McIlroy sticks boot into ‘obscene’ Muirfield
Rory McIlroy has once again stuck the boot into Muirfield after their decision to reverse their ban on allowing women members.
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers’ members voted for the club to remain men only in May 2016 and lost its right to host the Open Championship as a result.
A second vote on Tuesday saw 498 of 621 member votes in favour of allowing females to join, and the R&A immediately reinstated Muirfield as an Open host.
And four-time major champion McIlroy, who said “it’s not right to host the world’s biggest tournament at a place that does not allow women to become members” following the initial vote last year, still isn’t impressed.
“It’s obscene, it’s ridiculous,” he said ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, “in this day and age where you’ve got women that are leaders of certain industries and women that are heads of state and not able to join a golf course.
“So, they sort of saw sense. I still think that it got to this stage is horrendous.”
But he didn’t stop there.
McIlroy, who missed the cut the last time the Open was played at Muirfield, added: “It wouldn’t be one of my favourite Open rota courses, so no matter the decision yesterday, if it had been kept off the Open Championship rota, I wouldn’t have been that unhappy.
“I don’t get it. We’ll go back there for the Open Championship at some point but I won’t be having many cups of tea with the members afterwards.”
Once more it’s the game of golf that’s the loser in Muirfield saga
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Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
