Castle battled the world’s best amateurs once with a rib injury, so why not do it again at Augusta National?
Contending at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is challenging enough, let alone doing so with an injury.
That is, unless you’re Jensen Castle.
The Kentucky senior was forced to withdraw from last week’s Clemson Invitational – the final event of the regular season for the Wildcats – with a rib injury, but finds herself T-4 at the 2023 ANWA after a 2-under 70 in the first round of play at Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia.
“Right now, we’re not really sure what it is,” explained Castle, who noted the injury started as a stress fracture in 2021. “It’s flared up this past week. I don’t know if it was just a lot of golf or tightness, maybe I didn’t stretch well enough, I don’t know. Unfortunate timing for sure, especially with Augusta this week.”
Stanford’s star sophomore and the world’s No. 1 amateur Rose Zhang leads at 6 under, with Ole Miss senior Andrea Lignell in second at 5 under. Georgia fifth year Jenny Bae is solo third at 3 under.
“I was supposed to play on Friday and I took Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday off,” she continued, “so it sounds pretty familiar to the Women’s Am.”
Two years ago, Castle survived a 12-for-2 playoff just to advance from stroke play to match play at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in New York. She then went on to come back in three of six matches to eventually claim the trophy over Arizona’s Yu-Chiang (Vivian) Hou.
Castle battled the world’s best amateurs once with a rib injury, so why not do it again at one of the game’s most demanding courses?
The first two rounds of the tournament are played at Champions Retreat on Wednesday and Thursday, which is no easy test. Every golfer in the field then makes the 15-mile trip to play a practice round on Friday at Augusta National, before the top-30 and ties compete in the final round at Augusta National on Saturday.
Castle, who grew up two hours north in Columbia, South Carolina, finished T-12 last year in her first appearance at Augusta National and thinks the event is already one of, if not the, biggest in women’s amateur golf.
“This is gonna be as big as the USGA, if not bigger,” said Castle, referencing the U.S Women’s Amateur. “It’s only year four I think, and it is extremely well known. I mean, this is everyone’s dream to get to this tournament, and once you’re here, you cherish every little thing. Everyone looks at you as such a hero and such a role model for the younger generation, which I think is really cool. So this is going to be one of the biggest amateur golf events if not already.”
The course, which hosts the annual Augusta National Women’s Amateur tournament, was completed in June 2005.
AUGUSTA, Georgia — A judge last month ruled to allow an almost $8 million charitable deduction claimed by Champions Retreat, following the Evans golf course’s win in a 2020 federal tax case. Evans is a suburb of Augusta.
The case has been in litigation since 2013, when the Internal Revenue Service rejected a $10.4 million conservation-easement deduction. U.S. Tax Court Judge Cary Douglas Pugh recently decided to allow more than $7.8 million of the $10.4 million deduction claimed by Champions Retreat Golf Founders LLC on its 2010 tax return.
Champions Retreat acquired more than 463 acres of land in April 2002 to develop a neighborhood, Founders Village, and a 27-hole golf course.
The Evans course, which hosts the annual Augusta National Women’s Amateur tournament, was completed in June 2005 and boasts three 9-hole courses, a pro shop, a restaurant, a locker room and a driving range. The three courses were designed by golf legends Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Carolina Melgrati, of Italy, tosses her club after missing a putt during day two of the second round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat on Friday, April 1, 2022. (Photo by Katie Goodale/USA TODAY NETWORK)
The easement, subsequent sale
Then-owners of the Champions Retreat Golf Club granted a 349-acre easement to the North American Land Trust on Dec. 16, 2010, after the recession.
Conservation easements enable property owners to take charitable tax deductions on properties gifted to land trusts.
The easement area included 25 holes of the golf course, most of the two remaining holes and the driving range. Owners claimed a $10.4 million charitable deduction for the 2010 taxable year for the grant of the easement to the land trust, basing the deduction off its appraiser’s evaluation.
