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Juan Corral Las Cruces BulletinEmma Bunch, a New Mexico State University junior golfer, was one of 72 competitors in the rare Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She tied for 11th place last week in Augusta, Georgia.
Bunch is the first women’s Aggie golfer to have competed in the renowned tournament.
The ANWA began Wednesday, April 2 where 36 opening holes were played over the course of two days before an official practice round began on Friday, April 4.
There are dozens of qualifications needed for the women golfers to enter the ANWA. Bunch earned her spot by also being ranked number 37 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Some of the more prestigious qualifications Bunch needed to play in the ANWA were reigning U.S., Women’s Amateur Champion, reigning girls national champion, and reigning girls junior PGA champion.
With so much accomplished, NMSU Women’s Golf Coach Danny Bowen said it’s hard to pinpoint what Bunch needs to improve.
“That’s actually kind of the hard part, is figuring out what to work on for her now because there’s so many areas that are her strengths, so that’s something that might have to be thought of over the summer and before next season,” Bowen said.
Bowen has coached Bunch for her three years at NMSU and will include her upcoming senior year as well.
“I think one of her goals now is obviously turning professional so we also have to make sure that we’re doing everything on our part to where she can just blend into professional golf pretty seamlessly,” he added.
Bowen has coached at NMSU for 13 seasons, and he said he’s never known of someone winning five tournaments in a row.
Bunch participated in a series of tournaments in spring of 2024 where she won five tournaments consecutively.
“I don’t think that’s ever happened and it will be pretty crazy if it happens again,” he said.
Bowen added that Bunch put NMSU back on the map and he is thankful of the endeavors she’s accomplished to make a name for Aggie women’s golf.
“What she’s doing for not only herself and the team, but also the university, she’s making us proud. But also, she’s put New Mexico State women’s golf back on the map a little bit and showing that type of performance can be done here,” Bowen said.
How Bunch found golf
Bunch is originally from Lynge, Denmark, where she first learned about her passion for golf when she was just shy of nine years old.
“I’m turning 23 this year so I’ve been golfing for a while,” she said.
Bunch said her family has always been into golf. The passion first came from her grandparents, then trickled down to her and her brother.
“First I was just kind of playing for the family part of it and then I just all of a sudden figured out that it was actually really fun to play golf, too,” Bunch said.
She made her first trip to America in 2021 where she toured NMSU and committed by February 2022.
“I knew for about two years that I was coming here so I had some time to mentally prepare for the desert and everything, but I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into because it’s so different from back home,” she said.
Although, in her freshman year she was getting acquainted with the university, golf needed no refresher.
By her freshman year, Bunch went on a teambuilding trip with her golf team that she said, “I just felt like I was part of the family.”
Bunch tallied nine top-10 finishes and 10 top-25 finishes her sophomore year and helped the Aggies claim their first team title since 2022.
In March of this year, Bunch was named Conference USA golfer of the week for a fourth time, but it was her ninth time overall receiving the award.
She said playing golf as an adult is so much different from when she was a junior golfer.
“It’s just been really fun. Just traveling with a team and playing well for the team mostly. But I am still trying to wrap my head around it,” she said.
Bunch said she felt privileged to play at two of the best courses in the world.
“It’s just something that I am going to remember for the rest of my life,” she said.
She added that while she still has one more year at NMSU, she hopes to move to Texas or Arizona after graduation to focus on professional golf.
“I’d hope to join the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) after graduation and be around some of the larger cities where it’s a bit easier to travel to the larger tournaments,” she said.
Bunch said she has received so much support from her coaches, her team and family and “the whole community in Las Cruces.”
“It’s just amazing to see that kind of support for the women’s golf team. It’s just been really awesome, feeling like you’re a part of something bigger,” she said.
