Vanessa Borovilos had such a good sleep Tuesday night, she wasn’t really sure where she was Wednesday morning.

After getting sorted and settled as the sun began its rise in Augusta, Ga., she realized she had, perhaps, the biggest round of her golfing life just ahead.

But she handled it with aplomb.

The native of Toronto fired a 6-under 66 in the first round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and after a bogey-free start, she is just one shot back of the lead held by Maria Jose Marin of Colombia and Soomin Oh of South Korea.

Borovilos, who won the Drive, Chip, and Putt national final in 2018 at Augusta National, opened with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3-4 before adding another on the par-5 9th. She had another set of back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14-15 before closing with a final circle on her card on No. 18.

Borovilos wasn’t really tested through her opening round, save for a 30-footer for par that she converted to keep her card clean.

Asked about the key to her opener, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“I was just joking a lot with my caddie. We were swearing a lot, which we can’t say on here, but just keeping it loose out there,” the Canadian said with a smile. “(But) I think speed on the greens was pretty good for me today. But just having a good time, not trying to think about the score since it’s so early in the tournament, but just try to pick the best lines off the tees and on the greens.”

The first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur are contested at nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club, where, after Thursday’s second round, there will be a cut of the top 30 and ties. That group will play the final round at Augusta National.

Fellow Canadian Lauren Kim is also in the mix after the first round, shooting a 4-under 68 and inside the top 10. Aphrodite Deng shot an even-par 72.

Each of the Canadians in the field are ranked inside the top-25 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and this championship’s leaderboard has quickly become a who’s who of women’s golf.

“It’s crazy. I know almost everyone here from collegiate events and junior events, and for us to all be tested on a course like this, Champions Retreat, it’s cool to test your game against theirs and ask them how they played some holes or how they did. I think everyone is just enjoying being here,” Borovilos said. “It’s a once-a-year opportunity to do, and I think we’re all enjoying it no matter how it’s going out there.”

Borovilos, who has won twice while at Texas A&M, including her most recent in February, said she’s been working hard on pivoting her mental approach to tournament golf. As a kid growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, she found herself playing “a lot freer” than she has recently. In typical Gen-Z fashion, she said her Instagram algorithm is now chalk full of positive-mindset content after her coach sent her something recently – that proved to be a beneficial switch to what she was seeing.

“You see all the top athletes talking about (positive mindset). If you just have fun, the game is most likely going to be better for you,” Borovilos said. “I just try to be happy out there. It’s definitely hard in some cases, but if you’re happy, if you’re enjoying yourself out there, the game is going to treat you well.”

So far, so good at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.