Vanessa Borovilos first visited Augusta National when she was eight. At that time, she was there to compete at the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals. Ten years later, Borovilos is back at the prestigious venue as part of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. That’s a coveted achievement in her rapidly growing career, which has also been bolstered by her showing at Texas A&M.

At 19, the Canadian has jumped from 111th to 24th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking since she started at College Station. In that time, she’s earned two wins and 15 top-10 finishes in college, amateur, and professional events. That’s real, rapid progress.

Who is Vanessa Borovilos?

Borovilos was a four-time Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist. She won the Girls 10-11 division in 2018, and was presented with the trophy under the iconic oak tree by icons Trevor Immelman and Gary Player. Her junior résumé also includes winning the Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship in 2024 and the AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic in 2022. Her most recent win was at the Moon Golf Invitational 2026.

Borovilos has also chipped in for national duty, representing Team Canada continuously since 2022. She progressed from the NextGen program to the senior national team by 2024. It is no surprise that she is the No. 1 golfer out of Canada in the class of 2024.

Collegiate breakout

At Texas A&M, Borovilos finished her freshman year with a 72.03 stroke average over 33 rounds, the third-best record set by a freshman in the school’s history. She won the Chevron Collegiate in February 2025, bogey-free and a 15-under 201, the second-lowest 54-hole score for Texas A&M. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice, the first Aggie to earn the honor more than once in a season, and also earned Golfer of the Week.

She qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open by shooting 8-under 136 at a local qualifier in Elgin, Illinois, winning by two shots. At the U.S. Women’s Amateur, she set a single-round scoring record with a 9-under 63 and ten birdies. In 2026, she won the Moon Golf Invitational at 7-under, four shots clear, and was the only player to post three rounds under par.

Borovilos game breakdown

Borovilos drives the ball 250 yards with a Titleist TSr2 and uses a Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 for putting. A TaylorMade tour representative recently ranked her putting stroke among the top ten he had seen during a visit to Texas A&M. In Ontario, she developed her short game through regular chipping contests, which now gives her an edge at the collegiate level.

She has also received some help along the way. Jacob Sosa from the Texas A&M men’s team pitched in to help her improve wedge shots from the fairway. She describes the results directly:

“I am starting to actually compress the ball now, because I was just thinning them for a while.”

Borovilos enters the ANWA field this week with a clear understanding of her current strengths and areas of improvement. Year after year, the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship produces players ready for the LPGA Tour. Borovilos stands out as one of the strongest examples of that system working as intended.

How Texas A&M turned Vanessa Borovilos into a world-class amateur

Head coach Gerrod Chadwell has observed her progress closely, from her early days at Bethpage to the late nights at the practice facility. He still points to those sessions as evidence of what separates her from others.

“She works hard at it, and they all do, but it’s just, she’s always there late, comes at night, flips on the lights.”

This week’s ANWA field features 48 of the top 50 players in the Women’s Amateur Golf Ranking. The winner secures exemptions into four LPGA majors. For Borovilos, Augusta represents a familiar challenge, though on a larger stage. She first cared about Augusta at age eight. Now, at 19, her focus is on competition.