Submitted photo / Augusta National Golf Club. Warren-native Gianna Clemente hits her tee shot on the 12th hole, part of Amen Corner, during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

As Gianna Clemente walked up the 18th fairway, she looked around and took a moment to reflect on the occasion before her.

Augusta National Golf Club is a special place. It’s rarified air and hallowed ground in the annals of golf history — and it’s a stroll that so many of the game’s greats have made over the years during the annual Masters tournament.

Given the exclusiveness of the club and the course, it’s also a walk that few can claim to have made, but now Clemente can add her name to the list after playing this week in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur for the first time.

What made the moment more special, however, was that Clemente got to share it with her father, Patrick, who caddied for her all week during the tournament.

“Walking up 18 with my Dad, that was really special,” the Warren native said. “Just to be able to — we’ve talked about it for so long and we’ve seen it on TV so many times that it’s really special to walk up that fairway with my Dad. That’s definitely going to be a lasting memory.”

Clemente, who just turned 15 a couple weeks ago, finished tied for 14th in the tournament, shooting a 3-over 219 through 54 holes.

“It’s been a really fun week,” Clemente said. “Obviously it’s my first year, hopefully there are a couple more years to come. It was a great experience, and I played with a lot of great people. Obviously playing Augusta National is always a highlight. It’s something I’ve looked forward to for a really long time.”

The tournament played the first two rounds at Champion’s Retreat, a nearby course in Augusta, Ga., and was cut from 72 players to the top-30 and ties for the final round at Augusta National on Saturday.

During the first round Wednesday, Clemente shot a 2-over 74 and was tied for 23rd. She had some work to do in order to ensure that she would make the cut for the weekend.

After opening with a couple bogeys on the front-nine during the second round that put her outside the cut line, Clemente rallied with four birdies on the back nine, finishing with a 3-under 69 that put her at 1-under overall and inside the top 10 on the leaderboard.

“I knew I needed to make a couple birdies,” Clemente said. “Maybe not a couple, but I knew I needed to make at least one. I needed to get putts going. I didn’t get much to fall on the front, so I knew I needed to get something going, and I did. I dropped probably a 50-footer on No. 2 and after that just kept going. Definitely didn’t expect to shoot 32 on the back, but we had some good pin positions and I aimed at every pin and it worked.”

With the rally, Clemente became the youngest player to ever make the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and was the youngest player in the field all week. But Clemente is used to that at this point, given the success and accolades she’s already racked up in her career.

“I’m very comfortable in this setting,” Clemente said. “Obviously players are a lot older than me. Most of them are in college or graduating college, but I’m really comfortable playing in that setting. I’m definitely not uncomfortable with people older than me, which is something I already knew, but it was further proof of that. Obviously today could have gone a little bit better, but I was very comfortable playing around the crowds and the cameras.”

During Saturday’s final round at Augusta National, Clemente shot a 4-over 76, making four bogeys (Holes No. 3, 5, 10 and 12) and 14 pars.

Inclement weather moved through the area early in the afternoon, as Clemente was making her way around Amen Corner, and play was suspended for a couple hours.

“It didn’t really affect me that much,” Clemente said. “We had 30 minutes of warmup time, which wasn’t a lot, but it was enough. … I don’t think it was a disadvantage or an advantage. We sat and relaxed for a while. When you need to focus, you put it back on, and you go (back) out.”

After the delay, Clemente made one bogey, but closed out her first time at Augusta National with six straight pars.

Stanford sophomore Rose Zhang (9-under) defeated Georgia senior Jenny Bae (9-under) on the second hole of a sudden death playoff to win the tournament.

Even though it was just her first time being invited to play the tournament, Clemente hopes to be invited back as she progresses through the rest of her amateur career. And maybe one of those times, she’ll again be walking up the 18th fairway, only this time, it’ll be with the lead and she’ll get to make the visit to Butler Cabin that awaits the winner.

“I’ve had a lot of tournaments that I’ve wanted to win and still do, and this is one of them,” Clemente said. “I spent almost two years trying to make it to this event and trying to get my rankings high enough, which is very difficult as a junior.

“It was hard. There were some moments where I was unsure if I was going to make it or not, and that uncertainty is at times very unsettling, and it can be pretty upsetting. To make it here, and just to be here right now — it feels great.”

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com