The first week of April is always a date marked in any golfer's calendar, with The Masters getting underway at the iconic Augusta National. It's arguably the biggest tournament in golf, with the opening Major of the year getting underway on the 6th April.
Before the main event though, we get a glimpse of the Georgia layout with the Augusta National Women's Amateur tournament, as the future stars of the game descend on The Masters' venue.
First debuted in 2019, Augusta National Chairman, Fred Ridley, announced that the club would host the Augusta National Women's Amateur, with the talk still surrounding whether a women's Masters could be on the horizon. What makes the men's event special is that it's always staged at the same venue and, having played the course in 1993, Sky Sports' Golf expert, Dame Laura Davies, says it's "one of the thrills of my life playing that golf course."
Posed the question of whether she has heard anything about a women's Masters, the 59-year-old stated: "I never heard anything. I mean I’d have loved to have played there. I played there once in 1993, just a round with a member, which was one of the thrills of my life playing that golf course.
"But I mean it’s great that the amateur girls get to play the week before. They only play one round around Augusta itself but at least they get that chance to play a final round at Augusta on Saturday. It would have been lovely but never heard it tabled once."
So, how likely is it that there will be a women's Masters in the future? Well, according to Ridley back in 2019, not very, with the Chairman previously stating that "our focus throughout our history, as far as our efforts to promote the game outside of the Masters, has always been on amateur golf.”
Asked about whether the pros could play, Davies, put simply, doesn't see it, with the four-time Major winner stating that "I don’t think so. I think they’ve done this amateur thing probably to stop anyone worrying about whether the pros will get there. If it ever happened, it would be lovely, obviously. I’d be the most jealous person watching that golf tournament because clearly I wouldn’t get a start in the field unless they did pensioner's rates or something."
The men's event gets underway on the 6th April, with live coverage starting at 2pm (BST) on Thursday. Along with Davies, we will see Sir Nick Faldo making an appearance in the broadcasting booth with Sky Sports, as the three-time Green Jacket winner returns to our screens having initially stepped away from broadcasting last June.
How can you watch the action you may ask? Well, you can watch the opening Major of the year live from April 6-9 exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf and NOW.
