both a ribeye and T-Bone, washed down with some wine. She and a friend stayed up until 2 a.m. watching a replay of the back nine. 'I'm still like, that's not me on the TV,' she said beaming. Bernat Escuder was back at Augusta National on Sunday to pass out hardware to participants in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals. She plans to return to Kansas on Tuesday to get back to class and prep for the Big 12 Championship. Then it's off to the Chevron Championship, April 24-27, for her first LPGA appearance. Last December, Bernat Escuder played in the Women's Spanish Open on the Ladies European Tour and tied for 14th. As for the tattoo she plans to get, Bernat Escuder has decided on an azalea. She already has a lightning bolt on her forearm. Fitting for the petite Spaniard whose flashes of brilliance on Saturday etched her name into history.
The Independent
06-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Lottie Woad falls short in bid for repeat triumph at Augusta as Carla Bernat Escuder surges to victory
Carla Bernat Escuder wasn't worried about anyone behind her, only those who were ahead. Thanks to a flop shot she only recently mastered, birdies on all the par 5s and a nervy 4-foot par putt to finish, the Spaniard stood alone at the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Bernat Escuder rallied from a two-shot deficit against defending champion Lottie Woad and held off a late charge from teenager Asterisk Talley, closing with a 4-under 68 to add to the Spanish heritage at the home of the Masters. "As of right now, I don't think my brain has processed that I won," said Bernat Escuder, a senior at Kansas State. She grew up in the same region as Masters champion Sergio Garcia, and his father still coaches and encourages her. She was so nervous meeting two-time champion Jose Maria Olazabal last year that she got his name wrong. Key to this win was US Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester — also from Castellon — who makes his Masters debut this week. They have been friends since age 7, and she went to him with help on her chipping. It paid off in a big way with her flop shot from a dangerous spot right of the 10th green, setting up a par that kept her momentum all the way to end. She left her approach right of the bunker, with the golf ball slightly above her feet. Bernat Escuder hit a marvelous flop shot to 12 feet and holed the par putt. "If there was one shot that you're going to need the hands back to hit it higher, as he tells me, it's this one," she said. "So yeah, I appreciate that tip." She has watched the Masters enough to have ingrained in her mind that it doesn't start until the back nine. And there she was, leading by one after a 33 on the front nine and starting at a probably bogey until her flop shot came off beautifully. The 10th hole was more pivotal than she realized. Woad was looking to become the first back-to-back winner of the Augusta National Women's Amateur. She was tied for the lead with Kiara Romero going into the final group, birdied the first hole and led by two early. But it all came undone on the 10th. From the fairway, she was aggressive with her approach and tugged the shot left and over the green, into a bush. Woad had to take a penalty drop, chipped on and missed the putt, giving her a double bogey and leaving her three shots behind. "I put a good swing on it, it was just the wrong club," said Woad, who went with a 5-iron. "Thought it was meant to be into the wind, and off the downslope it came out a bit too flat, so probably should have just hit one less club. Then got in an unfortunate position, so probably was always going to make 6 from there." She had to chase, just like a year ago when she delivered a memorable back-nine charge. This time, she could only manage two birdies and closed with a 72 to finish third. "Pretty frustrated," Woad said. The charge came from Talley, the US Women's Amateur and US Junior Girls runner-up, who began the final round by holing out from the first fairway for eagle. Coming off a birdie at the 16th to get to within three shots, Talley hit a remarkable recovery from under the pines left of the 17th fairway. The ball stayed under the limbs and rolled up along the edge of the bunker, using all of the slope to get to about 18 feet behind the hole. Instead of scrambling for par, she holed the putt for birdie to give herself a chance. Talley, however, was too strong with her approach on the 18th, leaving the ball on the top tier with the hole some 40 feet away in its typical Masters Sunday location. She did well to two-putt for par and a 68. "I was just trying to shoot my score and having a lot of fun," Talley the group behind was Bernat Escuder, who also was in the trees on the 17th, put it in a bunker and made bogey. That cut her lead to one shot with one hole to play. The Spaniard found the fairway, also hit onto the top tier and navigated a 4-foot par putt to finish at 12-under 204 and claim what already has become as prestigious as any women's amateur event in the world. Eila Galitsky started seven shots behind, shot 31 on the front nine and closed with the low round of the day at 66 to tie for fourth with Catherine Park (67). How to celebrate? Bernat Escuder planned a nice dinner with her coach and all her support. "And maybe a tattoo. We'll see," she said. "I was thinking maybe the flower of Augusta, but I need to decide on that. It's a big decision."