In October 2014, the golf club and some of its cabins were sold to Tower Three Partners and its affiliate, San Diego-based Heritage Golf Group for $6.64 million.
Hsin-Yu Li, of Chinese Taipei, putts during the second round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat on Thursday, March 31, 2022. Rain delayed tee times until 3 p.m. (Photo by Katie Goodale/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Deduction denied in 2018
In September 2018, Champions Retreat argued the easement satisfied conservation purposes by protecting the natural habitat of wildlife and the ecosystem and preserved open space, according to court documents. It noted specifically the southern fox squirrel and the denseflower knotweed, all of which Champions Retreat stated were rare, endangered or threatened.
However, Judge Pugh found there were not enough of the endangered knotweed plants in the area and the squirrels are still hunted legally in the state.
Pugh added that since the easement area is in a private section of the complex, only accessible to members and their guests through a gate manned 24 hours a day, it is unavailable for the public to enjoy.
The court concluded Champions Retreat did not support an “identified conservation project,” and sided with the IRS, denying the deduction for the 2010 tax year.
Champions Retreat appealed the decision and when brought back to court on May 13, 2020, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the 2018 ruling against the club, stating Champions Retreat was entitled to a deduction. Later, in October 2022, the court determined the amount of the deduction.
Players get ready to tee off during the first round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Photo by Katie Goodale/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Valuing the easement
Claud Clark III was recognized by the court as an appraiser for Champions Retreat and assessed the fair market value of the easement at almost $11 million. He stated the highest and best use of the 27-hole course was an 18-hole golf course and residential subdivision.
However, IRS appraiser David G. Pope said the highest and best use of the 27-hole course was to remain a golf course. Pope assessed the easement at $20,000.
The two appraisals varied so widely because of the difference in usage, with Clark factoring in the price of lots if used for residential housing and Pope limiting the usage to a golf course.
In litigation, it ends up being a dueling experts situation, said Gregg D. Polsky, a University of Georgia professor in taxation law.
“The claim of the taxpayer’s expert was that part of the course could have been developed into residential property and sold for large dollars, and after the easement it couldn’t,” Polsky said. ”The government expert came in and said no, actually the highest and best use is the golf course, so effectively the deduction is zero.”
The IRS has been cracking down on syndicated conservation easement deals, which usually entail investors buying cheap, vacant land and then hiring an appraiser to claim that it has large developmental value, according to Polsky.
The promoters tell investors they will buy the property, grant the easement and then claim charitable deductions that are larger than their initial investment.
“Syndicated conservation easement deals are very sketchy, and they’ve been attacked, mostly successfully, by the IRS,” Polsky said. ”In this case, there was separation between the time the property was acquired and developed and the time that the easement was granted. Those are more legitimate, but both types of contexts rely on sort of aggressive valuations; basically, trying to get your appraiser to sort of provide a super high ’highest and best use’ valuation.”
‘An advocate as much as an expert’
Clark is named in a bipartisan investigative report by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee centered around syndicated conservation easements. The report specifically cites Clark’s involvement in a transaction that took place in Alabama.
Clark was the appraiser in that transaction and “played a prominent role in the world of syndicated conservation easements,” according to the report, which is critical of Clark’s work.
In 2019, the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board challenged a Black Bear Enterprises appraisal conducted by Clark for not conforming to the proper standards of an appraisal. Rather than defend himself before the board, Clark surrendered his appraisal license in Alabama, according to the report.
In the Champions’ case, the court stated Clark was “serving as an advocate as much as an expert,” according to court documents.
The Augusta Chronicle tried to reach Clark for comment via phone numbers on court documents and his business’s phone number listed online, but all lines were disconnected. The Chronicle also reached out to Clark via Facebook but did not receive an immediate response.
Despite his criticism of Clark, Judge Pugh ultimately sided with the appraiser, finding the property could be used for residential housing.
“The tax court generally agreed with the [Champions Retreats’] expert and reduced the deduction by roughly 20%, bringing it to around $8 million,” Polsky said.
