For the first time since the club's founding in 1933, Augusta National Golf Club turned over the keys to the joint to a real golf jock.
And the first official announcement to come from incoming club chairman Fred Ridley on Wednesday was his invitation to more women to play here.
In his initial State of the Masters remarks, Ridley announced the establishment of the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship, a 54-hole event to be held next spring with the final 18 holes to be played at Augusta National on the Saturday before Masters week. The field will include 72 of the top-ranked players from around the world, as determined through recognized championships and the women's amateur world rankings.
"I met with our senior staff in October and said I thought that this was the right time to do this," Ridley said. "It was the right time for the women's game. I wanted to do this and I wanted to do it here."
The announcement stood in a stark contrast to the Masters of 15 years ago, when then-chairman Hootie Johnson termed "invasive and coercive" a volatile campaign by women’s activist Martha Burke for pressing Augusta National to admit women members. While the club has subsequently admitted at least four women members, viewed in some quarters as a modest accomplishment, turning over the course to a women's event signals some change in thought.
"I have a lot of respect and admiration for Augusta National," said World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, who was on hand for the announcement. "They do get a lot of things right. Whether they do it on their timeline or not, they get things done."
The championship, which will hold its first 36 holes at nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club, may constitute a scheduling conflict with the LPGA. The first women's major championship of the year, the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, Calif., is annually held the week before the Masters and typically invites several of the top world amateurs. While the Augusta National tournament will conclude the day before the ANA Inspiration, some players may have to chose which event to play.
"Our inspiration is to try to help grow the women's game," said Ridley, who said he has been in contact with LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan about scheduling. "I think (Whan) also understands and agrees wholeheartedly that from a big picture, this is a win for women's golf. And I think he also understands that in time, it's going to be a win for the LPGA."
It was quite the first splash for the incoming chairman, whose appointment was announced last August but who was facing the Masters press corps for the first time. The former chairman of the competition committee, Ridley referenced his first Masters in 1976, when he qualified following his college career at Florida. His 42-year relationship with the event spans over half the Masters' existence.
While his previous six predecessors -- Clifford Roberts, William Lane, Hord Hardin, Jack Stephens, Johnson and Billy Payne -- were all captains of industry, Ridley, an attorney, was a world-class player who competed in three Masters (1976-78). Though he never made the cut, he remains the last U.S. Amateur champion (1975) never to have turned professional. While Payne liked to say he was in the hospitality business, Ridley, a former president of the USGA (2004-05), has a feel for how rules and policy, like the ongoing dialog over balls and equipment, are developed.
"I think as (Ridley) has talked about the distance issue, that he will want to bring people together to talk through these issues," said Jim Hyler, the tournament's incoming competition committee chairman. "So we are not a governing body. That's the USGA and the (Royal & Ancient). But we have an obligation to be, I think, at the table and talking, but in a collaborative way."
Among other themes he touched during his 35-minute session:
* Augusta National course alterations: "We continue to monitor how distances produced by today's players affect our golf course. Thankfully, we have options and further changes may come after proper deliberations.
* Changes specifically to the par-5 13th hole, where the club reportedly purchased neighboring property from Augusta Country Club to extend the tee: "(Bobby Jones) said that the decision to go for the green in two should be a momentous one. I would have to say that our observations of these great players hitting middle- and even short-irons into that hole is not a momentous decision. And so we think there is an issue, not only there, but in the game generally, that needs to be addressed."
* Additional women membership: "While I won't get into specifics, I will assure you there will be more women members at Augusta National."
* On what the winner of the Augusta Women's Amateur will receive, stipulating it will not be a green jacket: "We don't know yet. We got to work on that. But I can assure you it will be very, very nice."
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