Merrill wins Georgia Women’s Am with record score

She needed every shot to overtake Savannah’s Mary Miller, who began the final round with a one-stroke lead after she tied the tournament record with a second-round 65. Miller closed with a 67 and wound up two shots behind Merrill.

Merrill holed a 9-iron from 123 yards on the second hole, a shot that lingered on the edge of the cup before falling in and causing a roar from the fans who were greenside. She followed that by chipping in from just off the green to birdie No. 3. Merrill added a more traditional birdie at No. 4.

“That was a good start to my round and obviously got me off on the right foot,” Merrill said. “I feel like hole-outs are mostly luck, but the chip-in was a good shot all around. … But I didn’t really think like this was my day because I’m 4 under and Mary is 4 under, and it’s just like, I’ve got to keep this up if I want to win.”

Merrill had a one-shot lead at the turn and overcame a bogey on the 14th hole with back-to-back birdies at No. 15 and 16. Miller birdied the 17th to cut the margin to one, only to have Merrill rip her best drive of the day at No. 18 and blast her second shot hole high just off the green on the par-5 finishing hole.

In addition to having her name engraved on the Eleanor M. Keeler Trophy, Merrill receives an exemption into the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes.

“One of the most exciting parts is that I get a parking spot with my name on it next year,” Merrill said. “So I’m looking forward to that.”

It was the best finish in the Georgia Women’s Amateur for Miller, a two-time state junior champion who will transfer to Ole Miss this fall after spending her freshman year at Georgia Southern.

“It was a really good experience being about to battle out there with Ava,” Miller said. “It’s definitely encouraging to me to know I’m kind of moving in the right direction.”

Finishing third at 11-under was 14-year-old Kylie Chung of Cumming, who closed with a 68. LoraLie Cowart of Douglasville, who recently completed her senior season at Georgia Southern, finished fourth at 8-under 208. Cowart had been runner-up the two previous years.

It was the next step in Merrill’s development as a player. She was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team in 2024 and in 2025 led the Commodores with a 72.09 scoring average. The product of Atlanta Athletic Club had PGA instructor Jimmy Harris on the bag, and the duo never wavered from the plan.

“The game plan was to worry about my game, but Mary was just lighting it up,” Merrill said. “I was four-under through five and tied with her, so I felt like there was never a moment that she kind of let up, and I had her on my heels the whole time.”

Defending champion Sara Im, who is Merrill’s teammate at Vanderbilt, finished in a tie for 17th at 6-over 222. But Im walked the final hole with her fellow Commodore and rushed the green at the conclusion to douse Merrill with water — just like Merrill had done to Im a year ago in Columbus.