Pugh found the fair market value of the easement in 2010, taking the lots into account, to be $7,834,091.
Champions Retreat referred The Augusta Chronicle to the former Champions Retreat owners E.G. Meybohm and Robert Pollard. Meybohm’s representative, Mike Polatty, was not aware on Thursday that the case had concluded and did not wish to speak on the record.
Vivian D. Hoard, an Atlanta-based attorney with the Fox Rothschild law firm, which represented the former course owners, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
EVANS, Ga. — With 72 of the best women’s amateur golfers in the field it was no surprise that 36 holes weren’t enough to determine the top-30 players to make the cut at the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Following a 7.5-hour weather delay on Thursday, second-round action rolled over to Friday morning at Champions Retreat Golf Club, host of the first two rounds of play, and featured a 4-for-1 playoff for the last spot in Saturday’s final round. After making par on Nos. 10, 11, and 17 on the first three playoff holes, Paula Schulz-Hanssen emerged victorious with a fourth par on No. 18, dispatching Virginia’s Amanda Sambach, who made bogey. Arizona State senior Alexandra Forsterling was eliminated with a bogey on No. 11, with Vanderbilt senior Auston Kim doing the same on the 17th.
As if qualifying for the final round at Augusta National Golf Club wasn’t good enough, Schulz-Hanssen did so on her 19th birthday.
“I was so nervous, but I just tried to not think too much about it, and Charles, my caddie, and I was just like, ‘Just trust your game. Just do your own thing,’” explained Schulz-Hanssen, who missed the cut at last year’s ANWA. “Yeah, I didn’t make any big mistakes. So I think that was the key.”
Florida State senior Beatrice Wallin – the lone player to shoot under par in the second round – and LSU junior Latanna Stone are tied atop the leaderboard at even par entering the final round.
Wallin is no stranger to the weekend at Augusta National after finishes of T-7 in 2019 and T-10 in 2021. Knowing it’s her last time at the event, the 22-year-old from Sweden is just soaking it all in one last time.
“So I’m just going to go out there with a big smile and see, whatever happens, happens,” said Wallin.
Stone has some Augusta National experience as well, having been a national finalist at the 2014 Drive, Chip & Putt.
“I’m really pumped to play Augusta. I’ve never played it before, so it’s going to be a real treat,” said Stone. “I’ve just been trying to keep it simple – fairways, greens, two-putt, and kind of get off. I’m not trying to do anything special. I know there’s not a lot of birdies out there, and I’m just trying to stay patient.”
The Riverview, Florida, native remembers watching Bubba Watson’s famous shot from the Woods at the 2012 Masters and even had the chance to go in the PING vault and see his wedge. Would she try to recreate that shot during Friday afternoon’s practice round?
“I don’t know about that,” she said with a smile. “I’m just going to try to hit the fairway.”
A 7.5 hour weather delay shook up the schedule this week in Augusta.
EVANS, Ga. — As if the Augusta National Women’s Amateur wasn’t challenging enough as is, inclement weather has made the third playing of one of the biggest events in women’s golf even more difficult.
Before players could begin their second round at 7:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning at Champions Retreat Golf Club, inclement weather forced a seven-and-a-half hour delay, creating questions about Friday’s practice round down the road at Augusta National Golf Club. But the sun came out in the afternoon, and play resumed at 3 p.m. ET, setting up a race against the sunset.
Nine players were able to finish their second rounds when play was suspended at 7:52 p.m. ET. The last groups will need to finish nine holes when play resumes Friday morning at Champions Retreat at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Five players were under par following the first round, but none were in the red when the horn sounded Thursday night. ANWA three-timer Beatrice Wallin – who has her brother on the bag – USC freshman phenom Amari Avery and Michigan’s Hailey Borja are all tied atop the leaderboard at even par. Borja was the lone player under par before making bogey on No. 11, her final hole of the day.
The top-30 players will advance to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National, and a playoff will take place if necessary following the second round. The players will then make their way to Augusta National for an afternoon practice round, with the time yet to be determined.
