Sports

‘Bout Time: Masters Host Augusta National To Allow Women Members

Augusta National Golf Club, the annual host of the Masters golf tournament, announced this morning that it would add two women to its membership roster, 79 years after the club was founded.

Miraculously, the earth did not break open and no fire or brimstone were reported on the scene.

Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore, a partner with private investment firm Rainwater, were selected to join, according to a report from the Huffington Post, and both accepted the offer. The club’s chairman, Billy Payne, described their inclusion as “a joyous occasion.” This is a fascinating departure from the club’s previous membership management strategy, which involved maintaining a level of secretiveness common to many cults. The first rule of Augusta National Golf Club membership: Do not talk about Augusta National Golf Club membership.

The decision to include some female members comes months after the most recent Masters tournament, which reignited the debate over Augusta’s dudes-only rule. The problem? The Masters’ long-time corporate sponsor, IBM, had just appointed a female CEO, Virginia Rometty. And while it was standard practice for IBM’s past CEOs to join the club, Rometty has girl cooties, so that wasn’t going to work.

No word yet on whether Rometty will join also, or whether she’ll opt to spend thousands of dollars for membership at a club that didn’t exclude women for more than three-quarters of a century.

TAGS: augusta national | augusta national women | Condoleezza Rice

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