Augusta National announces creation of women's amateur championship

There will be a women's tournament in the buildup to the Masters next year, as chairman Fred Ridley announced the creation of the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship.

The event will bring the best 72 female amateurs in the world to the famed course, with the final round being played the Saturday before the Masters. The opening 36 holes will take place at the Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta before shifting to Augusta National for the final round.

"As a little girl, knowing you have a chance to play on the greatest stage, it would've sent me to the range," LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam told Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek.com.

It's a refreshing move by Ridley in the first year of his chairmanship, as the storied club hasn't always had the best reputation with females. Only male members were allowed prior to 2012 before they admitted Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore.