Kiara Romero Takes 7th at Augusta National Women's Amateur

AUGUSTA, Georgia - It wasn’t the finish Kiara Romero was looking for, but a top 10 finish for the Oregon Duck is still an impressive accomplishment after going into the final round Saturday with the lead at the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Romero tied for seventh overall after shooting a 2-over 74 in the final round at the famous Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters this week.

Romero becomes the second Duck ever to post a top-10 finish at the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Hsin-Yu Lu tied for fifth overall at the event in 2023.

The 2024 first-team all-American entered Saturday's final round in a tie for the lead at 9-under par following a 5-under 67 in Wednesday's opening round and a 4-under 68 in the second round on Thursday.

After playing a practice round at Augusta National on Friday, Romero opened her round with a bogey at No. 1 and had another at No. 4 before making her first birdie of the day at No. 8. She was 3 over after back-to-back bogeys at No. 9 and No. 10, but then shot 1 under the rest of the way including two birdies in her final four holes.

Romero was accompanied all week by her older sister, Kaleiya Romero, who is currently a graduate assistant for the Ducks and served as her sister's caddie in all three rounds.

Oregon head coach Derek Radley was on hand for Saturday's final round to support Romero. UO freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham was also in the event but did not make the cut for Saturday's final round after shooting 8 over through the first two rounds.

The No. 3 ranked Ducks will open their final tournament of the regular season on Monday at the Silverado Showdown in Napa, Calif. Romero will not play in the event after playing each of the last four days in Georgia, and will prepare for the 2025 Big Ten Championships set for April 18-20 in Maryland.

Romero is the fifth-ranked women’s amateur in the world, as just a sophomore at the University of Oregon.

She has four runner up finishes this season, including the Therese Hession Regional Challenge, Alice and John Wallace Classic and Charles Schwab Women's Spring Invitational in 2025. She earned 2024 First Team All-America honors in her freshman season with wins in both the 2023 Annika Intercollegiate and 2024 San Diego State Classic.

To take a seventh-place finish in a highly contested amateur event is quite the accomplishment and barometer for how far Romero could go while at Oregon and beyond.