Golfer Lucy Li’s Apple ad offers test, but amateurism still matters

Big-time sports’ latest struggle over the notion of amateurism includes a strong Bay Area flavor — a teenage prodigy, one of the region’s business institutions and now a high-profile quandary for the United States Golf Association.

All because Lucy Li slipped an Apple Watch around her wrist and appeared in a video advertisement.

Li, the acclaimed 16-year-old golfer from Redwood City, stands ninth in the women’s world amateur ranking. But USGA officials could issue a ruling on her case as soon as next week, and the decision might strip Li of her amateur status and prevent her from competing in marquee events such as the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.

The view here: Amateurism still matters. It’s worth protecting.