FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas women's golf freshman Maria Jose Marin is participating in her second Augusta National Women's Amateur.
"When I stepped into the ground, I knew I had to play," said Marin. "I was just focused on 'Okay, this is 12. This is like the most iconic part three underscores and now this is 13, the dogleg to the left."
Marin finished the 2023 tournament tied for 14th with a 3-over 219 and became the first South American to make the cut for the final round.
"Getting those memories back from the masters that I've seen and those like really good shots of the pros have made," said Marin. "It was really fun."
Getting to Augusta has been a long time coming for the Cali, Columbia native who was introduced to the game of golf from her dad.
"They drove us through Magnolia lane and I just started like started tearing off my dad started crying," said Marin. "It was a pretty special moment for us."
Golf wasn't the only sport she participated in growing up. When she wasn't on the links, Marin was lacing up her ballet slippers.
Marin said ballet helped her improve her golf game.
"My swing is like a really like rhythmical swing," said Marin. "I got it from ballet, like tempo. That's a really strong thing about my swing, too."
Fast forward to today, she put up her ballet slippers and focused on her golf game. Marin is coming into this seasons ANWA ranked 14th in the world amateur golf rankings.
As Marin heads to the Augusta National Golf Club, not only will her dad be by her side but her mom, younger brother and other family members will be there to cheer her on.
"I'm a dreamer," said Marin. "I really feel like dreams do come true and you fight enough for them. Never, never give up."
Marin finished the first round of the ANWA at 3-under par with five birdies. The tournament concludes on April 6.