AUGUSTA, Ga. — Almost 16 years ago, when the Augusta National Golf Club became a battleground over its exclusively male membership, it was hard to imagine that the club’s chairman would one day support women’s golf in a groundbreaking way.
As the home to the Masters tournament since 1934, Augusta National’s grounds are hallowed because they remain mostly unchanged and famously inaccessible. Policies at the club have been amended at a glacial pace; the first female members were not admitted until 2012.
But on Wednesday, Fred Ridley, in his first major appearance as the new chairman of Augusta National, unexpectedly announced that the club would create and help host the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship next year.