Augusta National Golf Club has created its "first women's event," as the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship will debut next year the week before The Masters, according to Dan Wetzel of YAHOO SPORTS. The first two rounds will take place "at the nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club so not to interfere with preparation for the Masters," though the final round will take place at Augusta National the Saturday before play begins. The event "isn't a full-blown LPGA professional event ... as some have called for through the years." However, it is a "massive step for a club that has long wrestled, and often failed, in seeking inclusion and fairness." It is "unlikely to be the last step either under the leadership" of new Augusta National Chair Fred Ridley. The opportunity for women "to play competitively at Augusta National, their images beamed around the globe, could have a seismic impact on the growth and popularity of the game" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/4). Ridley said that the club "intends to have the event televised globally and on digital platforms, but has yet to decide on specifics." GOLF.com's Sean Zak wrote the move is "one of the most radical" in the club's history (GOLF.com, 4/4). SPORTSNET.ca's Michael Grange wrote the announcement "caught most of the golf world by surprise, and left some near speechless" (SPORTSNET.ca, 4/4).
HUGE BOOST FOR WOMEN'S GOLF: GOLFWEEK's Beth Ann Nichols wrote the creation of the event is the most significant development "to grow the women's game" since the LPGA was founded in '50. News of the tournament was a "groundbreaking, glass-shattering, never-thought-we'd-see-the-day moment" that sent "shock waves through the sports world" (GOLFWEEK.com, 4/4). USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes this will be the "most prominent platform women's golf will have ever received." It instantly gives women's golf the "kind of credibility and respect it has never received from golf's powers that be" (USA TODAY, 4/5). CBS' Jim Nantz called the event "great for women's golf" and said it "instantly becomes one of the biggest tournaments in women's amateur golf" ("CBS This Morning," 4/5). In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes the "national affinity for the Augusta course could make" the final round of the event the "most watched domestic women's sports event ... with only the women's World Cup drawing bigger ratings" (L.A. TIMES, 4/5).
CONTINUING TO GROW THE GAME: In N.Y., Bill Pennington notes the objective of launching the new event is to "grow the game of golf and to benefit women's golf at all levels." The tournament "may accomplish both goals quickly since it will most likely be the most watched women's golf tournament of 2019." It also should "become a spring broadcasting fixture attracting move converts to golf" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/5). GLOBAL GOLF POST's Ron Green Jr. wrote the announcement is of "profound significance," as it "further expands the club's investment in cultivating the game" (GLOBALGOLFPOST.com, 4/4). GOLF.com's Michael Bamberger wrote this is a "major contribution of the club's existing grow-the-game efforts," as millions of girls and women "will be exposed to golf through this event" (GOLF.com, 4/4). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Brian Costa notes the new event is "yet another step by Augusta National to extend Masters week in a way that promotes the sport at a grass-roots level." It follows the course in '14 launching the Drive, Chip & Putt finals, a "nationwide junior golf skills contest" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/5).
RIDLEY'S BIG FIRST MOVE: In Augusta, Scott Michaux in a front-page piece notes announcing the women's amateur event is a "significant first step in Ridley's leadership considering he first suggested it to his senior staff in October." Augusta National has "come a long way in 15 years since it famously refused to cave in to pressure regarding its all-male membership" (AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, 4/5). In Atlanta, Thomas Stinson notes the announcement "stood in stark contrast" to when then-club Chair Hootie Johnson in '03 "termed 'invasive and coercive' a volatile campaign" by women's activist Martha Burk for "pressing Augusta National to admit women members" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/5). In Chicago, Teddy Greenstein writes Augusta National "did something that even Martha Burk would have to salute" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/5). MORNING READ's Alex Miceli writes any "remaining vestiges of sexism by the club, which admitted its first female members only six years ago, have been removed" (MORNINGREAD.com, 4/5). In Boston, Tara Sullivan writes Augusta National has "gotten plenty wrong over the years," but "this time they got it right." The club "has changed ... with Ridley in charge" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/5).
