Chevron Championship via St Andrews and Augusta - England's Jess Baker rising through ranks

Jess Baker will play in a US university competition this week before heading to the first women's major of 2023

It is extraordinary where a 25-foot putt can take you. For Jess Baker it unwittingly helped her grab a national title, compete in major championships, play Augusta National and swing alongside reigning Open champions.

And this Thursday the Northumberland golfer tees off in the Chevron Championship in Texas, the first women's major of 2023, where another Briton, Georgia Hall, is among the favourites for success.

Baker's story is extraordinary. The 20-year-old amateur is looking to emulate the exploits of American Sam Bennett in the recent Masters by coming from the unpaid ranks to challenge seasoned pros on the biggest stage.

Her life was massively altered by holing that crucial putt in the Women's Amateur Championship on the magnificent links of Hunstanton last summer. "That 25-footer, I didn't even know was to make the cut," Baker told BBC Sport.

When her ball disappeared, it took her through to the knockout stages reserved for the top 64 qualifiers. Six matches later she was champion.

"Anyone watching knew that my putter was on fire and that's kind of what got me through," Baker said. "The goal really was to make the cut and I trusted myself in matchplay and knew my game was in a good spot."

With each round that passed, Baker got closer to the ultimate champion's goodie bag which included entry to the AIG Women's Open, the Evian Championship, Augusta National Women's Amateur and this summer's US Women's Open at Pebble Beach.

How much were those opportunities on her mind as she progressed to the sharp end of last year's championship on the Norfolk coast? "The night before the final I didn't have a very good night's sleep, as nobody would," she said.

"Those thoughts did pass through my head as I was trying to fall asleep as to what could happen and what was at stake."

Baker beat Sweden's Louise Rydqvist 4&3 in the final. "It wasn't really until the winning putt went in that it all came flooding to me and I was like 'oh my goodness'," she said.

"The week after Hunstanton I was planning to go down to the Buckinghamshire to qualify for the Women's Open and my first thought was 'oh, I don't have to do that anymore'."

Additional bonuses have included the invitation to play this week's major in Houston and to take part in last July's four-hole Champions Challenge before the men's 150th Open at St Andrews.

"We got an email from the R&A communications team, who I'm quite friendly with, and I just thought it was a ticket to the event," Baker said. "I didn't think I'd actually be playing in it, let alone be in the first group off which was quite something.

"It was absolutely incredible. We got VIP passes, got to stay in the Old Course Hotel. They put on an absolute show for us," she added.

"I just couldn't dream of anything like that. I was on the putting green with Tiger (Woods), and Rory (McIlroy) was there and it was just like I had to pinch myself a bit.

"It was such an incredible experience and I'm very grateful that I was able to win in that year."

She was paired with reigning Open champions Collin Morikawa and Anna Nordqvist. "Collin was a lovely guy," Baker said.

"We talked quite a bit about university. He finished his four years ago and he asked if I was going to graduate and I said 'that's the plan' and we had quite a normal conversation.

"Anna was very helpful. On the first hole she said stick to your process, keep your head up and do what you do normally. Don't make any changes because of the arena that you are in. It was great to have those words of wisdom."

The psychology student, who is scheduled to graduate in May 2024, played the Evian and Women's Open at Muirfield before returning to college at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando. "In those majors I had no pressure," she said.

"I was expecting to come last, as anyone would in that situation. I'd been thrown into this environment which I thought was the last thing that would happen to me.

"So my emphasis was on learning a lot and just seeing how the professionals use their practice rounds or how they warm up. Just embracing it from that perspective."

Baker was more nervous earlier this month competing against her peers in the Augusta National Women's Amateur, the now traditional curtain-raiser to the Masters.

She failed to make the cut but was still able to play the famed Georgia course in a practice round. "To have the opportunity to play the Augusta National as a female, I will never forget that day," she said.

"And the course was as amazing as you'd think it would be. It was brilliant."

This is a busy week. Baker is competing for UCF in the Conference Championships until Wednesday when she hot foots to Houston for the Chevron which is being staged at The Club at Carlton Woods for the first time.

Despite hurried preparation, she wants to make her mark. "I can try and make the cut and push and do really well performance-wise rather than just being there to make up the numbers," Baker said.

"My confidence is pretty high right now and that's why it is exciting to play in these big events because it gives me the opportunity to see where I fit in against the best in the world and what I have to do to get better."

Someone else with soaring confidence must be Hall, the British winner of the Women's Open in 2018. She goes into the Chevron having climbed into the world's top 10 through excellent recent form.

The Dorset star finished runner-up in consecutive events before coming joint sixth in the latest LPGA tournament in Hawaii last Sunday.

"I've been working harder than normal the past year, especially on my game and my clubs," Hall said.

"It's just paying off now. My mentality on the golf course is my strongest part of me as a player. I just want to keep that going."

Charley Hull is the other leading British contender in the 144-player field after a consistent start to the year, which brought a runner-up finish at the Tournament of Champions in January and a share of seventh in the Drive On Championship last month.

It is a major strength field this week, with the most glaring omission being Sweden's Linn Grant, who continues to miss American events because she is not vaccinated for Covid-19.