A Second Trip to Augusta for the National Women’s Amateur
U-M golfer Hailey Borja returns
By Tom Lang
At first, Hailey Borja thought she was in trouble with her mom.
Yet her concerns quickly turned to utter joy and celebration.
Borja was on a training trip to Florida with her Wolverine teammates in February. There’s an agreement that no one uses their phones on the team bus nor at team dinners or other activities. Those times are sacred for the team, not to be bothered by others.
“When we got to the golf course (and got off the bus), I finally looked at my phone and I see messages from my mom saying, ‘answer the phone, answer the phone,’ and I think, oh no, I’m in trouble (by the wrath of mom),” Borja told me. “I noticed a missed call, and the caller ID said Augusta National. And I thought, oh my gosh there’s no way.”
Borja said that the top 30 women Americans and the top 30 international players get invited to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur each spring, and she was hovering this fall at 31 or 32 in the country.
“So, if someone would have backed out of the tournament, I knew there was a possibility of being next in line, or close to it,” she said. “So I knew the possibility was there, but I also thought that if you are invited to that tournament, how could you turn this opportunity down?”
But, someone did.
“I called back and they offered me a spot since someone had taken themselves out of the tournament,” Borja said. “They asked if I wanted to join again, and I said ‘Yes, 100 percent yes, I’d love to do that.’ And my heart just was racing the whole call. I wasn’t exactly sure what they would say, but I guess if they are calling me it would be good news of some sort. Just super exciting.”
Borja got the same good news two years earlier, when her ranking was in the high end of the 20s, also close to the cutline; but that time she received the traditional letter in the mail. She made the most of it by advancing to the 2022 final round after posting a 147 (71-76) 36-hole total at Champions Retreat Golf Club.
That two-day total put her in the final round of the 2022 event. The final, third round is played the Saturday before The Masters on the magical grounds of Augusta National. Borja fired a 74 (+2) at Augusta National, finishing T12 overall.
Borja fully supports the team phone policy.
“All these girls are my best friends now so it’s always just super fun – you don’t need to be on the phone. I’m never bored with them.”
Borja is from southern California but has been the consistent anchor in her 4-and-a-half years at Michigan. With just the upcoming spring season remaining in her college career, Borja has played in every Michigan event (44 through early March). She became the first Wolverine to earn four All-Big Ten selections (so far) and she placed in the finals of the NCAA tournament – 5th in 2021 and 13th in 2022. Her career scoring average of 73.31 ranks second all-time at U-M.
All through her teenage years she was focused on PAC 12 or warm-weather colleges, until one day when she noticed the Michigan coaches watching her at a tournament. Thoughts started running through her head wondering what Michigan would be like. She did an unofficial visit afterwards.
“I came here and absolutely fell in love with the campus and the coaching staff, and all the opportunities offered here… opportunities where athletes can really succeed on the field as well as in the classroom. It’s a great support system,” she said.
“Being from California, I think I wanted to also experience some sort of weather, and not have 70s or 80s weather all year long. I had seen snow but never lived in it. And so why not spend four or five years in a completely different place to experience something different for once,” Borja added.
“I wanted to open up to all things life has to offer, even with weather, and opening that horizon – but also playing in some cold, rainy, maybe even snowy weather to make my game a little more (well rounded) and now I’m able to play in all kinds of weather and know I’m capable of doing it without being worried.”
Borja is majoring in sports management and minoring in business. The extra Covid year allowed her one extra golf season to enjoy college and add the minor to her course work.
“I would like to go pro” she admitted about her future. “I have been playing golf for so long now I feel I should give it a try. And if it doesn’t work out, there are other opportunities for me.”
Borja had a competitively limited, but great summer in 2023. She said she believes the semifinals finish at the Women’s US Amateur in August played a really big role in keeping her ranking high enough to be considered again for this year’s Augusta Women’s National Amateur.
“Going into the Amateur I was looking to just have some fun, it’s in LA, so I’d be close to home,” she said, adding that her internship at Titleist keep her off the course a lot last summer.
“I just knew I could have some fun, but at the end of the tournament I learned that I really am capable of competing against some of the best amateurs in the world and it opened up my idea that it doesn’t take just shooting a low score, but I think the most important thing is to be able to have fun… it all comes down to playing like a kid. It’s all about enjoyment and having fun out there.”
