Players will play two days at Champions Retreat Golf Club before moving to Augusta NationalAUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR
The Augusta National Women's Amateur teed off today at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga., and it marks a "significant step forward" for women's golf, according to Beth Ann Nichols of GOLFWEEK. The field of 72 will play two days at Champions Retreat and a practice round on Friday at Augusta National. The top 30 players on the leaderboard will compete in the final round Saturday at ANGC. What the event translates to long term on the LPGA and on the grounds of Augusta is "guesswork at this stage," but women playing at Augusta National is "important." However, the fact that women "only get one round at Augusta National feels like a slight." The making of this event should have been "done in concert with the LPGA, so that the best amateurs in the world wouldn’t have to choose between" the ANA Inspiration and Augusta National. It is "impossible to overlook those two missteps." Some fans "can't enjoy what's coming ... without lamenting about the fact that there's no Women's Masters." Others believe what has been made of the event's "potential impact to be overblown" (GOLFWEEK.com, 3/31).
HEAR ME ROAR: Annika Sorenstam, who will be one of four World Golf HOFers to hit ceremonial tee shots before the final round of the ANWA, discussed the impact an event like this can have on the world of women’s golf, and women’s sports as a whole. Sorenstam said that the ANWA will be a “historic moment” for the sport of golf, not just women. She said, “We all have dreams, and this is a dream come true for many. Just to see that it’s possible … it’s a milestone.” Sorenstam added that the profile of the tournament being held at Augusta, backed by Bank of America and four other corporate sponsors, could be the “catalyst” that brings real change. Sorenstam: “There have been girl’s events before, there’s been corporate support before, it’s not that. It’s the combination of the sport, who’s doing it, and where we can go from here" (John Aceti, THE DAILY).
A DAY TO REMEMBER: Augusta National Chair Fred Ridley said as he thought about the ANWA and the "statement we could make in support of women's golf, I felt that to be really sincere about it, we had to offer the best we had and that was Augusta National." Ridley: "When I first spoke about the idea with my closest advisers at the club, after I became chairman, they almost fell off the couch. They liked the idea. But they also understood that the logistics of doing it so soon, and doing it the week before the Masters was going to be difficult." In terms of how the ANWA will help to advance women's golf, Ridley said, "It is going to be a great motivator and inspiring to this segment of golfers" (GLOBAL GOLF POST, 4/1 Issue). GOLFCHANNEL.com's Randall Mell wrote the ANWA "doesn't offer any purse at all, but it may prove to be the best seed money ever put into the women's game." Augusta National's "collection of power brokers, CEOs and leaders are now invested in growing the women's game." They are taking "special interest in watching young female amateurs emerge, and it's only natural to hope they'll become emotionally invested in where these young players go" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 4/1).
BUTTING HEADS: In Chicago, Barry Rozner wrote while it is a "great moment for women's golf," the ANWA is just "not nearly as great as it ought to be." It is "obvious" Ridley's group "cared not at all" that the ANWA would be competing against the ANA. That major championship "should be the focus of women's golf, not to mention the ANA holds several spots for top amateurs." Rozner: "The point is Augusta National doesn't do anything without a reason, and that reason is always to benefit Augusta National" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 4/2). GOLFCHANNEL.com's Mell noted ANA Tournament Dir Chris Garrett "feared the worst when he learned that his event would be going up against the iconic Augusta National." He "feared the demise of the amateur tradition ANA worked so hard to build." But the ANA "attracted a strong contingent, with three of the top five players in the Women’s World Amateur Rankings accepting invites, and with four of the top 11 accepting" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 4/2). In San Diego, Todd Leonard writes scheduling the ANWA the same time as the ANA is "troublesome, pitting the two against each other and opening comparisons of exposure and TV ratings." But there was "little each tournament could do to remedy the conflict." With the LPGA’s 10-year contract with Golf Channel "expiring at the end of this year, the most likely solution will be for the LPGA to move up its current pre-Masters tournament dates by at least a week" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/3).
