AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The Augusta National Women’s Amateur Golf Tournament is now underway.
Play started a bit late this morning due to the weather.
Although tee times were delayed by an hour and there were a few bursts of rain earlier, that didn’t put a damper on patrons’ moods as they came out for the first official round of the tournament.
“It’s a great event, a great experience,” said patron David Dutcher. “People here are incredibly nice and hospitable, so thumbs up except for this cloud burst.”
Besides watching the world’s best women amateur golfers compete for the coveted title, patrons have been taking advantage of other amenities the club has to offer.
And through the downpour, one building in particular stood out – the gift shop.
“It was our first stop, of course,” said Melissa Jones.
Stocked with new merchandise and brands this year, early morning shoppers we spoke to had to get their hands on it.
“We just found a few things that were different this year,” Jones said. “I got this really cool sweatshirt.”
“It was lovely. I really like the merchandise,” said Karrie Quinty. “I got a polo shirt from Fore which is a new brand they’re carrying this year and it’s woman-owned, and it’s super cute.”
David Dutcher traveled all the way from Dallas to watch his first ANWA tournament, but thinks it was worth every mile.
“It’s going great, the concessions are fun, the gift shop is great, I got a couple of really neat shirts I’m looking forward to wearing back home,” he said. “Here is the white version, and I also got it in a navy blue version. So, fun stuff from the gift shop.”
Speaking of concessions…
“We’re gonna get some concessions and I hope to find a nice cocktail somewhere,” Quinty said when asked what she has planned for the rest of the day.
Quinty had the same idea as a lot of the other patrons. And Thursday they can do it all over again during round 2 of the tournament. The first group tees off at 8 a.m.
