Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

SOO EXCITING!! stacey chips in by Stacey Peters In her regular column, STA EY PETERS covers plenty of ground, from Julienne Soo’s Women’s Augusta National Event, to the Karrie Webb Series to the issue of gender equality. It’s such an exciting time in women’s sport right now. Things are changing … yes, perhaps slowly, but they are changing. And we can proudly say that there’s no better example than women stepping foot on Augusta National – not to watch but to play, and not just play but to play an event. The Women’s Augusta National event made its debut in early April and our very own Julienne Soo qualified. The first two rounds were played at Champions Retreat in Augusta, then every player got to play a practice round on the Masters course at Augusta National before the the final round for the top 30 was played the Saturday before the Masters. The historical significance of women playing at this place was amazing and could you find a golf course in better or sharper tournament conditions? Unfortunately, Julienne didn’t make the cut for the final round but playing on the Masters course in the practice round was still an amazing opportunity. And she won’t ever forget her first hole. “I actually wasn’t that nervous and I ended up playing better than the first two days,” she said. “I birdied the first hole and thought ‘I can leave now!’ My parents could come inside the ropes which was really cool, that made it even more special,” she said. “It was a really special moment, I don’t know if I’ll ever get to come back here because I’m turning pro in May. I’m just excited that I got to play here at least once in my life. “They treat us like royalty, my golf wasn’t great this week but it was kind of a side- issue because of how great the tournament is. All the caddies were showing us all the spots, like Tiger’s chip on 16 and Adam’s putt on 10. I walked over and saw Phil’s shot from the pine needles on 13.” The tournament was won by the world number one ranked amateur, American Jennifer Kupcho, who played her last six holes in five under the card. It was a fitting finish for such an important event. One of the really great things to see was Bubba Watson in his green Masters’ jacket, standing by the first tee for the ceremonial opening tee shots and shaking hands with players from the early groups before heading to the practice fairway to prepare for a crack at his third Masters victory. Let’s hope a Women’s Masters at Augusta National isn’t far away – maybe I would have to start playing again! In other exciting news, the ALPG and Australian PGA tours have signed a collaboration agreement with plans to 12 Golf Victoria