Augusta National reportedly adds IBM CEO Ginni Rometty as 3rd female member

Augusta National Golf Club has admitted IBM chief executive Ginni Rometty as its third woman member, according to multiple reports.

Rometty has reportedly joined former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and businesswoman Darla Moore on the enrollment roster of the exclusive, formerly male-only club, which keeps membership news closer to the vest than commissioner Tim Finchem does any and all PGA Tour disciplinary actions. Rometty was at the center of a 2012 controversy involving the club’s 80-year-old, no-women-need-apply policy, but Rice and Moore broke the gender barrier later that year.

Augusta had traditionally offered membership to IBM CEOs, all of whom were men until the technology giant named Rometty its first woman top executive in 2012. Her elevation to the No. 1 spot of the long-time Masters corporate sponsor brought to a boil simmering dissatisfaction, outside the gates of the iconic home of the year’s first major, with the club’s discriminatory practices.

Augusta National’s communications director Steve Ethun told SBNation he was unable to comment on the club’s membership matters, while Edward Barbini, IBM’s VP of corporate communications, said his company declines to comment on its executives “personal matters or memberships.”

Though Augusta has apparently only recently admitted Rometty to the inner sanctum, the acceptance of Rice and Moore two years ago prompted increased scrutiny of other storied tracks that refused to enter the 21st century — Muirfield, the site of last year’s British Open, in particular. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews voted only two months ago to invite women to join.