Rory McIlroy backs R&A for banning ‘stuffy,’ all-male Muirfield from British Open

Rory McIlroy supports banning Muirfield Golf Club from hosting the Open Championship until the “stuffy” fraternity of old boys drops its antediluvian all-male policy.

McIlroy voiced support for the R&A’s decision to pull the venue from the British Open rotation and believes Muirfield members’ continuing refusal to enter the 21st century is a stain on the game of golf.

“The damage to golf’s image is more important than us losing an Open course,” McIlroy told reporters on Friday from the Irish Open where he was a shot off the pace set by Marc Warren and Masters champion Danny Willett after two rounds.

“Everyone should have the opportunity to join a club if they want to. Especially when we are trying to break out of this stuffy old image, this is not what we need,” McIlroy said. “In this day and age it’s a little disappointing to see and I obviously think the R&A made the right decision. It’s 2016 and you have to move with the times.”

Willett, among others at The K Club in Kildare, agreed with McIlroy. Indeed, it all seemed “a little bit silly” to Willett that Muirfield’s members were unable to “change with the times.”

“The R&A obviously jumped on it straight away and I think they made a good decision,” he said.

After Muirfield members elected on Thursday, reportedly in a two-to-one vote, to keep women from tarnishing its hallowed halls, the Royal and Ancient immediately pulled the Scottish course from the rota. Reaction to the decision was overwhelmingly positive -- with the appropriate dash of sarcasm.

Unlike McIlroy and Willett, however, not every PGA/European Tour player was thrilled by the R&A’s action.

“That golf course has been there for a long time and, you know, the real name of the golf club are Extraordinary League of Gentlemen or -- something like that. It’s a men’s golf course,” said Ernie Els from Irving, Texas, where he was five shots behind the AT&T Byron Nelson leaders after day one.

“Now that the Open Committee, the Championship Committee have taken this step, obviously we can’t go there because they don’t allow women in the clubhouse,” said Els, who appeared more concerned with revering the past than with moving into the future. “It’s quite straightforward, really, but it’s unfortunate that Muirfield Golf Club as we know won’t be on the Open rotation probably until they have a woman member … especially with all the history that’s gone on at Muirfield.

“They’ve had some unbelievable championships and obviously I was lucky enough to be one of the winners there,” Els said. “It will be quite a blow for the Open rotation not to have Muirfield on the schedule.”

As for the R&A’s decision, it would appear that new, enlightened leadership steered the old ship over rough seas in the right direction. We can’t help but believe former chief executive Peter Dawson, who retired last year, would have kept Muirfield in the game and lashed out at those who dared try to change bigots’ “way of life,” as he did just three years ago when Muirfield hosted the British despite its women-need-not-apply policy.

Clearly Martin Slumbers, who took over from Dawson, recognized that even the sport that honors “tradition” unlike any other had entered a new century.

“The Open is one of the world’s great sporting events and going forward we will not stage the Championship at a venue that does not admit women as members,” Slumbers said in a statement. “If the policy at the club should change we would reconsider Muirfield as a venue for The Open in future.”

It is convenient that Muirfield was not scheduled to stage the event any time soon. So, all the praise heaped upon the R&A for doing the right thing may be a tad over the top -- especially considering that this year’s Open will be played at Royal Troon.

While the Ladies Golf Club of Royal Troon shares the facilities of the men-only Royal Troon Golf Club, members of the latter plan to vote on whether to allow women members or not.

Of course, that’s what the fossils just did at Muirfield, and we know how that went. Should the same outcome prevail, might Troon be next on the blacklist -- after, of course, it moves to the back of the rota schedule?