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A spirit that is not afraid

California siblings drive Auburn to success

<p>Billy and Anna Davis at the Jack Key Golf Facility on Feb. 26, 2025.</p>

Billy and Anna Davis at the Jack Key Golf Facility on Feb. 26, 2025.

Leaving a golf hot spot such as San Diego might not be every golfer’s dream. However, where one golfs doesn’t affect how they golf.

Anna and Billy Davis are cornerstones of Auburn’s women’s and men’s golf teams, making their presence known from the first day they arrived on campus. The siblings, whose home course is the San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, California, found their way to the Plains in different fashions.

Anna won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur tournament in April 2022, making her the youngest winner of this tournament. She found her way to Auburn by following her younger brother on his original visit to Auburn.

“Billy first was talking to Auburn a little bit more than I was and they did a home visit with him […] then I heard Billy was going on a visit here […] so I thought it’d be a good idea to tag along on the visit,” Anna said. 

While Billy’s love for Auburn may have contributed to Anna’s decision, she credits her early relationship with coaches Melissa Luellen and Kim Hall as the reason for her commitment.

Billy committed to Auburn before Anna in November 2022 over SEC rival LSU, even though he is younger than his sister. Having been the No. 1 ranked recruit by Golfweek/Sagarin and AJGA Polo rankings, Billy sparked an early interest after playing national tournaments in high school with current Auburn golfers.

“I was always pretty interested in Auburn because I played a few tournaments with Jackson Koivun and Cayden Pope and they were already committed,” Billy said.

Billy enrolled at Auburn in the summer, leaving California behind for the Plains to have an easy transition in the fall. The decision was beneficial for his transition, as Billy has already earned two SEC Freshman Player of the Week awards. One of which was a result of his career-low 13-under-par in the Amer Ari Invitational where he was the lowest-scoring freshman from the SEC in the entire 123-man field. 

“I got used to this place, you know, for two months of being here, and took a few classes too and found my ins and outs of Auburn, and it was a lot easier for me,” Billy said.

Anna’s transition was more challenging than her brothers due to her enrolling at Auburn in January to be able to compete in the spring season.  

“So basically, being a high schooler to a college student in a matter of like a week, was a lot, and just getting used to the school and stuff was a lot,” Anna said.

While the transition wasn’t easy on her, it did not have a significant effect on her golf game. In her freshman season, Anna was a preseason first-team All-American for both Golfweek and The Golf Channel and accumulated numerous accolades including SEC Player of the Week, All-SEC honors and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. 

Anna credits the strength of her squad, especially graduates Megan Schofill and Anna Foster, for her early success and for making her transition easier.

“I think getting to play alongside Megan and Anna Foster and those girls. Just always having somebody to compete against was really good for my golf game I think, and there was always somebody to beat on the team,” Anna said.

While their transitions came with their own sets of trials and tribulations, both Anna and Billy Davis have cemented their names as players to beat within the conference and on a national scale.

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Charlie Diegnan | Sports Writer

Charlie is a sophomore from Mendham, New Jersey. He is majoring in journalism and started with The Plainsman in spring 2024.


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