Back in Augusta, This Time with Experience
Mar 29, 2024 | Women's Golf, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Carla Bernat was on the third tee deciding between a driver and a 3-wood when they called. For a couple months, the Kansas State junior had accepted the fact that she hadn't been selected to compete in the Augusta National Women's Amateur, saying, "Well, this year I didn't get in, so I'll work for it next year." Meanwhile, she continued racking up top-15 finishes for the Wildcats, who are battling for a NCAA Regional berth in May. So, she was content as she thought about her driver and 3-wood at Colbert Hills Golf Course last week. Then she got the call.
She had been selected.
"I made in my mind the idea that I wasn't going to play in the tournament, and now this," she says. "Getting this invitation is really, really nice."
She received the official invite from the Board of Governors of the Augusta National Golf Club and Chairman Fred S. Ridley on Tuesday in a corner of Colbert's Restaurant, sitting in a black leather chair by a fireplace that warmed the room on a 28-degree morning in Manhattan. She pulled the invitation from an envelope. She smiled. It was hardly suitable weather for golf in the Flint Hills, yet Bernat could already see the azaleas, dogwoods and manicured greens, and hear the birds in Augusta, Georgia. She had played Augusta when she was starring on the Tulane women's golf team in 2022.
"It was amazing," she says. "This tournament is the closet to professional golf. It wasn't my best performance. I think now I have so much experience, I know what I want to do there. It's nice."
The Augusta National Women's Amateur features an international field of 72 women amateurs who will compete over 54 holes of stroke play. The first two rounds will take place at Champions Retreat on April 3 and 4 after which the 30 top players will advance to the final round at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6.
"It's more mental, my game, but I feel more mentally mature for the tournament," she says "I'm ready for it. When I played the first time, I felt that I needed to change some things, like hitting the ball higher to impress people, but now I know the only person I need to impress is myself.
"I just need to play my game. I know I'm good enough now. When I was younger, I got nervous. Now I just have to stick to my plan."
Bernat, a native of Castellon, Spain, remembers walking with her father on the course. It's her most treasured memory from her first experience at the tournament.
"The coolest thing was when my dad was with me and we were walking Augusta," she says. "I remember it was hole No. 11. He was walking right next to me. He told me where to hit it and I hit it super close. That was the coolest thing. Just seeing my dad there was really, really cool."
Bernat leads K-State with a 70.28 stroke average with a top-15 finish in four of her six events this season. Earlier this season, Bernat earned her first victory as a Wildcat when she carded a 5-under par 211 at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational held at Colbert Hills. She is ranked No. 36 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings, and this is the second time this season she will compete in a world-renowned amateur event, as she also competed in the World Amateur Team Championship in October.
"This year, I'm really consistent," she says. "I'm not the longest hitter but I go really straight, and I'm really consistent with everything in my game. I might not be the best in many areas, but I'm really good at them. That's pretty much it. It works out. It does."
Bernat sits at a long table motioning with her hands as she speaks. She wears a purple K-State sweatshirt — something she couldn't have envisioned many years ago. It was while competing in high school that she met Tulane head coach Stew Burke in for the first time in December 2019. Bernat won the Campeonato de Espana Amateur Championship, Spain's premier ladies stroke play championship, and she led the Spanish Girls National Team at the 2020 European Girls Team Championship.
"Coach Stew saw me play at a tournament and asked me if I wanted to go to Tulane," she says. "He said, 'You're doing this and this. Here are your mistakes, and here's how to fix them.' I felt there was a connection with him as my coach. I was like, 'This guy knows what he's doing, and he gives me confidence.'
"I said, 'Yeah, I'll join you at Tulane.'"
When Burke accepted the head coaching job at K-State prior this season and brought assistant coach Rinko Mitsunaga along to Manhattan, Bernat was close behind.
"They're like my dad and mom here," she says. "I didn't think I could make it without them. Of course, K-State, the facilities and being in the Big 12 is much better with better competition, too."
The competition is ongoing. Bernat will accompany the K-State team to compete in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Georgia, on Friday and Saturday before she heads to Augusta. Then she'll meet the Wildcats in Norman, Oklahoma, for the Sooner Match Play on April 8-9. She is excited about the hectic schedule.
"I like to see what my life is going to be like in two years because I want to be a professional," she says. "I know you have to play four weeks in a row, and this will be a really nice preparation for it. I don't think it's going to be hard for me. I just really like playing golf and competing. I'm ready."
