Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley hints support for ball rollback

Around the hollowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club, with its blooming flowers, manicured turf and pearly-white bunkers, members of the media and other dignitaries at the Masters Tournament refer to the man in charge as “Chairman Ridley.”

In Liberty Corners, New Jersey, they call him something less formal.

“Oh, we just call him Fred,” a well-positioned United States Golf Association staffer recently said.

For those who may not know, Ridley won the 1975 U.S. Amateur, the USGA’s most prestigious amateur tournament for men. He is the last winner of that event not to turn professional, but he served on the USGA’s executive board from 1994 until 2005 and was the USGA’s president in 2004 and 2005.

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With the bond between Ridley — who became a member of Augusta National in 2000 and its seventh chairman 17 years later — and the USGA running deep, it came as no surprise on Wednesday morning that Ridley hinted at support for the USGA and R&A’s proposal for the creation of a new Model Local Rule that could require elite male golfers to start using a distance-reducing golf ball in 2026.

“As the comment period remains open, we will be respectful of the process as the USGA and the R&A consider this important issue,” Ridley said in his opening comments. “We have been consistent in our support of the governing bodies and we re-state our desire to see distance addressed.”

Moments later, when asked by a reporter for more detail and his personal thoughts on distance and the potential use of distance-reducing golf balls, Ridley added, “I think, in a general sense, we do support the proposal, but because it’s in the middle of a comment period, it could change. The whole purpose of the comment period is to take the input from the industry. So we will look at the final product and make a decision. But generally, we have always been supportive of the governing bodies. I’ve stated that we believe distance needs to be addressed. I think the natural conclusion is, yes, we will be supportive.”

This has been a fantastic week for the USGA and R&A’s proposed Model Local Rule because, with the addition of Ridley and, by extension, the Masters Tournament, three massively-influential voices have come forward in support of the idea of a golf ball rollback.

“I think this should have happened long ago, ” Tiger Woods said Tuesday. “That’s what Jack [Nicklaus] was saying, the…