Men-only golf: Shame on you, Muirfield

The Open golf championship should be a carnival; instead, thanks to its host’s indefensible gender policies, it is simply an embarrassment

From Andy Murray at Wimbledon to the Lions in Australia, from our strong start to the Ashes to Chris Froome’s widening lead in the Tour de France, there is no shortage of opportunities to be proud of British sport. And then there is Muirfield. The Open golf championship should be a carnival; instead, thanks to its East Lothian host’s indefensible gender policies, it is simply an embarrassment.

Even by the standards of its often small-minded peers, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers – which owns the Muirfield course – is behind the times. After all, even Georgia’s highly exclusive Augusta National, home of the US Masters, has finally admitted two female members (one of them the former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice). As a private organisation, Muirfield cannot be forced to change its ways. But its members should be ashamed of such antiquated silliness.