New York Times
05-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
‘The power of the banana': How Spanish underdog Carla Bernat Escuder won ANWA
AUGUSTA, Ga. — She was feeling what we were. The nerves. The dread. The instant relief. The narrow, nervy tee shot on Augusta National's 18th hole is one of the most terrifying drives in the game. Let alone walking there from a bogey on 17. Suddenly a three-shot lead was down to one in moments. And Carla Bernat Escuder can be, in her own words, hard to deal with on a golf course. A little anxious. The type to worry where her ball went and complain about how bad a shot was until the moment she gets to her ball. Advertisement Yet when the small, bouncy, 21-year-old Spaniard needed just a par to win the Augusta National Women's Amateur, she went aggressive. She attacked, hitting a draw that hugged the tree line and worked back to the center of the fairway, over the infamous left-side bunker and up the hill. It was golf art. Right then, Bernat Escuder released. As if she already won. Because deep down she knew that was the most tense she'd ever be. She gasped for air like she was coming up from underwater and put all her weight on her club in complete relief. She appeared near tears, and she still had three shots to go. Maybe she knew that was it. Maybe she already saw the finish from there, hitting her approach to the back of the 18th green and two-putting to become just the sixth ANWA champ and the first for Spain. As she walked to scoring, Spanish legend José María Olazábal, a two-time Masters champ, was waiting to give her a big hug and congratulations. One of the first things she told him: How nervous she was on 18. 'Obviously the adrenaline and the nerves got to her a little bit the last few holes, she handled it really well,' Olazábal said. This was not the pre-ordained ANWA champion. No, there were several others of those. It was supposed to be 36-hole co-leader Lottie Woad, the defending champ and No. 1 amateur in the world. Or it was supposed to be Stanford star and big personality Megha Ganne, who opened ANWA with a first round 63. Or it could have been 16-year-old prodigy Asterisk Talley, the rising phenom who dramatically birdied 16 and 17 to put late pressure on the usurper. Carla Bernat Escuder is the 29th-ranked amateur in the women's game. She's not on the awards watch lists and she hasn't played her way into major fields like her aforementioned peers. But the Kansas State golfer won by doing it differently than those bigger stars. No other contender birdied holes 5 or 9. In fact, Talley and Andrea Revuelta bogeyed 5. But somehow, Bernat Escuder birdied both 5 and 9, two of the tougher holes on the course, to rapidly rise to a seemingly out-of-nowhere solo lead at 11-under. While Talley and Ganne failed to birdie the par five 13th in the group ahead with a chance to make up ground, Bernat Escuder hit a beautiful hybrid from the slope that carried over Rae's Creek and set her up for an easy birdie. She and her caddie (and Kansas State assistant coach) Rinko Mitsunaga put their arms around each other and kept laughing as they made the walk over the famous creek. Advertisement 'The power of the banana!' Mitsunaga joked to her about the bananas they had just eaten. They also laughed about the local caddie they used to help during their Friday practice round at Augusta National. He was on the intense side. He wanted her to understand everything about the course, something she thanks him for. But from a similar spot on the 13th green, he adamantly insisted she repeat that putt. He made her putt it three times in a row, repeating, 'Again,' after each one. Well, Mitsunaga reminded her as they walked, you practiced this. Carla Bernat Escuder hits the green in two on No. 13 and makes birdie to extend her lead. 🫡 @KStateWGolf 📺 NBC & Peacock | #ANWAgolf — Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) April 5, 2025 Bernat Escuder birded 13 and 15, seemingly ending the tournament with three holes to go. Because by then, Woad had double bogeyed the 10th because of a bad drive. Ganne was stuck in neutral. It seemed like Talley was too until a perfect tee shot into 16's Sunday pin and an incredible punch-like shot through the trees on 17 that rolled up the hill and set up a birdie to get to 11-under. And yeah, as we've established, Bernat Escuder can get a little anxious. She looked at the leaderboard even though Mitsunaga kept telling her not to. It didn't stop her. She hit a nice tee shot on 16 but failed to make the birdie. On 17, she needed one more club up the hill and into the wind, leaving herself in the bunker to ultimately bogey. So, yes, Bernat Escuder was certainly bugging out on the 18th tee. Like we all would be. But she won, putting herself on the exclusive list of five Augusta National Women's Amateur champions, and it's a list that already carries weight. Jennifer Kupcho has a major championship. Rose Zhang is one of the biggest stars in the sport. Anna Davis and Woad remain some of the top amateurs in the game. Advertisement 'I felt like an underdog, yeah, from the very beginning of the tournament,' she said. 'But I wasn't looking at the people that was behind me. I was looking at the winners, the ones on top of the leaderboard, because that's how it helps me play better.' And she adds herself to the list of Spaniards who seem to thrive at Augusta National. Seve Ballesteros won twice, as did Olazábal. Sergio Garcia won in 2017, and Bernat Escuder was coached by his father Victor. And Jon Rahm won the Masters in 2023, making Bernat Escuder the seventh Spanish winner at Augusta National in just 45 years. She was so nervous to see Olazábal by scoring, because he is one of the Spanish golf icons, and she accidentally called him Larrazábal when they met a year ago. 'He's like, 'That's not me.' And I'm like, 'I'm sorry!'' But she is well aware of what this means, and what she now means, in this moment. 'Hopefully it doesn't stay like that because I want more Spaniards to get here and keep pushing our country up and up,' she said. 'Yeah, hopefully I'm not the last one.'
