AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Augusta National Women’s Amateur isn’t just about having a moment. This is the reality of the tournament, after only five years of existence.
Morgan Pressel, LPGA major champion turned Golf Channel analyst, does not hesitate to call this event the most “significant” event in women’s golf. USC junior Amari Avery even goes so far as to say the tournament feels “bigger than the U.S. Women’s Open,” an event she has competed in twice and has been held since 1946.
ANWA has been a big deal since its inception, announced by Fred Ridley, president of Augusta National Golf Club in 2018: a 54-hole championship featuring the world’s best amateurs, two rounds at the nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club and the round final at the Masters site. Five championships later (2020 was canceled due to the pandemic), he has reached another level.
Since Jennifer Kupcho triumphed over Maria Fassi in a neck-and-neck battle at the event’s inaugural edition in 2019, ANWA has crowned star champions year after year, leading to additional support and coverage . Golf Channel has added live broadcasts of the first two rounds of the tournament during Champions Retreat in 2023. Legendary sportscaster Mike Tirico will commentate Saturday’s final round at Augusta National on NBC. According to the network, ANWA TV’s three-hour window averages about 1 million viewers (excluding last year’s final round which experienced significant weather interruptions.) The popular show “Live Golf Channel’s From” also begins early Friday, with analyst Brandel Chamblee talking about ANWA and the Masters. The influx of accredited writers and television staff prompted Champions Retreat’s press conference room to be converted into additional workstations in the media center.
In just five years, ANWA has surpassed itself. What does this mean for the future of the tournament?
“The next step, right, is maybe we play all three days (at Augusta National)? I’m not here thinking that needs to change – this is the best event in women’s amateur golf. But yes, why not the three days there? said Emilia Migliaccio. The Wake Forest graduate has put it into practice in all five iterations of ANWA.
Three rounds of competition at Augusta National among the best women’s amateurs in the world: will it ever happen?
“It’s above my pay grade,” Pressel said.
Practice round perfection 🌸#ANWAgolf pic.twitter.com/kjsAuXLU7h
– Augusta National Women’s Amateur (@anwagolf) April 5, 2024
Championship courses formerly closed to the best women’s tournaments now welcome them. In 2022, the Women’s British Open was hosted at Muirfield for the first time. The Scottish club has hosted 16 men’s open championships in its history and only accepted female members in 2019. Last summer, Pebble Beach hosted the US Women’s Open, the first major women’s tournament to be played on the course by the ocean. In 10 years, the Curtis Cup (the women’s amateur equivalent of the Ryder Cup) will come to Pine Valley, New Jersey’s top-ranked club that has hosted only a handful of tournaments and has not allowed women to become members until 2021.
“I say it all the time, even in women’s professional golf: venues matter. I don’t think there’s a better example of that than the Augusta National Women’s Amateur,” says Pressel.
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The idea of playing all three rounds of the tournament in Augusta is logistically feasible. The way the event is organized, the 72 members of ANWA can already play a practice round on Friday.
Then, at the Drive, Chip and Putt competition for ages 7 to 15 on Sunday, many former Masters champions enjoy one of their winner’s perks: playing on the course with just one guest, usually a friend or relative . – just a few days before the start of the tournament. Augusta National members can also reserve tee times to get their last chance to play before tournament week. If the course can stand up to these traditions, it will surely be able to stand up to the best amateur players in the world for another two days.
“I feel like they can figure it all out,” Migliaccio says, not an incorrect assumption about a club that spent millions to lengthen its 13th hole 35 yards and felled trees hours later a severe storm last year. “I think that could be the next step.”
That said, there is no public indication that change is imminent.
Champions Retreat, the 27-hole property designed by the trio Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, was acquired by new management, Arcis Golf, in October. Arcis owns a portfolio of nearly 70 golf courses, including the recent addition of Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Arcis CEO Blake Walker stood on the tee box next to Ridley as ANWA competitors Kiara Romero, Lauren Kim and Caitlyn Macnab hit the first tee shots of the championship on Wednesday. Walker says his relationship with Augusta National has “exceeded his expectations” so far. But when it comes to ANWA’s future at Champions Retreat, Walker lives in the present.
“I really can’t,” Walker says when asked if he can talk about the future of ANWA. “It’s a decision by Augusta National in terms of what they do going forward. … We’re just happy to be a part of it.”
Augusta National declined to comment for this story.
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Champions Retreat has arguably solidified itself as a key part of the championship. These first two laps, despite being 15 miles away, add an almost overwhelming sense of tension as the week progresses and the minutes until tee time at Augusta National dwindle.
Players generally relish the opportunity to take a tough test before setting foot on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National. And this challenge could further increase in the years to come. After surveying members and evaluating the club throughout ANWA week, Walker already has some improvements in mind for the course and practice facilities.
“I’ve had this discussion with my friends and coaches a lot,” Avery says. “Champions Retreat is a good course to have the first two rounds because it separates the good players from the OK players. You want the best to play in this final round. If we played three rounds at Augusta, it almost seems too close to the Masters. It’s good to have this separation. This makes the final round exclusive.
However, players are not circling this event on their calendars and posing for photos with their personalized green Champions Retreat invitations. The chance to achieve greatness lies behind the doors of Magnolia Lane.
“That’s kind of why you come here,” says Lottie Woad, the tournament’s 36-hole leader, before detailing the breathing exercises she’ll use on the first tee.
On Thursday afternoon, as the cut line wavered in extremely windy conditions, players left the par-5 18th hole with one of two looks on their faces: sweet relief or stinging disappointment.
Several competitors hugged their families in tears, thoughts of driven tee shots or licked putts lingering in their short-term memories. These wounds will take time to heal.
Others finished their rounds with confident punches and a pep in their stride. Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio left the 18th green after a birdie par to stay safely inside the cut line and was immediately greeted with a slice of cake to celebrate her 19th birthday. Nearby, Germany’s Helen Briem buried her face in a family member’s shoulder after following her opening round of 71 with a 78, missing the cut by two strokes.
This range of emotions is unique to this event. This is unique to Augusta National.
The smiles largely returned on Friday, as the peloton gathered for an unconventional break from competition. The players competed in trios for an official training session at Augusta. Some girls were playing birdie games. Others have prepared their mileage logs. Several players took to the Par 3 course to close out the day.
“There are a lot of girls and women who would love to be in our shoes on the first tee tomorrow and have the opportunity to play in this event,” said ANWA contestant Hannah Darling. “It’s 100 percent a privilege.”
One that can only get bigger and better.
(Top photo: Warren Little / Getty Images)