Muirfield to Hold Second Vote on Women Members

It has been widely reported today that the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Muirfield, whose membership last month voted against admitting women members, is set to have a second referendum on the subject by the end of the year. 

According to Martin Dempster of the Scotsman, this development was announced in a club statement that was released this morning. 

In that address, captain Henry Fairweather said, “A substantial majority of our members voted for change and many have voiced their disappointment with the ballot result and with subsequent events. The Club Committee believes that a clear and decisive vote in favor of admitting women as members is required to enable us to begin the task of restoring the reputation of the club that has been damaged by the earlier ballot outcome.”

Six weeks ago, 64% of members voted in support of adding women to the club, but fell narrowly short of the threshold required to make the change. It led to instant condemnation from leading figures in golf and politics, but most crucially the R&A, who quickly confirmed that the Open Championship would not be held at the East Lothian venue again, while it has its male-only membership policy in place. 

Golf's oldest major has been played on the classic links on 13 occasions, most recently in 2013, when Phil Mickelson produced a brilliant final round to clinch the Claret Jug.