Spartanburg alum, Furman star Anna Morgan gets dream invite to Augusta National

When Furman students have a letter or package awaiting them at the university's post office, they receive a phone alert that they have an item there, including the name of the sender.

Former Spartanburg High School and current Furman junior golfer Anna Morgan was a passenger in a car driven by teammate Caroline Crumrine on campus last week when she received notification she had a letter from Augusta National Golf Club.

"I looked at Caroline and said, 'You've got to turn the car around,' and when I told her why she said, 'Say no more.' So we literally turned around, went straight to the post office and I hopped out of the car as quick as I could to go in and get it."

Morgan had zero doubt what the envelope contained after receiving word late last year she was a "potential prospect" to receive one of only 72 invitations to the third Augusta National Women's Amateur and they would be mailed out the second week of January.

"I'd pretty much been counting down the days until then," Morgan said of receiving her invitation. "I wasn't necessarily shocked, but I'm not sure it's quite settled in yet just because it's something I've been working towards since they first announced they were going to have the women's tournament at Augusta. It became my No. 1 goal to get there as soon as possible, and now to have that dream as a reality is really incredible."

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The international field will play the first two rounds at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta before all players get an April 1 practice round at Augusta National. Only the low 30 scores from the opening 36 holes will advance to play the April 2 final round at Augusta National, televised from noon to 3 p.m. on NBC.

The winner receives an invitation to the next five Augusta National Women’s Amateurs (providing she doesn't turn professional), the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2022 Women’s British Open and any United States Golf Association, Royal & Ancient and PGA of America amateur championships for which she is eligible for one year.

Morgan's mother, Elizabeth Morgan, said the Augusta women's event was "all (her daughter) has talked about for the past year. As a little girl, I would watch the Masters with my grandfather in Thomaston, Georgia. Although we weren't golfers, we really followed the Masters and I never would have imagined I'd ever have a child playing at Augusta. Growing up she would watch any golf tournament, but the Masters has held a special place for her for a long time."

Morgan will be the fourth Furman player to compete in the three years of the event (2020 was canceled by the pandemic). The first tournament featured Dorman alum Natalie Srinivasan, Haylee Harford and Alice Chen. Harford finished tied for seventh with a 1-under 71 in the final round and Sirinivasan tied for 17th with a 1-over 73 at Augusta. Chen missed the cut.

"It was really cool to be a part of the first one," Srinivasan said. "We had three of us (from Furman) play, so that was really great. And then just being out there with my family. My dad caddied for me and then my brother was the designated guest (inside the ropes) so we spent a lot of time together, and it's something I'll always remember."

Srinivasan, now on the Symetra Tour (the developmental tour for the LPGA) also received a 2020 invitation the year the event didn't take place. She still practices at Furman, so she sees Morgan regularly.

The Augusta National Women's Amateur "has been one of her goals since back when I played," Srinivasan said. "She's really super talented and I'm not shocked she got her invite. I just told her what things to work on from my experience and kind of just what to expect."

Morgan said among the things Srinivasan told her was "something along the lines of 'they'll treat you like royalty' and to just really appreciate the whole experience."

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It won't be the first time playing Augusta National for Morgan, a former Herald-Journal Player of the Year and Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and a first-time college champion at September's Lady Paladin on Furman's home course. She played the course as a guest of a family friend and Augusta National member twice, first as a high school senior and then again last month in anticipation of receiving her tournament invite.

Morgan has also been to Augusta National for two Masters tournament rounds, two tournament practice rounds and the final round of the inaugural women's event in 2019.

When asked for her favorite moments or memories from her two playing rounds, Morgan laughed and quickly responded, "All of them."

She then offered a little more detail.

"Obviously just hitting that first tee shot. Then No. 13 (the Par-5 featuring an isolated tee-box that completes the three-hole stretch known as 'Amen Corner'). We played the member tees and not from where the pros play, but we walked back to the pro tee at the very back of 13 and it's one of the quietest places on the course. We went back and hit a tee shot from there. That's just a really cool spot. Any view out there is pretty, but that's just one of the cool places where you can just kind of take a moment and really appreciate where you are."

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From the first time she played the historic course Morgan recalled, "Literally everything was incredible. I still remember the first time riding down Magnolia Lane (the private, tree-lined entrance to the clubhouse), remember the meal I had (cheeseburger, onion rings and an Arnold Palmer which is half tea, half lemonade) and just the whole experience. The second time was just as awesome as the first time. It's one of those things that would never get old."

As for how Augusta National looked during the cold of winter last month, Morgan said, "Everything is still green and no blade of grass is out of place."

A couple of the highlights were a par at the famous par-3 12th and then making birdie at the 18th.

"I was just trying to have a lot of fun out there," Morgan said. "I went for every Par-5 in two and was definitely hitting shots I wouldn't necessarily hit in a tournament. Just being out there having the opportunity to try and hit those shots I was enjoying the experience. I couldn't even tell you what I shot. I was just so caught up in the moment and appreciating every single little thing with the environment, on the course and in the clubhouse."

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg, Furman's Anna Morgan gets dream invite to Augusta National