As it stands, 11 players are battling for five spots in the top 30, with 20 players just four shots outside the current projected cut of 5 over.
Four players in the ANWA field have their siblings as caddies this week.
EVANS, Ga. — Augusta National Women’s Amateur competitors have to make some tough decisions for tournament week. Outside of who gets to make the trip down Magnolia Lane for Friday’s lauded practice round at Augusta National Golf Club, the next biggest choice is who will caddie.
For Michigan’s Ashley Lau, Oregon State’s Ellie Slama, Stanford’s Caroline Sturdza and Florida State’s Beatrice Wallin, the decision was simple: they kept it in the family. All four players have a sibling on the bag this week, creating moments that neither player nor caddie will soon forget.
“It was super fun having my brother out there. We worked really well together today,” said Slama, who currently sits just outside the cut at T-32 after Wednesday’s first round. “I think just going forward, it’s fun to have family members, people you know, familiar faces out there. It makes it a little bit more calm and easy, and there’s a little less pressure going into it.”
“It’s really special. This is her third time here this year, my first time caddying,” said her brother, Tim, who has been on the bag for her for USGA events and other tournaments in the past. “But this one’s extra special, especially with the likelihood that this is her last year, and it’s an honor to be here.”
After watching from outside the ropes the last two years, Tim said it’s easier to be on the bag than outside the ropes because he has a little control.
“It’s kind of like riding in the car versus driving. Like, I’m not driving the car, but I’m doing navigation,” he explained. “So it’s a little bit easier inside the ropes in terms of the stress levels.”
Not to mention the familiarity siblings share with one another. Whether it’s the chit-chat between shots or the ability to be more direct without hurting feelings, having someone on the bag who knows them better than anyone else is like a 15th club.
“I would say she just knows when to talk and when to not talk and when to leave me alone,” said Lau with a chuckle about her sister, Adeline, who also plays college golf at Eastern Michigan. “It’s better if I tell her directly. I wouldn’t hurt her feelings by staying that, but to a stranger I might. She just knows when to step away and then leave me alone for a little bit which is nice.”
“I know her very well, so I know how to deal with her,” echoed Max Sturdza, who has the bag for his sister, Caroline. “I think it makes a big difference from someone who’s just a random caddie or something like that.
“It’s a big experience for both of us,” continued Max, who also plays college golf at Florida Atlantic. “I think we can learn a lot from all this. It’s so much fun to be out here with her and just enjoy the tournament.”
Beatrice Wallin and caddie Rickard Wallin walk the fourth hole during the first round of the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club.
Things are different for Wallin and her brother, Rickard, who has been on the bag for each of her two previous ANWA appearances that resulted in a pair of made cuts and top-10 finishes (T-7 in 2019 and T-10 in 2021).
“It’s so nice because I can be the boss and be like, ‘Do you really think so? I don’t know,’ and then I make the decision,” Beatrice said of their relationship. “He’s always so supportive with all my decisions, and he did a great job today.”
A few of Rickard’s thoughts even led to key birdies for Beatrice, who sits T-9 at 1 over after the first round. Does that mean he’ll get to make more decisions going forward and take more control? Not quite.
“No, no, no,” Beatrice responded with a smile. “I’m still the boss.”
Everything you need to know for the week at the ANWA.
It’s officially Augusta National Women’s Amateur week.
The third annual event which features an international field of 72 of the world’s best women’s amateurs are all set for the 54-hole stroke play event held at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia, and famed Augusta National Golf Club.
The first two rounds are played over at Champions Retreat, followed by a practice round at Augusta National Friday. The entire field will play the practice round, while the top-30 players from the stroke play rounds will advance to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National.
The inaugural tournament took place in 2019, was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and returned last year with a limited number of patrons in attendance.
Here’s what you need to know for the week. All times Eastern.
Saturday’s final round will be televised from Noon-3:30 p.m. on NBC.
