Anna Davis is living the dream — and her win at Augusta National was just the beginning. In the time since her ANWA triumph, the 16-year-old has teed it up on the LPGA Tour (making the cut in the process), gotten shoutouts from legends of the game and become a household name in the world of golf.
Now, she’s preparing to tee it up among the pros yet again, this time at the Cognizant Founders Cup. Ahead of her second LPGA start, GOLF.com caught up with the bucket-hat-wearing teen to find out what it’s like being the coolest kid in golf.
(Ed. note: This Q and A has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.)
Zephyr Melton: Have you had a chance to take a deep breath in the last month?
Anna Davis: No not really [Laughs].
ZM: So what has life been like since the ANWA?
AD: It’s been super fun, obviously. The opportunities I’ve gotten have been pretty exciting. It’s fun to get a look into the future and what’s ahead for my golf career.
ZM: How many congrats have you gotten after the win?
AD: When I got done with my round at Augusta, I opened my phone and it was almost dead just from the amount of notifications I was getting. It was kinda cool, because I’ve never gotten that many DMs before. And some of them are just random people who are saying I’m a role model and stuff like that. I’ll have little girls on Instagram who will will swipe up and tell me I’m so cool. And I’m just like, ‘Aw, I get to be the role model now.’ So that’s really cool.
ZM: Did you ever imagine that you’d be the role model so soon?
AD: I don’t think I did at this young of an age, but I did expect that eventually I would be somebody that someone would look up to.
ZM: Were there any noteworthy people who reached out to tell you congrats?
AD: Ok so they didn’t wish me congrats personally, but Tiger Woods tweeted about me, and then Jack Nicklaus also did. So that was pretty cool. I think those are definitely the two coolest people.
ZM: How many followers have you gained in the last month?
AD: I gained like 2,000 in the past week from the LPGA event. But right after Augusta I think I got like 4,000 new followers. It was kind of crazy.
ZM: You played in your first LPGA event last week, what was that experience like?
16-year-old ANWA winner uses epic finish to make first LPGA cut
AD: It was super cool. It’s something I’ve always looked forward to doing, so being able to have that experience was fun. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks, because I have quite a few LPGA events coming up. It’s almost like I’m on Tour this summer, so you’ll see me at a few events. I’m looking forward to it.
ZM: What’s it like getting to tee it up with the best players in the world?
AD: Oh it’s super cool, for sure. It’s just a look into what I want my future to look like. So I think just having an experience like is super valuable, and I’m looking forward to doing it more in the future.
ZM: What are the emotions like on a day-to-day basis? Is it hard to keep yourself so even-keel?
AD: Not really, I think I’ve always been a pretty level-headed person. Nothing really gets to me too much in that sense. I’ve been pretty calm despite everything.
ZM: How are you so cool? I think everyone wonders that.
AD: [Laughs] No I’m not. I don’t know, I try not to make a big deal out of things. And I just try to stay humble about it all.
ZM: Is it a product of being raised in southern California?
AD: I think it’s more learning from my parents. They’re the complete opposite, actually. We get in arguments about it [Laughs]. Like me being all chill and stuff, and they get all worked up about things. But I just don’t want to be that nervous and worked up all the time.
ZM: And last question: Are there any bucket hats in your scripting for next week?
AD: Yeah, I brought a few. We’ll see if I need to bring them out. I’ll have to check what the weather looks like.