Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

R&A ‘thrilled’ with commitment of Muirfield to AIG Women’s Open

Anna Nordqvist will defend the AIG Women's Open at Muirfield in August.

The R&A are “thrilled” with the way the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers have embraced their historic hosting of the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield this August.

The club that became most identified with the issue of refusing women as members has been “immensely supportive” of championship preparations.

“We couldn’t have had more commitment and enthusiasm,” said the R&A’s director corporate communcations Karen Myers at the championship launch on Monday.

“Around 150 members of the club have volunteered to help during the week. We’ve been working for two years with the clubhouse and course management teams.

“There’s genuine excitement among the club members, and also the players who will experience the course in competition for the first time.”

Ban on women members lifted in 2017

Muirfield’s 250-year ban on women members finally ended after a factious process in 2017. Criticism of the policy had escalated after the Open Championship of 2013 and an initial vote which rejected a change to a mixed membership in 2016.

That led to the course being removed from the R&A’s pool of Open venues. It was reinstated after the approval of women members, and the club was awarded the 2022 AIG Women’s Open a year later.

There are now 20 women members of the club.

The decision to go to Muirfield was part of the R&A’s strategy to raise the profile of the women’s championship. That’s álso seen the total prizefund double in the space of five years to an expected $6.8 million this August.

“Our vision is to create a world-class championship for the world’s best women players,” said Myers. “Those who were at Carnoustie last year will have experienced some of that.

“The welcome, the set-up, everything the Honourable Company have committed to since the day we asked to bring the championship here has been everything we could have wished for. “We’re all in a position that we’ve moving and looking forward. Those who want to dwell on history will do so.

“The history of the Honourable Company is now really their artefacts and the wonderful story of golf they have here.

“Everyone who is at the championship will experience what is on offer here. They will feel nothing but the fantastic commitment the club have.”

Facilities equal to the men’s Open Championship

The policy to elevate the championship will see the R&A build a players’ facility equal to that of the men’s Open on site.

The course will play to a par 71 at around 6680 yards, with adjustments for wind direction.

Ticket sales have been solid, and the R&A are expecting a 36,000 total for the week.

“We raised the prizemoney at Carnoustie to $5.8 million and said then it would be $6.8m this year,” added Myers.

“It could still be a bit more than that. It’s been our stated intention to move closer to parity. But any further rise has to be sustainable, it has to be viable.

“It’s a complex issue, because it depends on stakeholders including media, sponsors and broadcasters. A commitment to raise the profile of women’s golf in their world will drive the championship’s income.”

Conversation