Muirfield ladies membership vote ends Open hopes

Muirfield has no prospect of hosting the Open Championship after its members opted to continue a ban on women members.

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.

Muirfield, which is a privately-owned links, needed two thirds (432) of its 648 eligible voters to back the move but, of the 616 members who voted, 397 (64 per cent) voted to allow women to join, while 219 (36 per cent) voted against it.

Governing body The R&A said it would not stage the Open at a venue that does not admit women as members, while Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took to Twitter to state that Muirfield’s stance was “simply indefensible”.

Muirfield captain Henry Fairweather said: “Our club committee recommended that members should vote for the admission of women as members of the club.

“A majority of members voted for women as members of the club but the two-thirds majority that we require for a change in the rules was not met. The club, therefore, will retain its men-only membership policy.

“The Honorary Club is a members club and the members decide the rules of the club, including its membership policy.

“Women will continue to be welcome at Muirfield on the course and in the clubhouse as guests and visitors, as they have been for many years.”

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