ANWA schedule
Wednesday, March 30: Round 1 at Champions Retreat starts at 7:45 a.m. Gates open at 7:30 a.m. and close 30 minutes after play ends.
Thursday, March 31: Round 2 at Champions Retreat starts at 7:45 a.m. Gates open at 7:30 a.m. and close 30 minutes after play ends.
Friday, April 1: Closed practice at Augusta National Golf Club.
Saturday, April 2: Final round at Augusta National Golf Club starts at 8 a.m. Gates open at 7:00 a.m. and close 30 minutes after the presentation ceremony.
No tickets are sold at the gate and every person must have a ticket to gain entry, regardless of age.
Past winners
Tsubasa Kajitani, of Japan, won the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur in a playoff. Kajitani defeated Emilia Migliaccio on the first sudden-death playoff hole.
In 2020, Jennifer Kupcho outdueled Maria Fassi down the stretch in the final round to win the inaugural tournament by four shots. Kupcho won after playing her final six holes at 5-under, with an eagle on No. 13.
Future ANWA tickets
To apply for 2023 tickets, go to the ANWA website.
How to qualify
Players earned invitations to the 2022 tournament by meeting at least one of the following qualifications:
Reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion
Reigning Women’s Amateur Champion
Reigning Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion
Reigning R&A Girls Amateur Champion
Reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior Champion
Reigning Girls Junior PGA Champion
Past champions of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur within the last five years
The 30 highest ranked players from the United States of America based on the prior year’s (2021) final Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, not otherwise qualified
After qualifications 1-8 above, the 30 highest ranked players not otherwise qualified, as listed on the prior year’s (2021) final Women’s World Amateur Ranking
Players receiving special invitations from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Committee
New Bermuda greens should provide firm and fast challenges at Champions Retreat for the ANWA.
The field in this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur face a new challenge in this year’s first two rounds at Champions Retreat: fresh and firm Bermuda grass greens.
Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia – just less than a 30-minute drive from the gates of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters – installed new putting surfaces in 2021, replacing heat-sensitive and disease-prone bent grass with the TifEagle strain of Bermuda grass.
Cameron Wiebe, general manager of Champions Retreat, said the new putting surfaces have grown in incredibly well and will provide improved, consistent and healthy putting surfaces for the ANWA and for club members throughout the year. The first two rounds of the ANWA are March 30-31 at Champions Retreat before the tournament moves to Augusta National for a practice round April 1 and the final competitive round April 2.
Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia (Courtesy of Champions Retreat)
“We couldn’t be more pleased” with how the greens grew in, Wiebe said. “We’re looking forward to a very good week for the ANWA.”
The greens on the 27 holes at Champions Retreat – which features distinct nines designed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player – had featured bent grass since the club opened in 2005. But bent grows best in cool climates, and the warm, frequently wet summers in northern Georgia created extreme challenges. Wiebe said heavy rains followed by five days of 100-degree-plus temperatures in 2020 proved too much for the bent, with the club losing 30 percent of its putting surfaces.
The bent greens were repaired for the 2021 ANWA, but the putting surfaces clearly needed to be replaced to provide superior conditions not only for the ANWA but for Champions Retreat members year-round. By contrast, Augusta National Golf Club features bent greens, but the Masters host course is closed during the summer while those famous greens are protected and given a rest.
No. 8 of the Island nine at Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia (Courtesy of Champions Retreat/Martin Miller)
“Obviously, growing bent grass in Augusta, Georgia, 12 months a year isn’t the easiest thing to do, and I have the gray hair to prove it,” said Wiebe, who joined the staff at Champions Retreat when new ownership acquired the club in 2014. “We were starting to see some susceptibility to disease. … In 2020, late that summer, it became evident to us that our time was up and that we needed to make a decision as to what we wanted to do and when we wanted to do it.”
