Augusta event is big for LPGA stars
It was a moment golf fans have seen dozens of times, two players making the majestic march up the lush 18th fairway of Augusta National Golf Club with a title on the line. They might have been Nicklaus and Palmer or Tiger and Phil the way they appeared in the distance on the grandest of stages, the most famous fairway in their sport, as the galleries swelled and cheered them on.
But they weren’t any of those men. They were in fact women, young women on a historic journey, playing in the inaugural 2019 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the first women’s tournament ever held at the exclusive and once-discriminatory private club that didn’t even allow women to become members until seven years earlier.
It has now been five years since that tournament, since then-amateurs Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi became far more famous than they ever would have dreamed simply because they were given a remarkable sports platform that had for generations been reserved only for men.
They have moved on, turned professional and continued to play the game they love. Kupcho, now 26, the first ANWA champion, has three career wins on the LPGA tour, including her first major victory, the Chevron Championship in 2022. She has played on two U.S. Solheim Cup teams, has 16 top-10 finishes on tour and has over $4 million in career earnings.
Fassi, 26, has earned over $1 million on the LPGA tour with eight career top-10 finishes but no tournament victories.
But no matter what they do, their wildly popular ground-breaking experience at Augusta National still shapes their careers.
“Playing at Augusta National really is unlike playing at any other course or club in the world,” Kupcho said recently in an email. “It’s definitely worth all the hype. Everything is so incredibly wellkept, no detail is missed and that’s obviously something the club and its members pride themselves on, but I think it is really what makes such a lasting impression on anyone who has the opportunity to experience it.”
But Kupcho found that the course itself can be a bit distracting, in the best way possible.
“There are so many iconic highlights from golf history that happened at Augusta National too, so it was pretty surreal to get to see different parts of the course and relive some of those memorable shots. During that final round, I really had to just lock in and try my best to be in the moment to focus on the task at hand, but that’s definitely no small feat at Augusta National.”
Kupcho played the final six holes at Augusta National in 5 under, finishing 10-under-par for the tournament, four shots ahead of Fassi. Throughout the round, they exchanged fist bumps and hugs, gaining praise for their sportsmanship and friendship in the heat of battle.
“It was an incredible experience, one I never even dreamed of,” Fassi said in an email. “Just magical. It was very special, very honored to have had the opportunity to play there. We played in front of 35,000 people. I have never seen that many people on a golf course before. A life-changing week, a lifechanging round for me.”
The two women say the experience raised both their own profiles and the profile of the women’s game in general.
“I think we were able to showcase to the world what amateur golf can be, what women’s golf can be,” Fassi said. “I think both Jennifer and I took a lot of benefit of that event, as well as the other girls that competed. It was an amazing platform for us to showcase our talent, to showcase our abilities and to let people know that girls can play too.”
Winning at Augusta National, the best-known golf course in the country, has its benefits, Kupcho found.
“Winning the inaugural event, I didn’t really know what to expect and at the time, I honestly did not realize how big of a deal it was or would become, but it was life-changing for me,” she said.
“It definitely raised my profile, but more importantly, the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur and each iteration since has been a huge platform for women’s golf. It is the premier amateur event in the women’s game and I think being able to leverage the grandeur of Augusta National to get more eyes on women’s golf in the way they have is so great for the advancement of the game.”