Augusta National, a golf club notorious for excluding women from membership until 2012, is hosting young female competitors this week, aged 14 to 24, for the inaugural Augusta Women’s National Amateur. It’s a step in the right direction, showcasing the top female amateurs on one of the world’s most famous stages. The tournament also shows how women’s golf has helped the sport move out of the dark ages.
When the LPGA tour was founded in 1950, there was something that distinguished it from the PGA of America: anyone from any race could play on the tour. This was in contrast to the PGA of America’s caucasian-only clause that was in place until 1961.
Here’s how much more progressive the LPGA was at the time. When Althea Gibson, the first African American tennis grand-slam champion, joined the LPGA in 1963, many golf courses were hostile and decided to turn their “open” tournaments into “invitationals”, effectively preventing her from playing. Lenny Wirtz, the LPGA’s tournament director, said: “We all play, or we all stay away.” LPGA players held a vote, and agreed that they would only play where everyone was welcomed.
Has the LPGA been perfect? Not quite. Since then, it has veered away from controversy. There have been missteps over its dress code; the lack of acknowledgement of queer players; and the hosting of the Women’s US Open at Trump Bedminster in 2017. But with the recent LPGA campaign #DriveOn, that advocates for gender equality, it appears the organization has refound its voice.
The LPGA’s repositioning comes as female sport is becoming a force for change: from the US women’s soccer and hockey teams fighting for equal pay, to WNBA players opting out of their collective bargaining agreement in an attempt to increase player salaries, to the female athletes calling out the sexism in sports journalism.
The LPGA’s younger players, who have had more exposure to feminist thought and are generally more progressive than their predecessors, have also helped the organization move forward. Marina Alex, who is playing her sixth year on the tour, says, “I haven’t been on tour long enough to understand the full spectrum of change that has occurred on LPGA, but it feels like our platforms and focuses have expanded. Yes, we are still trying to increase purses and increase viewership. But we also provide a highly competitive diverse player body and have players from a multitude of countries with different stories and backgrounds that we can focus on sharing.”
And money helps too: the LPGA has more sponsors, more tournaments, and bigger purses than in the past. “Even though #DriveOn comes upon the heels of movements such as #MeToo, the LPGA has been representing equality and empowerment since its beginning. But now, we finally have the resources and platforms to get these messages spread,” says Alex. This gives the tour more freedom to speak out, and give open support to players such as Melissa Reid, who publicly came out as gay last year.
As the tour continues to grow, and ushers in young players unafraid to address inequality, it would be a mistake for the LPGA to ignore issues important to its athletes. By doing so, it would ignore many of those who believe golf can and should do better for women. But for now, the signs are that the LPGA is finally beginning to realize, like many women all over the world have, that silence is no longer an option.
