ALEX SALMOND WILL NOT GO TO OPEN AT MUIRFIELD BECAUSE ON BAN ON FEMALE MEMBERS
He has previously criticised the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews to
address its failure to offer Dr Louise Richardson, the principal of St
Andrews University, membership.
Although Dr Richardson is not a keen golfer, it was pointed out that
membership of the Royal and Ancient was bestowed on her male predecessors at
the head of Scotland’s oldest university as a matter of course.
Mr Salmond is a keen golf fan but has faced criticism after spending spent
£470,000 of taxpayers' money leading a delegation to last year’s Ryder Cup
in Chicago.
Two months before that he charged the public purse for a week’s stay at an
exclusive hotel ear Inverness while last year's Scottish Open was being
staged nearby.
His refusal to attend the Open may help his standing with female voters, whom
opinion polls indicate are particularly opposed to independence.
Sources close to the First Minister confirmed he was not going to Muirfield and reiterated his stance on men-only golf clubs.
A spokesman for Mr Salmond said he will again attend the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart near Inverness and insisted last year’s stay helped secure hundreds of jobs.
“The Scottish Open is being held the week before the Open Championship, and the First Minister will not be at Muirfield, but he wishes everyone involved all the best for a great tournament,” he added.
“His views on single-sex golf clubs are well-enough known, but we are sure this year’s Open will be another fantastic advert for Scotland, and we expect tourism minister Fergus Ewing to attend for the Scottish Government.”
All-male clubs which host the Open, such as Muirfield, Royal Troon, Royal St Georges, Sandwich, and the Royal and Ancient – which has become a separate entity to the game’s ruling body now known simply as the R and A – have come under criticism for the make-up of their membership.
In July 2008 St Andrews-based Ladies Golf Union lifted a ban on taking female tournaments to men-only clubs, such as Muirfield and another Open venue Royal Troon.
At the time, the First Minister remarked: “It might encourage them [the clubs] to change their ways. I’d rather not go any further, but I think it’s pretty clear from the comment I made where my sympathies lie.”
Earlier this year Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality, urged single-sex clubs to think “long and hard” about retaining their membership policy.
The United States Golf Association does not allow clubs with single-sex policies to host the US Open. Last year, one of the last bastions of male membership – Augusta National, home of the US Masters – bowed to pressure and finally admitted its first lady members.
The club responded to a welter of criticism by inviting former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first women to wear the famous green jackets which signify membership.
No one at Muirfield was available yesterday to respond to Mr Salmond’s comments. Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the R and A, has previously defended clubs’ right to decide their own membership policy.
Sources close to the First Minister confirmed he was not going to Muirfield and reiterated his stance on men-only golf clubs.
A spokesman for Mr Salmond said he will again attend the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart near Inverness and insisted last year’s stay helped secure hundreds of jobs.
“The Scottish Open is being held the week before the Open Championship, and the First Minister will not be at Muirfield, but he wishes everyone involved all the best for a great tournament,” he added.
“His views on single-sex golf clubs are well-enough known, but we are sure this year’s Open will be another fantastic advert for Scotland, and we expect tourism minister Fergus Ewing to attend for the Scottish Government.”
All-male clubs which host the Open, such as Muirfield, Royal Troon, Royal St Georges, Sandwich, and the Royal and Ancient – which has become a separate entity to the game’s ruling body now known simply as the R and A – have come under criticism for the make-up of their membership.
In July 2008 St Andrews-based Ladies Golf Union lifted a ban on taking female tournaments to men-only clubs, such as Muirfield and another Open venue Royal Troon.
At the time, the First Minister remarked: “It might encourage them [the clubs] to change their ways. I’d rather not go any further, but I think it’s pretty clear from the comment I made where my sympathies lie.”
Earlier this year Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality, urged single-sex clubs to think “long and hard” about retaining their membership policy.
The United States Golf Association does not allow clubs with single-sex policies to host the US Open. Last year, one of the last bastions of male membership – Augusta National, home of the US Masters – bowed to pressure and finally admitted its first lady members.
The club responded to a welter of criticism by inviting former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first women to wear the famous green jackets which signify membership.
No one at Muirfield was available yesterday to respond to Mr Salmond’s comments. Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the R and A, has previously defended clubs’ right to decide their own membership policy.
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Labels: OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, June 28, 2013
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