Top amateur golf moments 2018, No. 1: Hallowed ground

At AmateurGolf.com, we admit to loving the amateur sector of this game for the stories, the depth of the players, the remarkable courses, the history of the tournaments and the sheer love of the game displayed by amateur golfers. As 2018 comes to a close, we’ve gathered the year’s best stories for a countdown to the end of the season. Be sure to come back each day to relive the moments that made amateur golf great this year.

Click here to see the whole list as it is revealed

The top story in amateur golf this year was not about a person or a team, but rather a group. Mouths dropped in April when Fred Ridley, the Augusta National Golf Club Chairman, announced the creation of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, seemingly out of the blue. The event will be played one week before the Masters.

In effect, Ridley and his fellow organizers have given every competitive female amateur golfer a potential ticket to a course previously off-limits.

“Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts left behind a legacy of always trying to contribute meaningfully to the game of golf,” Ridley said in introducing the event. “The Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship embodies that principle, and we believe this event will have a significant and lasting impact on the future of the women’s game. Our hope and expectation is that this event will further energize those who already love the sport and inspire others through the dream of competing at Augusta National.”

The field of 72 players will be selected mostly from the World Amateur Golf Rankings, and will be supplemented with winners of major women’s amateur events and by special invitation from the championship committee.

The first 36 holes will take place at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on the Wednesday and Thursday before Masters week. The entire field will then play Augusta National for an official practice round on Friday. The top 30 competitors will then play the final round at Augusta on Saturday.

As if that wasn’t huge enough for female amateurs, Augusta National announced months later that NBC Sports will broadcast three hours of live final-round coverage of the event. To be clear, network coverage of a women’s amateur event is unheard of – in fact, it’s even rare for LPGA events.

In addition to the final-round coverage, Golf Channel will provide highlights and live reports throughout the event.

The tournament will be historic, and remote corners of the game will experience unforeseen benefits because Augusta is now reachable for women, not to mention the fact than girls can see those women walking the fairways. It’s a huge win not just for women’s golf, but for amateur golf as well. And as the event moves closer to reality, the fairway chatter and the excitement are palpable.

Now amateurs – female amateurs – have their own reason to mark April on their calendars each year.