Ashley Menne progresses from PURE Insurance victory to Augusta National Women's Amateur

Ashley Menne had no expectation of being at Augusta National this weekend.

The Arizona State sophomore had earned an invitation to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur via her spot on the Women’s Amateur Golf Ranking, but she wasn’t quite sure the event was still happening in the COVID-19 pandemic era.

In recent months, Menne’s mom Alicia informed her of a package tracking toward the Menne household, with point of origination being Augusta, Georgia.

“At that point in my life, I was ordering a lot of stuff online,” laughed Menne this week. “I got an email saying I was getting a package from Augusta National. I was like, ‘I don’t remember ordering anything that should be coming from Augusta.' My mom sent it to me, and I was like, ‘I don’t know,’ and then I got the invitation in the mail.”

Menne didn’t just earn the opportunity to compete in this week’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur; she made the cut (top-30) with rounds of 74-74 at Champions Retreat. After a Friday practice round, she’s competing in Saturday’s final competitive round at Augusta National Golf Club.

It marks another chance for Menne to make memories in Augusta; she finished third at the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals (Girls 12-13 Division) in spring 2014, and was presented her trophy by Bubba Watson.

Menne also holds some PGA TOUR Champions hardware, having teamed with Tom Lehman to win the Pro-Junior girls' division title at the 2019 PURE Insurance Championship.

Menne, who aspires to play on the LPGA, attributes lessons learned that week at Pebble Beach as a critical part of her evolution in the game.

In addition to Lehman – a fellow Arizona resident who has stayed in touch – Menne points to a conversation with 34-time PGA TOUR winner Vijay Singh.

“Up to that point, I wasn’t really working out,” Menne said. “Vijay said, ‘You need to get stronger. You need to gain strength in your golf swing.’

“I was like, ‘OK, OK.’ Now I’m in college, and we do training every week, two or three times per week, and I see what he means now. I see their perspective and it's great. They all give really good advice, whether it be mental, whether it be in life.”

Menne wasn’t a can’t-miss prospect from the get-go. Growing up in Singapore – her mom is from Singapore; her dad is from Pennsylvania – she first became intrigued with the game around age 5, seeing her dad and brother hit golf balls in their backyard.

“I was like, ‘I want to beat my brother so bad,’” laughed Menne.

She began taking lessons, embracing the chance to have an “escape from school, hang out with friends and be outside.” Progression was slow, though. She remembers the elation at getting her handicap down to 30 – “I thought I was so good!” – and chuckles upon remembering her parents’ early skepticism as to her upside in the game.

“Honestly, I was really bad until I was, like, 10,” Menne recalls. “It was so bad. My dad was like, ‘Maybe we try her in something else, like ping-pong or table tennis or something easier. She can’t seem to get the hang of it.'

“But I finally got it.”

When Menne was 10, the family moved to Arizona, as her dad Carl got a new position in his job with an aircraft company. She started playing more, competing more. Her body got stronger. And she joined the First Tee.

Menne remained a First Tee participant from age 11 or 12, all the way through senior year of high school, where she was selected to compete in the PURE Insurance Championship through an extensive process that included a written test, golf test and interview at the state level, followed by an essay portion and another interview.

The process was more than worth it, Menne said, as well as her First Tee participation on the whole – progressing through the ranks to the highest level of ‘Ace’ certification.

“You learn not only about golf, but how to interact with people and how to hold yourself,” Menne said. “A lot of the core values of life, they do a good job with that. And I made a lot of good friends from the First Tee as well.”

It led her to raising a trophy alongside former world No. 1 Tom Lehman at Pebble Beach, and it sparked a journey that now includes teeing it up Saturday at Augusta National.

“To be able to come here, play Augusta with the top girls in the world … awesome,” Menne said. “It’s just a cool experience.”