Many, including myself, watched in awe as Lottie Woad sank her crucial 15-foot downhiller birdie putt on the 18th at Augusta National - a shot that would undoubtedly make players at this week’s Masters envious - securing the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA) title by a single stroke over American Bailey Shoemaker.
In its fifth edition, the ANWA is a fantastic spectacle for women’s golf and is commendable progress, considerably helping to raise the profile of the women’s game.
But despite Augusta National’s efforts towards inclusivity, hosting ANWA and welcoming female members to the exclusive club since 2012, I believe there's still an opportunity for the club to go the extra mile and take the profile of women’s golf to a whole new level by hosting a tournament for the world’s best female professional players.
We've just seen the top female amateurs take on Augusta National's challenging course - a display appreciated by golf fans globally, men and women alike. Yet, imagine the thrill of witnessing the likes of Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Charley Hull, Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee, Ruoning Yin and Lexi Thompson confront Augusta's challenges, and compare how their performances stack up against the men competing at the Masters.
I’m not the only golf fan to ponder the absence of a women’s professional tournament at Augusta. It’s a question that has been contemplated many times before, and one that I’m sure viewers of ANWA might have subconsciously considered.
Last year, when Annika Sorenstam was announced as the 7th female member and first professional golfer to be invited for membership at Augusta, Hall of Fame tennis star Billie Jean King wasted no time in expressing her thoughts, saying, “My prayer for Augusta is to have a women’s LPGA event. That’s been my prayer. I know they have the amateur girls (Augusta National Women’s Amateur), but I want to see a pro tournament."
There are, of course, valid reasons why not. One of the main barriers is the scheduling issue, as Augusta is closed between May to October due to the Georgian heat. It's unlikely that the club would want to divert attention from the ANWA, considering that amateur golf is at the heart of the club, with co-founder Bobby Jones being one of the finest amateur golfers ever. That said, let’s not forget that when the Masters was postponed in April 2020 due to Covid, Augusta National moved the date to November that year, so where there’s a will, there’s a way.
In reality, the club and its patrons likely feel they have done as much as they can for the time being to support the women’s game, having faced scrutiny for several decades regarding their male-dominated membership and non-inclusive policy.
I don’t want to diminish the significance of ANWA; it’s an experience that those young players will cherish for the rest of their lives. Many of those competitors will likely go on to have illustrious golfing careers.
However, the prospect of back-to-back men’s and women’s professional tournaments at Augusta in the future would be incredible. Speaking exclusively to Golf Monthly, 7-time Major champion and 3-time US Solheim Cup Captain Juli Inkster shares the same sentiment.
“I think it would be great if Augusta alternate, one year have the women first and then the guys, the next year do the guys first and have back-to-back tournaments. They have the facilities and housing, I think keep the pins the same as they do in the men’s. Potentially it would be such a great thing, you’d have all the media there, it’d be awesome. Where we are in our lives and our country, bringing both tours together would be a home run.”
The yardage disparity between the ANWA and the Masters stands at approximately 1,200 yards. Should back-to-back professional men’s and women’s tournaments ever materialise, Inkster suggests:
“Augusta would probably have to build a couple of tees, which is nothing really because they can move stuff around. Instead of 1,200 yards, make it 700 yards different. When it’s a timeless golf course, you don’t need to do much, it doesn’t matter where you set the pins, the course is going to hold its own.”
This aspiration represents a long-term objective and it will command widespread support, but surely the current growth in the women’s game justifies it.
