It was only five years ago that LPGA pro Maria Fassi made her star turn.
At the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019, Fassi — then a 21-year-old senior at the University of Arkansas — had a memorable final-round showdown with eventual champion Jennifer Kupcho, who triumphed by four shots.
But Fassi, as the runner-up, made a grand impression, hitting bombs, sporting copper lenses in her aviator sunglasses and smiling brightly at the cheering galleries. Fassi turned pro in the months following the ANWA, locking up big-name sponsors — a boon she says she attributes to the exposure she gained at the ANWA.
“I’ve got two sponsors that came significantly from that, and honestly other sponsors too, just from people that worked for those companies that were there and witnessed what Jennifer and I were able to do,” Fassi told GOLF.com last year. “Golf-wise, I think it was such a great booster for confidence for me then, and all the players who are doing it now.”
Fassi has thrived as a professional in the years since she made history at the ANWA, posting eight career top-10s on the LPGA Tour. Putting is one of Fassi’s strengths, and at a recent LPGA tournament, she explained her green-reading process and how she approaches each putt she faces.
How Maria Fassi reads the green
Fassi starts her process by looking at the putt from behind.
“Just trying to figure out what the slopes are and stuff,” she says. “I also have notes in my book of little subtle breaks that I’ve seen during the practice day. So I always tend to look at that.”
Next, Fassi takes a walk around the putt to get a feel for the slope, taking mental notes of any runoffs. The walk will ultimately take her to the other side of the ball, so she can look at the putt from that angle.
How a runner-up finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur changed Maria Fassi’s life
“I try to read my putt from both sides, but I get most of my information, I think, from when I’m on the other side of the ball,” Fassi says. “I can see like a visual of what I’m thinking the ball is gonna do.”
Fassi says looking from the other side is important for her, but if you opt not to, you should at least get a feel for what the terrain is doing around the hole.
“Just by walking, I think you get a lot of very valuable information,” she says.
Once the research is complete, it’s time to line up. Fassi says she tends to use a line on her ball only on shorter putts. On longer putts, she picks an intermediate spot to focus on.
On the putt Fassi hit while on camera, her line was superb, but the ball rolled about two feet past the hole.
“I was trying to make it for you guys,” she said with a smile, before tapping in.
