AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – At Augusta National Golf Club, many people are excited for the Masters Tournament next week, but today history is being made as the first women’s golf tournament held at Augusta National comes to a close.
“This is an absolute perfect course. This is the course for golf,” says Wendy Foster and Teagan Arnold from New York.
“You drive up and down Washington Road like everyday. It’s the main road and you kind of forget there’s a little slice of heaven over that fence,” says Jennifer Kalakikos of Martinez.
“It is like a slice of heaven. I mean really that’s what I tell everybody that plays golf. I play golf as well. I wish I could play here but it’s hard to get out here,” says Jon Iwert of North Augusta.
After 2 rounds of drama filled golf at Champions Retreat in Evans, the top 30 women earned their spot to play at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club.
“Oh my gosh it’s so amazing. Well we saw the first tee and that was so moving to see the first tee ceremony and all that kind of stuff. Annika is our hero.”
“I live in a city where the entire world descends upon us for one week a year. People come from all over the world to walk this course and to see this tournament,” says Kalakikos.
“Anybody that watches a newscast or anything and if they get the opportunity to come out here and you don’t even like golf I would recommend coming out here. I can say that as a fact,” says Iwert.
The championship round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is one of it’s kind. It’s the first time ever a women’s tournament has been held at Augusta National Golf Club. Blazing a trail on the fairways for future generations.
“The fact that she can probably play and achieve and wish to achieve playing on this course competitively whereas maybe myself or my grandmother couldn’t and so we wanted to be to cheer on these amazing women and kind of start a new tradition in golf,” says Wendy.
“I remember all the drama many years ago about not having women as members and so I think it’s great they’re letting them come out. Especially the amatuer’s I think it’s really good to have the younger faces out here and bring this kind of dream come true to the younger golfers,” says Kalakikos.
“There’s a lot of good women in golf and I think they deserve an opportunity to come out here. I know for a long time it was pretty much a men dominated sport but now women are great at golf too. Anywhere you go, any golf course you go there’s a lot of women who play well,” says Iwert.
“You can do anything you want. Every door is open to you and every opportunity you can have and so if you work hard and you strive and if you have a goal that you work towards to achieving anything is possible.”