First Female Golf Champ At Augusta National

Augusta National, the home of one of golf’s most prestigious tournaments and a club that until 2012 excluded women from membership, has crowned its first ever female champion: it’s Kelly Xu, a nine-year-old Californian who won her division at the first ever national Drive, Chip and Putt Championship this weekend.

Her victory in the nine-and-under division made Xu the first female to win a golfing championship of any sort at Augusta National, which will host the 78th edition of The Masters, one of golf’s four major tournaments, starting Thursday (three other girls won their respective age divisions later to join her).

Opening its doors, even briefly, to young women like Xu and the others who participated in the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is a positive step in continuing to address the issues Augusta has helped perpetuate in the past, and hopefully it’s a sign that the most iconic course in American golf will continue to take a leadership role in improving both itself and the sport in the future.