Ridley reiterated that the club's focus outside of The Masters will remain on amateurs, not prosGETTY IMAGES
Augusta National Chair Fred Ridley said that the atmosphere and scene at the inaugural women’s amateur event on Saturday "felt an awful lot like Masters Sunday," but he gave "no indication of how the event might change going forward," according to Beth Ann Nichols of GOLFWEEK. Speaking to the media yesterday ahead of The Masters, Ridley was asked about expanding Augusta’s tournament schedule to include a women’s professional event in addition to the Augusta National Women's Amateur. He said that "historically the club’s efforts to promote the game outside of the Masters have always been on amateur golf and they don’t plan on steering off that track" (GOLFWEEK.com, 4/10). Ridley also said that adding another professional event at Augusta National "would also create a logistical challenge for the club." He pointed to the fact that the first two rounds of the ANWA were "contested about 30 minutes away, at Champions Retreat in Evans, Ga., to cut down on some of the demands" at ANGC (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 4/10).
HELP NEEDED: SI.com's Michael Rosenberg wrote under the header, "Augusta National Doesn’t Want A Women’s Masters, But It Should." Nothing in the sport "gets people’s attention like meaningful shots being hit at Augusta National." An additional Masters "would do more for the LPGA than almost any other idea you can dream up." A similar model "works in professional tennis," as women have "benefited from having a similar format or venue to men." The LPGA "needs ways to find a bigger audience," and ANGC "can provide an enormous front door" (SI.com, 4/10). USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes there has "never been a platform for women’s golf quite like the one Augusta National gave the amateurs Saturday." One thing is "certain: Golf needs girls and women, desperately." As the game "loses participants, girls and women have become the sport’s growth industry" (USA TODAY, 4/11). In Boston, Tara Sullivan writes under the header, "The Women’s Amateur Is Good -- But Still Not Enough." It was "utterly fantastic" to see the amateur women "get a chance to compete" at Augusta. Sullivan: "Don’t stop here, Augusta" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/10).
KEEP PUSHING FORWARD: YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote, "If growing and honoring women’s golf is such a priority for the club, and hosting a one-day final round helped accomplish that, then why not expand this and have a full LPGA event -- a Women’s Masters, if you will?" It is "one thing to say you are going to be all-male or only host a men’s professional tournament," but it is "another to say you cherish celebrating female athletes and drawing more into the sport … while being all-male or only hosting a men’s professional tournament" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/10).