Carla Bernat was on the third tee deciding between a driver and a 3-wood when they called. For a couple months, the Kansas State junior had accepted the fact that she hadn't been selected to compete in the Augusta National Women's Amateur, saying, "Well, this year I didn't get in, so I'll work for it next year." Meanwhile, she continued racking up top-15 finishes for the Wildcats, who are battling for a NCAA Regional berth in May. So, she was content as she thought about her driver and 3-wood at Colbert Hills Golf Course last week. Then she got the call.
She had been selected.
"I made in my mind the idea that I wasn't going to play in the tournament, and now this," she says. "Getting this invitation is really, really nice."
She received the official invite from the Board of Governors of the Augusta National Golf Club and Chairman Fred S. Ridley on Tuesday in a corner of Colbert's Restaurant, sitting in a black leather chair by a fireplace that warmed the room on a 28-degree morning in Manhattan. She pulled the invitation from an envelope. She smiled. It was hardly suitable weather for golf in the Flint Hills, yet Bernat could already see the azaleas, dogwoods and manicured greens, and hear the birds in Augusta, Georgia. She had played Augusta when she was starring on the Tulane women's golf team in 2022.
"It was amazing," she says. "This tournament is the closet to professional golf. It wasn't my best performance. I think now I have so much experience, I know what I want to do there. It's nice."
The Augusta National Women's Amateur features an international field of 72 women amateurs who will compete over 54 holes of stroke play. The first two rounds will take place at Champions Retreat on April 3 and 4 after which the 30 top players will advance to the final round at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6.
"It's more mental, my game, but I feel more mentally mature for the tournament," she says "I'm ready for it. When I played the first time, I felt that I needed to change some things, like hitting the ball higher to impress people, but now I know the only person I need to impress is myself.
"I just need to play my game. I know I'm good enough now. When I was younger, I got nervous. Now I just have to stick to my plan."
Bernat, a native of Castellon, Spain, remembers walking with her father on the course. It's her most treasured memory from her first experience at the tournament.
"The coolest thing was when my dad was with me and we were walking Augusta," she says. "I remember it was hole No. 11. He was walking right next to me. He told me where to hit it and I hit it super close. That was the coolest thing. Just seeing my dad there was really, really cool."
Bernat leads K-State with a 70.28 stroke average with a top-15 finish in four of her six events this season. Earlier this season, Bernat earned her first victory as a Wildcat when she carded a 5-under par 211 at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational held at Colbert Hills. She is ranked No. 36 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings, and this is the second time this season she will compete in a world-renowned amateur event, as she also competed in the World Amateur Team Championship in October.
"This year, I'm really consistent," she says. "I'm not the longest hitter but I go really straight, and I'm really consistent with everything in my game. I might not be the best in many areas, but I'm really good at them. That's pretty much it. It works out. It does."
Bernat sits at a long table motioning with her hands as she speaks. She wears a purple K-State sweatshirt — something she couldn't have envisioned many years ago. It was while competing in high school that she met Tulane head coach Stew Burke in for the first time in December 2019. Bernat won the Campeonato de Espana Amateur Championship, Spain's premier ladies stroke play championship, and she led the Spanish Girls National Team at the 2020 European Girls Team Championship.
"Coach Stew saw me play at a tournament and asked me if I wanted to go to Tulane," she says. "He said, 'You're doing this and this. Here are your mistakes, and here's how to fix them.' I felt there was a connection with him as my coach. I was like, 'This guy knows what he's doing, and he gives me confidence.'
"I said, 'Yeah, I'll join you at Tulane.'"
When Burke accepted the head coaching job at K-State prior this season and brought assistant coach Rinko Mitsunaga along to Manhattan, Bernat was close behind.
"They're like my dad and mom here," she says. "I didn't think I could make it without them. Of course, K-State, the facilities and being in the Big 12 is much better with better competition, too."
The competition is ongoing. Bernat will accompany the K-State team to compete in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Georgia, on Friday and Saturday before she heads to Augusta. Then she'll meet the Wildcats in Norman, Oklahoma, for the Sooner Match Play on April 8-9. She is excited about the hectic schedule.
"I like to see what my life is going to be like in two years because I want to be a professional," she says. "I know you have to play four weeks in a row, and this will be a really nice preparation for it. I don't think it's going to be hard for me. I just really like playing golf and competing. I'm ready."
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