The Scottish golf club announced on Thursday that the vote on whether to allow women to join had been won by those against the idea after less than two thirds voted in favour of the proposal.
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“The R&A has considered today’s decision with respect to The Open Championship”.
The Open’s organisers, the Royal & Ancient (R&A), “acted quickly and decisively in the wake of the announcement”, says the Daily Telegraph, which says it was “clearly braced for the decision and its statement from the chief executive, Martin Slumbers, was swift and unequivocal”.
“There is a great history and heritage to Muirfield and the players love playing it, it’s a great golf course and I can see why people would want to keep it there, but the reality is the R&A have a bigger responsibility outside of golf”, he said. The R&A has so far sought to delay a decision about if or when the Open will return to the Ayrshire venue, but has already said the earliest possible is 2022.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon supported the R&A’s stance on Muirfield.
“Scotland has women leaders in every walk of life, in politics, in law, in business and everywhere else. It is 2016. This is simply indefensible”.
The last Open was played at Muirfiled in 2013 (men only, of course).
And exclusively for the selfish right to set their face against public opinion and continue their incongruous and anachronistic habits, they’re defiantly prepared to humiliate and damage the sport they profess to love and want to protect.
The policy was first brought into review after the Equality Act came into force in 2010 however on Thursday members made a decision to keep the policy as it was.
Muirfield, which last hosted the prestigious competition in 2013, will now be removed from The Open rota but could be considered in future if it changes its policy on female membership.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “His general rule is that sports clubs should be open to both sexes and that it is outdated not to do that, particularly if you think you are up to hosting a major championship”. Troon is undertaking its own membership review, with the results expected towards the end of the year. Thursday’s developments leave this year’s host, the Royal Troon, as the only club left in the rotation that does not allow women members. In fact, they have been playing there since 1904 and, in 2015, played in the region of 370 rounds as visitors or guests of members.
The club is consulting members on possibly ending that practice, which would include ending having separate clubhouses.
Henry Fairweather, captain of Muirfield, said the club had to follow the rules set by its members.
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It seemed for a time that the Muirfield membership would, after a careful and thorough consideration of the question, step gently if reluctantly into the 21st century alongside the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Royal St Georges in Kent, and Augusta National in the US.
