Annika Sorenstam has just become a member of Augusta National Golf Club, multiple sources told Golfweek.
Sorenstam, a winner of 10 majors and 72 LPGA Tour events, is one of the greatest golfers of all time and will now join the prestigious membership of Augusta National.
A spokesperson for Augusta National Golf Club declined to comment to Golfweek. Mike McGee, Sorenstam’s husband and manager, also declined to comment. ANGC is an incredibly private membership and does not release its membership list to the public.
Augusta National was founded as a men ’s-only club in 1932. It began hosting the Masters in 1934. Twenty years ago, women’s activist Martha Burk, from the National Council of Women’s Organizations, demonstrated and campaigned about the lack of women members in Augusta National.
Nearly a decade passed until then-Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne welcomed former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and South Carolina financier Darla Moore, to join the club in 2012.
Congrats to @ANNIKA59 on becoming a member at Augusta National. Let me know if you need a fourth 😜Story here:https://t.co/rLTU0VhVsM
— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) October 24, 2023
Other confirmed female members at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia include Heidi Ueberroth, co-chairman of Pebble Beach Co., former USGA president Diana Murphy, former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Ana Botin, executive chairman of the Santander Group.
Sorenstam is the first LPGA pro to become a member at one of golf’s most prestigious clubs in the country.
Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley made these comments before this year’s Masters Tournament.
“I don’t know about you, but when anything happens or any idea that you had turns out well and you’re pleased about it, initiative, whatever, you might always say, well, why didn’t we do that sooner? And that’s a fair, that’s a fair thought. And so I wish – I wish we had have,” he said.
“Women members are a very important part of our membership, and you will continue to see over the years, if you look, more green jackets that are women,” he continued. “I’m going to make sure of that.
“We have a number of women members who we are delighted are part of our organization. I think you know, certainly, who some of them are. They have been great contributors to our organization, both I would say substantively and things they are doing to help us, both with the Masters and otherwise.”