After much research, Wiebe and his team chose to replace the bent with TifEagle, which was developed in Tifton, Georgia, and has proved to be more disease-resistant while providing excellent putting surfaces throughout the South over the past 25 years. Replacement efforts began in May of 2020, with greens being sprigged one nine at a time. All 27 greens – plus several practice greens – at the club were regrassed by October that year. The greens on the Island nine by Palmer and the Bluff nine by Nicklaus, which comprise the 18-hole layout for the ANWA, were completed first and had the most time to grow in.
“Ten days after they put the sprigs in, you look at it and think, there’s no way that’s growing,” Wiebe said. “Then all of a sudden, they start to pull these layers back and sure enough it’s all growing underneath. It’s an amazing transformation.”
Wiebe said the greens were reconstructed to within an eighth of an inch of their original design. Over the decades since the club opened, the greens had changed in places. As players hit greenside bunker shots, sand would fly onto the putting surfaces, slowly increasing the size of knobs and affecting the slopes near the edges of the greens. Wiebe said that reconstructing the slopes to original specifications decreased the unintended severity of some slopes and provided more area in which to cut holes.
“What we’re seeing are some subtle changes,” Wiebe said. “Maybe before where you would see (the aiming point for) a putt being one ball outside the hole, now it’s closer to the edge. We actually found them to be a little flatter now. … The feedback from our members, you can certainly see that’s they are the same greens with just a little less contour. Actually, that isn’t such a bad thing, because with TifEagle we are able to create and maintain a little more speed and maintain it through the year, as opposed to us having more of that fluctuation seasonally because of the heat.”
No. 8 of the Bluffs nine at Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia (Courtesy of Champions Retreat/Martin Miller)
Besides improved health and quicker potential putting speeds, the newness of the greens has one other consideration: firmness. Historically, the greens at Champions Retreat rolled about 12.1 or 12.2 on the Stimpmeter for the ANWA, Wiebe said, but the new and firm greens likely will provide larger bounces on incoming shots for this year’s opening two rounds. Wiebe said the club will hand-water the greens and do everything necessary to make sure the greens are still receptive to a well-struck shot.
“We will give the players the best chance to highlight the players, not the club and the greens,” Wiebe said. “This year is going to be challenging for the players, but these new greens surfaces are really healthy. There’s just not a lot of organic material beneath the surface to receive the shot yet. But these players are so talented, they are highly skilled at being able to control their spin and get the ball to stop.”
All the work is nothing new since 2015. In 2017 the club installed Better Billy Bunker Lining to improve drainage and playability, and in 2018 through ’19 the club focused on drainage throughout. The encroachment of trees has been addressed continuously with a focus on opening new vistas while providing better airflow with less shade to promote overall turf health for the Bermuda grass fairways and roughs.
“We learned very quickly that you either have forest or have quality playing surfaces, but you can’t have both,” Wiebe said. “… Since the change of ownership in 2014, we have been diligent and committed to the improvement process, and every year we work on it.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. – If the wind at Champions Retreat was an inconvenience Wednesday, it was a problem Thursday. Players struggled with the howling wind that made things difficult in the second round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The scores …
AUGUSTA, Ga. — If the wind at Champions Retreat was an inconvenience Wednesday, it was a problem Thursday.
Players struggled with the howling wind that made things difficult in the second round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The scores reflected it, with just two players sitting at under par.
World No. 1 Rose Zhang carded a 72 to sit at a tie for the lead with Ingrid Lindblad at 1-under-par. Like many, Zhang struggled on par-5s, particularly Nos. 9 and 14.
“Today it was definitely a lot more windy. Right from the start it was very cold, so everyone had tight muscles,” she said. “I feel all right with my score. I feel like I definitely could’ve done a lot better with some of the holes that I played, especially on par-5s today. There are some things I think I need to work on in terms of course management and club selection. Overall it was a solid day.”
By the end of the day, the cut line was 7-over and there was a five-way tie for the 30th and final spot in Saturday’s third round. Oklahoma State’s Maja Stark birdied the first hole in the playoff (No. 10) to secure the final spot, eliminating Amari Avery, Lauren Hartlage, Katherine Smith and You-Sang Hou.
