While there’s no Green Jacket for winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, there are plenty of other perks.
Last year’s winner, Carla Bernat Escuder, got the chance to play in four of the LPGA’s five major championships after her breakthrough victory over Asterisk Talley. Her best finish was a tie for 58th at Royal Porthcawl at the AIG Women’s Open Championship.
The win also catapulted Escuder to a great start to her professional career, which she began after her major exemptions ran out. She made the cut in her first LPGA professional start at the CPKC Women’s Open last August and is now fighting for full-time status on the Epson Tour, where she ranks 14th early in the season-long “Race for the Card.”
Previous ANWA winners after also used the victory to jump-start their professional careers. Both Rose Zhang (2023) and Lottie Woad (2024) won in their debuts as professionals on the LPGA Tour. Meanwhile, inaugural champion Jennifer Kupchao remains the only former ANWA champ to earn a major victory, doing so at the 2022 ANA Inspiration.
Here’s a list of all the tournaments the 2026 champion will gain entry into:
-The next five Augusta National Women’s Amateurs (2027-2031)
-The 2026 U.S. Women’s Open
-The 2026 AIG Women’s Open
-The 2026 Chevron Championship
-The 2026 Evian Championship
-Any USGA, R&A and PGA of America amateur championships for which she is eligible (i.e. the U.S. Women’s Amateur and R&A Women’s Amateur)
All of these exemptions remain conditional on the champion remaining an amateur.
In addition, the champion also receives the Augusta National Women’s Amateur trophy, which was designed by Tiffany and Co. and is made from sterling silver.
Lastly, the champion also receives valuable World Amateur Golf Ranking points and LPGA LEAP points. The LPGA’s LEAP program was announced last year and is similar to the PGA Tour University program, which awards college players points to help them earn PGA Tour membership upon graduation.
The winner earns two LPGA LEAP points. Last year, while Woad was unable to defend her title, she earned her LPGA membership by way of the LEAP program.
