Augusta National to hold women’s amateur in 2019,

AUGUSTA — For the first time since the club’s founding in 1933, Augusta National Golf Club turned over the keys to the joint to a real golf jock.

And the first official announcement to come from incoming club chairman Fred Ridley on Wednesday was his invitation to more women to play here.

In his initial State of the Masters remarks, Rid l ey announced the establishment of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, a 54-hole event to be held next spring with the final 18 holes at Augusta National on the Saturday before Masters week. The field will include 72 of the top-ranked play- ers from around the world, as determined through recognized championships and the women’s amateur world rankings.

“I met with our senior staff in October and said I thought that this was the right time to do this,” Ridley said. “It was the right time for the women’s game. I wanted to do this and I wanted to do it here.”

The announcement stood in a stark contrast to the Masters of 15 years ago, when then-chairman Hootie John- son termed “invasive and coercive” a volatile campaign by women’s activist Martha Burke for pressing Augusta National to admit women members. While the club has subsequently admitted at least four women members, viewed in some quarters as a modest accomplishment, turning over the course to a women’s event signals some change in thought.

“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Augusta National,” said World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, who wason hand forthe announcement. “They do get a lot of things right. Whether they do it on their timeline or not, they get things done.”

The championship, which will hold its first 36 holes at nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club, may constitute a scheduling conflict with the LPGA. The first women’s major championship of the year, the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, Calif., is annually held the week before the Masters and typically invites several of the top world amateurs. While the Augusta National tournament will conclude the day before the ANA Inspiration, some players may have to chose which event to play.

“Our inspiration is to try to help grow the women’s game,” said Ridley, who said he has been in contact with LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan about scheduling. “I think (Whan) also understands and agrees wholeheartedly that from a big picture, this is a win for women’s golf.”

It was quite the first splash for the incoming chairman, whose appointment was announced in August but who was facing the Masters press corps for the first time. The former chairman of the competition committee, Ridley referenced his first Masters in 1976, when he qualified following his college career at Florida. His 42-year relationship with the event spans over half the Masters’ existence.

While his previous six predecessors — Clifford Roberts, William Lane, Hord Hardin, Jack Stephens, Johnson and Billy Payne — were all captains of industry, Ridley, an attorney, was a world-class player who competed in three Masters (1976-78). Though he never made the cut, he remains the last U.S. Amateur champion (1975) never to have turned professional.

Among other themes Ridley touched during his 35-minute session:

■Additional women membership: “While I won’t get into specifics, I will assure you there will be more women members at Augusta National.”

■ On what the winner of the Augusta Women’s Amateur will receive, stipulating it will not be a green jacket: “We don’t know yet. We got to work on that. But I can assure you it will be very, very nice.”