Can Billy justify this ban on women now?
WHAT are the chances of Masters chairman Billy Payne opening his remarks to the press tomorrow with a statement that would resonate throughout the sporting world and beyond: namely, the unveiling of the club’s first woman member? Not great, perhaps, given it is the club’s stated policy not to comment on membership issues and there are some who believe Paris will get another Eiffel Tower before Augusta gets a woman member. Payne, however, has surprised us before, as he showed with his stinging criticism of Tiger Woods two years ago, and there is no question that the subject of women members has become a thorny issue once more. That is because the last four CEOS of IBM — a long-time corporate sponsor of the Masters — have become members of the club and, wouldn’t you know it, the latest to hold that post just happens to be a golf-playing woman of all things. How can Augusta not invite her to become a member without appearing perpetrators of a cast-iron example of discrimination based on a person’s sex? It is not the only tricky matter facing Payne. The second concerns the controversial invitation given to the Japanese starlet Ryo Ishikawa. What possible justification can there be for him receiving a second one at the age of just 20 except as a sop to the massive commercial power of Japanese television? Unlike many of my colleagues, I have no problem with Ernie Els not being given one, despite his mighty contribution to the tournament over the years. But the argument that Ernie shouldn’t get one is based on the belief that nobody should get one and so falls down completely when Ishikawa is handed a spot. Over to you, Billy.