It was a different start than usual, after inclement weather lead to a suspension of the first round Wednesday. The good news was the final few groupings were on their second nine, so the 7:45 a.m. tee times were unaffected.
Vanderbilt’s Austin Kim shot 72-72 and sits one shot behind the leaders heading into Saturday. While Thursday was tougher for many, her round was better than what the scorecard said.
“I made a lot of great par saves,” she said. “My scorecard may not show it, but it was a bit of a roller coaster. I think just staying patient out there was really the key. So I managed to have a bogey-free round today. I thought that was pretty momentous in these types of conditions.”
UCLA’s Ty Akabane withdrew in the second round due to an injury.
Prior to the final round, every starter is eligible for a practice round at Augusta National on Friday. For those not in contention, it’ll be a chance to tee it up at one of the storied courses in history. For those top-30 golfers, it’ll be a trial run leading up to Saturday.
The announcement that the 2021 Masters would allow only limited attendance in April has cast a somber mood over the city of Augusta.
The Masters gets underway in 45 days, and still Augusta National Golf Club hasn’t made public how many patrons will be allowed to attend the season’s first major when it returns to its traditional April date as a rite of spring.
Cameron Wiebe, the general manager of Champions Retreat down the road in nearby Evans, Georgia, host site for the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur the week before the Masters, says the local community still hopes the Masters will breathe life into the Augusta economy.
How much did a patron-less Masters hurt local businesses? Wiebe says it was “significant” before elaborating that the corporate hospitality that the club typically hosts when Augusta becomes the center of the sporting universe for one week was all but non-existent in November and was consistent with the rest of the clubs in town. A foursome at Champions Retreat during Masters week typically goes for $3,000 and includes caddie and cart, all-you-can-consume food and beverage until 5 p.m. and a $50 merchandise credit for each player. (Wiebe said other private clubs in the area open the gates that week too: Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, South Carolina, charges $3,000 for a foursome, Augusta Country Club $2,500 – F&B not included – and Sage Valley doesn’t officially open up “but if you give them $3,600 you can get a time.”)
“The November Masters was a 5-percent Masters,” he said, referring to the typical revenue earned that week. “We’re hoping for a 30-percent Masters in April, and for 2022 the world here would hope for a 75-plus-percent Masters.”
The announcement in January that the Masters would be played in front of a limited audience once again cast a somber mood over the city. The hope is that Augusta National will allow 30 percent to 50 percent of its usual capacity in April. This is purely based on anecdotal evidence, but a high percentage of locals have reported being informed they won’t be allocated tickets this year. It has led some to believe Augusta National is trying to support the local community by offering tickets primarily to out-of-towners who will occupy hotels and spend dollars at local establishments that are used to making a killing that week.
There is more availability for Champions Retreat’s luxurious rental units than usual, but some groups, corporations and individuals that are expecting to have Masters access are planning to come back, entertain and, as Wiebe put it, “live it up again.”
Tickets scalpers look for badges along Washington Road in front of Augusta National Golf Club before the Masters on April 4, 2010 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo: Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
And while attendance will be limited, it still has produced enough demand to jack up prices, a Masters tradition unlike any other for local businesses. A room at The Partridge Inn, a longtime social epicenter of Masters week and part of the Hilton family of hotels, is priced at an average of $959 per night during the tournament compared to $110 per night for Thursday-Sunday this week.
Still, the current headwinds have been a big blow for the city, and the reduced attendance this year won’t go unnoticed.
“This second wave of limited Masters revenue is going to hurt, and it will show itself at some point,” Wiebe said.
EVANS, Ga. – The Food Network might be missing a major opportunity near Augusta. Champions Retreat Golf Club is best known as the host site for the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, run in conjunction with that other high-end …
EVANS, Ga. – The Food Network might be missing a major opportunity near Augusta.
