A Timely Replay Of The Augusta National Women's Amateur Will Remind Golf What Matters

As NBC prepares to re-air the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur (1 pm ET Saturday), I’m anxious to see how it all plays out on television after witnessing the Jennifer Kupcho-Maria Fassi duel in person.

Numerous moments from the day stand out a year later, from the epic shots played on the back nine par-5s to the crowd size building as the duel played out and word filtered through the property. Remember, this was a first time event, many were there just to get on the grounds and pick up some merchandise, so interest in two relatively unknown golfers was not exactly fever-pitch.

However, by the final holes fans were walking briskly (ok, I saw running, apologies Mr. Roberts) hoping to position themselves to witness these two exceptional golfers battle. In person, it remains one of those exceptional moments where the combination of shotmaking and sportsmanship rose to a level only seen surpassed by a handful of moments in modern golf history. It was an “instant classic,” as Beth Ann Nichols wrote at the time.

There are also the smaller lessons from the day to be learned about what values really matter in a golf course, tournament golf and how the sport is played. I wrote about the retro vibe to the day down to the restoration of momentous decisions that we so rarely see any more. In lieu of happier times without so much human suffering and a second edition of the “ANWA”, it should be enlightening to witness this duel all over again.

And in the coming days, months and years, let the lessons of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur influence how the sport searches for what really matters.