AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Furman's Anna Morgan (+1) is tied for ninth at the completion of Wednesday's first round of the third Augusta National Women's Amateur, which is being held this week in Augusta, Ga.

Morgan, a junior from Spartanburg, S.C, teed off on No. 10 and bogeyed No. 11 and No. 12 but answered with birdies on No. 14 and No. 15.  After a bogey on No. 17 and birdie on No. 18, she turned at even par.  Morgan added a fourth birdie on No. 7 to end the day 1-over, three strokes back of leaders Benedetta Moresco (-2) of Italy and Anna Davis (-2) of the United States.

"I am very pleased with today's round," said Morgan.  "I had so much fun out there, so it was a good day.  I had a silly three-putt on the second hole, but then on the third hole I made a really clutch bogey, which I can honestly say gave me momentum.  Not a lot of people can say that about a bogey, but it was a really good bogey.  Then I just hit some really close shots and made a couple of putts to put together a solid nine.  

"I played conservative toward the end of the day, going for the middle of the greens and trying not to get too aggressive unless I had a short club in my hand," added Morgan.  "I just tried to hit fairways, greens, and two-putts.  I will try to tighten up my putting just a bit for tomorrow, but overall, I'm pleased with the way I played today."

An international field of 72 women amateurs is competing over 54 holes of stroke play.  A cut will take place after 36 holes, advancing the leading 30 players to Saturday's final round at Augusta National Golf Club.  In the event of a tie after 54 holes, the winner will be decided by sudden-death playoff.

The first 36 holes are being contested on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.  Due to predicted inclement weather in the Augusta area, Thursday's tee times will begin earlier than originally scheduled.  Tee times are scheduled to commence at 7:30 a.m. with Morgan teeing off of No. 1 beginning at 8:54 a.m.  Morgan will play in a group with Youmin Hwang of Korea and Ayaka Tezuka of Japan on Thursday.

The entire field will play Augusta National for an official practice round on Friday.  

Thursday's second-round coverage of the ANWA will be streamed from Champions Retreat Golf Club for the first time on NBC Sports and the ANWA digital platforms starting at 2 p.m., with two full hours of coverage from holes No. 9 and 18, as well as the full cut playoff (if necessary).  "Making The Cut" will feature Steve Burkowski on the call with Paige Mackenzie, Kay Cockerill, Jim 'Bones' Mackay, and Kathryn Tappen.

NBC Sports will produce and broadcast three hours of live final-round coverage at Augusta National from noon until 3 p.m. on Saturday.  NBC Sports will also provide pre-event promotion across NBCUniversal's portfolio, while Golf Channel will deliver highlights, live reports and news coverage throughout the event, including on-site during the first two competitive rounds at Champions Retreat.  Additionally, Golf Channel's "Live From the Masters" will commence on Friday from Augusta National and wrap ANWA coverage on Saturday.

Live results of the ANWA will be available throughout the tournament at https://www.anwagolf.com/en_US/scores/index.html.

A native of Spartanburg, S.C., Morgan was honored as the 2021 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year after leading the Paladins with a 73.6 stroke average over 18 rounds last season.  She qualified as an individual for the NCAA Simpsonville Regional, where she tied for 16th.  

Morgan boasts a league-best 71.8 stroke average over 26 rounds this season.  She captured individual medalist honors at the 2021 Lady Paladin Invitational, carding rounds of 65-67-71=203 for the seven-stroke victory.  Morgan, who scored a hole-in-one during the first round of the tournament, established a new tournament record at 13-under par.  During the spring season, she won individual medalist honors at the UNF Collegiate and finished in a tie for fifth at both the Valspar Augusta Invitational and the Clemson Invitational.

Former Paladins Alice Chen, Haylee Harford, and Natalie Srinivasan competed at the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur in 2019, where Harford tied for seventh and Srinivasan finished in a tie for 17th.  Srinivasan was invited to the 2020 event, which was canceled due to Covid-19. 

Provided she remain an amateur, the 2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur Champion will receive an invitation to the next five Augusta National Women's Amateurs, the 2022 U.S. Women's Open, the 2022 Women's British Open, and any USGA, R&A and PGA of America amateur championships for which she is eligible for one year.