Lucy Li drops out of Augusta National Women's Amateur because of injury

Two players scheduled to compete in the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur will not participate because of injuries.

Lucy Li, of Redwood Shores, Calif., and Alexa Melton of Covina, Calif., have informed the championship committee they will not play in next week's event.

Jessica Yuen of Bolingbrook, Ill., and Kaylee Benton of Litchfield Park, Ariz., have accepted invitations and will compete.

Li, 16, is ranked No. 7 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. She is a former Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals winner at Augusta National.

Li made news earlier this year when she appeared in an Apple Watch advertisement. Amateurs are banned from using their names or likeness for personal benefit in advertising products, but the USGA said in February that Li did not receive any money. It issued a warning because she is a minor and it’s her first violation.

"I actually haven’t been able to play," Li told The Augusta Chronicle last week. "I'm recovering from a thumb injury from a few months ago."

Melton, 18, won the Southern California Golf Association Women's Amateur Championship last fall.

Yuen is a junior at the University of Missouri and recorded four top-10 finishes in her five starts during the 2018 fall season. She earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2017 and owns two of the top three single-season scoring averages in school history.

Benton, a senior at the University of Arkansas, advanced to the semifinals of the 2018 U.S. Amateur and qualified for the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open. Last year, she won the deciding match on the 18th hole to help her school win its first-ever SEC title.