AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 2, 2024

Emilia Migliaccio

Quick Quotes

Q. Fifth time here, the lone participant that has been in all five ANWAs to date. How have you seen the championship grow over the last five years?

EMILIA MIGLIACCIO: I don't know how ANWA keeps getting better and better, but it does. My first year in 2019 it was so magical. So many people were here. Even at Champions Retreat and then on Saturday at Augusta National. Just the way the tournament treats us. They treat us like movie stars. And it only get cooler.

The tournament gifts, the experiences. After the round we get to play the par-3 course this year so we're all really excited about that.

The course is always in really difficult, great shape, and it's a ball-strikers golf course, so you hit the ball well and you're going to do well out here.

Q. What would you tell a player -- there are plenty making their debut this week -- what would you tell them as they embark on their first ANWA?

EMILIA MIGLIACCIO: I would tell them as best as you can, try and treat the golf course like any other golf course. That's really how you're able to play well. It can be really easy your first time, I know for me, just to get really intimidated about all the scheduling and just the busy-ness that happens. You get a little bit overwhelmed by the golf courses.

So I think to try and just treat it like any tournament. It's hard to do that, but when you're competing I think that's the advice that I would give. And you don't need to go for any of the par-5s. That's probably the other one. You're still going to play well.

There is some risk-reward out there, and I think at Champions Retreat if you just plop yourself along you're going to end up rolling some putts in and playing well.

Q. What are the keys to success for you this week?

EMILIA MIGLIACCIO: Hitting the ball in the fairway and hitting my irons close. Because the greens are firm you're not going to have too many really, really close birdie putts unless you get lucky.

So making those 15-footers for birdie, you might have a couple seven-, eight-footers for par as well.

I think just having good ball striking and making clutch putts is important. So pretty much everything needs to be great.

Q. So now that you're not playing golf full time, how would you describe your preparation coming into this event?

EMILIA MIGLIACCIO: Yeah, so I worked three weeks in a row beginning of March. Darius, Arnold Palmer Invitational, and PLAYERS for PGA TOUR Live. When I work in studio there is a golf course that's right by the hotel, so we get like an hour break so I'll hit for 20 minutes in my first break and my second break I'll putt for 30. That's how I've been practicing on the road.

Obviously not a whole lot of time. I feel like I am getting creative on keeping my practice efficient, and then the last week and a half before ANWA I spent every day on the golf course, six seven hours playing a ton because haven't had a lot of opportunities to play.

So really getting that experience and translating practice to on-course scoring.

Q. Where is that that you're playing?

EMILIA MIGLIACCIO: I kind of play everywhere around Charlotte. We're not members anywhere right now. Charlotte Country Club, Myers Park. Those are the two private clubs I got practice at. And then Skybrook is a semi-private. They have been super nice.

So those courses have let me on. I played a lot at Quail but I don't go there to practice. They're really nice about getting me out there to play.

Q. What's the best gift this year?

EMILIA MIGLIACCIO: I don't know. We haven't gotten all of them yet. They always give us really nice pullovers, like a really nice dob kit with the essentials. That's the practical gift we all love.

There is usually something that comes later in a little blue Tiffany box. That's always exciting to open and see what's inside.