For a country with fewer than ten 18-hole golf courses, Barbados has produced a remarkable trailblazer. Over the past two years Emily Odwin has become the first Barbadian golfer to play in a major championship, the first player from the Caribbean to make the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and, since June 2026, a professional on the Epson Tour. At 22, Emily Odwin is one of the most compelling stories in Caribbean women’s golf.
A Barbados golfer inspired from afar
Born on March 15, 2004, Odwin grew up in Barbados and came through the island’s junior national team. She collected multiple Caribbean titles as a junior and represented Barbados at the Pan American Games in 2019 and 2023 as well as the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games. In 2021 she became the first Barbadian to qualify for both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior.
Her inspiration arrived via television. In an interview published during Augusta National Women’s Amateur week, she recalled watching Mariah Stackhouse at the 2015 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship from her parents’ home as an 11-year-old, and said she hoped to have even half that kind of influence on young players herself. She has also been candid about the barriers to entry for the sport at home, arguing that the talent in Barbados is there but that access remains difficult.
College golf and a first major
Odwin played college golf at the University of Texas before moving to Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Her 2023 season included a tie for 17th at the NCAA Championship, and she was named to the 2025-26 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team in her final year.
In 2025 she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, becoming the first golfer from Barbados, male or female, to play in a major. She missed the cut, but the milestone drew national attention and set the stage for an even bigger moment the following spring.
Emily Odwin at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur
In April 2026, Odwin became the first Barbadian to compete at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She opened with a 2-under 70 at Champions Retreat to sit in a tie for 15th, and Golf Channel reported that she became the first player from Barbados to make the cut and advance to the final round at Augusta National.
She finished tied for 27th. The Barbados Golf Association described her as the first player from Barbados and the Caribbean to compete in and make the cut at the event, and Barbados Today reported that her performance drew congratulations from the country’s Prime Minister. The BGA said it hoped to use the momentum to grow the game at home, with an emphasis on inclusion for women and grassroots participation.
A fast start on the Epson Tour
Odwin turned professional on June 20, 2026, and made her debut on the Epson Tour, the official qualifying circuit for the LPGA Tour, at the Great Lakes Championship in Harbor Springs, Michigan. Her first professional cut came at the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship in July.
Her breakthrough came in August at the Smoky Mountain Championship in Tennessee, where she finished in a tie for 10th at 9 under par, her first top-10 as a professional. BGA president Damian Edghill called the transition from amateur to professional golf a massive jump and praised her for performing so well in her first month on tour. By September, Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation reported she had strung together four consecutive made cuts, with an opening even-par 72 at the RTJ Golf Trail event at Capitol Hill.
What comes next
The Epson Tour is a demanding proving ground, and Odwin’s rookie season is still in its early chapters. Yet she has already shown she belongs on a professional leaderboard, and she has given girls across the Caribbean a visible example of how far the game can take them.
For Barbados, and for Caribbean women’s golf more broadly, Odwin’s progress is worth following closely as she chases LPGA Tour status.