Top women amateurs relish playing Augusta National

Photo: Courtesy Augusta National

Timing is everything. And this week is the women’s time, finally, with no controversy. For the first time, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is being contested without anyone having to choose between the biggest event outside the U.S. Women’s Amateur and teeing off as an invitee in the first LPGA major of the year.

In past iterations, this was the week the professional women went to the Coachella Valley for the first major of the golf calendar, the Chevron Championship (née the Dinah Shore). So, when Fred Ridley announced the creation of the ANWA – much to the chagrin of then LPGA commissioner Mike Whan – amateurs who would have normally jumped at the opportunity to tee off at Mission Hills Country Club alongside the pros had a difficult choice. Did they jump at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at Augusta National, or did they look ahead and choose to see how their games stacked up in a wom...