ALL-MALE POLICY SCRAPPED
McIlroy will give Muirfield tea a miss
Muirfield golf club welcomed back into the British Open rotation after scrapping its all-male policy
Orlando — Muirfield golf club may have scrapped its all-male policy and been welcomed back into the British Open rotation, but world No3 Rory McIlroy said on Wednesday he was not ready to toast a new era. The Northern Irishman, speaking a day after Muirfield voted to admit women members, remained critical of the years women were denied membership and did not sound like he would be changing his opinion anytime soon. "We’ll go back there for The Open Championship at some point, and I won’t be having many cups of tea with the members afterwards," McIlroy, 27, said as he prepared for Thursday’s opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando. Muirfield had a male-only membership policy since the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which controls the course, was founded in 1744. Women are allowed to play there, but an initial ballot to allow women members failed in May 2016 when only 64% voted in favour. But centuries of discrimination ended when the necessary two-thirds ...
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