Champions Retreat Golf Club is best known as the host site for the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, run in conjunction with that other high-end private club 30 minutes away by car. But while winner Jennifer Kupcho and runner-up Maria Fassi stole the show in the inaugural ANWA in April, there might be an even better presentation on tap any given night at Champions Retreat.
Call it the “Rouchi and Ross Dinner Show.” The Iranian-born Fariborz Rouchi and Englishman-via-Scotland David Ross trade congenial jabs as easily as they describe whatever deliciousness is presented on their plates and in their glasses.
David Ross, left, and Fariborz Rouchi at Champions Retreat (Courtesy of Champions Retreat)
“I’m not sure who let him outside, but the fresh air doesn’t suit him very well, does it,” Ross, the executive chef at the club, says with a sly smile within earshot of Rouchi. “And good thing he knows about wine, because he sure doesn’t know how to dress.”
“Hey, Dad, isn’t it your bedtime? Time to go home!” Rouchi, the club’s new director of food and beverage, retorts. “Shouldn’t you at least be in the kitchen where you can burn something? … We’re only supposed to let him outside twice a day.”
Their ease of banter is flawless, clearly deserving a prime-time cooking show or at the least a YouTube channel. It’s somewhat surprising that Ross joined the club in 2018 and Rouchi arrived in May of this year – it might be expected that it would take years to perfect a routine like this.
Even better than the laughs is the dining program, but that’s to be expected from two such pros – both of whom, interestingly, started as engineers before turning to food and beverage.
Rouchi (pronounced like Gucci), a master sommelier, joined the club after more than a decade at Lake Shore Country Club near Chicago, which followed various stints that included general manager roles at Spago and Club Macanudo.
Ross most recently was tournament chef at Berckmans Place at Augusta National, a well-heeled retreat near the fifth hole open during Masters week. Before that, Ross was proprietor and executive chef of the popular, French-inspired 5oclockbistro in Augusta, and he has taught at Le Cordon Bleu international institutes in Atlanta and New Hampshire.
The Grill House at Champions Retreat (Courtesy of Champions Retreat)
They and their staff are accustomed to handling everything from intimate dinners in Champions Retreat’s palatial “cottages” to wedding-size functions at The Barn, the club’s new red-roofed facility that can seat 250 people. Want a post-golf libation after playing one of three nines designed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer or Gary Player? They have you covered. Want to blow the minds of your C-suite corporate staffers? They can do that, too.
Everything is taken to a different level in April, when out-of-towners rent the cottages as Champions Retreat becomes one of Augusta’s best places to see and be seen during the Masters. Normally a private enclave, the club accepts outside play (contact the club for information) that week, and the grounds host numerous parties and events. It’s up to Rouchi and Ross to surprise and thrill their guests, that week and every other.
“The definition of culinary arts leans heavily on the arts,” Ross said. “It’s not just simply cooking or searing. It’s about thinking beyond that, thinking three dimensionally. … It’s like the best possible job, because I’m being paid to be an artist. It just happens to be with food. The textures, the colors, the flavors: It’s just so much fun.”
Rouchi can talk for hours about ideal dining experiences, bringing laughs the whole time while making his listeners think about flavors and scents in new ways. He will guide a table of guests through their meal, the diners at rapt attention.
A seafood dish at Champions Retreat (Courtesy of Champions Retreat)
“A lot of it has to do with envisioning the whole journey and putting ourselves in place of the guest to make sure every detail is met,” Rouchi said. “It should come across as effortless. At the end, the show is smooth and perfect.”
A recent dinner for a group of golf writers – hey, who let these guys in here? – included a charcuterie board with house-smoked duck pastrami, sesame-crusted ahi, arugula salad sourced locally, Chilean sea bass with jasmine coconut rice and jalfrezi curry sauce, followed by a chocolate Napoleon. The wines came from around the world. O.B. Keeler, Bobby Jones’ longtime biographer, likely never had it so good.
“This isn’t just about food and drink; it’s a whole experience,” Rouchi said. “When the experience is perfect, you know it. That is our goal.”
