The PGA Tour will not take a stance over Augusta National’s no-women membership policy or determine whether it is right or wrong, Commissioner Tim Finchem said on Wednesday.
Augusta National’s membership policy came under fire during last month’s Masters tournament with club chairman Billy Payne refusing to discuss whether change was on the agenda.
Asked how the PGA Tour, which includes the Masters as an official money event, views the policy, Finchem said there was no change in their stance.
“We don’t get to determining whether their policies are right or wrong because we don’t have to, because we made the conclusion that regardless of those policies, we are going to continue to play and recognize them as part of the PGA Tour,” Finchem said at a news conference ahead of Thursday’s first round of the Players Championships.
“I know some people don’t like that position and I appreciate that and understand their reasoning but that’s the decision we’ve made.” However, Finchem said the PGA Tour’s approach to regular venues was demanding of open-membership policies.
“The position of the PGA Tour hasn’t changed. We have a policy that says that when we go out and do a co sanctioned event, we are going to play it at a club that is as open to women members, open to minority members etc and we follow that policy carefully,” said Finchem.
“In the case of the Masters, we have concluded a number of times now that we are not going to give up the Masters as a tournament on our tour. It’s too important and so at the end of the day, the membership of that club have to determine their membership. They are not doing anything illegal.”
Augusta National’s membership policy has been an issue for years but it took on added significance after Ginni Rometty became chief executive officer of IBM in January. IBM, the world’s largest technology services company, is a long-standing sponsor of the Masters and its past four CEO’s were granted membership to Augusta National.
But the club now faces a dilemma of whether to change its policy to allow Rometty to join or spurn one of its major sponsors. U.S. President Barack Obama stepped into the debate during the build-up to the tournament.
‘Island green’ fascinates but Tiger would move it: The “island green” 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass is one of the most recognisable in golf, but Tiger Woods would rather it not be part of the thrilling finale to the Players Championship. The penultimate hole on the Stadium Course is hugely popular with spectators as, apart from a small path to the green, the putting surface is surrounded by water, offering little room for error and a heavy punishment for inaccuracy. Forty tee shots found the water during last year’s Players Championship, down sharply from the 93 balls that ended up in the lake in 2007.
But Woods, while a fan of the hole, believes its placement as the penultimate hole with little chance of recovery from a mistake, means it is in the wrong place on the course. “I understand the premise behind it. It’s dramatic. But I just think that as a par three, I just don’t think it should be that, as the 17th. Great eighth hole or maybe something early in the back nine but maybe I’m more of a traditionalist in that regard,” Woods said ahead of Thursday’s opening round. “As a great finishing hole, I’m not in that opinion, but I think the collection of holes, 16th, 17th and 18th is the most dramatic that I think we play out here on tour.” Of the players in the field, nobody has hit their first tee shot in the water on No. 17 more than Aaron Baddeley and Heath Slocum – who both have found water on seven occasions – while Phil Mickelson has hit six tee shots in the water, according to tour statistics which began keeping track in 2002.
Woods’s view on the hole might find some support from those who find a round ruined by a splash but most players seem to enjoy the challenge the hole provides.
