The third time turned out to be a charm for Kansas State golfer Carla Bernat on Saturday at the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship in Augusta, Georgia.
Bernat, making her third straight appearance in the event, shot a 4-under-par 68 in the final round at Augusta National to edge teenager Asterisk Talley by one stroke. Bernat, who also shot 68 in each of the first two rounds Wednesday and Thursday at the Champions Retreat course, finished with a 54-hole total of 12-under 204.
Bernat, a K-State senior from Castellon, Spain, who began her college career at Tulane, started the day tied for third, one shot behind defending champion Lottie Woad of Florida State and Oregon's Kiara Romero. She took the lead for good with a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole and was three strokes ahead with three to play.
Still, a late charge by Talley, the 16-year-old U.S. Women's Amateur runner-up, and a bogey on No. 17 left Bernard needing a par on the final hole to secure the title. She two-putted from 40 feet away near the top of the green, rolling in a 4-footer for the win.
