Galitsky Aims to Draw on New Shot Shape

Augusta, Georgia, United States: Ahead of the seventh Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA), Eila Galitsky has been working on hitting draws off the tee. Eighth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), the 19-year-old Thai is the top-rated Asia-Pacific player in the standings.

With two collegiate wins and two victories on the Thai LPGA Tour in the past two years, it’s no wonder the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) champion is among the favourites to triumph over the hallowed fairways of Augusta National this week.

The first two rounds of the ANWA will be held at Champions Retreat (April 1-2), followed by the third and final round at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, on April 4. In all, 72 players, including 48 of the top 50 amateurs in the world, are in the field.

A sophomore at the University of South Carolina, Galitsky has been busy trying to groove a right-to-left ball flight with her driver so she can take advantage of the many holes that bend that way at both courses, particularly Augusta National. “It’s an unnatural feeling,” said Galitsky, who typically plays a fade. “But I think I’ll be fine.”

In three previous ANWA starts, Galitsky has improved her performance each time. Accustomed to warm weather in her native Thailand, she was unprepared for the chilly conditions (‘freezing’, as she called them) that she faced as a 16-year-old competing in Augusta for the first time in 2023. She failed to advance to the final round that year but followed that up with a tie for eighth place in 2024 and a tie for fourth in 2025.

She saved her strongest play last year for the biggest stage, shooting a six-under 66 in the final round at Augusta National, the low score of the day. The highlight came at the uphill par-five eighth hole, where, after a long drive, she reached the green in two with a seven-iron and holed a 15-foot putt for eagle.

Galitsky attributes her power to having played multiple sports in her youth, including swimming, gymnastics, basketball and even a little Thai boxing.

“In golf, you don’t need so much athleticism – we don’t run, jump or do fast movements,” she said. “But I hit it long because of these sports. I know how to put more ground force into the ball. I’m not afraid of ripping the ball.”

Still, given the challenges posed by Champions Retreat and Augusta National, she will be relying on experience as well as strength. She said: “These courses are definitely not the easiest out there. So it helps to have played it and know the angles I want in, the shots I want in. I have a good idea of what club I’ve been hitting the past couple of times.”

In its short history, the ANWA has become one of the premier events in women's amateur golf. Multiple champions – including Jennifer Kupcho, winner of the inaugural edition in 2019; Rose Zhang (2023); and Lottie Woad (2024) – have gone on to win on the LPGA Tour.  

Two champions, Japan’s Tsubasa Kajitani (2021) and American Anna Davis (2022), remain amateurs and will be playing again this year. So, too, will Kiara Romero, number one in the WAGR, and recent runners-up Bailey Shoemaker and Asterisk Talley from 2024 and 2025, respectively.

In total, players from the Asia-Pacific region will make up 25 per cent of the 72-strong field with nine nationalities being represented – Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand.

Spearheading the Asia-Pacific challenge along with Galitsky and Kajitani is Yang Yun-seo, who created history at Royal Wellington in February by becoming the first Korean winner of the WAAP. She will be joined in the US by her compatriots Oh Soo-min, Kim Gyu-been and Park Seo-jin, all of whom featured prominently in New Zealand.

The largest Asia-Pacific contingent comes from Japan, who will be represented by Yurina Hiroyoshi, Ai Goto, Aira Nagasawa, Anna Iwanaga and Kajitani, the first and, to date, only Asia-Pacific player to triumph in the championship.

Strong showings will also be expected from Rianne Malixi of the Philippines, the former US Women’s Amateur champion, and Galitsky’s fellow-Thais Prim Prichnakorn and Achiraya Sriwong.

Raegan Denton and Eunseo Choi will fly the flag for Australia and New Zealand respectively, while Liu Yujie (China), Hsu Huai-chien (Chinese Taipei) and Arianna Lau (Hong Kong, China) have all arrived at Augusta in good spirits.