She'll walk on golf's hallowed ground, where the azaleas and dogwoods already are in bloom. She'll play where the game's legends — Arnie, Jack, Tiger — had their greatest moments.

USF senior Melanie Green contemplates her destination, shrugs her shoulders, and simply says, "It's golf.''

But dig a little deeper.

"It's actually incredible,'' Green said. "It's going to be an incredible experience. It's a tournament like no other. So much history. Yeah, it's going to be pretty special.''

Based on her sterling accomplishments, Green was invited to play in the Augusta National Women's Amateur Golf Tournament, a 54-hole event that begins Wednesday at the Champions Retreat Golf Club. After two rounds, the 72-player field will be reduced to the top 30 for next Saturday's final round at the Augusta National Golf Club, site of the Masters.

All 72 players will play a practice round on Friday at Augusta National.

"The golf part is still golf,'' Green said. "The other stuff? I'm going to take it in and try to be like a sponge. I mean, some of golf's greatest memories took place there."

"It's an incredible golf course. I've never seen it in person and I'm grateful that I will be able to do that. From what I hear, they keep it in immaculate shape. What's great is they keep that history (alive) and hold it close to their heart. They make sure it stays that way. So, it's cool.''

It's also another milestone for Green's remarkable career. Green, ranked 36th nationally, had her second individual championship and contributed to USF's third team championship this season at the Mountain View Collegiate. She has finished in the top 10 in seven of USF's eight tournaments while shooting par or better in 23 of 24 rounds this season.

Following her Augusta experience, Green and her parents will make the four-hour drive to Chattanooga, Tenn., where she will join her teammates for the Chattanooga Classic (April 7-9 ) at the Council Fire Golf Club. It's the final spring tournament before the Bulls host the American Athletic Conference Championship (April 15-17 ) at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla.

"I have been actively working on getting the student-athlete part done … so only a few more (academic) assignments,'' Green said with a laugh. "I think that will help. It's just staying present, managing all of that, staying one day at a time, and just accepting the fact that I will have eight days of golf in a row."

"But heck, that's exciting. I was telling one of my teammates that I feel like it's a golfer's dream to play eight rounds of competition, all those competitive rounds back-to-back. That's why we come out here. To do that for two weeks straight … I feel like I'm going to have some fun with it.''

For Green, the fun has just begun as she comes down the home stretch of her unmatched USF career. The invitation to Augusta is the latest point of pride.

"It's an incredible leap forward for our program to get into this event,'' said head coach Erika Brennan. "It's such a special short list of invitations. To be among the elite in college golf is absolutely huge, but it speaks to the trajectory that she has been on since she got her as a freshman.

"MG (Green) is an incredible athlete. More than that, she loves the game of golf. It's really tough to beat a kid who's going to outwork you and absolutely love the process.''

Bulls associate head coach Dalton Stevens said he had high aspirations for Green when she was recruited to South Florida. Playing at Augusta is another dream realized.

"It's obviously big-time for our program,'' Stevens said. "The ceiling was higher for her when she chose us. I'm sure Augusta was very high on the list. To see it come to fruition is an incredible moment for her and all of us.''

The inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur was held in 2019. It began as a way to inspire greater interest and participation in the women's game.

The Golf Channel will broadcast the first and second rounds from Champions Retreat. Meanwhile, NBC Sports will have three hours of live final-round coverage at Augusta National on Saturday, April 6 from noon to 3 p.m.

"I would love to see something in the near future where the LPGA players get out there, too,'' Green said. "But to bring this to the amateurs first, that's very eye-opening.

"It's all very, very cool, but I think my support system and the people around me that I lean on are going to be mature enough to bring me down to earth and help me humble myself a bit. I'm very excited, but I believe I will be able to handle it well. No matter what, you have to remember that this is still just golf.''